al-Rishwa
- Author died
- 1420 AH
- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
al-Rishwa (Bribery) is a legal treatise authored by Atiyya Muhammad Salim (d. 1420 AH / 1999 CE), a scholar and judge at the High Court in Medina, examining the definition, Quranic and prophetic proofs, societal harms, and legal rulings concerning bribery in Islamic jurisprudence .
Background and Purpose
The author composed the work as a concise study in response to a request from media broadcasters to serve as material for a series of educational television episodes addressing the problem of bribery .
Structure and Content
The treatise begins by analyzing the linguistic and technical definitions of bribery (al-rishwa) and related terms such as al-suht (illicit gain) and al-burtil . The author notes the linguistic derivation of rishwa from rasha al-farkh (a chick stretching its neck toward its mother to be fed) and al-risha' (the rope used to lower a bucket into a well) . Salim evaluates various classical definitions and adopts al-Jurjani's definition as the most precise: "that which is given to invalidate a right or establish a falsehood" .
The text then examines the scriptural evidence against bribery:
- Quranic texts: The author explores three primary Quranic contexts: the verse in Surah al-Baqarah prohibiting consuming property unjustly and offering it to judges ( وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ ), analyzing its connection to the adjacent rulings on fasting ; and two passages in Surah al-Ma'idah condemning the consumption of al-suht .
- Prophetic traditions and historical reports: The treatise cites the prophetic curse on the briber (al-rashi), the recipient (al-murtashi), and the intermediary (al-ra'ish) . It highlights the hadith regarding gifts to officials (hadaya al-'ummal), the incident of Ibn al-Lutbiyya, Umar ibn al-Khattab's auditing of his governors, and Abd Allah ibn Rawaha's refusal of bribes from the people of Khaybar .
Themes and Juristic Analysis
Salim analyzes the causes of bribery, attributing it primarily to weak religious conscience, societal injustice, lack of administrative oversight, institutional corruption, and severe poverty or crisis . He details its harms across multiple spheres, including the corruption of judicial rulings, border security, public works contracts, procurement, and state confidentiality . He also notes its destructive impact on individual integrity and work ethic . The remedies he proposes combine religious education, administrative supervision, confiscation of illicit gains, and the joint vigilance of scholars and rulers .
The author provides a comparative legal analysis distinguishing lawful gifts from prohibited bribes, establishing intention and context as crucial criteria and warning against mislabeling bribes as gifts . He concludes by surveying classical opinions across legal schools—including citations from al-Qurtubi, Ibn Qudama, Ibn Taymiyya, Hanafi, and Maliki authorities—regarding the ruling on paying money under duress to avert oppression or retrieve an established right, affirming that while receiving such payment remains strictly illicit, paying out of necessity to defend one's person, property, or lawful right is permissible according to many jurists .
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