[beenBinybelia]

In the modern state-based Muslim majority country, apart from personal Zakat, what should the ideal Tax rate be especially in countries without significant oil and natural resources. In the western world, Singapore taxes at only 15% whilst Australia goes as high upto to 45% in the bracket for incomes above $150,000. Both countries people are generally well off and prosperous with good quality lives - good health care facilities and good educational standards and institutions. Muslims dont have things like nursing home and aged care packages and all other geriatric social costs as most geriatric people stay with their families. Thus our tax can be lower. However we need a tax and it would be interesting to know what would be appropriate. It would also be interesting for people from different Muslim countries giving the tax rates of their countries. Some people are aggressively anti-taxation like Habib Abu Zakir but they should realize that pre-taxable incomes are also generally very good in countries with high taxation and sufficient enough to leave a satisfactory balance post-taxation.

[twiffatticy]

In the modern state-based Muslim majority country, apart from personal Zakat, what should the ideal Tax rate be especially in countries without significant oil and natural resources. In the western world, Singapore taxes at only 15% whilst Australia goes as high upto to 45% in the bracket for incomes above $150,000. Both countries people are generally well off and prosperous with good quality lives - good health care facilities and good educational standards and institutions. Muslims dont have things like nursing home and aged care packages and all other geriatric social costs as most geriatric people stay with their families. Thus our tax can be lower. However we need a tax and it would be interesting to know what would be appropriate. It would also be interesting for people from different Muslim countries giving the tax rates of their countries. Some people are aggressively anti-taxation like Habib Abu Zakir but they should realize that pre-taxable incomes are also generally very good in countries with high taxation and sufficient enough to leave a satisfactory balance post-taxation.

ASWW
Brother, When did the Prophet SAW or the Sahaba RA introduce a tax? Zakaat was enough to distribute to the poor and the needy and there was a lot more left over too!! Even for the running the affairs of the state!!

[Scukonaher]

ASWW
Brother, When did the Prophet SAW or the Sahaba RA introduce a tax? Zakaat was enough to distribute to the poor and the needy and there was a lot more left over too!! Even for the running the affairs of the state!!

Exactly.

sidi mubakr you are really asking the wrong questions. You really think we can sit here and come up with an appropriate tax rate for muslim nation-states?

What about the idea that a muslim nation-state is an oxymoron? What currency will this hypothetical state have? Will it have a central bank which will practice fractional reserve? Will there be a 'national debt'?

You are trying hard to fit Islam into a foreign model of life, you can do it of course, but you will not have Islam...you will have something you call Islam but it will not be the deen of Islam.

I heard a sheikh say the Quran and its teachings cannot be integrated into a modern secular state...because it proclaims in almost all its ayah or verses that Allah is the Lord, and the modern producer-consumer system only works when humans forget this. So either the teachings of the Quran are subverted, Islam is integrated into the secular producer-consumer system or the teachings of the Quran are implemented lived and we live in a world without the producer-consumer debt system. We have 2 choices. If we subvert Islam and join the machine culture we will become enslaved in this world and in the akhira we will be the losers.

[glamourcitys]

ASWW
Brother, When did the Prophet SAW or the Sahaba RA introduce a tax? Zakaat was enough to distribute to the poor and the needy and there was a lot more left over too!! Even for the running the affairs of the state!!

Muslims need to adapt thinking. At the time of prophet and sahabas we didnt have bypass surgeries, transplant surgeries, pharmaceutical drugs, big hospitals, MRI's and nuclear medicine, laboratories and I can go on and on. Basically there was no health costs. Now a common routine bypass surgery will cost GBP 20,000 in UK out-of-pocket. If we want best health for Muslims we have to fund public hospitals which provide free health care for its citizens. Health is not something a Muslim should pay for and private health care is unethical in most settings especially where poverty flourishes. Private health care is profit making motive in most instances. Additionally most public hospitals in the west are for a fact much much better than private ones. The common practice in the west that if you get very sick and you have private insurance even then you wont be taken to a private hospital - you will go to a public one and most likely stay there until you are out of the critical stage. Why because only a centralized fund can pay for the best and most expensive facilities.

This is just one example of modern civilization. We need to adapt thinking. University costs are also exorbitant if not funded by government. A medical student will accumulate a debt of nearly US$ 250,000 or more without interest charges. One physician calculate with interest and usury that the debt rises to a total of $607,000 at the end of repayment.

So what I am saying is that we live in very different times as compared to the prophet and sahaba. Even the last Muslim government system of the ottomans - we cannot fathom the costs of modern civilization aspects like health care and education today.

[Quiniacab]

... but they should realize that pre-taxable incomes are also generally very good in countries with high taxation and sufficient enough to leave a satisfactory balance post-taxation.

So you're arguing that the state has the right to take away as much of your property as it wishes, as long as a "satisfactory balance" remains?

Perhaps you should realize that it's *your* property that the state is taking away with the threat of force. I still haven't read a definitive list of things for which such a measure is permissible within Islam.

[Enjoymms]

He he I read a book on Islamic medicine recently and it said the Rasul and Sahaba were given a doctor to serve them. This doctor was from Persia or somewhere...after a year or so..he said he had 'no customers' so he asked permission if he could leave. Their way of life, their ordinary food and their behaviour prevented them from getting illnesses.

The medical system in the western world serves corporations, corporations want to make profit, they develop drugs that suppress symptoms...because the cure would mean no profits. And the riba system including the industrial lifestyles, the bad food, all cause illnesses. In short going back to the sunnah is its own cure and sanity.

