Continuation of the explanation of the hadith: (And from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : This is the bribe. Likewise, a person may offer something—also outside of judicial matters—to the head of a department or its manager to get him appointed to a position for which he is not qualified. So the rule is that the forbidden bribe is: "offering money to achieve a falsehood or to drop a right". This is the forbidden one. As for what is offered to achieve a right, it is forbidden for the one who takes it, but permissible for the one who offers it. For example, if a tyrant oppresses a man and he gives him a bribe to prevent the oppression from befalling him, there is nothing wrong with that.
Another person has a right, and he cannot achieve his right except by offering money. So offering money to reach his right is not forbidden for him; rather, he has the right to do so, and the sin is upon the one who takes it.
However, one should not resort to this except in cases of extreme necessity, because if we offered this easily, those who manage the affairs of people would become corrupt, and it would become impossible to work except with a bribe. As is the case in some countries, where you cannot have your need, which the employee is obligated to fulfill, met except with a bribe. They follow the original, established, and deeply rooted principle among the common people, which is: "grease the wheel and it will move". Yes, do you know this? Yes, it means that one cannot make his affairs easy and smooth unless he greases the wheel. Yes, and if you grease it a lot, it moves quickly, but if you grease it a little, it may stall.
In any case, I say: the person who offers something to achieve his right or to ward off oppression from himself bears no sin; rather, the sin is upon the one who takes it. The scholars have explicitly stated this. Not the commentators who explain the hadith as a jurisprudential explanation, nor the commentators who explain the hadith as a linguistic explanation, such as the author of al-Nihayah, for example.
So the bribe for which its doer and the one for whom it is done are cursed is the one by which one achieves a falsehood or drops a right. In this case, both the one who gives the bribe and the one who takes it are cursed.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed them because of the great harms included in their action, the suspension of people's rights, and the manipulation of people. As you know, if people's needs are not met in the required manner, this leads to great trials and hatred toward the rulers who manage these matters and take bribes for them. It is obligatory for a person to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) regarding those whom Allah has placed in authority over them, and to treat them with justice and equity, give every one who has a right his right, and not use his authority to achieve the consumption of people's wealth by falsehood.
Another person has a right, and he cannot achieve his right except by offering money. So offering money to reach his right is not forbidden for him; rather, he has the right to do so, and the sin is upon the one who takes it.
However, one should not resort to this except in cases of extreme necessity, because if we offered this easily, those who manage the affairs of people would become corrupt, and it would become impossible to work except with a bribe. As is the case in some countries, where you cannot have your need, which the employee is obligated to fulfill, met except with a bribe. They follow the original, established, and deeply rooted principle among the common people, which is: "grease the wheel and it will move". Yes, do you know this? Yes, it means that one cannot make his affairs easy and smooth unless he greases the wheel. Yes, and if you grease it a lot, it moves quickly, but if you grease it a little, it may stall.
In any case, I say: the person who offers something to achieve his right or to ward off oppression from himself bears no sin; rather, the sin is upon the one who takes it. The scholars have explicitly stated this. Not the commentators who explain the hadith as a jurisprudential explanation, nor the commentators who explain the hadith as a linguistic explanation, such as the author of al-Nihayah, for example.
So the bribe for which its doer and the one for whom it is done are cursed is the one by which one achieves a falsehood or drops a right. In this case, both the one who gives the bribe and the one who takes it are cursed.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed them because of the great harms included in their action, the suspension of people's rights, and the manipulation of people. As you know, if people's needs are not met in the required manner, this leads to great trials and hatred toward the rulers who manage these matters and take bribes for them. It is obligatory for a person to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) regarding those whom Allah has placed in authority over them, and to treat them with justice and equity, give every one who has a right his right, and not use his authority to achieve the consumption of people's wealth by falsehood.
