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Question: [What is] the manner in which one should repent [to Allaah] from paying a bribe, and will the repentance be accepted if it is sincere; And what about the money, what should I do with it – [bearing in mind] I have already taken it from this bribe?
Response: Bribery is illegal, and is an evil [form of] earning; cursed is the one who pays it, and cursed is the one who takes it, and cursed is the one who pursues it, and mediates in [such transactions]; and this has been mentioned in an authentic hadeeth, from his ﷺ saying:
– and he is the one who mediates [in such transactions] – and all of them are cursed.
And the curse [which is attached to this misdeed] is something which renders this act a major crime [and] it is [considered] a grave sin from the major sins.
So the taking of the bribe is a grave sin from the major sins, and whoever falls into it is required to repent from it, and whatever he has [left] of the money which he has taken from the bribe – he is required to rid himself of it by giving it to the poor and destitute as a means of ridding himself of it, and not from a viewpoint of charity.
However, it should be considered as money which has been lost [and found] – that which has no owner, in which case he uses it for righteous ends, and gives it to the needy, poor and destitute – and along with that he repents to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’aala.
Translation originally published on 24 March, 2015
