The 365 · Verses · Day 97 · Justice
Do not consume wealth wrongfully. The Prophet ﷺ said: my ruling does not legalize what is fact. If you took it by deception, it is fire.
Qur'an Q 2:188
وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا۟ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ
“Do not consume your property wrongfully, nor use it to bribe judges, intending sinfully and knowingly to consume parts of other people's property. (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: INKRÄKTA inte utan fog på varandras egendom och erbjud inte domarna förmåner för att med orätt, i fullt medvetande [om vad ni gör], tillskansa er något av andras egendom. (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathir cites Ibn ʿAbbās: the verse addresses the indebted person who denies the loan when there is no evidence, takes the case to the authorities, and obtains a favorable ruling despite knowing the truth. Ibn Kathir then cites the foundational hadith of Umm Salamah in the Two Sahihs: the Prophet ﷺ said: 'I am only human. You people present your cases to me, and as some of you may be more eloquent and persuasive in presenting his argument, I might issue a judgment in his benefit. So, if I give a Muslim's right to another, I am really giving him a piece of fire; so he should not take it.' (Bukhārī 7185, Muslim 1713.) Even a ruling from the Prophet ﷺ himself does not legalize what is in fact unlawful.
In the language
بِالْبَاطِلِ (bi-l-bāṭil, 'wrongfully') is from b-ṭ-l, the root that names what is null, void, false. The Quran's phrase covers any acquisition of wealth without legitimate basis: theft, fraud, deception, bribery, gambling, riba, monopolistic practices, manipulative pricing, breach of contract, withheld wages, non-payment of debt. تُدْلُوا (tudlū) is the verb of lowering a bucket into a well; here it is used for 'throwing' wealth (as bribe) toward the judges. تَأْكُلُوا (taʾkulū, 'you consume') is the same verb used for eating food. The Quran consistently uses 'eating wealth' as the metaphor for unlawful acquisition.
Why this verse
Q 2:188 establishes one of the Quran's foundational economic rules: do not consume others' wealth wrongfully (bāṭil), and do not bribe judges to obtain rulings that grant you what is not yours. The verse and the Prophetic hadith together: the worldly ruling does not change the divine accounting; the cheater faces the dispute again on the Day of Resurrection.
Bring it into today
Audit any contested wealth in your life. A debt to a former friend you have stopped repaying because they are not pursuing it. An inheritance distribution where you took more than your share. A contract you broke without formal penalty. A wage you owe a worker. A return you owe a customer. The verse names these as bāṭil. Make them right. The Day of Resurrection is the final court.
A reflection to carry
The verse's pairing of 'do not consume wealth wrongfully' with 'do not bribe judges' is structural. The Quran is naming two layers: the unlawful taking, and the unlawful covering of the taking through judicial corruption. Both are forbidden. The Prophet's ﷺ hadith is severe: even a ruling from him does not change reality. The cheater walks out of court with the verdict but with fire in his pocket. The implication for the modern Muslim is operational: any wealth in your possession that you took wrongfully (a debt unpaid, a wage withheld, an inheritance not properly distributed, a contract breached, a fraudulent transaction) is fire, even if no court rules against you. Pay it back.
Read the longer reflection
Qatādah's commentary, which Ibn Kathir cites, is the operational guide: 'O son of Adam! Know that the judge's ruling does not allow you what is prohibited or prohibit you from what is allowed. The judge only rules according to his best judgment and according to the testimony of the witnesses. The judge is only human and is bound to make mistakes. Know that if the judge erroneously rules in someone's favor, then that person will still encounter the dispute when the disputing parties meet Allah on the Day of Resurrection.' The doctrine is structural: courts adjudicate apparent disputes; Allah judges actual disputes. The believer aligns with the actual, not the apparent.
Sources: Ibn Kathir. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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