Here a little attempt is made to uncover the way of curbing the corruption according to Islam. A detailed study can disc...
How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
Imanguide.com series-1
How to curb the
Corruption (An Islamic perspective)
By
Abdul Shaheed Azhary
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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.
A
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
(
[email protected])
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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 5|Page
How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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 benefit”2
1 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption (Myint, 2000: 35) quoted from http://www.islamic-relief.com
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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 country’s national debt.3 But luckily India is the not the most corrupt nation in the world. Even it does not come
3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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
How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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 didn’t 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
6
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
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
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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
9
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)
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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
How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
may lead either to the violent of company’s 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 didn’t continue after 30 years of the demise of prophet Mohamad (S.A.S). 13
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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
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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)
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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)
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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
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How to curb the corruption – An Islamic perspective
and its sanctity is contained in the Qur’an 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
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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
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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
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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 bribe”24 . 22
Tirmudi Muslim 1832 24 Sunan by Bihaqee 23
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Quran says:“Do not eat up one another’s wealth to no good purpose, nor try to bribe authorities with it so you may consume a share of [other] people’s 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 muhtasib’s 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
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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
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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 heart”28 (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
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strong in my eye until he gets back his rights”29 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 Allah’s 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-As’ath, Kitab al-Buyu’, ch. 82.
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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 :
[email protected]
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