Question:

A Muslim woman had a sister who passed away and in order to get her body out of the freezer she had to bribe the man.  Is there a kaffara* for that?

Answer:

If you have to pay a bribe in order to expedite the process of something that does not affect the rights of someone else or you are not confiscating the rights of another person but you are just taking what belongs to you or making things easy because otherwise you will not get to accomplish a permissible and halal act because the guy only accepts rushwa or bribery, so in limited cases you can pay the bribe and the sin is on the one who accepts the bribe and not upon you.  For anything that a person does and he believes that he was at fault or mistaken then they should right away seek forgiveness from Allah.  Because Allah has told us
Sura Hud 11:114
وَأَقِمِ الصَّلاةَ طَرَفَيِ النَّهَارِ وَزُلَفًا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ إِنَّ الْحَسَنَاتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّئَاتِ ذَلِكَ ذِكْرَى لِلذَّاكِرِينَ
And perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), at the two ends of the day and in some hours of the night [i.e. the five compulsory Salât (prayers)]. Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (i.e. small sins). That is a reminder (an advice) for the mindful (those who accept advice).[]
The Prophet  has said in the hadith,
عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه قال : (لِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : اتَّقِ اللَّهِ حَيْثُمَا كُنْتَ ، وَأَتْبِعْ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا...)
رواه الترمذي (1987) وحسنه الألباني في "سنن الترمذي" .
Narrated Abo Dhar(may allah be pleased with him )said;''the Prophet  pbuh said to me ,fear Allah wherever you are and follow up the bad deed with a good deed which erases it.''
Narrated by AlTirmizi and classed as sahih by Al Albani.
Following up a bad deed by a good deed such as praying two rakat and asking Allah for forgiveness and giving in charity etc., is an allowance for limited and specific conditions like needing to remove yourself from harm which you are not at fault with.  Like your case since you were paying the bribe to remove your deceased sister ‘s body from the freezer so she could be buried then there is no blame on you because in Islam we are encouraged to hurry and bury the deceased because it is a way of honoring the deceased.  So if you have to pay the bribe, may Allah forgive you in this case.  There is no blame on you for that.

Dr.Mohammed Salah

From ask huda program