Bribing those in Authority to take others money, property or rights. Bribery is very sadly rife in our nation.

It ruins the society, leads to injustice and bad feelings between people, when some feel that others have taking what they do not deserve, or what is not rightfully theirs because they were able to bribe. Abd Allah Ibn Amro narrated: Allahs messenger prayer and peace upon him cursed the person who bribes and the person who takes the bribe. (D: Aqdiah; 4 & T: Ahkam; 9 & Ma: Ahkam; 2 & A: 2; 164) And Allahs messenger prayer and peace upon him said: Whenever usury spreads among people, they will be afflicted by hard time, and whenever Bribery spread among people, they will be afflicted by Fear (A: 4; 205) There are times however when a Muslim will not want, indeed hates to give bribes, but because of corrupt official he has to, otherwise will loose out, or suffer. In this case he is compelled, and the one who forces him is the sinner.
http://www.knowallah.com/Article,1,99,Baqarah%20188.html

Is accepting bribes forbidden in Islam?

Question

Is accepting bribes forbidden in Islam? If so, what is the reason behind such a ruling?

Detailed Answer

" )" Bribe) is an Arabic word from the root letters of " " and is pronounced in three different ways, rishwah, rashwah and roshwah. Rishwah is single form and it's plural form is " "or " "which means wage in Farsi.[1] This term refers to achieving a goal through conspiracy and paying something.[2] The Maraje have used all four sources of Islamic law (The Quran, the sunnah, Ijma'a and the intellect) to forbid bribing.[3] 1- The Holy Quran:

In the Quran the Almighty says: " And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that ye may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other people's) property "[4] Allamah Tabatabei says in Tafisr Al-Mizan: " means to send down carrier pail to get water from a well and what is meant by this term in this verse is the bribing of rulers. The verse carries a very nice metaphor, saying that the bribe giver is analogous to the water at the bottom of a well which is pulled out of the well through the pail of bribery."[5] Thus, the forbiddance of giving bribes entails the forbiddance of receiving them.[6] 2-The Ahadith: Many Ahadith have mentioned getting bribes as one of the instances of Kufr (the state of disbelieving). For example there is hadith by the prophet that says: "Keep yourselves away from bribes because it is kufr and one who receives them will never smell the scent of paradise".[7] 3-Ijma'a The Ijma'a and consensus of all Muslim sects on the issue is another reason that support's this opinion.[8] 4-The intellect: Bribing can cause several problems for society. When a certain group of people can reach their goals through bribing others, then the majority of people will face difficulties in getting their rights. When the authorities get used to getting bribes they will no longer treat others who do not pay them money as they should and this will cause serious problems and corruption in the government and it's departments. Therefore some Muslim scholars like Moqaddas Ardabili have referred to the intellect as an independent reason for proving the forbiddance of receiving bribes. In his book "Majmaul-Faidah walBurhan" he says: "We conclude the prohibition of rishwah from to the intellect, the Quran, the sunnah and the Ijma of all Muslim sects."[9] In the end, we will list the Fatawas (verdicts) of contemporary marjas: Grand Ayatollahs Khomeini, Khamenei, Safi, Fazel, Makarem and Noori: Paying money to those who work in offices and departments (that have been hired to be at the service of the people) will cause corruption and is haram. Receiving bribes is also haram for the one who receives it and he does not have the right to use it in any way (because it doesnt belong to him).[10] Grand Ayatollahs Tabrizi, Sistani and Vahid: Bribing is haram unless one has no choice but to do so to get his/her right, but receiving bribes is haram for one who is paid to do work for others.[11]

-------------------------

[1]Majmaul-Bahrayn, vol. 1, pg. 184. [2]Ibn Athir, Al-Nihayah, vol. 2, pg. 226. [3]Khui, Misbahul-Fiqahah, vol. 1, pg. 256.

[4]Baqarah:188. [5]Al-Mizan, vol. 2, pg. 52, under verse 188 of surah Baqarah. [6]Misbahul-Fiqahah, vol. 1, pg. 234. [7]Wasael, vol. 12, pg. 63, chapter 5, hadith 1 [8] Najafi, Jawahirul-Kalam ri Sharh Sharaul-Islam, vol. 22, pg. 145; Misbahul-Fiqahah, vol. 1, pg. 263. [9] Muqaddas Ardebili, Majmaul-Faidah wal-Burhan fi Sharh Irshadil-Adhan, vol. 12, pg. 49. [10] Imam Khomeini, Tahrirul-Wasilah, vol. 2, chapter of judgment, issue 6; Ayatullah Fazel, Jameul-Masael, vol. 1, question 972; Ayatullah Makarem, Istiftaat, vol. 2, question 664 and 665; Ayatullah Safi, Jameul-Ahkam, vol. 2, question 1540; Ayatullah Khamenei, Ajwibatul-Istiftaat, question 1246 and 1247; Ayatullah Bahjat, Tawdihul-Masael, chapter of unrelated issues, issue 16. [11] Ayatullah Tabrizi, Istiftaat, question 999; Ayatullah Vahid, Minhajul-Salehin, vol. 3, issue 32; Ayatullah Sistani, Sistani.org and with help from the Porseman software.

