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Is it permissible to pay a sum of money to someone to backdate a university degree, knowing that official authentication is suspended and that the lack of authentication harms the degree holder financially and administratively?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The laws enacted by the state for the public good may not be violated, nor may bribes be paid for that purpose. However, if they are not in the public interest and harm individuals, then it is permissible to circumvent them. If one is compelled to pay a bribe to obtain a right or avert harm, it is permissible for him to pay it, and the sin falls upon the recipient of the bribe. If a law serves no interest and is unjust, there is no harm in circumventing it, provided no harm results.

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

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