Is It Considered Bribery If I Performed Hajj Without Government Permission and Resolved the Matter with Money?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

If I attempt to perform Hajj without government permission and resolve the issue with money, would this be considered bribery?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

Bribery (rishwa) is defined as the illegitimate establishment of a right or removal of a legitimate right based on compensation. [Maydani, al-Lubab fi Sharh al-Kitab]

In general, this is impermissible. However, if one is prevented from a right of theirs and forced to give compensation to be able to fulfill it – the sin is only on the one imposing the bribery.  [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

The obligatory pilgrimage is your right and an obligation to Allah (Most High). Thus, if you are unreasonably stopped from performing the obligatory Hajj, you are not sinful if you are made to pay compensation.

However, if you were reasonably stopped based on reasonable laws or regulations that benefit the people, then you are at fault. If you were required by law to pay a penalty for such a violation, this is not bribery.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch teaches Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom Seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences.

He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he studied for three years in Dar al-Mustafa under some of the most outstanding scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib.

In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.