Prohibitions that are taken too lightly – Complete book by Sheikh Munajjid
Offering or accepting bribes
Giving a bribe to a qaadi or judge to make him turn a blind eye to the truth or to make a false claim succeed is a sin, because it leads to oppression and injustice for the person who is in the right, and it spreads corruption. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And eat up not one another’s property unjustly, not give bribery to the rulers that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.” [al-Baqarah 2:188]
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah has cursed those who give and accept bribes with regard to judging.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 2/387; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5069). However, payments made in order to reach the truth or avert injustice when there is no other way of doing so are not included in this warning.
Bribery is so widespread nowadays that it more of a source of income than the regular salary for some workers. Some companies even include bribes as a factor in their budgets, under a variety of headings, and some dealings cannot begin or end without the payment of a bribe. Much harm is caused to the poor and many safeguards are broken because of bribes. Bribery is a cause of corruption whereby employees act against their employers, and one can only get good service if one pays a bribe – the person who refuses to pay will get shoddy or late service, and people who come after him but are willing to pay will be served before him. Because of bribery, a great deal of money which is due to employers ends up in the pockets of sales representatives and those responsible for making company purchases. It is little wonder, then that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed to Allaah to deprive all those involved of His Mercy. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘The curse of Allaah be upon the one who gives a bribe and the one who accepts it.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2313; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5114).
Seizing land by force
When there is no fear of Allaah, strength and cunning are a disaster because the one who possesses these qualities uses them to oppress others, such as seizing other people’s possessions, including their land. The punishment for this is extremely severe. ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Umar reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever seizes any piece of land unlawfully, on the Day of Resurrection Allaah will make the ground swallow him up to the seventh depth of the earth.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath 5/103).
Ya’laa ibn Murrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any man who seizes a hand span of land, Allaah will tell him to dig it (according to al-Tabaraani: to bring it) to the seventh depth of the earth, then it will be placed around his neck on the Day of Resurrection, until Allaah has finished judging mankind.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 22/270; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 9/27).
This also includes changing landmarks and boundaries in order to make one’s own land bigger at the expense of a neighbour, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Allaah has cursed the one who changes the boundary-markers of the land.” (Reported by Muslim, with commentary by al-Nawawi, 13/141).
Accepting a gift in return for interceding
To have a position of high standing among people is one of the blessings of Allaah to His slave, if he is grateful. One way in which a person may give thanks for this blessing is by using his position to benefit other Muslims. This is part of the general meaning of the hadeeth: “Whoever among you is able to benefit his brother, then let him do so.” (Reported by Muslim, 4/1726). The person who uses his position to benefit others by averting injustice or bringing some good, without doing anything that is haraam or infringes on the rights of others, will be rewarded by Allaah, so long as his intention is sincere, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us: “Intercede, you will be rewarded.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 5132; the hadeeth is also reported in al-Saheehayn, see Fath al-Baari, 10/450, Kitaab al-adab, Baab ta’aawun al-mu’mineen ba’duhum ba’dan).
It is not permitted to accept anything in return for this intercession or mediation. Evidence for this may be seen in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him): “Whoever intercedes for someone then accepts a gift (in return for it), has committed a serious type of riba.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/261; see Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6292).
Some people offer the opportunity to benefit from their position, in return for a sum of money, in order to help someone get a job, or a transfer from one office or area to another, or treatment for the sick, etc. The soundest opinion is that this exchange is haraam, because of the hadeeth of Abu Umaamah quoted above, whose apparent meaning is that accepting such gifts is wrong, even if no agreement was previously made. (From the spoken statements of ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz). The reward which the doer of good will receive from Allaah on the Day of Judgement should be sufficient. A man came to al-Hasan ibn Sahl asking him to intercede for him in some matter, which he did; then the man came to thank him. Al-Hasan ibn Sahl said to him, “Why are you thanking us? We believe that zakaat is due on positions of rank just as it is due on wealth.” (Ibn Muflih, al-Aadaab al-Shar’iyyah, 2/176).