Muslims need to adapt thinking. At the time of prophet and sahabas we didnt have bypass surgeries, transplant surgeries, pharmaceutical drugs, big hospitals, MRI's and nuclear medicine, laboratories and I can go on and on. Basically there was no health costs. Now a common routine bypass surgery will cost GBP 20,000 in UK out-of-pocket. If we want best health for Muslims we have to fund public hospitals which provide free health care for its citizens. Health is not something a Muslim should pay for and private health care is unethical in most settings especially where poverty flourishes. Private health care is profit making motive in most instances. Additionally most public hospitals in the west are for a fact much much better than private ones. The common practice in the west that if you get very sick and you have private insurance even then you wont be taken to a private hospital - you will go to a public one and most likely stay there until you are out of the critical stage. Why because only a centralized fund can pay for the best and most expensive facilities.

This is just one example of modern civilization. We need to adapt thinking. University costs are also exorbitant if not funded by government. A medical student will accumulate a debt of nearly US$ 250,000 or more without interest charges. One physician calculate with interest and usury that the debt rises to a total of $607,000 at the end of repayment.

So what I am saying is that we live in very different times as compared to the prophet and sahaba. Even the last Muslim government system of the ottomans - we cannot fathom the costs of modern civilization aspects like health care and education today.

[peakyesno]

The medical system in the western world serves corporations, corporations want to make profit, they develop drugs that suppress symptoms...because the cure would mean no profits.

And the riba system including the industrial lifestyles, the bad food, all cause illnesses. In short going back to the sunnah is its own cure and sanity.

You are only partly true. Western medicine has done alot of good. I do agree adherence to the sunnah will cause drastic falls in disease and health-care costs but even then we still need a small tax rate probably even lower then singapore to fund the short-comings in pursuing sunnah lifestyle.

There is alot of curative medicine and surgery in western health so you are only partly true about intentions of pharmaceuticals. We cannot negate the curative treatments. Most infections are cured by anti-biotics. Most surgical conditions are cured by their respective surgeries. Also targetting symptoms is taking into account things which Allah has made incurable so it is also supposed to be pursued. Some chronic diseases can only be supressed and not cured so medicine their tries to make these peoples life comfortable. The corporations want curative treatment because if they invent anything extra-ordinary, they can put big prices and patents to it.

Also fact that most medicine is public based and government pays doctors, doctors are very skeptical of pharmaceutical interests and most research includes conflict of interest declarations. Doctors in western hospitals dont treat and dont use expensive equipment to assist coroporations make money. They think of welfare of patient and best treatment. They have nothing to gain by not giving best evidenced science to patients as they are paid by governments not corporations. And that is another reason why public health care out-performs private health care almost always. WE need public health care in Muslim lands and we need an appropriate tax rate to fund that.

[AlexBrith]

WE need public health care in Muslim lands and we need an appropriate tax rate to fund that.

No one really has a problem with public health care. The problem is who pays for it, and how much. If it were cheap, only die-hard-ideological libertarians would make an issue out of it. In the end, we're human, and we care for each other. But everything has a price, and that is where the argument comes from.

The problem with healthcare is that has no upper limit. Where do you draw the line in terms of level of treatment. You said "we NEED public healthcare...". Sure, how much? To the extent of a first visit to the doctor? Two visits? Will it cover medication? MRIs? Organ transplants? Surgeries? Robotic artery reconstruction? Indefinite intensive care? How soon do you pull the plug? 1 month, 2 month, 10 years? And who gets to make this decision of how much healthcare someone will get?

Wouldn't it be more fair if everyone had to pay for their own healthcare? Those who have bad food or exercise habits will pay for their own deeds - why should his neighbor, or someone living in another city be forced to subsidize his lifestyle? Many diseases, if not the majority, are preventable thru a proper lifestyle - and this argument may make sense for those cases. So you may ask, what about those who need healthcare due to reasons which they could not have reasonably prevented? Well, that's life. We pay out of our pocket for these things all the time. If our car gets stolen, or we drop a cup of coffee on our laptop, etc ... Okay, how about if someone can't afford it? Well, that's life too! And that's where zakaat comes in. So far so good, right? Here's the kicker, what if the zakaat funds are depleted, and there are still people who can't afford the healthcare they need? I don't know ... Is it allowed in such a circumstance for the state to come knocking at your door with the threat of force and take money from you to pay for someone else's healthcare? To what extent, and for whom will this force be used for? What about people with terminal illnesses or in old age? How many estimated years of life expectancy should the needy patient have in order to be eligible for such funds? 1 week? 4 months? 5 years? Who makes this decision?

Yeah .. it's confusing.

[Jellowstrom]

ASWW
Brother, if this is for a thesis maybe you are writing then I suggest its fine to discuss but for a truly puritan Islamic state, as mentioned by some brothers, a double stream social security system would create more problems than good. Apart from Zakaat that is.
I mean in an Islamic state you would not even need a prison..
BUT you do have some valid points.. we are so deep in it that to even start thinking about cleansing ourselves of the filth of the western shaytan would seem impossible.
One step at a time InshaAllah!!.. and baby ones!!

[incimisiche]

BTW

I forgot to say in my previous post, Muslims used to have hospitals and other charitable endowments funded by voluntary contributions and waqfs (singular) or awqafs (plural).

