Gifts given to a governor or judge

Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If a judge accepts a gift, he has consumed what is unlawful, and if he takes a bribe, he has reached disbelief.

Mu'adh bin al-Ala narrates from his father and grandfather that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon in Kufah with a small bottle in his hand. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Since I entered Kufah, I have received only this one gift, which a dihqan sent to me.

It is narrated from Yusuf bin al-Muhajir that the commander of the army sent Abdul Hamid a gift of forty thousand, or somewhat less or somewhat more. He wrote to Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him). Umar bin Abdul Aziz wrote back: If he used to send you gifts when you were in al-Jazirah as well, then accept it; otherwise, count it towards his kharaj.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It used to be said that a bribe in judgment is unlawful.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There are two doors of the unlawful from which people eat: bribery and the earnings from the dower of a fornicatress.

Abdullah bin Amr bin Murrah narrates from his father, who said: I asked Sa'id bin Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) about the unlawful. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is bribery.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The gifts of rulers are a betrayal of trust.

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked about the gifts of rulers. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: In my view, this is a betrayal of trust.

Tawus said: This is unlawful.

It is narrated from Shaqiq that Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) brought slaves from Yemen during the caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: Hand these slaves over to Abu Bakr. Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Why should I hand my slaves over to him? Then Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) went to his home and did not take the slaves to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). He spent the night, and when the next morning came, he handed the slaves over to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him: What became clear to you, that you did this? Sayyiduna Mu'adh said: I saw myself in a dream: a fire was near me and I was being pushed into it. Then you seized me by the waist of my garment and saved me from falling into the fire. I think that all of this is because of these slaves. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: All of these slaves are yours. Then, when Sayyiduna Mu'adh came home, he stood up to pray and saw that the slaves were praying behind him as well. Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: For whom are you praying? They said: For Allah. Sayyiduna Mu'adh said: Go, you are free for the sake of Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Humayd al-Sa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appointed Ibn al-Lutbiyyah as an agent over the charities of Banu Sulaym. When he came, he said: This is for you and this is a gift for me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and addressed the people. He praised and glorified Allah Almighty and then said: What is the matter with people? They are made overseers of some task among the affairs that Allah has entrusted to us. Then one of them comes saying: This is for you and this is a gift for me. If he is truthful, why does he not sit in the house of his father or mother, so that this gift may come to him there?

Sayyiduna Adi bin Amirah al-Kindi (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: If any of you is appointed as an agent over some task, and he then conceals from it a needle or anything more, this is a betrayal of trust that will be brought forward on the Day of Resurrection. A black man from the Ansar stood up, as if I am looking at him now. He said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Take back from me the task you entrusted to me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: What is the matter? He said: I heard you (peace and blessings be upon him) saying such and such. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I now say it again: If any of you is appointed as an agent over some task, let him bring to us its little and its much. Whatever he is given from it, let him take, and whatever he is forbidden from, let him refrain from it.

It is narrated from Ali bin Rabi'ah (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed a man from Banu Asad as an agent. His name was Dubay'ah bin Zuhayr, or Zuhayr bin Dubay'ah. When he returned, he said: O Commander of the Believers! Many gifts were given to me. I have come to you with all of them. If they are lawful for me, I will consume them; otherwise, I hand them over to you. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) took them from him and said: Had you kept them with you, it would have been a betrayal of trust.

Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who gives a bribe, the one who takes a bribe, and the one who serves as a means of assistance between them.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) cursed the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes a bribe.

Yahya bin Sa'id (may Allah have mercy on him) said: When the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Khaybar, they gave him gifts. He (may Allah be pleased with him) returned them and said: This is unlawful.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to the people of Iraq: The gifts of our chiefs and landowners are for us (that is, send them to us and do not keep them with yourselves).

Shurayh (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it have been cursed.