It is worth pointing out here that there is a difference between hiring someone to do legal paperwork for you and paying him wages in return, which has to do with the legitimate hiring of labour, and using a person’s position to intercede for you in return for money, which is haraam.
Hiring someone and benefitting from his labour, then not paying him his wages
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged speedy payment of wages to people hired for their labour. He said: “Give the hired man his wages before his sweat dries.” (Reported by Ibn Maajah, 2/817; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1493).
One form of oppression or injustice that is common in Muslim societies is the failure to give employees and workers their rights. This takes many forms, for example:
Denying an employee’s rights in totality, where the employee has no proof of his rights. He may have lost his dues in this world, but he will not lose them before Allaah on the Day of Resurrection. So the oppressor who consumed the money due to the victim will be brought forth, and his victim will be given some of his hasanaat in compensation (i.e. some of the oppressor’s good deeds will be added to his victim’s credit). If the hasanaat are not enough, some of the victim’s sayi’aat (bad deeds) will be added to the oppressor, then he will be thrown into Hell.
Not giving the employee his full rights. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Woe to al-Mutaffifeen [those who give less in measure and weight (decrease the rights of others)].” [al-Mutaffifeen 83:1] One example of this is the action of some bosses who bring workers from their homelands with a contract to pay a certain wage. Once the people are committed and have started to work for him, he goes and changes the contracts, altering them to state a lower wage than the one actually agreed upon. The employees stay because they have no choice and have no proof of their rights; all they can do is complain to Allaah. If the employer is a Muslim and the employee is not, this lowering of wages is a way of turning people away from the Straight Path, and he will carry his sin.
Making the employee do extra work or put in longer hours, without paying him overtime or giving him any more than the basic salary.
Some bosses delay payment of wages and pay up only after much struggle, complaining, chasing and court cases. Their aim may be to make the employee give up his claim to his rightful wages and stop asking; or they may want to invest this money, perhaps by lending it for interest. Meanwhile, the poor employee cannot buy his daily bread or send anything home to his needy wife and children for whose sake he left to work overseas. Woe to those oppressors on that painful Day! Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Allaah says: ‘There are three whom I will oppose on the Day of Resurrection: a man who gives his word, swearing by Me, then breaks it, a man who sells a free man into slavery and keeps the money, and a man who hires another and benefits from his labour, then does not pay him his wages.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see Fath al-Baari, 4/447).
Not giving gifts equally to one’s children
Some people show favouritism in the way they give gifts to some of their children but not others. According to the soundest opinion, doing this is haraam unless there is some legitimate reason, such as one child being in greater need than the others due to sickness, being in debt, being rewarded for having memorized the entire Qur’aan, being unable to find a job, having a large family, being a full-time student, etc. When a father gives something to one of his children who is in need, he should have the intention to give similarly to any other children of his should the need arise. General proof of this principle may be seen in the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): “. . . Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allaah . . .” [al-Maa’idah 5:8]. Specific evidence is found in the report of al-Nu’maan ibn Basheer (may Allaah be pleased with him), whose father brought him to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: “I have given this son of mine a slave that I had.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him, “Did you give all your children a similar gift?” He said, “No.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Then take (the gift) back.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 5/211). According to another report, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Fear Allaah and be fair to your children,” so he went away and took his gift back. (al-Fath 5/211). According to a third report, he said, “Do not ask me to be a witness, for I will not bear witness to injustice.” (Saheeh Muslim, 3/1243). Sons may be given twice as much as daughters, as in the case of inheritance, according to Imaam Ahmad, may Allaah have mercy on him (Abu Dawud, Masaa’il al-Imaam Ahmad, 204; Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim explained this in more detail in his footnotes). But there are some families where fathers do not fear Allaah, and their favouritism creates hatred and jealousy among the children. A father may give one child more because he looks like his paternal uncles, and give less to another child because he looks like his maternal uncles; or he may give more to the children of one wife and less to the children of another wife; or he may put one wife’s children in private schools, but not the other wife’s children. This will ultimately backfire on him, because in most cases the one who is deprived in this way will not respect his father or treat him kindly in the future. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked the man who showed favouritism to one son, “Do you not want all your children to respect you equally?” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 4/269; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 1623).