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...rn-about-awqaf

Speaking at the Dubai International Conference for Awqaf today, Dr Tarak Abdullah, an associate professor at Zayed University, said greater awareness of the tradition was needed.

"We need to educate out children from the early stages in school to understand the concepts and the perspectives of such institutions," said Dr Abdullah. "We should build a culture that understands awqaf and its role in developing the communities and fulfilling the need of our societies. And taxation is theft..if you want to voluntarily pay..fine you can do so, but you cannot force other to do it. Allah gave us freedom to decide...no one can force anyone to part with their property by force.

[RorieSorNearop]

In the modern state-based Muslim majority country, apart from personal Zakat, what should the ideal Tax rate be especially in countries without significant oil and natural resources. In the western world, Singapore taxes at only 15% whilst Australia goes as high upto to 45% in the bracket for incomes above $150,000. Both countries people are generally well off and prosperous with good quality lives - good health care facilities and good educational standards and institutions. Muslims dont have things like nursing home and aged care packages and all other geriatric social costs as most geriatric people stay with their families. Thus our tax can be lower. However we need a tax and it would be interesting to know what would be appropriate. It would also be interesting for people from different Muslim countries giving the tax rates of their countries. Some people are aggressively anti-taxation like Habib Abu Zakir but they should realize that pre-taxable incomes are also generally very good in countries with high taxation and sufficient enough to leave a satisfactory balance post-taxation.

Modern Muslim countries need to return to Islam and not just tinker at the edges where they are running in ways contrary to Islam.

Better than imposing tax on Muslims beyond Zakaat and tax on Dhimmis beyond Jizya - is for an Islamic state to use the things its controls (natural resources and any nationalized industries etc) to gain its funds for things like healthcare.

Remember that when Muslims are educated properly in Islam they give more. At the latter part of the last Caliphate most of Istanbul was the property Waqfs (charitable trusts) and in the modern situation this type of situation can return in which charitable endowments rather than the state can fund many areas of life that are looked after by the government in a welfare state,

therefore long term proper education can be used InshaAllah to create a welfare minded society with many endowments to serve the needs of the poor and a continuous birth of new ones, rather than a welfare state modeled on the modern non-Muslim European type state of affairs.

[BodoidearoLew]

No one really has a problem with public health care. The problem is who pays for it, and how much. If it were cheap, only die-hard-ideological libertarians would make an issue out of it. In the end, we're human, and we care for each other. But everything has a price, and that is where the argument comes from.

The problem with healthcare is that has no upper limit. Where do you draw the line in terms of level of treatment. You said "we NEED public healthcare...". Sure, how much? To the extent of a first visit to the doctor? Two visits? Will it cover medication? MRIs? Organ transplants? Surgeries? Robotic artery reconstruction? Indefinite intensive care? How soon do you pull the plug? 1 month, 2 month, 10 years? And who gets to make this decision of how much healthcare someone will get?

Wouldn't it be more fair if everyone had to pay for their own healthcare? Those who have bad food or exercise habits will pay for their own deeds - why should his neighbor, or someone living in another city be forced to subsidize his lifestyle? Many diseases, if not the majority, are preventable thru a proper lifestyle - and this argument may make sense for those cases. So you may ask, what about those who need healthcare due to reasons which they could not have reasonably prevented? Well, that's life. We pay out of our pocket for these things all the time. If our car gets stolen, or we drop a cup of coffee on our laptop, etc ... Okay, how about if someone can't afford it? Well, that's life too! And that's where zakaat comes in. So far so good, right? Here's the kicker, what if the zakaat funds are depleted, and there are still people who can't afford the healthcare they need? I don't know ... Is it allowed in such a circumstance for the state to come knocking at your door with the threat of force and take money from you to pay for someone else's healthcare? To what extent, and for whom will this force be used for? What about people with terminal illnesses or in old age? How many estimated years of life expectancy should the needy patient have in order to be eligible for such funds? 1 week? 4 months? 5 years? Who makes this decision?

Yeah .. it's confusing.

Interesting post.
However we can identify core public health. Antibiotics, non-cosmetic surgeries, evidence based effective diagnostic and treatment approaches. There is alot of treatment studies done in the west to identify efficacies of treatment. There are alot of life-saving drugs and surgeries on the market.

My uncle when he had a heart attack and died at age 35 - a thrombolytic injection cost him 3000$ something maybe more than 70% kenyans cant afford. Infact my hometown has no angiographic or cardiothoracic expertise and thus no other intervention was pursued. A dialysis session in my home town of mombasa costs 15,000 Kshs a session and you are required 3-4 sessions a week. Most people in kenya earn approx 20,000 to 40,000 kshs/month and perhaps even less. Definitely a significant portion of these earn around less than 5,000 Kshs. I am sure many poor muslim countries face the same problem. Private Health approach is wrong for so many reasons.

A core set of treatment 'items' needs to be discussed and I am of a strong opinion that zakat wont be able to cover that cost in addition to other societal needs of a nation. Thus these core treatments need to be funded by the public through tax. I agree ICU costs will be tricky especially with a Muslim approach to end of life ethics. However end of life care needs to be discussed and debated amongst Muslims more. Public health care is the way to go and governments and doctors need to be emphasized and educated about cost-conscious medicine. Cost-quality compromise need to be discussed in the context of nations revenues and riches. We dont want robotic heart surgeries in yemen and niger. But we do want appendicectomies, malaria, tb, antibiotic treatments, funding for them to be admitted o/night to hospital e.t.c. All these are basic but very expensive things in the modern world. TB treatment is curative but lasts for 9 months. Public health care is needed and an appropriate tax rate in Muslim lands is justifiable.