http://www.ahlulbaytportal.com/en.php/page,shora.viewshora/CategoryID,6806/catid,28884?PHPSESSI D=4df116acbe96c35390bf12e39de42d65
If the recipient of the bribe accepts it in order to do injustice, his sin is the greater, while if he intended to do justice, it was his simple duty for which no payment was needed. The Prophet (peace be on him) sent 'Abdullah bin Rawahah to the Jews to estimate what they owed as taxes on their palm trees. The Jews offered him some money as a gift. He told them, "What you have offered as a bribe is haram and we do not accept it." (Reported by Malik) It is not surprising that Islam has prohibited bribery and that it is severe against all those who participate in it. The proliferation of bribery in a society leads to corruption and oppression: unjust decisions are made and just ones are blocked, undeserving persons are given chances and deserving ones are passed over, and the spirit of greed permeates the society in place of the spirit of dutifulness.

http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/books/the_lawful_and_prohibition_in_islam/ch4s4p17.htm

Types of bribe

There are Three types of bribes:

(1) Bribe paid to a judge for a favourable judgement. (2) Bribe for Harm work. (3) Bribe for permitted things.

The first kind of bribe comprises of money etc. paid to a judge so that he may give a favourable judgement. The judge may also be bribed for pointing out the loopholes whereby one could weaken the position of the opposite party. It is absolutelyHarm even if the one who is paying the bribe is right and the judge delivers the correct judgement. The paying and receiving of this type of bribe or whatever may comprise this bribe is alsoHarm and a Greater sin. A person who pays or accepts such a bribe deserves the curse of Allah (S.w.T.). The Holy Prophet (S) says:

May Allah curse one who gives a bribe, one who accepts it and one who acts as an agent between them. (Safinatul-Bihr)
Elsewhere, the Holy Prophet (S) says:

Beware of bribe! It is nothing but disbelief. The one who is involved in bribe will not even smell the fragrance of Paradise. (Safinatul-Bihr)
Bribe is not only a sin for the guilty but it constitutes assisting in sin, the one who accepts. However if one is compelled to bribe and without it he cannot obtain his rights, it is another matter, but it is still Harm for one who accepts it. Similarly it is also Harm to reach someone by bribing. The one who acts as an arbitrator or agent and takes an active part in negotiating bribe is also a sinner.

This type of bribe is absolutely Harm whether paid in cash or kind. Bribe may also comprise of offering some services to the judge like stitching his clothes free of cost or constructing his house etc. Bribe can even be paid in words. One may praise a judge unduly to please him and thus influence him to give a favourable ruling.

Bribe in the name of khums and gift

Even if a bribe is paid in the name of khums and gift, it isHarm. For example to give someone a gift or a present with the intention of bribing him i.e. with the intention that by giving a gift the beneficiary will act to benefit the giver in some way. Similarly khums and zakat given with the intention of bribing is also Harm. It will not be considered as Khums or Zakat and it will be obligatory for one who has paid Khums or Zakat with such intentions, to pay it once more. Khums and Zakat are to be given with the purest of intentions, that of achieving nearness to Allah (S.w.T.) . There can be no other motive. One of the signs of Qiyma is mentioned in traditions in the following words:

Bribes will be accepted as gifts.

The second kind of bribe is the bribe paid to someone, a tyrant or an oppressor for inflicting harm on a third person. The Holy Quran says:

And do not swallow up your property among yourselves by false means, neither seek to gain access thereby to the judges, so that you may swallow up a part of the property of men wrongfully while you know.
(Surah al-Baqarah 2:188)
In this ayat believers are warned not to use anything obtained illegally and not to use their wealth to bribe those in power in order to obtain anything unlawfully.

Paying a bribe for obtaining ones rights

The third type of bribe is one that is paid for something lawful. Like paying someone in order that he may help in obtaining ones rightful property or to escape from a tyrant. Bribing for lawful things is allowed.
In a tradition Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) was asked about the person who bribes the occupant of a house to vacate it so that the owner may himself use it as his residence. Imam (a.s.) said that there was no harm in it. However the house mentioned in this hadith does not belong to the person who pays the bribe. It is a trust property or a public place like, the mosque, madrasa, lane, by-lane, and bazr etc. Thus if someone is occupying a place in the mosque or a student is living in a room in the public hostel, he can be bribed to vacate it.

