Q. Is it allowed in Islam to claim something which is perfectly permissible by unlawful means, such as the payment of a bribe or telling a lie?
(Name and address withheld)
A. Much depends on what the thing is and how it is obtained. In some countries it is difficult to obtain even what you are entitled to and what is your right unless you pay the officials concerned. Now in such a case what you pay the official is not a bribe, but simply something to get your entitlement. Suppose you are working in a company which allows you to get extra payment for the portion of your annual leave which you do not use, but continue in work instead. You may use only two weeks of your one month leave. Suppose that the personnel manager does not process your application for financial compensation in lieu of your extra work unless you pay him something. If you do, you are not guilty of paying a bribe, but you are simply yielding to an unfair demand. On the other hand, if you pay him so that he writes down that you have used only one week of your leave instead of two, that is a bribe. It is forbidden for you to pay and for him to take.
In the case the reader asks about, he should ask himself whether, using the means he is employing, he is getting an unfair advantage to which he is not entitled. Is he harming anyone? Is he depriving anyone of something that is due to them? Is what he wants to obtain granted by the government or individuals? If it is the government, then is it allowed under the rules and regulations? If it is, then it is appropriate. I cannot give him a clear answer unless I know more about the case, and I doubt whether he is willing to tell.
An orphan child and his mother
Q. After the death of her husband, a young woman moved with her 5-year-old son to her maternal aunts’ home, where she was brought up. Who should take care of the child, and for how long can he stay with his mother, particularly if she gets married again?
(Name and address withheld)
A. The child remains with his mother and his expenses are to be paid by his guardian, who in this case should be his grandfather or his paternal uncle, as the case may be. Where the child remains after he becomes independent is subject to his own desire.
If he prefers to stay with his mother, then that should be the case. If she gets married, then the person to take care of the child while he is still young is her own mother, i.e. the child’s maternal grandmother, if she is alive. If not, then her late husband’s mother. Such custody belongs to the nearest woman to the child, always preferring the child’s mother’s side. If she gets married and her new husband is willing to take on the upbringing of the child, and his guardian agrees, then that is perfectly appropriate. What we have to understand is that Islam provides certain rules to explain responsibilities. If people agree to take on more than their responsibility, then that is kindness which should be encouraged in Islamic society.