The government should set up a health proffessional advisory committee to decide what is basic health treatment and an appropriate tax needs to be levied to make sure basic treatment is attainable for all - remmeber basic is also very costly and thus the need of tax - . Unfortunately the the more rich and poor gap in a country the more the middle and upper class should be taxed to cover this basic health. Other treatments which falls out of this basic core should be paid by voluntary activisim and sadaqah arrangemet. Thus if someone has brain tumour. The community should arrange his her operation if he cannot afford. In that way tax towards health care will not be exorbitant western kind of tax.

Same for education. Muslims ethically should teach and educate for lesser prices than westerners. Educators, lecturers and teachers dont deserve the exorbitant pays they receeive in the west. Thus that way again our tax will be much lower.

Muslims dont have a military industrial complex aggressive mentality. Thus our military expenditure is just defensive. Again our tax goes lower. Infact one Muslim country having nuclear is enough for most of us to not pursue nuclear. If nuclear weapons only purpose is deterence - a unified agreement amongst the muslim bloc can be agreed about it.

Thats why I keep on referring to the modern civilization and its costs. Compulsory tax needs to be levied unless I am missing something here. Zakat is 2.5% of savings if I am not wrong. I have no idea how this would cover costs in this costly world civilization.

I am arguing for a low compulsory tax but arguing that a tax system above zakat can be justified. Unless there is a unified muslim coalition of countries and pledge of wealth and resource distribution - some countries will have to engage in taxation. I think perhaps the solution to this dilemma is a quick Islamic union needs to be formed because I agree tax is not solution but an ethical social necessity in the modern nation state despite in principle it being unethical concept .

[hellencomstar]

BTW

I forgot to say in my previous post, Muslims used to have hospitals and other charitable endowments funded by voluntary contributions and waqfs (singular) or awqafs (plural).

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-n...rn-about-awqaf



And taxation is theft..if you want to voluntarily pay..fine you can do so, but you cannot force other to do it. Allah gave us freedom to decide...no one can force anyone to part with their property by force.

brother you had the same thought as me at the same moment. Its funny when that happens on a forum.

[flopay]

ASWW
Brother, When did the Prophet SAW or the Sahaba RA introduce a tax? Zakaat was enough to distribute to the poor and the needy and there was a lot more left over too!! Even for the running the affairs of the state!!

Is there any research showing that a whole state can be run with zakaat only, financially, with all facilities available?

[skupaemauto]

Interesting post.
However we can identify core public health. Antibiotics, non-cosmetic surgeries, evidence based effective diagnostic and treatment approaches. There is alot of treatment studies done in the west to identify efficacies of treatment. There are alot of life-saving drugs and surgeries on the market.

My uncle when he had a heart attack and died at age 35 - a thrombolytic injection cost him 3000$ something maybe more than 70% kenyans cant afford. Infact my hometown has no angiographic or cardiothoracic expertise and thus no other intervention was pursued. A dialysis session in my home town of mombasa costs 15,000 Kshs a session and you are required 3-4 sessions a week. Most people in kenya earn approx 20,000 to 40,000 kshs/month and perhaps even less. Definitely a significant portion of these earn around less than 5,000 Kshs. I am sure many poor muslim countries face the same problem. Private Health approach is wrong for so many reasons.

A core set of treatment 'items' needs to be discussed and I am of a strong opinion that zakat wont be able to cover that cost in addition to other societal needs of a nation. Thus these core treatments need to be funded by the public through tax. I agree ICU costs will be tricky especially with a Muslim approach to end of life ethics. However end of life care needs to be discussed and debated amongst Muslims more. Public health care is the way to go and governments and doctors need to be emphasized and educated about cost-conscious medicine. Cost-quality compromise need to be discussed in the context of nations revenues and riches. We dont want robotic heart surgeries in yemen and niger. But we do want appendicectomies, malaria, tb, antibiotic treatments, funding for them to be admitted o/night to hospital e.t.c. All these are basic but very expensive things in the modern world. TB treatment is curative but lasts for 9 months. Public health care is needed and an appropriate tax rate in Muslim lands is justifiable.

The government should set up a health proffessional advisory committee to decide what is basic health treatment in the context of the countries wealth and an appropriate tax needs to be levied to make sure basic treatment is attainable for all - remmeber basic is also very costly and thus the need of tax - . Unfortunately the the more poverty in a country the more the middle and upper class should be taxed to cover this basic health. Other treatments which falls out of this basic core should be paid by voluntary activisim and sadaqah arrangemet. Thus if someone has brain tumour. The community should arrange his her operation if he cannot afford. In that way tax towards health care will not be exorbitant western kind of tax.

Same for education. Muslims ethically should teach and educate for lesser prices than westerners. Educators, lecturers and teachers dont deserve the exorbitant pays they receeive in the west. Thus that way again our tax will be much lower.

Muslims dont have a military industrial complex aggressive mentality. Thus our military expenditure is just defensive. Again our tax goes lower. Infact one Muslim country having nuclear is enough for most of us to not pursue nuclear. If nuclear weapons only purpose is deterence - a unified agreement amongst the muslim bloc can be agreed about it.

