Assalamu alaikum. To get a government job here, interviews for the selection of candidates are taken by a commission, but the system is not pure, and many people have to pay to get a seat. Off course, all the applicants who apply are eligible for that seat, and the selection should be done based on the interview and academic criteria; however, very few are selected on the basis of their true merit, and many candidates who deserve a seat cannot get one, while many others who have a source, like by asking someone else who can help them get a seat or by paying some authority involved in the commission, get a job. I want to know whether it is appropriate for anyone to pay to some authority who can help him get such job? Those who pay to get it; are they doing the right thing or not?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is no doubt that this procedure is a deviation from the right and appropriate course, and those who are in charge of selecting candidates must be honest and impartial, and they must choose those who are competent for these jobs. It is forbidden for the candidates to pay money to the members of the committee in order to succeed and get the job.

Therefore, it is evident that it is not right for a candidate to pay money, and those who take it are even more sinful, as ‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr ibn Al-‘Aas narrated that the Prophet said, “May the curse of Allaah be on the briber and the bribed." [Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithi, An-Nasaa’i, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad]

It is a duty to fight this type of behavior and publicly expose it as it leads to the corruption of society and causes public harm and the loss of people’s rights.

Allaah knows best.