Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen

Accepting a bribe to give a customer a discount

· 18 Muharram 1447 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

I work in a retail store. The owners intentionally mark up products by 50% because they expect customers to negotiate and ask for discounts. The actual intended markup is 20%.

One day, a customer approached me about a product that had the 50% markup. I knew I had the authority to reduce the price down to the 20% markup. The customer said that if I gave him a discount, he would give me some money personally. I agreed, gave him the discount, and he gave me the money.

Is the money he gave me halaal?

Answer

This money is not halaal. This is bribery and bribery is haraam in Islam. You should return the money to the person who gave it to you. If you cannot trace the person, then give the money to some poor person without the intention of receiving any reward.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

Answered by
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
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Source: Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen — https://muftionline.co.za/node/35953
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