If a civil servant is given money without asking for it, can he take it?
Question

                My friend is a religiously committed young man who has the misfortune of working for the Ministry of Finance. Whilst he is doing his job, people come to him and he tries to help them and make things easy for them, and they insist on giving him some money, which he refuses to accept, but sometimes the person insists until people start to take notice, and the person says, “I am giving this willingly.” Sometimes they throw the money down in front of him and walk out, or there may be an argument between them. What should he do? Is it permissible for him to take the money as halaal, or is it haraam for him? What should he do with this money?.
Praise be to Allah.
    It is not permissible for an employee to take what is given 
    to him because of his job, because that is a kind of bribe, which is haraam, 
    even if that is not his intention. The one who gives this money usually 
    gives it only so that things will be made easier for him or so that he will 
    be singled out for good treatment in the future. 

    But if something is given to an employee because of blood 
    ties or friendship, and not because of his job, then there is nothing wrong 
    with that, and he should accept it, following the example of the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who used to accept gifts 
    and respond in kind, as was narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2585. What is meant by 
    “respond in kind” is that he used to give the giver gifts in return for his 
    gift. 

    The difference between gifts that are forbidden and gifts 
    that are permissible is that gifts that are given because of a person’s job 
    or position are haraam. So he should think about it: if he was not in this 
    job, would he be given this gift or not? 

    This is what the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah 
    be upon him) stated when he said: “Why doesn’t he sit in the house of his 
    father and mother and see whether he is given a gift or not?” Al-Bukhaari 
    (7174) and Muslim (1832) narrated that Abu Humayd al-Saa’idi (may Allaah be 
    pleased with him) said: The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) appointed a man from Banu Asad in charge of the zakaah and when he 
    came he said, “This is for you and this was given to me.” The Messenger of 
    Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stood on the minbar 
    and praised Allaah, then he said: “What is the matter with a worker whom we 
    send out, then he comes and says, ‘This is for you and this is for me?’ Why 
    doesn’t he sit in the house of his father and mother and see whether he is 
    given a gift or not? By the One in Whose hand is my soul, he does not take 
    anything but he will bring it on the Day of Resurrection, carrying it on his 
    shoulders, even if it is a camel groaning, a cow mooing or a sheep 
    bleating.” Then he raised his hands until we could see the whiteness of his 
    armpits and said: “Have I not conveyed (the message)?” three times. 
This hadeeth indicates 
    that gifts that are given to workers because of their work are haraam, and 
    that the worker will come on the Day of Resurrection carrying whatever he 
    took of such gifts, even if it was a camel or a cow or a sheep – Allaah 
    forbid. 

    It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (23/548):  

    What is the Islamic ruling on one who is given money when he 
    is at work, without asking for it, or he tries to take money by means of 
    tricks. For example, the mayor or Shaykh of a village to whom the people 
    come so that he will give them certificates, because they are inhabitants of 
    his village, and they give him money for that – is it permissible for him to 
    take that? Is that money regarded as halaal? Can we take as evidence for it 
    being halaal the hadeeth of Saalim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar, from his 
    father ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar, that ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), 
    said: The Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) used to give us gifts and I would say: “Give it to one who is more in 
    need of it than me.” He said: “Take it. If any of this wealth comes to you 
    without your hoping for it or asking for it, then take it and keep it, and 
    if you wish then give it in charity, and if nothing comes to you, then do 
    not hope for it.” Saalim said: ‘Abd-Allaah did not ask anyone for anything, 
    and he did not refuse anything that was given to him. Agreed upon. 

    Answer: If the situation is as described, then giving money 
    to this mayor is haraam, because it is a bribe. The hadeeth of Ibn ‘Umar 
    (may Allaah be pleased with him) has nothing to do with this matter, because 
    it has to do with one who is given something from the bayt al-maal of the 
    Muslims by the one who is in charge of the Muslims, without him asking for 
    it or hoping for it. End quote. 

    To conclude, your friend has to refuse to take this money no 
    matter how hard the people insist on giving it. He should inform them that 
    this is not permissible for him. This will soothe their feelings and will 
    spread awareness of this shar’i matter of which many people are unaware. 

    And Allaah knows best.