Deception, Fraud, Bribery, Short Measure, and Other Social Evils in Islam
Compiled by: Toheed.comDeception and Fraud
Some people attempt to unlawfully seize wealth by deceiving others, but this is a major sin.
- The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There are five types of people destined for Hell:
➊ The weak who lack discernment (those who do not care for family, wealth, or lawful/unlawful).
➋ The thief who steals anything openly, even if small.
➌ The one who betrays you regarding your family or wealth.
➍ The miser and liar.
➎ The foul-mouthed, abusive person.”
(Muslim 2865)
Spying on Hidden Matters
Allah ﷻ says:
وَلَا تَجَسَّسُوْا (الحجرات 12)
“And do not spy.”
Spying is often to expose others’ faults for humiliation. This is haram.
- The Prophet ﷺ said:
“If you seek out the faults of Muslims, you will corrupt them and spread mischief among them.”
(Abu Dawud 4888) - Ibn Abbas (RA):
“Whoever eavesdrops on people’s conversation while they dislike it will have molten lead poured into his ears on the Day of Judgment.”
(Bukhari 7042)
Mocking Lineage
Some boast of lineage and insult others’ ancestry. This is classified as an act of disbelief (kufr) in Shari‘ah.
- Abu Hurairah (RA):
“The Prophet ﷺ said: Two practices among people are kufr: insulting lineage and wailing over the dead.”
(Muslim 67)
Withholding Excess Water
Water is a blessing of Allah, and preventing access to it is oppression.
- Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Three people Allah will not look at on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify, nor speak to, and for them is a painful punishment:
➊ One who pledges allegiance to a ruler only for worldly gain.
➋ One who sells goods after ‘Asr by swearing falsely.
➌ One who withholds surplus water in the desert, Allah will say: Today I withhold My bounty from you as you withheld that which you did not create.”
(Bukhari 236, Muslim 108)
Short Measure and Weight
When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, people were cheating in weights and measures. Allah revealed:
وَيْلٌ لِّلْمُطَفِّفِينَ... (المطففین 1-3)
“Woe to those who give less in measure, who when they receive measure from people, they take in full, but when they measure or weigh for them, they reduce.”
It is narrated that after this Surah was revealed, they corrected their measurement.
(Ibn Majah 2223)
- Ibn Umar (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“When five things appear among a people, seek refuge in Allah:
➊ When immorality spreads, Allah sends plague and death.
➋ When people cheat in weights and measures, famine, hardship, and oppression follow.
➌ When they withhold zakat, rain is withheld.
➍ When they break Allah’s covenant, enemies overpower them.
➎ When rulers abandon Allah’s law, poverty spreads among them.”
(Ibn Majah 4019)
Deceptive Selling
- Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ saw a pile of grain and placed his hand inside. Finding it damp, he asked the seller why he did not display the damp part. The Prophet ﷺ said:
“He who deceives us is not one of us.”
(Muslim 102)
Bribery in Judgment
Bribery to usurp others’ rights or corrupt justice is a grave sin and a source of social corruption.
Allah ﷻ says:
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ... (البقرہ 188)
“Do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly, nor offer it as bribes to rulers in order that you may wrongfully consume part of people’s wealth.”
- Abdullah ibn Amr (RA): The Prophet ﷺ cursed both the bribe-taker and the bribe-giver.
(Tirmidhi 1337) - Abu Hurairah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah curses the one who gives a bribe and the one who takes it in judgment.”
(Tirmidhi 1336) - Abu Umamah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever intercedes for his brother and is given a gift in return, if he accepts it, he has opened one of the great doors of riba.”
(Abu Dawud 3541) - Imam al-Dhahabi (رحمہ الله):
“The one who gives bribes to harm another Muslim or to obtain what he does not deserve is accursed. But if one gives bribes to receive his right or remove oppression, he is not included in this curse.”
Last edited:
