State revenues and expenditure were always centralised even if the governor had full devolved powers over the collection and distribution of funds, because he was expected to send the tax revenues to the central caliphal government. From the time of Mu’awiya, a central Diwan Al-Kharaj (ministry of taxation) was established headed by a secretary (sahib). Ibn Khaldun describes this institution:
“The ministry of taxation is an office that is necessary to the royal authority (mulk). It is concerned with tax operations. It guards the rights of the dynasty in the matters of income and expenditure. It takes a census of the names of all soldiers, fixes their salaries, and pays out their allowances at the proper times. In this connection recourse is had to rules set up by the chiefs of (tax) operations and the stewards of the dynasty. They are all written down in a book which gives all the details concerning income and expenditure. It is based upon a good deal of accounting, which is mastered only by those who have considerable skill in (tax) operations. The book is called the diwân. At the same time, (the word dîwân) designates the place where the officials concerned with these matters have their offices.
One person is in charge of this office. He supervises all the operations of this kind. Each branch has its own supervisor. In some dynasties supervision of the army, of military fiefs, of keeping count of allowances, and of other (such) things, is constituted as separate offices.”[1]
The main taxes which existed from the time of the Prophet ﷺ and Rightly Guided Caliphs were: Zakah, Ghaneemah (war booty), Fai’ (spoils of war), Jizya (head tax on non-Muslim men), Kharaj (land tax), ‘Ushr (zakah land tax) and Maks (customs duty).
We can see from the Prophet’s ﷺ state in Medina that he appointed separate tax collectors (‘ummal) to collect the funds from the various provinces and tribes.
After his conversion to Islam, Al-Ḥārith ibn Abī Ḍirār, who was the leader of Banu al-Muṣṭaliq, collected the zakat from the Muslim members of his tribe and waited for the Prophet ﷺ to send an ‘amil to collect them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent al-Walid ibn Uqbah to Al-Harith to collect the Zakah, but after Al-Walid had travelled some distance, he became disoriented, and returned back to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and lied saying: “O Messenger of Allah, Al-Harith has prevented me from paying Zakat and wants to kill me!” This led to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sending a delegation to bring Al-Ḥārith to him to explain himself. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “You withheld the zakat and wanted to kill my messenger?” Al-Ḥārith said: “No, by the One Who sent you. In truth, I did not see him, nor did he come to me. I did not come until the messenger of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ detained me. I feared that it was the wrath of Allah, the Almighty, and His Messenger.”[2] This led to the verse in Surah Al-Hujurat being revealed:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن جَآءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌۢ بِنَبَإٍۢ فَتَبَيَّنُوٓا۟ أَن تُصِيبُوا۟ قَوْمًۢا بِجَهَـٰلَةٍۢ فَتُصْبِحُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَـٰدِمِينَ
O believers, if an evildoer brings you any news, verify ˹it˺ so you do not harm people unknowingly, becoming regretful for what you have done.[3]
When Abu Bakr became the caliph, he faced widespread rebellion from various provinces and tribes over their refusal to pay zakah to the central government. Abu Bakr then prepared to fight them until they came back to the jama’ah (authority) of the Muslims. This is known as the Ridda Wars. Abu Bakr famously said in justifying his policy of fighting the breakaway provinces:
فَقَالَ وَاللَّهِ لأُقَاتِلَنَّ مَنْ فَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الصَّلاَةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ، فَإِنَّ الزَّكَاةَ حَقُّ الْمَالِ، وَاللَّهِ لَوْ مَنَعُونِي عَنَاقًا كَانُوا يُؤَدُّونَهَا إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَقَاتَلْتُهُمْ عَلَى مَنْعِهَا
“By Allah, I will fight whoever differentiates between prayer and zakat, for zakat is a right due from wealth. By Allah, if they withhold from me a young camel which they used to give to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ I will fight them for withholding it.”[4]
This shows that Zakah is collected and distributed by the state through its official tax collectors in the province, in the same way as the other taxes.[5]
Zakah is a special type of tax, which is restricted in its distribution to eight categories only and cannot be used for the general finances of the state. As the state expanded the ‘ulema generally favoured local distribution of the zakah revenues rather than sending them centrally like the other taxes. This was especially true since much of the zakah would be in the form of crops and livestock which could not be transported across vast differences. Sheikh Haitham comments on this: “The four main schools of thought have given preference to distributing Zakat within the vicinity of where it is collected. The basis for this is the well-known instruction of the Prophet ﷺ to his companion Mu’āth b. Jabal (Allāh be pleased with him), when he sent him to Yemen. He said to him that once they establish the prayer, inform them that Allāh has commanded that there is an amount of charity to be taken from their wealthy people and given to their poor people.[6] The scholars took from the phrase “to their poor” that it should be given to the people who live in the vicinity of the wealth. They defined this to be those who live within a distance beyond which a person travelling is considered technically a Musāfir (traveler whose prayers are shortened).
