((هدايا العمال غلول))

“Gifts given to government workers are a form of misappropriation (ghulul).” [Reported by Ahmad and others] Abu Humayd As-Sa‘eedi (may Allāh be pleased with him) reported: أن رسول الله ﷺ استعمل رجلًا على الصدقة، فلما قدِم قال: هذا لكم وهذا أُهدي إليَّ، فقام النبي ﷺ على المنبر، فحمد الله تعالى وأثنى عليه ثم قال: ما بال العامل نبعثه فيأتي ويقول: هذا لكم، وهذا أُهدي إليَّ، أفلا جلس في بيت أبيه وأمه فينظر أيُهدى إليه أم لا، والذي نفس محمدٍ بيده لا يأخذ أحدٌ منكم شيئًا إلا جاء به يوم القيامة يحمله على رقبته، إن كان بعيرًا له رغاء، أو بقرة لها خوار، أو شاة تيعر، ثم رفع يديه حتى رأينا إبطيه فقال: اللهم هل بلغت.. ثلاثًا. The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ appointed a man to collect charity. When he returned, he said, “This is for you, and this was given to me as a gift.” The Prophet ﷺ then stood on the pulpit, praised Allāh, and said: “What is the matter with an official whom we send for a task, and then he returns saying, ‘This is for you, and this was gifted to me’? Why doesn’t he sit in his father’s or mother’s house and see whether he is given a gift or not? By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one takes anything unlawfully except that he will carry it on his neck on the Day of Judgment—whether it is a camel that will be groaning, a cow that will be mooing, or a sheep that will be bleating.” Then he raised his hands so high that we could see the whiteness of his armpits and said: “O Allah, have I conveyed the message?” (He repeated this three times. [Reported by al-Bukhari, 7174, and Muslim, 1832] The meaning of this hadith extends to employees who accept gifts in exchange for their work. Similarly, a manager of an institution or a government department is not allowed to accept gifts from employees. Likewise, a teacher should not accept gifts from students, as such gifts are usually given due to the teacher’s position of authority over the students. These people are required to perform their jobs in return for their salary, and anything additional received from the public is impermissible, regardless of whether it is called a gift, a bonus, tip, or an honorarium. The General Principle in such cases is derived from the Prophet’s ﷺ statement: ((أفلا جلس في بيت أبيه وأمه فينظر أيُهدى إليه أم لا)) “Why doesn’t he sit in his father’s or mother’s house and see whether he is given a gift or not?” Thus, when evaluating whether a gift is permissible, one should ask: Would this gift still be given if the recipient were not in their current position? - If the answer is no, then the gift is impermissible and falls under the category of misappropriation (ghulul). - If the answer is yes, meaning the gift is purely for love and goodwill, then it is permissible. 3) A gift from the opposite gender can be cause of fitnah. BENEFIT: The Prophet ﷺ sometimes declined gifts that were presented to him. For instance, when he was offered meat by Sa'b ibn Juthām, he returned it, saying: ((إنا لم نرده عليك إلا أنه حرام)) "We have returned it to you only because it is prohibited (for us)." Therefore, if one chooses to decline a gift, they should provide an explanation to ensure that the giver does not feel disheartened. FINAL POINT: Within this subchapter, the jurists usually discuss the issue of العُمْري & الرُّقْبى *ʿUmrā* occurs when a person says: "I grant you this house for your lifetime," or "It is yours for as long as you live," or "for the duration of your life," and similar phrases. It is called ʿUmrā because it is conditioned upon the recipient’s lifespan (العُمر). Ruqbā is when a person says: "I grant you this house for your lifetime, on the condition that if you die before me, it returns to me, but if I die before you, it remains yours and your heirs’." It is essentially an agreement where ownership is granted to whichever party survives the other. It is called Ruqbā because each party anticipates the other's death (يرقب موت صاحبه).