Thats why I keep on referring to the modern civilization and its costs. Compulsory tax needs to be levied unless I am missing something here. Zakat is 2.5% of savings if I am not wrong. I have no idea how this would cover costs in this costly world civilization.

I am arguing for a low compulsory tax but arguing that a tax system above zakat can be justified. Unless there is a unified muslim coalition of countries and pledge of wealth and resource distribution - some countries will have to engage in taxation. I think perhaps the solution to this dilemma is a quick Islamic union needs to be formed because I agree tax is not solution but an ethical social necessity despite in principle it being unethical concept .

if you change paradigms for a moment

if you play the game as it is currently being played what you say is logical if taxation is the only way for a government to raise funds

but there are many ways a government can raise funds that don't involve taxation

[Clarissa]

Is there any research showing that a whole state can be run with zakaat only, financially, with all facilities available?

no income tax in UAE and some other countries

[tomspoumn]

Please read the text below. It is by an HT activist. Personally I would advise people not to join them or associate with them politically for a number of reasons, but on issues like this exact one they have a strong understanding of how to approach it Islamically in a sensible way. In general terms this article makes a great deal of sense.

________________________________


Taxation in Islam: Wealth Tax

Abdul-Kareem on Khilafah.org



The following article is based on the book Funds in the Khilafah State which is a translation of Al-Amwal fi Dowlat Al-Khilafah by Abdul-Qadeem Zalloom.


Allah (swt) has revealed a comprehensive economic system that details all aspects of economic life including government revenues and taxation. In origin, the permanent sources of revenue for the Bait ul-Mal (State Treasury) should be sufficient to cover the obligatory expenditure of the Islamic State.

These revenues that Shar'a has defined are:

Fa'i,

Jizya,

Kharaj,

Ushur,

and income from Public properties.



The financial burdens placed on modern states today are far higher than in previous times. When the Khilafah is re-established it will need to finance a huge re-development and industrial programme to reverse centuries of decline, and bring the Muslim world fully into the 21st century. Because of this, the Bait ul-Mal's permanent sources of revenue may be insufficient to cover all the needs and interests the Khilafah is obliged to spend upon. In such a situation where the Bait ul-Mal's revenues are insufficient to meet the Khilafah's budgetary requirements, the Islamic obligation transfers from the Bait ul-Mal to the Muslims as a whole.



This is because Allah (swt) has obliged the Muslims to spend on these needs and interests, and their failure to spend on them will lead to the harming of Muslims. Allah (swt) obliged the State and the Ummah to remove any harm from the Muslims.



It was related on the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, (ra), that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "It is not allowed to do harm nor to allow being harmed." [Ibn Majah, Al-Daraqutni]



Therefore, Allah (swt) has obliged the State to collect money from the Muslims in order to cover its obligatory expenditure. The State achieves this by imposing taxes upon the Muslims such that these needs and interests are met without being exceeded. These taxes should only be taken from people's surplus wealth. This wealth is what is left after someone has spent on his basic needs, and also his luxuries according to the normal standard of living.



There are six areas of expenditure the Bait ul-Mal is obliged to spend upon. If insufficient funds are available then taxes will be imposed upon the Muslims to meet the expenditure. These areas are:



The expenditure upon Jihad and what is necessary for it.

Expenditure on military industries

Spending on the poor, needy and wayfarers.

Expenses such as the salaries of soldiers, civil servants, judges, teachers and the like who provide services for the benefit of the Ummah.

Expenses due in the form of services and caring of the Ummah.

Expenditure upon emergencies like famines, earthquakes, floods and enemy attacks.




1. The expenditure upon Jihad and what is necessary for it



The Islamic State is obliged to establish powerful and highly trained armed forces. These armed forces must be prepared with the latest and most sophisticated weapons such that their quality and quantity deter, subdue and frighten the enemy. These forces will liberate our lands from occupation, terminate the influence of the Kuffar in the Muslim world, and aid the state in conveying Islam to the world.



Expenditure on Jihad and what is necessary for it is one of the rights due upon the Bait ul-Mal whether there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal or not. If there are funds available, then they are spent on Jihad and its requirements. If there are no funds, then the duty of spending on Jihad, as long as Jihad is obligatory and designated, transfers from the Bait ul-Mal to the Muslims, since Jihad is obligatory upon Muslims by wealth and person.



Allah (swt) says:



انْفِرُواْ خِفَافًا وَثِقَالاً وَجَاهِدُواْ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ



"So go out, no matter whether you are lightly or heavily armed, and struggle in Allah'sway with your possessions and your persons: this is better for you, if you only knew." [TMQ At-Tawba: 9:41]



Anas (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Fight the polytheists with your wealth, lives and tongues." [Abu Dawud]



In addition, there are tens of Ayaat and Ahadith that oblige Jihad by wealth and person upon the Muslims.



In the situation where there are no funds in the Bait ul-Mal to spend on Jihad and its requirements, the State must encourage Muslims to contribute voluntarily to Jihad as the Messenger of Allah (saw) used to do.



Abdur Rahman bin Khabbab as-Salmi said: "The Prophet (saw) gave a Khutbah (speech) and encouraged [people to donate] regarding the army of difficulty, so Uthman bin Affan said: ‘Upon me are 100 camels with their saddle-blankets and saddle bags.' Then he (saw) descended the steps of the pulpit (Mimbar) and encouraged again, so Uthman said: ‘Upon me are another 100 with their saddle-blankets and saddle bags.'" [Ahmed]



Hudhayfa bin al-Yaman said: "The Prophet (saw) sent a request to Uthman seeking assistance from him for the army of difficulty, so Uthman sent to him 10,000 Dinars which were poured before him. The Prophet (saw) began turning them before him while praying for him and he (saw) said: ‘May Allah forgive you, O Uthman, for what you have made secret, what you have revealed, what you have hidden, and all that will be until the Hour comes. Uthman should not mind of any action he does after this.'"



