Is paying money to a government employee in exchange for obtaining land ownership documents in Sinai considered a bribe, given that the completion of the transaction necessitates it?
The forbidden bribery is that by which a person attains something false, or something to which he has no right, or something to which he has a right but could have attained it without it.
As for the bribe by which a person attains his right, which he cannot attain except through it, or to ward off an oppressor's injustice, it is not forbidden, and its sin is upon the one who takes it.
Ibn Nujaym mentions that bribery comes in four forms: some are forbidden from both sides, and some are forbidden for the taker but not the giver, as in cases of fear for oneself or one's property, or if someone covets his property and he bribes him with some of it, or if he pays a bribe to settle his matter with the ruler; in such cases, the payment is permissible for him, but the taking is forbidden for the taker.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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