Malaysia’s position in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2020 dropped to 57th from 51st in 2019 out of 180 countries. Many quarters have questioned how the index was produced, including the extent to which it reflects a country’s true corruption position compared to just a mere “perception” as described by the CPI. What is depressing is when countries that rank high in corruption in the world are Muslim countries such as Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and Sudan amongst others.
Etymologically, the word “corruption” in Arabic is among a number of words estimated at around 2,000–3,000 that have been absorbed into the Malay language vocabulary. The Arabic “rasha” means accepting or giving bribes, being corrupt, or ready to be “bought”. In our society, the word corruption alone conjures disgust. Nevertheless, those who persist in engaging in the illegal, immoral and blatantly flouting rules or procedures, or those who would rather conduct acts the express way, shortcuts or the like would hide their acts behind neutral terms such as “coffee money”, “lubricant money”, “oil money”, “win-win”, amongst others. In a booklet published by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) entitled “Nota Pencegahan Rasuah (Corruption Prevention Notes)“, it cites several other terms used in other languages to mean bribery such as “Char Chien” (Mandarin) literally “money for tea”, “Than Wu” or Kopi Lui (Hokkien) and the like. Such neutral terms are used to so-call “purify” the filth of bribery and legitimise it.
Sadly, many Muslims are still involved in corruption when it is obvious that taking or giving bribe is outright illegal in Islam. The Qur’an warns that consuming wealth in a wrong way (bathil) is strictly forbidden, and corruption is one of the wrong ways. In surah al-Nisa’ verses 29–30, Allah SWT admonishes:
O you who believe, do not consume your property among yourselves in a wrong way (cheating, gambling, etc.), except by trade that is done by mutual consent, and do not kill each other. Lo! Allah is ever Merciful to you. And whoever does that by aggression and injustice, then We will cast him into the fire of hell, and such retribution is easy for Allah.
Islam is a religion that values purity and cleanliness not only outwardly, but also inwardly or spiritually. Forbidden are pork consumption, alcohol and the like. There are also things that are forbidden due to law (hukmi) such as taking riba; eating meat like chicken etc., without Islamic slaughtering; or “eating” (that is, using) bribes. Almost every Malay-Muslim in the country will refrain from eating pork and will be offended if served with it. Yet, surprisingly some of the Malay-Muslims would not be offended in taking bribes, even though both are treated equally in law i.e. illegal (haram). One is haram in consuming its substance or touching it physically (haram lidhatihi), while the other is haram in engaging in the act of bribery (haram lighayrihi). Perversely, some would use dirty money such as bribes they think have been “purified” by using it for good and charitable purposes such as to perform the Hajj, or sponsor others to perform the Umrah or Hajj; or donate part of it to a mosque or tahfiz centre, madrasah or children’s orphanages. Indeed, a few worry and thus more wary of bribe money if used for buying food for their family as it would not be blessed decide to use it instead for others such as buying goods, changing car tyres, paying toll charges and various more as long as it is not in the form of food or consumable items. They assume that by doing so, the “illegal” money will be turned “halal” and supposedly will not give any bad effect. The real fact is that the expenses that one uses even for other than buying food still remain as illegal and will not be accepted by Allah SWT. One should not at all assume and feel comfortable that his bribe money has been successfully cleaned or purified while Allah does not accept his charitable deeds at all. This is based on a hadith from Abu Hurairah RA, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “O people, indeed Allah is thoyyib (good). Allah will not accept anything except from the thoyyib (good).” (Narrated by Muslim no. 1015).
Indeed, Muslims who are believers should not only stay away from sources that are clearly illegal, but also avoid getting caught up in vague sources (shubhat) of the law for fear we might fall into the haram. A person’s involvement in corruption reflects the degree of his faith (iman)—if he is willing to be involved in corruption that Allah SWT has clearly forbidden, then he should be prepared to face its consequences. It is none other than hellfire.