If the voluntary contributions of the Muslims are insufficient to cover the designated Jihad, then the State will impose taxes upon Muslims up to the amount necessary and no more, to cover the expenditure. It is not allowed for the State to tax more than is required.





2. Expenditure on military industries



The Islamic State is obliged to establish military and other associated industries to enable the manufacturing of the latest and most sophisticated weapons and equipment for the armed forces. This is because Jihad requires an army, and the army requires weapons so that it can fight. Building highly effective and powerful weapons requires manufacturing. Therefore the military weapons industry has a close relationship with Jihad.



For the State to be in full control of her affairs, and free from the influence and control of other states, she must undertake the production and development of her own weapons especially its vital weapons. This is so that the State has the most modern and developed weapons, irrespective of how much weapons develop and advance. Also the State must have under her control all that she requires of weapons to scare every enemy whether open or hidden, according to the State's international position.



The absence of these military factories in the Ummah makes Muslims dependent upon Kafir states for armament, a matter which may make the Muslims political will and decision making subject to the will and decisions of the Kuffar. These Kafir states do not sell weapons except with conditions attached that fulfil their interests, and this would inflict the most terrible harm upon the Ummah.



Establishing of these factories is therefore obligatory upon Muslims from the texts of the Ayaat and Ahadith that oblige Jihad upon Muslims by wealth and person by the indispensable indication (Dalalat al-Iltizam). This is because Jihad depends upon weapons and weapons require industry. This is also indicated by the saying of Allah (swt):



وَأَعِدُّواْ لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم مِّن قُوَّةٍ وَمِن رِّبَاطِ الْخَيْلِ تُرْهِبُونَ بِهِ عَدْوَّ اللّهِ وَعَدُوَّكُمْ وَآخَرِينَ مِن دُونِهِمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَهُمُ اللّهُ يَعْلَمُهُمْ



"Prepare whatever forces you [believers] can muster, including warhorses, to frighten off Allah's enemies and yours, and warn others unknown to you but known to Allah." [TMQ Al-Anfal: 8:60]



The preparation ordered by Allah (swt) is the preparation which achieves the terrorising of the enemies, whether they are open, hidden or potential enemies. This terror depends upon acquiring vital and developed weapons of the highest level, and acquiring of such weapons depends upon establishing factories. Therefore, this Ayah indicates the obligation upon the Ummah to establish factories by the indispensable indication (Dalalat al-Iltizam).



Moreover, the absence of these factories inflicts a terrible harm upon the Ummah, and removing harm from the Ummah is obligatory. The removal of this harm will not be achieved except by establishing military, manufacturing and other associated industries.



It is permissible for individuals within the Ummah to establish all or some of these industries to manufacture the necessary weapons. If however, they do not establish them, or they only establish some of them, then the State is obliged to build factories necessary to produce all the weapons and equipment the armed forces need.



Building these factories is one of the obligatory rights upon Bait ul-Mal, whether there are funds in it or not. If funds are present, then they are spent to build these factories. If there are no funds available then the financial obligation transfers to the Ummah. In this case the state introduces a tax in order to raise the necessary funds, irrespective of the amount.





3. Spending on the poor, needy and wayfarers.



This is an obligation whether there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal or not. The expenditure is from the Bait ul-Mal, when there are sufficient funds. If there are no funds in the Bait ul-Mal then the obligation transfers to the Muslims. This is because spending upon the poor, needy and wayfarers has been obliged by Allah (swt) upon the Muslims in the form of Zakat and Sadaqah.



The Messenger of Allah (saw) has narrated from his Lord: "The one who goes to sleep satisfied while he knows that his neighbour next to him is hungry does not believe in me." [Tabarani]



Therefore, if there are funds available in the Bait ul-Mal to spend on the poor, needy and wayfarers then they are spent on them. If not, the obligation is transferred to the Muslims and the State raises taxes for this purpose such that the required amount of funding is raised.





4. Expenses such as the salaries of soldiers, civil servants, judges, teachers and the like who provide services for the benefit of the Ummah.



Those who provide services for the benefit of the Ummah deserve, in return for providing these services, a wage from the Bait ul-Mal. Spending on their wages is an obligation whether or not there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal. If there are funds available then they are spent upon them. If not, then the obligation is transferred to the Muslims.



This is because Allah (swt) has ordained the authority (Sultan) for the Ummah. He (swt) obliged the Ummah to appoint a Khaeefah whom she pledges allegiance (Bay'ah) to hear and obey according to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw).



The Khaleefah undertakes this authority on the Ummah's behalf and takes care of her affairs in accordance with the Book and Sunnah. Taking care of her affairs can only be accomplished by establishing the institutions of State, such as: judges, soldiers, teachers and civil servants. Appointing such people requires the payment of compensation and wages. Since Allah (swt) has obliged the Muslims to appoint such people, then He (swt) has also obliged them to pay their compensation and wages by indispensable indication (Dalalat al-Iltizam).



