What is the ruling on the work of a pharmacist who presents medicines to doctors, who then demand a bribe in exchange for prescribing the medicine to patients, and the pharmacist acts as an intermediary for this bribe between the company and the doctor? Is he thereby considered a "rāʾish" (one who mediates a bribe)? And is it permissible to eat the food offered by my brother-in-law, who works in this profession?

The question encompasses two issues:

First: The ruling on what the company gives to the doctor in exchange for him prescribing its medications.

Second: The ruling on eating food provided by someone who mediates between the company and the doctor in the aforementioned issue:

- If the gift is permissible, then there is no harm in eating his food. - If the gift is impermissible: - If the mediator's salary is solely for bribery and he has no other lawful source of income, then it is not permissible to eat his food. - If he has another lawful source of income, then eating his food is not forbidden unless he purchased the food with the illicit money itself. - However, if his salary is for promoting the product and not for bribery, then there is no harm in eating his food, even if the bribe is forbidden for him.