Explanation of the Book of Sales-16
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then he said: "And from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: Sunan Abi Dawud 3580Sahih (Al-Albani) It was narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi, and he graded it as authentic".
The student: The benefits!
The Shaykh : What?
The student: Are the benefits finished?
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Now, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr says:Sunan Abi Dawud 3580Sahih (Al-Albani): "Cursed" means: he said, "May the curse of Allah be upon him." It is a statement in the sense of a supplication, meaning: he supplicated for a curse upon him.
And the curse is: "being cast out and kept away from the mercy of Allah". Allah the Exalted said to Iblis:[Al-Hijr 15:35], and in another verse: [Sad 38:78]: meaning: the curse has become binding upon him, which is being cast out and kept away from the mercy of Allah, refuge with Allah, for eternity, because His saying: : does not imply that after the Day of Judgment the curse is lifted from him. But whoever is cursed until the Day of Judgment is cursed for eternity. We ask Allah for safety. Now, "cursed" means: he supplicated for a curse upon him, meaning: being cast out and kept away from the mercy of Allah.
The one who gives a bribe: the one who offers the bribe, and the one who takes a bribe: the one who accepts the bribe.
And al-rishwah: with the ra' having a fathah, a kasrah, and a dammah, it is tripled, the ra' is tripled, is that right?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, I mean, if you say: rishwah, it is correct; rashwah is correct; rushwah is correct; the ra' is tripled.
It is said: the ra' is tripled, and it is said: with the tripled letter, and there is a difference between them:
If it is said: the ra' is tripled, it is considered in terms of the vowel marks. If it is said: with the tripled letter, it is considered in terms of the dots. For the tha', we say: it is tripled. For rishwah, for example, we say: with the tripling of the ra'. Yes.
What is a bribe? A bribe in its original sense: a gift, a gift intended to reach a goal. This is the bribe: "a gift intended to reach a goal". It is derived from al-rishaa', which is: the rope of the bucket that is lowered into the well for drawing water, because with the rishaa', a person reaches his goal, which is the water. But what is meant by rishwah here, whose doer is cursed: "it is offering money to reach a falsehood or to drop a right". This is the bribe that is offered to reach a falsehood or to drop a right.
And it mostly occurs in court cases. A litigant offers something to the judge or the ruler so that he rules in his favor with what he wants, which is falsehood. This is the bribe.
And likewise, a person offers—also outside of the judiciary—a person offers something to the head of a department, or its manager, to appoint him to a position for which he is not qualified.
So the rule is: "that the forbidden bribe is: offering money to reach a falsehood or to drop a right". This is the forbidden one.
As for what is offered to reach a right, it is forbidden for the taker, but lawful for the giver. Like a man over whom an oppressor has gained power, so he gave him a bribe to prevent the oppression from him. This is permissible. Another person has a right and cannot reach his right except by offering, offering money, so he offers money to reach his right. This is not forbidden for him; rather, he has the right to do so, and the sin is upon the taker.
But it is not befitting for us to resort to that except in the most extreme necessity, because if we offered this easily, those who handle the affairs of people would become corrupt, and it would become impossible to work except with a bribe, as exists in some countries, where it is not possible to have your need, which the employee must fulfill, met except with a bribe.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribe.
لعن رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الراشيَ والمرتشيThe student: The benefits!
The Shaykh : What?
The student: Are the benefits finished?
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. Now, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr says:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribe.
لعن رسولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم الراشي والمرتشيAnd the curse is: "being cast out and kept away from the mercy of Allah". Allah the Exalted said to Iblis:
And indeed, upon you is the curse
وإن عليك اللعنةAnd indeed, upon you is My curse until the Day of Recompense."
وإن عليك لعنتي إلى يوم الدينUntil the Day of Judgment
إلى يوم الدينThe one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it
الراشي والمرتشيAnd al-rishwah: with the ra' having a fathah, a kasrah, and a dammah, it is tripled, the ra' is tripled, is that right?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : Now, I mean, if you say: rishwah, it is correct; rashwah is correct; rushwah is correct; the ra' is tripled.
It is said: the ra' is tripled, and it is said: with the tripled letter, and there is a difference between them:
If it is said: the ra' is tripled, it is considered in terms of the vowel marks. If it is said: with the tripled letter, it is considered in terms of the dots. For the tha', we say: it is tripled. For rishwah, for example, we say: with the tripling of the ra'. Yes.
What is a bribe? A bribe in its original sense: a gift, a gift intended to reach a goal. This is the bribe: "a gift intended to reach a goal". It is derived from al-rishaa', which is: the rope of the bucket that is lowered into the well for drawing water, because with the rishaa', a person reaches his goal, which is the water. But what is meant by rishwah here, whose doer is cursed: "it is offering money to reach a falsehood or to drop a right". This is the bribe that is offered to reach a falsehood or to drop a right.
And it mostly occurs in court cases. A litigant offers something to the judge or the ruler so that he rules in his favor with what he wants, which is falsehood. This is the bribe.
And likewise, a person offers—also outside of the judiciary—a person offers something to the head of a department, or its manager, to appoint him to a position for which he is not qualified.
So the rule is: "that the forbidden bribe is: offering money to reach a falsehood or to drop a right". This is the forbidden one.
As for what is offered to reach a right, it is forbidden for the taker, but lawful for the giver. Like a man over whom an oppressor has gained power, so he gave him a bribe to prevent the oppression from him. This is permissible. Another person has a right and cannot reach his right except by offering, offering money, so he offers money to reach his right. This is not forbidden for him; rather, he has the right to do so, and the sin is upon the taker.
But it is not befitting for us to resort to that except in the most extreme necessity, because if we offered this easily, those who handle the affairs of people would become corrupt, and it would become impossible to work except with a bribe, as exists in some countries, where it is not possible to have your need, which the employee must fulfill, met except with a bribe.