The Messenger of Allah (saw) appointed governors, employees, secretaries and assigned grants (‘Atiyyat) for them. Similarly the Khulafa'a after him appointed governors, officials, judges, secretaries and soldiers, and they assigned grants for them from the Bait ul-Mal.



Funding for these people is therefore taken either from the Bait ul-Mal or by imposing the required taxes on the Muslims where the Bait ul-Mal has insufficient funds for this purpose.





5. Expenses due in the form of services and caring of the Ummah



These expenses are spent on utilities whose existence is considered a necessity (Dharura) such that in their absence harm would result to the Ummah. These utilities could include:

public roads,

schools,

universities,

hospitals,

mosques,

water supplies

and similar services.



The right of spending upon these matters is considered obligatory whether or not there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal. If there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal then they are used to establish these utilities. If not, then the obligation to spend upon them is transferred to the Muslims. This is because spending upon them is obligatory upon Muslims, since failure to establish them will result in harm to the Ummah.



Harm must be removed both by the State and the Ummah due to the saying of the Prophet (saw): "It is not allowed to do harm nor to allow being harmed," and his (saw) saying: "Whoever harms (others) then Allah will harm him, and whoever overburdens them Allah will overburden him." [Hakim]



However, if the absence of services offered by the State does not harm the Ummah, then it is not obliged to provide them. An example is the opening of a second road or refurbishing it when there is another suitable road available that can meet people's needs, or building a school, university or hospital when there are others available, or widening streets that don't necessarily need to be widened.



Another example is the establishment of projects where failure to do so does not result in harm to the Ummah, like mining nickel or building a shipyard to build commercial ships. The State undertakes all these matters only when there are surplus funds in the Bait ul-Mal. If there are no funds in the Bait ul-Mal, then the State does not undertake them nor is it permitted to impose taxes for them. This is because Muslims are not harmed by their absence, therefore establishing them is not obligatory.



This is in contrast to the expenditure on services and utilities where the failure to spend on them results in harm to the Ummah. If there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal, they are spent upon establishing and providing the necessary utilities, if not, the State imposes taxes to raise the necessary amount provide these utilities.





6. Expenditure upon emergencies like famines, earthquakes, floods and enemy attacks



The right of spending on these matters is not linked to the presence of funds in the Bait ul-Mal. Such spending is obligatory irrespective of whether there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal or not. If there are funds in the Bait ul-Mal, then they must be spent immediately whenever these emergencies occur. If there are no funds, then it becomes obligatory upon the Muslims, and the funds have to be collected from them immediately and without delay.



If harm is feared due to any delay, then the State borrows the amount necessary to spend upon these emergencies and then pays back what it borrowed from the money it collected from the Muslims.



The evidence for obliging this upon Muslims is the Hadith: "The one who goes to sleep satisfied while he knows that his neighbour next to him is hungry does not believe in me," and the Hadith: "Any community, whosoever they are, if a person among them became hungry, they will be removed from the protection of Allah the Blessed, the Supreme." [Ahmed] This is in relation to famine. As for earthquakes and floods, the evidence for obliging Muslims to spend upon these natural disasters is the obligation of saving the unfortunate ones and removing harm from the Muslims.



These are the interests that Muslims are obliged to spend upon when there are no funds in the Bait ul-Mal, and for which the State has to impose taxes upon Muslims when the permanent sources of revenues of the Bait ul-Mal and the revenues from the protected public properties (Hima), are insufficient.





Wealth Tax



Taxes are levied on the wealth of the Muslims which is in excess of their basic needs and their luxuries according to normal standards of living. Taxes are only collected from those who have surplus wealth and nothing is taken from those who have no surplus wealth. This is because the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "The best Sadaqah is that given out of richness."



The richness here means what the person can afford after satisfying his needs.



It was narrated from Jabir that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Start with yourself when giving Sadaqah. If there remains any excess, then to your family. If there remains any excess, then to your relatives. If there remains any excess, then do like this, give those in front of you and those to your right and those to your left." [Muslim]



He (saw) deferred the obligation of spending upon anyone else until after spending upon oneself. Taxes are similar to this as they are like financial maintenance and Sadaqah.



Allah (swt) says:



وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ مَاذَا يُنفِقُونَ قُلِ الْعَفْوَ



"They ask you what they should give: say, ‘Give what you can spare.'" [TMQ Al-Baqarah 2:219]



In other words, spending which causes no hardship and which is extra to one's needs. There is no concept of income tax in Islam as we find in western capitalist countries. Taxes are only levied on excess wealth and not on income.



The State is also not allowed to impose indirect taxes such as sales taxes on goods and services. Nor can it impose taxes in the form of court fees, fees on petitions forwarded to the State, sale or registration of land, buildings or measurements or other types of taxes other than those in the shar'iah. This is because imposing oppressive or illegal taxation is one of the prohibited injustices about which the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "He who imposes maks (custom duty) would not enter paradise." [Ad-Darimi, Ahmed and Abu ‘Ubayd]



In western capitalist countries their taxation penalises the poor and vulnerable in society. Clever accounting and offshore Swiss bank accounts ensure the rich in western societies can avoid paying the majority of taxes altogether. In the UK for example, the Queen is one of the richest people in Britain yet she pays no income tax, whereas a poor single mother or an old age pensioner must pay income tax. With regressive taxes like the sales taxes on goods and services these hurt the poor more than the rich since the tax rates are the same for both.



