From `Abdul`Aziz ibn `Abdullah ibn Baz to any Muslim who may see or hear this. May Allah guide me and you to His Right Path, and protect me and you from the punishment of Hellfire! Assalamu `alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh (May Allah's Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you!)
Islam strictly prohibits bribery, i.e., paying money to have one's interests fulfilled by an official whose responsibility it is to do so without payment. It is even more reprehensible if the aim behind paying this money is to render unlawful what is lawful, or vice versa, or to wrong any person.
Ibn `Abdin (may Allah be merciful with him) wrote in his book Hashiyat: "Bribery is what a person gives to a ruler or any other person to judge in their favor, or to compel him to do what they want." It is clear from this definition that bribery is broader than being money or an interest that one could offer or afford. What is meant by the ruler is a judge or any other official, i.e., all those who can serve an interest to the briber; whether they are rulers, governmental employees or those achieving special tasks such as commission agents, companies, real estate owners, etc. Judging in favor of the briber and inducing the bribed person to do what the briber wants is to fulfill the desire and purpose of the briber, whether right or wrong.
O dear brothers in Islam, bribery is one of the major sins that Allah prohibits for His Servants, thus His Messenger (peace be upon him) cursed those who practice it. It is obligatory for Muslims to refrain from bribery, beware of it, and warn people against it, because it involves great evil, grave sin, and bad consequences. It is an act of sin and transgression that Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) forbids us to cooperate in.
Help you one another in AlBirr and AtTaqwâ (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression.
O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent.
And eat up not one another's property unjustly (in any illegal way e.g. stealing, robbing, deceiving, etc.), nor give bribery to the rulers (judges before presenting your cases) that you may knowingly eat up a part of the property of others sinfully.
Bribery is the severest form of unjust devouring of wealth, because it means paying money to others to make them evade what is right.
The prohibition applies to the three pillars of bribery, i.e., the briber, bribed person, and the mediator between them.
Allah has cursed the briber, the bribed person, and the mediator between them.
(Related by Ahmad and AlTabarany on the authority of Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him))
Being cursed by Allah means being cast out and expelled from His Mercy. We seek refuge in Allah from this. One incurs this by committing a grave sin. Bribery is also a kind of Suht (illgotten earnings) forbidden by both the Qur'an and Sunnah (whatever is reported from the Prophet). Denouncing the Jews for illegally devouring Suht, Allah (Glorified be He) states:
(They like to) listen to falsehood, to devour anything forbidden.
And you see many of them (Jews) hurrying towards sin and transgression, and eating illegal things [as bribes and Ribâ (usury)]. Evil indeed is that which they have been doing.
Why do not the rabbis and the religious learned men forbid them from uttering sinful words and from eating illegal things. Evil indeed is that which they have been performing.
For the wrongdoing of the Jews, We made unlawful for them certain good foods which had been lawful for them and for their hindering many from Allâh's Way; And their taking of Ribâ (usury) though they were forbidden from taking it and their devouring of men's substance wrongfully (bribery).
There are many Hadith that warn against this forbidden matter and indicate the evil consequences of those who commit it.
For every flesh that is grown from Suht, the Fire is the most entitled to it. It was said: What is Suht? He (the Prophet) said: Bribery in ruling.
If Riba (usury/interest) emerges among any people, they will suffer a bad harvest, and if bribery emerges among any people, they will suffer intense terror.
Muhammad Muwaffaq AlDin Ibn Qudamah (may Allah be merciful with him) said in AlMughny: AlHasan and Sa`id ibn Jubayr said regarding the Tafsir (exegesis of the meanings of the Qur'an) of Allah's Statement: to devour anything forbidden. that this refers to bribery. He also stated: When a judge accepts bribery, it is tantamount to Kufr (disbelief). This is because he is willing to judge by other than what Allah has revealed:
And whosoever does not judge by what Allâh has revealed, such are the Kâfirûn (i.e. disbelievers of a lesser degree as they do not act on Allâh's Laws).
It was related by Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Allah is good and accepts only what is good. Indeed, Allah commands the believers with what He commands the Messengers and He (may He be Exalted)
says: O (you) Messengers! Eat of the Tayyibât [all kinds of Halâl foods which Allâh has made lawful (meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk products, fats, vegetables, fruits, etc.] and do righteous deeds. and: O you who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism)! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you with Then he (peace be upon him) mentioned a man who has travelled on a long journey and is dishevelled and covered with dust; he stretches forth his hands to the heaven, (saying) "O Lord, O Lord", but his food is Haram (prohibited), his drink is Haram, his cloth is Haram, and all his nourishment is Haram, so how can his Du`a' (supplication) be accepted?
O Muslims, fear Allah and beware of His Wrath and avoid what causes His Anger. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) becomes jealous when what He has made inviolable is violated. It was reported in a Sahih (authentic) Hadith: There is none who has more jealousy than Allah. Guard yourselves and your families against unlawful earnings and food to save yourselves and your families from the Fire, which Allah has made most entitled to every flesh that is nourished by Suht. Unlawful food also prevents Du`a' from being accepted, based on the previously mentioned Hadith reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah as recorded in Sahih Book of Hadith of Muslim and based onwhat was related by AlTabarany on the authority of Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) who said: I recited in the presence of Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) the following Ayah (Qur'anic verse): O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and good on the earth Thereupon, Sa`d ibn Abu Waqqas stood up to say, "O Messenger of Allah! Make Du`a' to Allah so that my Du`a' will always be answered." So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "O Sa`d! Get your food from lawful means and your Du`a' will always be answered. By the One in Whose Hand is the life of Muhammad, a servant would put an unlawful morsel in his stomach, and his actions will not be accepted for forty days. Whenever a person develops a pot belly from Suht, the Fire is more befitting for it."
This was recorded by AlHafizh Ibn Rajab (may Allah be merciful with him) in the book of Jami` Al`Ulum walHikam from the narration of AlTabarany (may Allah be merciful with him). This indicates that seeking unlawful earnings prevents one's Du`a' from being accepted and blocks it from being raised to Allah. What a great misfortune and loss this is. We seek refuge in Allah from this. Allah calls you to protect yourselves and your families against the Fire so as to be safe from the Wrath of Allah and His Severe Punishment,
when He (Glorified and Exalted be He) says: O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allâh, but do that which they are commanded. O Muslims, respond to the call of your Lord, obey His Command, avoid what He prohibited, and beware of what causes His Wrath so as to gain prosperity in both this life and the Hereafter. Allah (Exalted be He) says: O you who believe! Answer Allâh (by obeying Him) and (His) Messenger when he (ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ) calls you to that which will give you life, and know that Allâh comes in between a person and his heart (i.e. He prevents an evil person to decide anything). And verily to Him you shall (all) be gathered. And fear the Fitnah (affliction and trial) which affects not in particular (only) those of you who do wrong (but it may afflict all the good and the bad people), and know that Allâh is Severe in punishment.
We supplicate to Allah to make us and you of those who listen to His Word and follow the best of it, those who help each other to righteousness and piety, and those who abide by the Glorious Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace be upon him). May Allah protect us and you from the evils within ourselves and our misdeeds, give victory to His Din, make His Word uppermost, and guide our rulers to all that benefits people and countries. It is only He Who is Capable of doing so.
Assalamu `alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatuh