What is the ruling on the judge who accepts a bribe or a gift he is not permitted to accept?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Judiciary
Primary text
If a judge accepts a bribe or a gift that he is forbidden from accepting, he is obligated to return it to its owners because it was taken without right, resembling something taken through a void contract.
Supporting text
An alternative possibility exists that such ill-gotten gains should be placed in the public treasury (*bayt al-mal*), because the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not command Ibn al-Lutbiyyah to return his gifts to their owners. Ahmad stated that if a patriarch (*batriq*) gifts a commander gold or silver, it does not belong solely to the commander but is shared among the entire army, a view shared by Abu Bakr.