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What is the comprehensive explanation of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him: "What is wrong with a worker whom I send, and he says, 'This is for you, and this was gifted to me'"? And is a gift to an official considered bribery?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The hadith in the Two Sahihs from Abu Humaid Al-Sa'idi states that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, sent Ibn Al-Lutbiyyah to collect zakat. When Ibn Al-Lutbiyyah returned, he said: "This is for you, and this was gifted to me." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, stood up and delivered a sermon, saying: "What is wrong with a worker whom we send, and he comes back and says: 'This is for you, and this was gifted to me'? Why did he not sit in the house of his father and mother and see if anything would be gifted to him or not? By the One in whose hand is Muhammad's soul, no one among you takes anything except that he will come on the Day of Resurrection carrying it on his neck..." The meaning of the hadith is that whoever assumes an office and is offered a gift because of his position, it is not permissible for him to accept it, as it is like a bribe. However, if the gift is from someone who used to give him gifts before he assumed office, then it is permissible for him to accept it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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