Hafsul Amr enquired from Imam Ali an-Naqi (a.s.): The ruler has appointed agents to purchase our agricultural produce. Is it allowed for us to bribe those agents so that we may remain safe from the rulers tyranny? Imam (a.s.) replied,

There is no harm in it. You may pay whatever you think fit.
Then Imam (a.s.) asked:

Do you have to supply lesser quantity of grain to the ruler after you have paid the bribe to these agents?
Yes, said the questioner.

You have invalidated your bribe (i.e. you have made the bribe Harm), Imam told him. (Wasail ul--Shia)

Thus it is clear that bribing to cause someone to be oppressed is Harm but it is permitted in order to save oneself from oppression. Accepting a bribe for doing something lawful

It must however be made clear that though it is permitted to gift something for lawful acts or to save oneself from oppression, it is detestable to accept such gifts. Because these gifts bear a close resemblance to bribe. Also, the habit of bribing for lawful things may make a man habitual and he may be inclined to pay bribes for unlawful purposes too. One is prone to error. If a pious person refrains for Makrh(detestable) bribe he will never be prone to the Harm bribe. The following tradition supports this fact.

Those are they for whom Allah does not desire that He should purify their hearts; they shall have disgrace in this world, and they shall have a grievous chastisement in the hereafter. (They are) listeners of a lie, devourers of what is forbidden.

(Surah al-Mida 5:41-42)

Explaining this ayat, Amir ul-Muminn Ali (a.s.) says:

It is that person who fulfills the wish of his believing brother and accepts a gift in return.
Shaykh Ansari says in the book, Makasibul ml:There are many explanations of this tradition. One of it is that we must absolutely refrain from accepting gifts in return for favours done that we may never fall into the trap of accepting bribe. http://www.al-islam.org/greater_sins_complete/30.htm

Bribery and its Evil Consequences 4. The second verse (42) mentions another evil trait of these people by calling them: translated here as 'eaters of the unlawful' making 'the unlawful' to stand for the word, 'suht' in the text. The literal meaning of Suht is to uproot or destroy something totally which is the sense in what the Qur'an says in: , that is, (do not forge lies against Allah) lest He destroy you with a punishment - 20:61). But, at this place in the Qur'an, Suht denotes bribe. Sayyidna 'Ali , Ibrahim Nakha'ii, Hasan al-Basri, Mujahid, Qatadah and Dahhak and other leading authorities in Tafsir have explained it as bribe.

The reason for equating bribe with Suht (total destruction; also - unlawful earning, detestable enough to be shunned) is that it not only destroys its givers and takers alike but also goes on to uproot the whole country and community and destroy public peace and tranquility (by causing rise in illegal gratification and fall in avenues of honest earning). When bribery gains currency in a country or a department, law freezes and bribery stays hot. As for the law of a country, it is the only power which maintains peace and stability. When law and order stand suspended, nothing remains safe, life or property or honour, nothing. Therefore, by calling it Suht, the Shari'ah has declared it to be gravely Haram, forbidden and unlawful. Moreover, to block all possible doors of bribery, even the gifts given to officials or leaders or dignitaries of a country have also been classed as Suht or bribe in an authentic Hadith, and has been declared to be Haram. (Jassas) The Holy Prophet has said in a hadith: Almighty Allah causes His curse to fall on the giver and taker of bribe - and on him too who acts as a broker between them. (Jassas). The Islamic Legal definition of Rishwah (meaning bribery) is the taking of compensation for something the taking of which would not be legally correct. For example, a person doing a job, the doing of which is included within his duty, and the fulfilling of which is mandatory on him, cannot take any compensation for it from any party. If taken, that is bribe. Functionaries of governments, officials or clerks, higher or lower, are all obligated to do their duties by virtue of being paid employees of the government. If they take something from the person whose case they are handling, that will be a bribe. The father and mother of a girl are responsible for the marriage of their daughter. They cannot take any 'compensation' for doing that. If they take any 'compensation' from the person who will have the hands of their daughter in marriage, that is a bribe. Sawm (fasting), Salah (prayers), Hajj (pilgrimmage) and the Tilawah(recitation) of the Qur'an are 'Ibadah' (acts of worship) with which Muslims have been obligated. The taking of any 'compensation' from anyone is a bribe. However, the duty of the Teaching of Qur'an and the duty of leading Salah as Imam are exempt from this (as ruled by later Muslim jurists). Then, a person who takes bribe and does someone's job as it should rightfully be done, he commits the sin of taking bribe and the money or material he has 'earned' is 'suht', and unlawful for him. And should he do it as it should have not been done rightfully, then, this becomes another grave crime, that of wastage of what was right and that of changing an express command of Allah, in addition to the initial one. May Allah keep all Muslims safe from this curse.

http://www.classicalislamgroup.com/index.php?view=tafseer/s5-v41to43-6