Is the amount paid to obtain a scholarship abroad considered a bribe, or is it in exchange for the efforts and follow-up to secure the scholarship? And is obtaining the scholarship in this manner considered acquiring something to which one is not entitled?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
It is not permissible to travel for study in the lands of the disbelievers if beneficial knowledge can be acquired in Muslim lands. It is also not permissible to pay a bribe to obtain a scholarship, for the one who pays or receives a bribe is cursed. If obtaining the scholarship in this manner violates the regulations of the scholarships, then the prohibition is more emphatic. Added to this is traveling to the lands of disbelief without a legitimate Islamic reason, violating the terms and conditions, and taking what one has no right to.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/97051
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 97051
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy