How To Curb The Curroption - An Islamic Perspective

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective
Imanguide.com series-1
How to curb the
Corruption
(An Islamic perspective)
By
Abdul Shaheed Azhary
1|Page
2|Page
PREFACE:
Islam has lucid perspective about corruption. It strives to
eliminate every chances of occurring this bad habit. Quran
very clearly stated that corruption is a strictly prohibited sin.
The drastic punishment is declared for corrupt people.
Here a little attempt is made to uncover the way of curbing

the
corruption
according
to
Islam.
detailed
study
can
disclose the wider range of Islamic solution to restrain this

shocking practice.
In the wake of lokpal and bribe issues getting big space in

media in recent days, the paper is prepared to shed light on
it in the Islamic perspective.
Imanguide.com,
the
growing
bilingual
Islamic
web
portal
from India brought this piece of knowledge to the public.

Readers' openions are welcome.
-imanguide.com
(imanguide@gmail.com)
3|Page
4|Page
INDEX
Preface: ..................................................................... 3
.......................................... 7
i.
Meaning of Corruption:
ii.
Corruption in India:
iii.
Current anti corruption movement in India
iv.
Causes of Corruption:
v.
Consequences of Corruption
vi.
How to get rid of the corruption
vii.
Islamic suggestions to curb the corruption
................................................ 8
................. 9
.......................................... 12
................................. 13
.............................. 15
............... 16
1.
The good choice of the human resource: ......................... 16
2.
Justice................................................................................ 17
3.
No to perjury ..................................................................... 18
4.
Non- cooperation in sin .................................................... 20
5.
Public Properties should not be abused: .......................... 21
6.
Money laundering is not allowed ..................................... 22
7.
Theft is a crime.................................................................. 23
8.
Bribe is haraam ................................................................. 24
9.
Hisbah system ................................................................... 26
10.
Accountability: .............................................................. 27
11.
Earning through halal means ........................................ 29
End............................................................................................. 30
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I.
MEANING OF CORRUPTION:
CORRUPTION:
Corruption is one of the worst popular

phenomenon in modern politics. Corruption
has different dimensions: economic, social
and environmental as well as ethical. The
definition of corruption depends on the
context in which it is being used. Many
definitions are given for the word. It has vast
range of meaning , but generally this word
meant for political corruption which means
the abuse of public power, office, or
resources by government officials or
employees for personal gain, e.g. by
extortion, soliciting or offering bribes1. My
preferred definition is use of public office
for private gain, or the use of official
position, rank, or status by an office bearer
for his own benefit2
1
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption
(Myint, 2000: 35) quoted from http://www.islamic-relief.com
7|Page
II.
II.
CORRUPTION IN INDIA:
A 2005 study done by Transparency

International (TI) in India found that more
than 50% of the people had firsthand
experience of paying bribe or peddling
influence to get a job done in a public office.
India tops the list for black money in the
entire world with almost US$1456 billion in
Swiss banks (approximately USD 1.4 trillion)
in the form of black money. According to the
data provided by the Swiss Banking
Association Report (2006), India has more
black money than the rest of the world
combined. To put things in perspective,
Indian-owned Swiss bank account assets are
worth 13 times the countrys national debt.3
But luckily India is the not the most corrupt
nation in the world. Even it does not come
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption
8|Page
under most ten corrupt countries worldwide.

It was ranked 87th out of 178 countries 4
III.
III.
CURRENT
ANTI
CORRUPTION
MOVEMENT
IN
INDIA
Indian democracy is mostly exploited for

political corruption. Indian political arena
was accompanied by corrupt leaders since
the time of independence. But recent
discovery of huge corruption cases led the
people to very bad feeling about Indian
political system. All the people began to ask
why there is no curb on this bad habit which
is likely to sabotage the whole country. This
general sentiment was exploited by a crowd
of people. Mr Hazarre led the crowd. After
couple of weeks, Mr. Baba Ramdev also
showed up himself as the caretaker of this
crowd. Later this crowd was painted as the
"Civil Society" by all media.
4
http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/r
esults
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So called "Civil Society" argued that they

represent whole people of India. But their
initial demand was not as the same demand
of the whole people. Their initial demand
was to investigate and bring back the Indian
black money from the foreign banks, while
the common people was more afflicted by
other corrupt issues, first of all they wanted
to do their job successfully in the public
offices without bribe, they wanted the land
that was forcefully taken by mafias, they
wanted to keep all the natural resources of
India. These are their first concern of the
people although they took seriously the issue
of black money.
Another issue was regarding the inclusion of
the prime minister within the purview of
Lokpal. They argued that Prime Minister
should come under the ambit of Lokpal. Pro
and anti arguments were made. Many
analysts disclosed their worries about this
discussion. The question remained valid:
10 | P a g e
what is the use of electoral democratic

system if some persons go to the extent of
hijacking the power of highest political seat.
Consequently many accused this "Civil
Society" of having planned political vested
interests. Think-tanks opined that Mr.
Hazare's team is hijacking the democratic
system of India. We have already the elected
represents of the civil society in the
parliament. They are representing the
common men in each constituency they
contested. But the crowd was successful in
making the publicity in media. The question
of the common man didnt reach the media.
He kept asking; if we are not able to believe
in the members of parliament who are legally
elected by the people, how can we trust this
crowd without any background? Those
parliament members are elected but who
selected this Hazaree?
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Couple of days after the showdown of

government on Ramdev, sources in the
corporate ministry said that Ramdev owns an
island off the coast of Scotland, and he runs
business with turnover of 1,100 crore in
2009-20105. The peoples' concern of this
crowd increased after this statement, their
speculations were not wrong.
IV.
IV.
CAUSES OF CORRUPTION:
CORRUPTION:
Corruption can be triggered by forms of

institutional
inefficiency;
bureaucracy,
political instability, and weak legislative and
judicial systems (Mauro, 1998:12) From an
institutional perspective, corruption arises
where public officials have wide authority,
little accountability, and perverse incentives.
This means the more activities public officials
control or regulate; the more opportunities
exist for corruption6 corruption is likely to
5
http://news.in.msn.com/business/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5196053
http://www.usaid.gov
12 | P a g e
occur where restrictions and government

intervention lead to the presence of such
excessive profits. Examples include trade
restrictions (such as tariffs and import
quotas), favoritist industrial policies (such as
subsidies and tax deductions), price controls,
multiple exchange rate practices and foreign
exchange
allocation
schemes,
and
government-controlled provision of credit.7
In short, corruption is caused by the desire of
individuals either to reap illegal gains or to
escape from paying their dues 8
V.
CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION
Corruption has a devastating effect on the

process of social and economic development
and the prospects of achieving sustainable
development. In its anticorruption overview,
the World Bank indicates that corruption is
7
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1998/03/pdf/mauro.pdf
islamiccenter.kau.edu.sa/.../Corruption%20and%20development%20by
%20Yousif%20Khalifa
8
13 | P a g e
among the greatest obstacles to economic

and social development; it highlights that
such practices distort the rule of law and
weaken the institutional foundation on which
the process of economic growth depends.
Furthermore, such practices put the poor at
an even greater disadvantage as they are the
least capable of paying the extra costs
associated with corruption (World Bank,
2009)9.
Corruption poses a serious development
challenge. In the political realm, it
undermines
democracy
and
good
governance by subverting formal processes.
Corruption in elections and in legislative
bodies
reduces
accountability
and
representation in policymaking; corruption in
the judiciary suspends the rule of law; and
www.islamic-relief.com
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corruption in public administration results in

the unequal provision of services10
VI.
VI.
HOW TO GET RID OF THE CORRUPTION
Efforts to fight corruption include

institutional reforms and societal reforms.
Institutional reforms include measures to
reduce government authority, increase
accountability,
financial
disclosure,
ombudsman/anti corruption agency, hot
lines
and
whistle-blower
protection,
elections, judicial reform and align official
incentives to public ends. These measures
target government institutions and processes
in all branches and levels of government.
Societal reforms, on the other hand, include
measures to change attitudes toward formal
political processes and to mobilize political
will for anti-corruption reform.11
10
11
http://www.usaid.gov
www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/200/crpthdbk.pdf (with some changes)
15 | P a g e
VII.
VII.
ISLAMIC
SUGGESTIONS
TO
CURB
THE
CORRUPTION
1. The good choice of the human resource:
Islam gives more important to moral code of

conduct. Qualifications and certificates are
the essential parts of the evaluating a
candidate at the time of recruitment, but
they are not enough to run a company or an
institution in proper way. As per the Islamic
view, there are other standards as well which
are more significant than the qualifications
and certificates. It looks to the right of the
consumers along with the rights of
producers, the right of the ruled with the
right of the rulers. Here comes the big
difference between the Islamic point of view
and secular point of view. Therefore, it is
recommended to check his behavior and
moral conduct before hiring the employee. If
he found guilty after the hiring, it is
obligatory to remove him, because his work
16 | P a g e
may lead either to the violent of companys

regulations or consumers rights.
2. Justice
Indeed, Allah orders justice and good

conduct and giving to relatives and forbids
immorality
and
bad
conduct
and
12
oppression . Justice is the foundation of
Islamic economy on which all the regulations
are made. In a Muslim country13 a nonMuslim is given full economic rights. All the
establishments are strictly monitored and
scrutinized by the ruler. The justice is the one
of the foremost requirement of an Islamic
ruler.
The prophet (PBUH) said There are three
classes of judges, one of whom will be in the
Heaven and the other two in Hell fire. The
one who will be in the Heaven is a man who
12
Al Nahl (16:90)
Please note that strict Islam based country didnt continue after 30
years of the demise of prophet Mohamad (S.A.S).
13
17 | P a g e
knew the truth and Judged accordingly. The

one who knew the truth but misjudged and
the one who judged for the people in
ignorance will be in the Fire.14 Judiciary
system is the core of a society and the
double standard in applying the rule of law is
forbidden in Islam. A prophetic sayings
reported "People before you have
experienced decay because when a strong
man among them committed theft, they let
him loose, but when a weak man commits
theft, they punished him"
3. No to perjury
Whenever the conflict arises in the mutual

transaction or agreement that occurred
between two parties, Islamic jurisprudence
asks for the witness. To accept the statement
of a witness (shaahid), he should be just and
fair (aadil). At the time of establishing a case,
the Islamic court should not approve the
14
Abu Daoud, al-Tirmidi, and Ibn Majah
18 | P a g e
statement of a witness if he is not just and

fair.
When the corruption and illegal activities
grow in a company or in an organization? The
corruption grows when the employer or the
manager understands that his staff can be
used as a tool for concealing his illegal
doings, when he makes sure that his
assistance is ready to give perjury at the time
of investigation. The staff becomes corrupt
when he is encouraged by his co-workers.
When he feels that the men surrounding him
are not supporting him, his corrupt attitude
gets discouraged. Quran advised the believer
to be careful of the perjury. It is said in Quran
with idolatry, one of the biggest sin in Islam.
"So avoid the uncleanness of idols and avoid
false statement"15
15
Al Hajj (22:30)
19 | P a g e
4. Non- cooperation in sin
Quran says: And cooperate in righteousness

and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and
aggression. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is
severe in penalty.16
Many corruption
scandals are reported that they are done by
the co-operation of more than one person. It
is haram for the admin assistant to help the
Administrator by writing a letter on behalf of
him if it leads to corruption. It is prohibited
for an accountant to issue cheque if he is
sure that that is going to be used as bribe. A
driver will be punished by Allah for moving
the looted goods to the destination if he
knows it. By this way Islam tries to build a
strong economic system based on the
morality and truthfulness.
16
Almaida (5:2)
20 | P a g e
5. Public Properties should not be abused:
Islam makes every effort to protect private

and public properties against theft, damage
or unauthorized intervention. Individual
property belongs to the individual and so
public property is the common heritage of all
which cannot be enjoyed legally by individual
and selected group of people based on their
social status.
Therefore, individual properties must not be
misappropriated while public funds are not
to be abused. Anything to the contrary will
be considered as peculate. The Holy Prophet
(SAW) warned believers in his farewell
address during the Hajj al-wida (farewell
pilgrimage) thus, your lives and properties
are forbidden to one another till you meet
your Lord on the day of resurrection. A
caution similar to the above warning on the
need to uphold the inviolability of property
21 | P a g e
and its sanctity is contained in the Quran 17

where Allah (SWA) states; O you who
believe! Eat not up your property among
yourselves unjustly except it is a trade among
you, by mutual consent
6. Money laundering is not allowed
Money laundering is the practice of

disguising the origins of illegally-obtained
money. Ultimately, it is the process by which
the proceeds of crime are made to appear
legitimate. The money involved can be
generated by any number of criminal acts,
including
drug
dealing,
corruption,
accounting fraud and other types of fraud,
and tax evasion.18 It is clear from this
definition that money laundering is act that
involves couple of prohibited areas. Money
laundering entails the practice of hiding the
origin of earnings from illegal activity by
17
18
al-Nisa: 29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_laundering
22 | P a g e
giving it the appearance of legal sources.

Prophet (S.A.S) said; All the flesh that grows
from haram(prohibitions) will be cast into
fire19 The Islamic legal opinion of money
laundering could be found in deposit (alwadiah system that Islam has approved. As
for Islamic stand, the deposit is allowed for
safe purpose. Money laundering through
bank deposit (al-wadiah) is obviously a bogus
transaction. Thus, the intention of the
launderer who deposits money in Islamic
bank and financial institutions is not for safe
custody but rather to take advantage of the
facilities offered by Islamic banks to actualise
his/her criminal activity20
7. Theft is a crime
Theft in Islamic view attracts the strict

punishment. In order to maintain the safety
19
Reported by tabrani
www.unilorin.edu.ng quote from Certified Islamic Finance
Professional Part 1, Study Material, Applied Shariah in Financial
Transaction, International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance
(INCEIF), 2006, Topic 17, page 426
20
23 | P a g e
and security of the people Islam proposed a

punishment that likely to be a great warning
to all those who want to do the offence. The
fraud intention of the stealer should be
addressed with some kind of bitter
punishment. There are complex procedures
to prove the guilt in the Islamic court, but
once proved guilty, he should be punished
otherwise the theft phenomenon will
continue to exist. The prophet was asking
those Arab who intends to embrace Islam to
take the pledge not to associate partner with
Allah, not to steal, not to do fornication
etc...21
8. Bribe is haraam
Bribery is one of the worst economic

practices according to Islamic law. Prophet
Muhammad (S.A.S) categorically cursed
those three people who are involved in
bribery. He said, Allah has cursed one giving
21
Bukhari & Muslim
24 | P a g e
bribe and one receiving bribe as well as the

go between.22 As a precaution to discourage
possibility of defending the bribe, prophet
discouraged top officials from taking gift
from the common man. Abdullah bin Al
luthbiyya Azid was sent to collect the zakat
(obligatory charity). When he was delivering
the collected zakat fund to the prophet
(S.A.S), he told that a portion of the
collection was given to him as a gift. Then
prophet (S.A.S) said: If you were sitting in the
house of your father or your mother would
any one give you that gift if you are really
truthful.23 The Caliph dismissed the man and
asked him to go to the people now for
donation (after losing the job) and deposited
both the bags to the treasury. Caliph Umar
(RA) was reported to have sent to all his
governors the following message;Beware of
gifts because they form part of bribe24 .
22
Tirmudi
Muslim 1832
24
Sunan by Bihaqee
23
25 | P a g e
Quran says:Do not eat up one anothers

wealth to no good purpose, nor try to bribe
authorities with it so you may consume a
share of [other] peoples wealth viciously
while you realize [what you are doing.] 25
9. Hisbah system
The Hisbah is a religious institution under the

authority of the state that appoints people to
carry out the responsibility of enjoining what
is right, whenever people start to neglect it,
and forbidding what is wrong, whenever
people start to engage in it26. The appointed
person to do hisbah is called muhtasib. The
muhtasibs responsibility includes overseeing
the marketplaces, businesses or any other
places where possible violations are being
made. They also follow up their commitment
to quality standards in production.
25
26
2:188 Al Baqarah
http://www.islamic-world.net/economics/hisbah.htm
26 | P a g e
In India, prior to 16th century most of the

