al-Hadaya lil-Muwazzafin - Ahkamuha wa Kayfiyyat al-Tasarruf fiha
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al-Hadaya lil-Muwazzafin - Ahkamuha wa Kayfiyyat al-Tasarruf fiha (Gifts to Employees: Their Rulings and How to Dispose of Them) is a contemporary Islamic legal study by Abd al-Rahim al-Hashim examining the jurisprudential rulings on gifts offered to public and private sector employees and the legitimate methods of handling them .
Background and Composition
The work originated as a peer-reviewed research paper published in Majallat al-Buhuth al-Amniyyah (Journal of Security Research) at King Fahd Security College in Riyadh (Volume 13, Dhu al-Hijjah 1425 AH) . It served as one of the academic submissions through which the author attained the rank of Associate Professor at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University . After receiving written authorization from the journal in Jumada al-Ula 1426 AH, al-Hashim revised and expanded the study into an independent book .
In the introduction, al-Hashim notes that classical jurists primarily addressed gifts to state functionaries within treatises on judicial conduct (adab al-qadi) . He observes that while Taqi al-Din al-Subki wrote a dedicated epistle titled Fasl al-maqal fi hadaya al-'ummal (and abridged it as Mukhtasar Fasl al-maqal fi hadaya al-'ummal), other scholars discussed the topic only in passing, such as Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi in Tahqiq al-qadiyyah fi al-farq bayn al-rishwah wa-al-hadiyyah and Abd Allah al-Tariqi in Jarimat al-rishwah fi al-shari'ah al-Islamiyyah . This led al-Hashim to write a dedicated modern monograph addressing the various evolving forms of gifts presented to employees and corporate entities .
Structure and Contents
The book consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, and two indices (one for sources and one for the table of contents) :
- Introduction: Discusses the importance of professional integrity and cites prophetic hadiths warning against unlawful misappropriation ( غلول ) by appointed workers .
- Chapter One (al-Hadiyyah, wa-al-rishwah, wa-al-farq baynahuma): Divided into three branches covering the definition of gifts, the rulings on offering, accepting, and reciprocating them, the definition of bribery, and the essential distinctions between legitimate gifts and bribes .
- Chapter Two (al-Hadiyyah ila al-muwazzaf, wa-ila jihat 'amalih): Details gifts given to employees and workplaces across three categories :
- Prohibited to offer and accept: Gifts intended to achieve an illegitimate end, to sway an official's impartiality, or to compensate an employee for performing an obligatory duty .
- Prohibited for the employee to accept while possibly permissible for the giver to offer: Gifts given under pressure out of fear that the employee will neglect the applicant's legitimate right, or given out of social embarrassment .
- Permissible to offer and accept: Customary gifts from relatives, neighbors, or friends with whom exchange preceded employment (provided gifts do not abnormally increase and involve no official transaction), gifts from superiors or governing authorities, and gifts presented to former employees after leaving office .
- Chapter Three (al-Tasarruf fi al-hadaya lil-muwazzafin): Explains how an employee should handle received items, differentiating between permissible gifts (which the employee may keep and should ideally reciprocate) and prohibited gifts, which must be rejected, returned to their owners if given reluctantly, or surrendered to the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal) .
Conclusion and Recommendations
The book concludes with a summary of its juristic findings and outlines four practical recommendations: fostering research on social ethics, raising public awareness through media and religious pulpits about the distinction between lawful gifts and unlawful bribery, educating newly hired personnel on state anti-corruption regulations, and training employees on occupational ethics and the faithful fulfillment of public service .
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