Chapter IV: Lawful and Unlawful
The Prophet said : Give present to one another, you will then beget love for one another : Any present is lawful provided nothing is expected in return. If present is given to a man knowing that he is a poor man but in fact he is not poor, the latter's acceptance of the present is unlawful. So is the case in all similar matters. If any person has got any administrative and official power, such as judge, magistrate, Zakat collector, revenue collector, tax collector and others, and if any present is given to him, it will be considered as bride as it is given for a special purpose. When any such officer is transferred, he is not givpnsi'^hprftffgpt Thyy Prop Set o«id A time w ill come u ver men when they will consider an unlawful present as lawful and will kill innocent people as being lawful in the form of carefulness, so that the general public become cautious.' Two sons of Hazrat Omar accepted some loans from the State Treasury. Hazrat Omar took the profits of the loans from them and deposited them in the' Treasury saying. These loans have been given to you as you are the sons of the Caliph . The wife of Hazrat Abu Obaidah sent a casket of otto as present for the queen of Byzantium. In return, the queen sent him a valuable necklace decorated with jewels.
Hazrat Omar took it from her and deposited it is the State Treasury after giving the price of the casket to her. When the Caliph Omar-b- Abdul Aziz returned back his present, it was said to him that the Prophet used to accept present. He said : It was present for the Prophet , but it is a bribe to us.
The Prophet sent a man to collect Zakat from the tribe of Azad. When he collected Zakat and returned it to the Prophet he kept something which was given to him as present. The Prophet then said to him. Tell me with truth, whether it would have been given to you if you kept seated in your parents house. By one in whose hand there is my life, let nobody take from you except what is due to him. Beware, he will come to God with the thing he accepts. Let nobody come on the Resurrection Day bearing a high sound-making sound-making camel on his back, or a bellowing cow or a sound-making goat. Then he raised his hands so high that the whiteness of his armpit was visible and he said :
O God, have I communicated Thy message ?