SHAFAA’AH AND ITS REGULATION

Shafaa’ah or recommendation can be verbal or written. There are two types of Shafaa’ah. First, shafaa’ah hasanah which means a recommendation in favour of a person to enable him to acquire a halaal right. Second, shafaa’ah sayyi’ah which is a recommendation in favour of someone to obtain something haram or that he does not deserve.

Recommending someone who has all the required qualifications for a position that he cannot obtain for some reason is called shafaa’ah hasanah. On the other hand, a recommendation in favour of an incompetent person constitutes a case of shafaa’ah sayyi’ah.

While shafaa'ah Hasanah is an action of great merit and virtue that contains many Sawaab, shafaa'ah sayyi'ah is such a grave sin that it is considered a kind of assassination of potential that goes against meritocracy.

The assassination of potential is harmful to the promotion of education. A country where shafaa'ah sayyi'ah prevails will experience a deterioration in its potential because the recruitment of candidates is not done according to their potential and competence but on the contrary, according to their political sympathies or their ethnicity or the colour of their skin.

It is obvious that the lack of competence and potential will result in the slowdown of the country's development because the organizations on which development is based have incompetent people as leaders who continue to recruit other incompetent or less competent people. How can a country be expected to experience progress and development when "the right man is not in the right place?" It is in this perspective that shafaa'ah sayyi'ah or more precisely favouritism is perceived as an injustice towards society, the country and the people.

SHAFAA'AH AND REWARD

The reward and sin of shafaa'ah Hasanah and shafaa'ah sayyi'ah respectively are attached only to the recommendation itself. From the moment the shafaa'ah is made, the reward or the sin is already acquired, regardless of the outcome. It is therefore not necessary for a recommendation to result in a positive or negative result for a person to be rewarded or blamed.

SHAFAA'AH AND INFLUENCE PEDDLING

A shafaa'ah is considered to be hasanah if no pressure is exerted for the recommendation to be accepted. If there is pressure, then the recommendation is shafaa'ah sayyi'ah. To exert any pressure or influence on the person to whom the recommendation is addressed is to deprive that person of the right he has to accept or reject the recommendation. This is a great injustice. Let us take a look at how Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) behaved when he had to make a recommendation. Despite the fact that he had all the means to influence the course of events, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) always refrained from doing so. As an example, we can cite the following: Hadhrat Bareerah (Radiyallahu anha), a Sahaabiyyah, had the choice of remaining in nikaah with her husband or separating from him after she had just been freed. Hadhrat Bareerah (Radiyallahu anha) finally opted for separation. Hadhrat Mugheeth (Radiyallahu anhu), the husband of Hadhrat Bareerah (Radiyallahu anha), who was very much in love with his wife, was very distressed by this breakup and was weeping in the street. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) then intervened so that Hadhrat Bareerah (Radiyallahu anha) would return to her husband. However, she maintained her decision to break up, realizing that it was simply a recommendation that he had made. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) did not insist, although Hadhrat Bareerah (Radiyallahu anha) acted against his request. It should also be noted that influence peddling is similar to interference in the property of others.

RECOMMENDATION AND BRIBERY

Nowadays, there is a whole business of recommendations. Some people have the bad habit of selling their services. As if nothing is free. The Shariah qualifies bribes as a major sin. Recommending even a competent person for a job that he deserves in exchange for any financial or other benefit, makes such a recommendation sayyi'ah.

THE NATURE OF SHAFAA'AH

Shafaa'ah Hasanah is a recommendation in favour of a competent person for the acquisition of a halaal right or to protect an innocent person against any difficulty. On the other hand, interceding in favour of a guilty person in order to spare him from punishment is equivalent to destabilizing the judicial system of the country where the law only exists for the weak. This is why Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) became terribly angry when Hadhrat Usaamah (Radiyallahu anhu) wanted to intercede on behalf of a woman who had committed a theft so that her hand would not be amputated.

The anger of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) is explained by the fact that he considered such a mentality (favouritism) as being responsible for the misguidance of many peoples. "By Allah, if Fatimah, the daughter of Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) had committed a theft, she too would certainly have suffered the same punishment," Rasulullah (Sallallaahu 'Alaihi Wasallam) was to say on this occasion.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHAFAA'AH SAYYI'AH

Shafaa'ah sayyi'ah comes in many forms. Examples abound. Recommending someone for a license so that he can engage in a business that is Islamically unlawful such as selling alcoholic beverages, working as a bookmaker, providing a job to a girl where she cannot practice her religion and where she is in constant contact with men, recommending a person as a bartender or waiter in an establishment where haram things are served, recommending someone for a job in a casino, these are some of the most common examples of shafaa'ah sayyi'ah. Along the same lines, acting as a go-between in love affairs by providing false information is also a case of shafaa'ah sayyi'ah.

May Allah protect us from shafaa'ah sayyi'ah. (Ameen)

[English version of "Shafaa’ah et ses règlements" – Al Haadi – Vol. 1 No. 7]