However, proximity is just one consideration. All scholars agreed that if the need in an area far away is greater, it is better to give it where the need is more dire. This is a profound example of how jurists consider multiple dimensions when issuing rulings on such matters.”[7]
With regards to the other taxes, it is narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “We were with the Messenger of Allah in the year of Khaibar, and we did not get any spoils of war (ghaneema) except for wealth, goods and clothes. Then a man from Banu Ad-Dubaib, who was called Rifa’ah bin Zaid, gave the Messenger of Allah a black slave who was called Mid’am. The Messenger of Allah set out for Wadi Al-Qura. When we were in Wadi Al-Qura, while Mid’am was unloading the luggage of the Messenger of Allah, an arrow came and killed him. The people said: “Congratulations! You will go to Paradise,” but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “No, by the One in Whose hand is my soul! The cloak that he took from the spoils of war on the Day of Khaibar is burning him with fire.” When the people heard that, a man brought one or two shoelaces to the Messenger of Allah and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “One or two shoelaces of fire.””[8]
Ghaneema (money, weaponry, goods, provisions, etc. from the place of war) is a revenue of the Islamic State. Stealing from the state funds like the rulers do today entails a severe punishment. Mid’am ordinarily would have been a shaheed (martyr) which is why the sahaba congratulated him, but instead he was punished in the grave for stealing from the state funds. This created an atmosphere where another Muslim came forward giving up two shoelaces voluntarily once he heard of the punishment.
Therefore, a person cannot take it upon themselves to appropriate state funds and distribute them without authorisation from the Amir.
Notes
[1] Ibn Khaldun, ‘The Muqaddimah – An Introduction to History,’ Translated by Franz Rosenthal, Princeton Classics, p.311
[2] Musnad Ahmed 18,459, https://shamela.ws/book/25794/14978
[3] Holy Qur’an, Surah Al-Hujurat, ayah 6
[4] Sahih al-Bukhari 1399, 1400, https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1399
[5] The ‘ulema differed on whether one should still pay zakat to the state if it was corrupt. Ibn Taymiyyah said: “As for what the rulers (wulah) of Muslims take from the tithe (‘ushr), zakat on livestock, trade, and other things, this is waived from its owner if the imam is just and spends it on its legitimate expenditures, according to the consensus of scholars. If he is an oppressor and does not spend it in its legitimate ways, then the person who gave it should not pay the zakat to him, but rather he should spend it himself on those who are entitled to it. If he is forced to pay it to the oppressor, such that if he did not pay it to him, he would be harmed, then it is sufficient for him in this case according to most scholars.” [Ibn Taymiyyah, Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, https://shamela.ws/book/7289/12529 ]
[6] Sunan Ibn Majah 1783, https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1783
[7] Sheikh Haitham Al-Hadad, https://www.islam21c.com/islamic-law/sh-haitham-on-zakat-local-vs-abroad/
[8] Sunan an-Nasa’i 3827, https://sunnah.com/nasai:3827
Islamic Civilization 