Corruption and Bribery in Islamic Law: Are Islamic Ideals Being Met in Practice?

Islam looks to a significant degree to moral development within the individual to strengthen resolve and foster self-restraint. The focus is upon shaping the higher-order preferences elaborated in the Qur’an and the Sunnah through the law of Sharie‘a, reinforced by a powerful spiritual incentive system. Both legal systems—domestic and international—can learn from the Islamic legal system. To get a better understanding of this law, Part I will present a brief survey of Islamic law and Fiqh (“Islamic Jurisprudence”), sources of this law, the famous Islamic schools of jurisprudence (“Fiqh Al-Mazaheb/madhhabs”), and then an overview of the fundamental legal principles in the Sharie‘a penal system. The purpose of this article is to present a comprehensive Islamic legal description on corruption in so far as its definition, elements and types of crimes, causes, and remedies are concerned, which will be covered in Parts II and III. Part V concludes that like positive criminal laws, bribery and corruption are taboo in Sharie‘a law because they are considered grave criminal offenses and a great sin. However, Muslim nations have been deficient in addressing the issue in their national laws and have failed to meet the lofty standards of Islam. Cite as: 18 Annl. Survey Int\u27l. Comp. L. 171 (2012)