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Is it permissible to pay a bribe if it is to avert a حد (prescribed punishment) among the حدود (prescribed punishments) of Allah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Bribery is the act of paying money to invalidate a right or establish a falsehood. It is forbidden in the Quran, Sunnah, and by the consensus of the Ummah. Allah Almighty says: (And do not consume your properties among yourselves wrongfully, nor hand it over to the authorities to consume a portion of the people's properties sinfully while you know). The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah curses the briber and the bribed in judgment." This includes the prohibition of bribery to infringe upon the rights of creation or to obstruct the laws of Allah. Paying money for such purposes is unlawful, and receiving it is illicit gain. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, warned against seeking to invalidate prescribed penalties after they have reached the ruler, as he did with Usama ibn Zayd when he interceded regarding the punishment of the Makhzoomi woman, saying: "Are you interceding concerning a punishment from the punishments of Allah?!"

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

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