Delhi Sultans had the institution of hisbah. In
the 16th century Sikandar Lodi (d. 923/1517)
also had this institution. After him and during
Mughal rule the position of muhtasib did not
exist. Some of the functions of muhtasib
were performed by other o ffices. It was
emperor Awrangzeb (d. 118/1707) who
restored the institution of hisbah in Mughal
India (Ansari, 1971, 3: 491) 27
10.
Accountability:
Primary Islam tries to shape the world view

to curb the practice of bribery. A Muslim
believes in two worlds, the world after his
birth and the world after his death. The
second one is eternal and thus very
important to him. He tries to get maximum
profit by calculating the costs (worldly pains)
and benefits (pleasure after death).
Therefore, accountability is the part of his
27
http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/18445/1/Market_Supervision.pdf
27 | P a g e
iman ( belief) and it is a built in ingredient of

a Muslim's inner faith. Its source is primarily
internal. Verily the accountability that stems
from the heart (internal) is far better, more
effective and lasting than any external one.
Prophet says: Truly in the body there is a
morsel of flesh which, if it be healthy, all the
body is healthy and which, if it be diseased,
all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart28 (It
was related by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
Legislative body should represent the
intesters of people Its decisions should be
binding to the head of the state who himself
should be guided by the declaration of Abu
Baker, the First Caliph (May Allah be pleased
with him) on his first day as a leader of the
Muslim Ummah in which he stated that A
strong Man among you is weak in my eyes ys
his dues, and a weak man among you is
28
The Hadith was related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim
28 | P a g e
strong in my eye until he gets back his

rights29
The Prophet (may peace be upon him)
specifically prohibited the public servants
from accepting gifts from people, as this can
be an indirect way of indulging in corruption.
Abu Umamah reported that the Allahs
messenger (may peace be upon him) said:
He who makes for his brother a
recommendation and then (the latter) offers
him a gift for it and he accepts that, enters
into a big gate of riba. 30
11.
Earning through halal means
There are a large number of ahadith of the

Prophet, which emphasize earning through
halal means and prohibit earning by haram
means. It is not possible to reproduce all of
them at this place.
29
30
Ibraheem, H, Political History of Islam, Third Edition.1/220.

Abu Dawood al-Sajistani b. al-Asath, Kitab al-Buyu, ch. 82.
29 | P a g e
END
This short piece of writing discussed the

corruption and shed light to some dangerous
aspects of it. Islamic way of curbing the
corruption is put forwarded.
The conclusions are as follows:
1. Islam not only prohibits the practice,
but also eliminates any possible way of
falling into it.
2. In a true Islamic society, the motivation
to refrain from the corruption comes
from their inner belief in Allah.
3. Islam has obvious stance regarding to
social life. Eliminating the corruption
comes as part of it.
The readers are advised to study in detail in
this matter. Your opinions are welcome :
shaheedazhary@gmail.com
30 | P a g e

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How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

How to curb the

Abdul Shaheed Azhary

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

Here a little attempt is made to uncover the way of curbing

disclose the wider range of Islamic solution to restrain this

In the wake of lokpal and bribe issues getting big space in

from India brought this piece of knowledge to the public.

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

Current anti corruption movement in India

How to get rid of the corruption

Islamic suggestions to curb the corruption

The good choice of the human resource: ......................... 16

Non- cooperation in sin .................................................... 20

Public Properties should not be abused: .......................... 21

Money laundering is not allowed ..................................... 22

Bribe is haraam ................................................................. 24

Hisbah system ................................................................... 26

Earning through halal means ........................................ 29

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

Corruption is one of the worst popular

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

A 2005 study done by Transparency

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

under most ten corrupt countries worldwide.

Indian democracy is mostly exploited for

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

So called "Civil Society" argued that they

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

what is the use of electoral democratic

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

Couple of days after the showdown of

Corruption can be triggered by forms of

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

occur where restrictions and government

Corruption has a devastating effect on the

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

among the greatest obstacles to economic

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

corruption in public administration results in

HOW TO GET RID OF THE CORRUPTION

Efforts to fight corruption include

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

1. The good choice of the human resource:

Islam gives more important to moral code of

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

may lead either to the violent of companys

Indeed, Allah orders justice and good

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

knew the truth and Judged accordingly. The

Whenever the conflict arises in the mutual

Abu Daoud, al-Tirmidi, and Ibn Majah

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

statement of a witness if he is not just and

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

4. Non- cooperation in sin

Quran says: And cooperate in righteousness

How to curb the corruption An Islamic perspective

5. Public Properties should not be abused:

Islam makes every effort to protect private