Hotel employee taking commission from taxi drivers for giving them passengers
Question I live in a non-Muslim country and have a Limousine license but Im not driving because in order to get a passenger from hotel you have to pay $10 to the booker meaning the person who gives you the passenger you have to give him/her certain percentage of the fare amount, that money you…
Question
1: What is the definition of rishwah or bribery in the light of Qura’n and Sunnah and
2: Does this fall under rishwah or not?
3: If that $10 which is called cookie in limousine industry I’m paying to the doorman to get a business, does that $10 make my entire earning haraam?
Please advise as I’m so confused with the situation.
Praise be to Allah.
If this person who is arranging the bookings works in the
hotel, and takes what he takes from the drivers with the knowledge of the
hotel, and does not show favouritism to anyone, there is nothing wrong with
that.
The shar i reservations with regard to this issue are two:
-1-
Gifts to workers – this refers to giving money to an employee
without the knowledge of his employer], because of the report narrated by
al-Bukhaari (7174) and Muslim (1832) from Abu Humayd as-Saa‘idi (may Allah
be pleased with him) who said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) appointed Ibn al-Lutbiyyah, a man from Banu Azd, in charge of
collecting the zakaah. When he came he said: This is for you, and this was
given to me. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) stood up
on the minbar and praised and glorified Allaah, and said: “What is the
matter with an agent whom I send, and he comes to me and says, ‘This is for
you and this is for me’? Why doesn’t he sit in the house of his father and
mother and see if he is given anything or not? By the One in Whose hand is
the soul of Muhammad, no one of you gets anything (by way of such gifts),
but he will bring it on the Day of Resurrection, carrying it on his
shoulders, whether it is a groaning camel, a lowing cow or a bleating
sheep.” Then he raised his arms until we saw the whiteness of his armpits,
then he said: “Have I conveyed (the message)?” two or three times.
Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi narrated that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Gifts given to workers are a betrayal.”
This hadeeth was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘,
no. 7021.
These gifts are intended to make things easier or to make
(workers) overlook mistakes and errors, or to make them like the giver and
give him precedence over others. Islam forbids all of that so as to block
the means that lead to corruption. But if that happens with the knowledge of
the employer, this reservation no longer applies.
-2-
Bribes. This refers to money given to undermine or deny
rights and support false claims, or what a person pays in order to take
something he has no right to take, or to evade a duty or obligation.
See: al-Mawsoo‘ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 24/256; al-Hawaafiz
at-Tijaariyyah, p. 119
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ibn
‘Aabideen (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his Haashiyah: A
bribe is that which a person gives to the judge etc. so that he will rule in
his favour, or so as to make him do what he wants. It is clear from this
description that there is more to a bribe than money or benefits that one
may acquire by means of it. What is meant by “the judge etc.” is the judge
and anyone else through whom the one giving the bribe hopes to influence to
serve his own interests, whether he is one of the officials or employees of
the state or those who work in the private sector, such as agents who work
for companies, owners of real estate and so on. What is meant by ruling in
the favour of the briber and making the recipient of the bribe do what the
giver wants is: fulfilling the wishes and aims of the giver of the briber,
whether that is lawful or otherwise.
End quote from Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 23/223.
And Allah knows best.
