15 Anti-Corruption Hadith.

15 Anti-Corruption Hadith. 

Corruption is one of the worst predicaments
that haunt many countries around the
world. The abuse of power, authority and
resources by governments and public
servants hinders the progress of nations,
alienates ordinary citizens and blocks them
from investing in the development of their
nations.
The ailment of corruption is something that,
unfortunately, plagues many Islamic
countries, and one cannot avoid raising this
question: Why are these countries
associated with corruption? Is it because they
are "Islamic" countries? Is there anything in the
Islamic culture that nurtures corruption?
The answer is absolutely not. In fact, it is
because such "Islamic" countries are NOT
adequately faithful to the Islamic teachings that
they are plagued by corruption.
The following 15 hadiths are just an example of
how Islam fought corruption, made it an
individual and a collective responsibility to
expose and stop any abuse of power and
authority.
Public Service is a Great Responsibility

1. Narrated Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be
pleased with him):
I heard Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings
be upon him) saying:
Every one of you is a guardian, and responsible
for what is in his custody. The ruler is a guardian
of his subjects and responsible for them; a
husband is a guardian of his family and is
responsible for it; a lady is a guardian of her
husband's house and is responsible for it, and a
servant is a guardian of his master's property
and is responsible for it."
I heard that from Allah's Messenger and I think
that the Prophet also said,
"A man is a guardian of his father's property and
is responsible for it." (The Prophet continued,)
"So all of you are guardians and responsible for
what is under your care." (Al- Bukhari)

2. Ma`qil ibn Yasar (may Allah be pleased with
him) reported from the Prophet that Paradise is
forbidden for any person in authority who dies in
such a state that he is dishonest in his dealings
with those under his rule. (Authenticated by Al-
Albani)

3. Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him)
narrated:
I said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him): O Messenger of Allah, will you not
appoint me to a public office? He stroked my
shoulder with his hand and said:
"Abu Dharr, you are weak and authority is a
trust. And on the Day of Judgment it is a cause
of humiliation and regret except for one who
fulfills its obligations and (properly) discharges
the duties." (Muslim)
Duty of Fighting Corruption is Collective

4. Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:
" Whosoever amongst you sees an evil, let him
change it with his hands; and if he is not able,
then with his tongue; and if he is not able, then
let him hate it in his heart, and that is the
weakest of faith." (Authenticated by Al-Albani)

5. An-Nu`man ibn Basheer narrated that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him):
"The example of the person abiding by Allah's
order and restrictions in comparison to those
who violate them is like the example of those
persons who drew lots for their seats in a boat.
Some of them got seats in the upper part, and
the others in the lower.
When the latter needed water, they had to go up
to bring water (and that troubled the others), so
they said, 'Let us make a hole in our share of
the ship (and get water) saving those who are
above us from troubling them.
So, if the people in the upper part left the
others do what they had suggested, all the
people of the ship would be destroyed, but if
they prevented them, both parties would be
safe." (Al-Bukhari)

6. Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with
him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:
"Help your brother whether he is the doer of
wrong or wrong is done to him."
The Companions asked,
"O Messenger of Allah! We can help a man to
whom wrong is done, but how could we help him
when he is the doer of wrong?"
The Prophet replied, " Hold him back from doing
wrong." (Al-Bukhari)
No Excuse for Abusing Public Position

7. Abu Humaid ibn Sa`d As-Sa`idi (May Allah be
pleased with him) reported:
The Prophet employed a man from the tribe of
Al-Azd named Ibn Al-Lutabiyyahh to collect the
Zakah. When he returned (to the Prophet with
the collections), he said: "This is for you while
this (other wealth) is a gift presented to me. (So,
it is mine)."
So, the Messenger of Allah stood on the pulpit,
praised Allah, extolled Him and then he said,
" Why does an official whom I send (in a mission)
say: 'This is for you and this has been presented
to me as gift'?
Why did he not stay in the house of his father
and mother to see whether gifts will be given to
him or not?
By (Allah) in Whose Hand is the life of
Muhammad, if any one of you takes anything
(wrongfully,) he will bring it on the Day of
Resurrection, carrying it on his nick… "
Then he raised his hands till we could see the
whiteness of his armpits and repeated twice, " O
Allah! Have I conveyed (Your
Commandments)? " (Muslim)

8. `Adi ibn `Umairah (May Allah be pleased with
him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah said,
" Whosoever among you is appointed by me to a
position and he conceals from us (even) a
needle or more, he is acting unfaithfully and will
bring it on the Day of Resurrection".
Upon hearing this, a black man from Al-Ansar
stood up and said:
"O Messenger of Allah, take back from me your
assignment."
The Prophet asked, " What happened to you? "
The man replied: "I have heard you saying such
and such."
The Prophet said,
" I say that (again) now: Whosoever from you is
appointed by me to a position, he should bring
everything (of its revenues), big or small.
(Then,) what he is given therefrom, he may take.
What he is disallowed to take, he should avoid."
(Muslim)

9. Abu Humaid As-sa`idi (May Allah be pleased
with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:
"Gifts offered to public servants are ill-gotten
gains ( ghulul)." (Authenticated by Al-Albani)

10. Buraidah ibn Al-Husaib (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him) said:
"When we appoint someone to a (public) post
and provide him with an allowance, anything he
takes beyond that is an ill-gotten gain. (Abu
Dawud and authenticated by Al-Albani)

11. Khaulah bint `Amir (May Allah be pleased
with her) reported that the Messenger of Allah
said,
" Some men abuse Allah's Property (that is,
public money and funds). They will go to Hell on
the Day of Resurrection". (Al- Bukhari)
Serious Warning Against Bribery

12. `Abdullah bin `Amr (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah
said:
" The curse of Allah is upon the one who offers a
bribe and the one who takes it. " (Ahamd, Ibn
Majah and authenticated by Al-Albani)
Fighting Corruption in Judiciary

13. Ibn Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him)
narrated from his father that the Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) said:
" Judges are of three (types), two of whom will
end up in Hell and one will be admitted to
Paradise (as follows):
- One who judges according to his desires; he
will be in Hell.
- One who judges with no knowledge; he will end
up in hell.
- And one who sticks to the truth in his
judgments; he will be in
Paradise." (Authenticated by Al-Albani)

14. `Ubaydullah ibn Abi Bakr said: I heard Anas
ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)
saying:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be
upon him) talked about the major sins, or he was
asked about the major sins. Upon this he
mentioned: " Associating anyone with Allah,
killing of a person, being undutiful to parents. "
He (the Prophet further) said: " Should I not
inform you about the gravest of the major sins ?"
And then he said: " It is false utterance" or he
said "false testimony ". Shu`bah said: It was
most probably "false testimony". (Al-Bukhari and
Muslim)

15. `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)
narrated:
The people of Quraish worried about the lady
from Bani Makhzum who had committed theft.
They asked, "Who will intercede for her with
Allah's Messenger?"
Some said, "No one dares to do so except
Usamah ibn Zaid the beloved one to Allah's
Messenger."
When Usamah spoke about that to him, Allah's
Messenger said,
" Do you try to intercede for somebody in a case
connected with Allah's Prescribed
Punishments? "
Then he got up and delivered a sermon saying,
" What destroyed the nations preceding you, was
that if a noble amongst them stole, they would
forgive him, and if a poor person amongst
them stole, they would inflict Allah's legal
punishment on him.
By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of
Muhammad stole, I would cut off her hand. " (Al-
Bukhari)