Unfortunately, the Muslim governments today see adopting the western capitalist system as the only way to achieve economic progress. We therefore find the same oppressive taxation introduced into Muslim countries such as the General Sales Tax (GST) in Pakistan.



This is not to mention the endemic corruption where tax revenues are diverted from the State Treasury into the personal bank accounts of the rulers and other government officials.



Taxes in Islam are only collected to raise the amount necessary to cover the deficit in the obligatory expenditure of the Bait ul-Mal. When imposing taxation, no consideration is given to the notion of preventing the increase of wealth, or preventing richness or increasing the revenues of the Bait ul-Mal. Consideration is only given to fulfilling the required expenditure on the obligatory needs and interests on the State.



If any taxes are taken over and above the obligatory expenditure then this is considered a mazlama (injustice). The Court of Unjust Acts (mahkamat ul-mazalim) has the power to investigate any excessive taxation. If after the court's investigation the tax or tax-rate is deemed to indeed be a mazlama then the court can oblige the State to abolish or lower the tax and return any excess money to the Muslims.



Therefore, the shar'iah has resolved the problem of financing the expenditure on the Ummah's needs and interests in a 21st century Khilafah.

[sStevenRitziI]

no income tax in UAE and some other countries

We are not talking about oil rich countries or even a Islamic Union where a pledge that all natural resources belong to all Muslims not only to saudis or iranians or malaysians. However for the modern nation state currently we need to think out a tax system to save lives and reduce sufferings. Zakat by itself without wealth and resource distribution wont fulfill the needs. Only the concept that Zakat + wealth/resource belongs to all needy Muslims is the only solution to avoid taxation. Until then we have to tax well-off people or avoid that immoral act and let people die/suffer (another immoral act). Choose which one you prefer.

[Veveseinlep]

A tax regime imposed by a state creates negative economic growth, people work less or stop potential economic activities when their wealth is going to get confiscated by the state. And once states start taxing they tend to increase the taxes as time goes by. You really want to create a machine state? You and people like you sound scary...of course you want to help people, all statists want to help others...they just want others to pay for it. Give it up, let people live without your interference and if you have this need to control others (for their own good), look at yourself as to why you want this? Did Allah say to you that you should do this? The Prophet is the best of creation...so he should have controlled everyone....but he did not. He did not say I force you to go to jihad with me because I need fighters. This is what nation-states do.

You have not answered any of the other questions I put to you.

Will your state have a central bank, practice fractional reserve, have paper currencies as legal tender and have a national debt? If yes then move to Britain or America they already have those states, and in your private life you can live your Islam...the best of both worlds for you.

We are not talking about oil rich countries or even a Islamic Union where a pledge that all natural resources belong to all Muslims not only to saudis or iranians or malaysians. However for the modern nation state currently we need to think out a tax system to save lives and reduce sufferings. Zakat by itself without wealth and resource distribution wont fulfill the needs. Only the concept that Zakat + wealth/resource belongs to all needy Muslims is the only solution to avoid taxation. Until then we have to tax well-off people or avoid that immoral act and let people die/suffer (another immoral act). Choose which one you prefer.

[dfuzioniag]

We are not talking about oil rich countries or even a Islamic Union where a pledge that all natural resources belong to all Muslims not only to saudis or iranians or malaysians. However for the modern nation state currently we need to think out a tax system to save lives and reduce sufferings. Zakat by itself without wealth and resource distribution wont fulfill the needs. Only the concept that Zakat + wealth/resource belongs to all needy Muslims is the only solution to avoid taxation. Until then we have to tax well-off people or avoid that immoral act and let people die/suffer (another immoral act). Choose which one you prefer.

Brother mubakr,

Why do you limit your scope to a modern nation state? Such as Tunisia, or Jordan?
In truth, these entities are inheritly deficient on account of them being formed as autonomous, independent 'nations' eventhough they are too weak to militarily defend and sustain themselves by today's military standards.

It is as if you or I were declared a nation state in our own home.

Thus, in most any given reality in the Muslim world, any given Muslim nation is not actually self sustaining or sufficiently autonomous. Meaning, a state like Tunisia should not BE.

It is my understanding that Tunisia presently depends on Algeria for gas as well as gas industry. Tunisia regions along the ALgerian borders also depend on Algeria for electric power such that in the past, disputes between the two resulted in Algerian cutting power and Tunisian towns and provinces not having electricity until the disputes were settled.
Why should there be divisions between Muslim people?

Similiarly, where the UAE borders Oman at al Ain, UAE and Buraimi, Oman, there used to be free passage between towns. But because of some dispute, they put up fences and armed border gates and passage between the two are tightly controlled. Why? Why try to conceive ways to raise funds in Buraimi whily ignoring al Ain?
Why try to conceive of raising govt revenue in Tunisia while being dependent on Algeria?

Why not try to figure how to join them?

Were there no obsticals, Tunisia should be joined with Algeria as a single entity even as a wilaya of a large state.

From my perspective, Muslims should look beyond the limited scope of the 'nations' as they exist today. How to raise revenue for a national government in Gaza, or Tunisia, is a futile exercise given that neither are actually liberated from the kufr world order or self sustainable by today's military standards.

The Muslim nations of today are NOT conducive to autonomy, or self sufficiency, or thriving in any major, sustaining, long term sense. They are traps, prisons, ghettos, the realms of mafias.

It is a distraction for Muslims to make the effort to gain the limited political authority to run a nation state, like Tunisia or Gaza. Rather the effort should be for liberation from kufr world order.