Asking people for money when one is not in need
Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever asks people for money when he has what is sufficient for him is only asking for more of the embers of Hell.” They asked him, “O Messenger of Allaah, what is sufficient so that he does not have to ask for more?” He said: “Having enough to eat lunch and dinner.” (Reported by Abu Dawud, 2/281; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6280). Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever asks the people for money when he has what is sufficient for him will come on the Day of Judgement with scratches and lacerations on his face.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/388; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 6255). Some beggars come to the mosques, interrupting people’s worship with their complaints; some of them lie, bringing forged papers and telling tall stories; some of them distribute their family members around different mosques, then they regroup and move on to other mosques. Some of these people may in fact be well-off, to an extent which only Allaah knows; only when they die do others find out what they have left behind. Meanwhile, there are others who are truly in need, but people are not aware of it and may think they have enough, because they are too proud and do not beg of people at all; nobody knows their true situation so no-one gives them charity.
Seeking a loan with no intention of paying it back
The dues owed by one person to another are very important in the sight of Allaah, so much so that if a person falls short in his duties towards Allaah, he may be forgiven if he repents, but when it comes to the rights of other people, he has to fulfil them before the Day comes when dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and only hasanaat and sayi’aat (good and bad deeds) will count. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, Allaah commands that you should render back the trusts to those to whom they are due . . .” [al-Nisaa’ 4:58]
One of the widespread problems in our society is this casual approach to loans; some people take out loans not for some urgent need but because they want to expand their businesses or keep up with others by buying new cars or furniture or other temporary luxuries of this life. Often these people let themselves in for the confusion of installment plans, which are dubious or maybe even haraam.
A casual approach to loans leads people to delay repayments, which in turn leads to loss and financial ruin of others. Warning of the consequences of this deed, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever takes people’s money with the intention of paying them back, Allaah will pay him back, but whoever takes people’s money with the intention of wasting it, Allaah will destroy him.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath al-Baari, 5/54). People take the matter of loans very lightly, but in the sight of Allaah it is a serious matter, so much so that even the shaheed (martyr), with his immense reward and high status, is not free of the consequences of debt. Evidence of this is seen in the hadeeth: “Glory be to Allaah, Who has revealed the seriousness of debt. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were slain in the way of Allaah, then brought back to life, then killed again and brought back to life again, then killed a third time, but he owed a debt, he would not be admitted to Paradise until his debt was paid off.” (Reported by al-Nisaa’i; see al-Mujtabaa, 7/314, and Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3594). Now will these squanderers be deterred from such a casual approach?
Consuming haraam wealth
The person who does not fear Allaah does not care where he earns his money or how he spends it; his only concern is to increase his bank balance, even if it is haraam and ill-gotten by means of theft, bribery, extortion, forgery, selling haraam things, riba (usury), consuming an orphan’s wealth, earnings from haraam work like fortune-telling, immorality or singing, stealing from the Muslim treasury or public property, taking people’s money by coercion or high-pressure sales tactics, begging when one is not in need, etc. Then he buys food, clothing and transportation with this ill-gotten money, and builds or rents a house, and furnishes it, and fills his stomach with haraam food. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten gains is more deserving of being touched by Hell-fire . . .” (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 19/136; see also Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4495). On the Day of Resurrection, each person will be asked how he earned money and on what he spent it, and there will be doom and loss. Anyone who still has haraam money should hasten to get rid of it; if it is due to anyone else, then he should hasten to return it and ask for his forgiveness before there comes a Day on which dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and all that will count will be hasanaat and sayi’aat.
