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Likewise, bribery and usury, although they might be practiced by mutual consent and agreement, are totally disallowed to Muslims and those who are guilty of them have been condemned squarely in the Traditions. A well-known Tradition on usury reads:

“The curse of Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa) rests on him who offers loan on usurious terms, and on him who receives, and on those who are witnesses to the transaction, and on the writer who writers the deed thereof.”

As for bribery, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) has, in a Tradition, “condemned alike the giver of bribes, and the taker of brides in deciding cases”.

A Tradition goes even to the extent of saying that, “If a person made a recommendation for anyone in a just matter and the gratified party gave him something as a gift (in return for it) and he accepted it then he committed a grave error (meaning that it, too, is a form of bribery).”

Worse still is the usurpation of another’s property by force or fraud or dishonest litigation. We have it on the authority of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) that:

“Whoever occupies land belonging to another unjustly will be sunk into the ground along with that plot of land on the Doomsday till he reaches the lowest layer of the earth.

“He who acquires the property of a Muslim unjustly by taking a false oath (before an Officer) is debarred by Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa) from entering Paradise and the Fire of Hell is made inevitable for him”, On hearting it a Companion is reported to have asked, “Even if it be a minor thing?” The Prophet (Peace be upon him) is said to have replied, “Yes, even if it be a twig of Pilo (a plant which grows wild. Its twigs are used for cleaning the teeth).

The Prophet (Peace be upon him), again is reported to have warned a person who was very fond of entering into litigation with others in these strong words, “Remember, he who will obtain the property of another by swearing a false oath will appear as a leper before Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa) (in the Day of Judgment).

In another tradition, Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihe Wasallam) said,

“Whoever laid his claim on a thing that was not his is not of us. He will do well to reserve a place for himself in the hell.”

It is narrated that one day, after the morning prayers the holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) stood up and said thrice with great feeling that, “Perjury has been made the equivalent of Polytheism.”

III-Gotten Wealth

Money or property, which is acquired through unfair means, as we have just indicated, is positively unclean and unlawful and anyone who makes use of it and spends it on his needs does himself a great harm. As the sacred Prophet (Peace be upon him) has warned, his prayers will not find acceptance with Allah (Subhaanahu Wata’aalaa), his supplications will not be answered, his petitions will not be granted, and in case he does good deeds they will avail him nothing. In the Hereafter, there will be no share for him in the special favors and good graces of the Lord.

A Tradition says: