THE EXTENT OF LEGALITY OF TAXES IMPOSED BY STATES ON INDIVIDUALS

(Madaa Mashrueiat Aldarayib Alty Tafriduha Alduwal Ealaa Al'afrad)

The research was delivered by Sheikh Abdul Karim Zidan on the fly and was transmitted by his student, Dr. Ahmed bin Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Jahmi Al-Misbahi . This research was published with another group in a book entitled "A Group of Contemporary Jurisprudence Research", which was printed in 2011 as part of a wide range of studies on issues experienced by Muslims at the present time . 

The tax    in statutory laws is an amount of money or money that the state imposes on individuals, and it defines the money in which the tax is imposed and is called (the tax base), and it determines its amount and is called (the tax rate). He did not obtain a benefit or benefit of his own in return for what he paid in terms of tax, and the state intends from taxes to provide public services to the general public in order to achieve the interest and benefit to them .

The elements of the  state  tax  exclusively   :  it determines the money on which the tax is imposed, and it determines its amount, and is not matched by a special benefit for the taxpayer (the taxpayer), and its purpose is for the state to undertake the necessary expenses for the collection of public services that people need in order to achieve what benefits them. The present time for all states is one of the most important and indispensable resources of the state, and they find their legal basis is that the establishment of the state is necessary for individuals and every society ,  and among the necessities for the establishment and survival of the state is the presence of money for it   To spend it on the needs of society and its indispensable individuals, such as their needs to achieve internal security and the necessary strength for the borders of this state, and to achieve justice between individuals through the establishment of judicial institutions, so the interest of society requires finding money for the state to meet these needs and for the survival of the state as well, and the requirements of social solidarity among individuals They must contribute to finding the necessary money to achieve other services such as sponsoring the poor and needy members of society, and for health and educational services for all members of society, and in order to spend this matter, it is necessary to talk about the importance of the existence of the Islamic state .

The necessity of an Islamic state

  Islam enjoins the establishment of the Islamic state and the rule of its establishment is mandatory, and the jurists have decided collectively not differing in an issue that is one of the elements of the state and the necessities of its establishment, which is the monument to the caliph, which is an element of the state in which the ruler is present and what is required by this position, which may be called (the head of state or its king Or the President of the Republic) which indicates the existence of the authority or whoever represents it. The jurists said: “The position of the Caliph“ The Head of the State, Commander of the Faithful, the Imam ”is a legal duty.” Some of them said: It is obligatory in the Sharia and by reason because people are indispensable for a president who judges among them and investigates They have their interests with the authority they enjoy, and they did not contradict what the jurists said except for a few who said that there is no evidence, neither by Sharia nor by reason, and their words are rejected and they are (the deaf and others ).

Evidence for the necessity of the swindle

  First  : The words of the Almighty in Surat An-Nisa ': (The most commanded of the matter is among you), and (the most prominent) (the rulers) and the caliph at their head, even though some of them (scholars) tolerated, but there is no objection to saying in the two meanings even though it is well-known in the first place that they are the rulers .

  Second  : Honored companions were busy choosing the  caliph of the  Prophet processing  ﷺ   upon his death and made the  selection on the  processing of  the seriousness of  this indicates this and it is extremely important delay is  not likely for  fear of the  consequences of the  delay .

  Third  : Words of pledge of allegiance, obedience and others that have been linked to rulings with these terms and the prohibition of disobeying the ruler except with certain conditions .

  Fourth  : From the Sunnah of the Prophet  ,his saying  ﷺ  (  Let the loop of Islam break with a buttonhole, so whenever a loop is broken, people cling to the next one, so the first of them is to revoke the ruling, and the last of them is Prayer) is  intended to  veto the  bonds of  Islam left this provision, and reverse the  judgment of  any letters about the  requirements of the  legitimate rule meant leaving a  prayer or neglected This  indicates that governance and  what is  being handled by  the most important bonds of  Islam , one of the  elements of the  state .

  Fifthly  : The Prophet established the first state in Medina after the Hijra, and he began to carry out acts that only the head of the state and the owner of the Sultan could undertake in it, and from that he made a treaty with the Jews of Medina who were living in its outskirts and his treaty in Al-Hudaybiyah as head of the emerging state .

  Sixth  : The legal rulings that are not implemented without the presence of a head of state to implement them, such as imposing punishments, separating disputes, even forcibly, and preparing the preparation for jihad .

Moreover, it is very important to know that the Islamic Ummah is the one who chooses its president, and it is the one that gives him its authority to implement what it is required by law. On his own, and wherever there is conditioning there is authority, and despite this being impossible for individuals, the need and necessity for that appeared .

This position is attained by the Muslim through elections and selection, and this state is called the House of Islam, and the jurists have given it the rights and duties of the state in modern law, and its people are the people of the House of Islam .

  Seventh  : Among the evidences for the necessity of setting up a caliph and therefore the necessity of creating the state is what is in the noble hadith, according to Abu  Sa`id  al-Khudri: that the Messenger of God  said (If three go out on a journey, let them order one of them), and the point of indication is that the monument is obligatory in the matter that is permissible, which is traveling in the few congregations This indicates the necessity of this in the many groups to achieve the goals of Islam in establishing the state .

  Eighth  : What an obligation can only be accomplished is an obligation, and legal duties cannot be fulfilled without appointing a caliph .

  Ninth: His saying  ﷺ   ( He who dies and not  In his neck there is a pledge that died a jahiliyya dead ) As it is fixed in the authentic hadith .

The aims and objectives of the Islamic State

We can know these goals from the Almighty’s saying in Surat Al-Hajj: (Those who are empowered on the land will establish the prayer, pay zakat and command the merits of the state, and it is possible for them to be defined by the state. The imamate is set for the succession of the prophethood in guarding the religion and the policy of the matter of the world with it, for the purposes of the Islamic state entrusted to the caliph who was elected by the ummah are to guard the religion and the policy of the matter of the world with it, and guarding the religion is to preserve the religion for its reality and its legitimate meanings as God has revealed to his Messenger, and then implement these Sharia rulings to represent matters People, and by this the guardianship of religion is achieved, and the second purpose is worldly politics by it, that is, managing worldly affairs with this religion related to all life affairs .

And based on that - the scholars mentioned in an obligatory manner the duties of the caliph that fall within the concept of the politics of the world with religion as they fall into what is indicated by the noble verse in Surah Al-Hajj: be Muslims by  virtue of the  country and make provisions for Muslims who Lakeath religion or maintenance people, especially the  establishment of  a prayer at the  head of the  physical acts of  worship, so that it is  proven in the  Hadith that the  Prophet  ﷺ  He said to Muadh: “The first thing that calls them is after the two testimonies and prayers.” Umar used to say that to him, and he drew attention to it that it is evidence of concern for what else it is, and with this, the state must inspect the issue of Muslims in various rituals, as well as what is in it for help for those with need, and as for the enjoining good and forbidding On the authority of the evil, it includes all the requirements of Sharia, whether they are positive or desirable, and it includes all prohibitions in the form of hatred or prohibition .

Among the meanings of the noble verse mentioned by the jurists :

The full and serious interest in preparing the necessary strength in preserving the country from the enemies' attack on the Dar al-Islam they said, in the forefront of which is Al-Mawardi and Abu Ali Al-Hanbali, may God have mercy on them: Fortifying the holes and filling them with men and supplying them with what they need of fighting machines and weapons. Surat Al-Anfal: (And prepare for them what you can in terms of strength and bond of horses), and this noble verse, which the jurists have emphasized very understanding, is at the top of what the Muslim rulers care about because it is one of the first duties of the Islamic state, and it is one of the collective duties that Muslims must perform If they did not have an imam, then if there was an imam who pledged allegiance, then the duty to prepare this power would move to him and he would do the necessary of this preparation to the extent indicated by the noble verse,And this limit is the ability that the Islamic state must be keen on, which is to reach the point of frightening the enemies. Rather, the fear is achieved if the strength of the Islamic state is stronger than the strength of the enemies, so no force is sufficient, but rather to the extent that it frightens the enemy and prevents them from intending to attack the abode of Islam. And the power demanded by Muslims varies according to place and time, so what we read of the necessity of learning archery, horse riding and horsemanship as a representation of the jurists and what they saw in their time, but today it is necessary to achieve the means of achieving strength and to prepare the means for that by learning different sciences from the construction of various war machines, as well as The jurists said: (One of the duties of the state is represented by the caliph, and what is indicated by empowerment and the definition of the caliph, they said that he should care about the issue of the nation and its interests for his sayingAnd the power demanded by Muslims varies according to place and time, so what we read of the necessity of learning archery, horse riding and horsemanship as a representation of the jurists and what they saw in their time, but today it is necessary to achieve the means of achieving strength and to prepare the means for that by learning different sciences from the construction of various war machines, as well as The jurists said: (One of the duties of the state is represented by the caliph, and what is indicated by empowerment and the definition of the caliph, they said that he should care about the issue of the nation and its interests for his sayingAnd the power demanded by Muslims varies according to place and time, so what we read of the necessity of learning archery, horse riding and horsemanship as a representation of the jurists and what they saw in their time, but today it is necessary to achieve the means of achieving strength and to prepare the means for that by learning different sciences from the construction of various war machines, as well as The jurists said: (One of the duties of the state is represented by the caliph, and what is indicated by empowerment and the definition of the caliph, they said that he should care about the issue of the nation and its interests for his saying   ﷺ   (  All of you are a shepherd and all of you are responsible for his flock )  What is meant by the custodian shepherd who is entrusted with those under his care who is obligated to achieve goodness from under his care by establishing justice in them and carrying out their interests, so the concept of this care enters the fulfillment of the sufficiency of the poor, and the hadith stipulated this particular care where he said  ﷺ (I It is more important for the believer than himself, whoever left money for his heirs and who left a waste for me) and what is meant by the loss is the young heirs who have no money, so these come to whom I will be their guardian and take care of their interests and spend on them more than what their inheritor would do if he was alive .

He said in - kind explainer Bukhari: This is  not a  special prophet  ﷺ it is the duty of  every successor to the  Muslims, and  what he said is  true, because the  Caliph successor of the  Prophet  ﷺ in his policy and justice and so on  ,but was a matter of  very great, Imam Jouini decides that the imam take  care of the  poor do not leave Hmla Where he said (and the world in its entirety does not do justice to a poor one of the poor in Islam who suffers harm) and the harm is bad condition, poverty and hardship, and Imam Al-Juwaini justifies this concern that if he was not an imam, the rich should help the poor and needy, and with the choice of a caliph, the duty passes to him .

And Ibn Hazm said in Al-Mahalli: It is the duty of the rich in every locality to suffice the poor of their locality to prepare food, clothing and housing. Muslims), and  in the  Hadith Anas said, he  ﷺ  :   ( what he  believed sleeps full while his neighbor is  hungry )  And other evidence that he says, which is good words, and in the hadith of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri as in Muslim: (He who has a virtue that has appeared, let him promise it to the one who has no backing, and whoever has the merit of more, let him promise it over the one who does not have more) Abu Sa`id said: “So the Messenger of God mentioned  ﷺ Among the types of money that was mentioned so that we thought that none of us has a right to a favor. Ibn Hazm said: It is a consensus of his saying (even we thought) because he thought all Muslims, and Ibn Hazm narrated from many of the Companions that there is a right in money except zakat, so taking care of the poor is a manifestation of The Islamic state and its duties, and among its duties: preparing teachers in the House of Islam and other things that people need in their religion and world .

The extent to which the Islamic State needs money

These duties that you mentioned need money, and Ibn Jama`ah said: (There is no authority without soldiers, nor soldiers without money) and because Islam in many verses enjoins spending for the sake of God and jihad, and spending on meeting the needs of the Mujahideen and the sufficiency of the needy of the widow and the needy. - The need for money for the Islamic State - to fulfill its duties and be able to survive and continue, and without money there are no reasons for the survival and continuation of the state .

And for that, I found resources stipulated and combined with them that enter into the well-known concept of the verse and the words of the jurists, including :

1  ) the  spoils in legitimate wars that are  intended to uphold the  word of  God, and take the  redemption of  prisoners or slavery, the slavery is abrogated as not copied after the  Messenger of  Allah  ﷺ ,though not sought the  Imam and slavery as a  license is  not obligatory .

2  ) Zakat taken from certain types of fixed, movable, and others under certain conditions, and it is spent on the poor and needy, and for the sake of God, i.e. the Mujahideen, even if some of them said that it is broad for other types of righteousness and what benefits Muslims and zakat from capital and from its profit under certain conditions .

3  ) Wages: It is a tax from the merchants of war people if they enter the house of Islam, and this includes the permissibility of imposing taxes as it is established that one of the tax collectors asked Omar, may God be pleased with him: How much do we take from their merchants if they enter our house, so he wrote to them, How much they take from our merchants if they enter their homes ? They said: The tithe, he said: Take from them what they take from our merchants .

There is no objection to similarly meeting them if they take a tax of more than one-tenth, unless the house of infidelity imposes an unjust tax that is not commensurate with the lack of goods and their money is eradicated, so the Islamic State does not treat them in the same proportion that they received from Muslim merchants, because this is injustice, and there is no complicity or follow-up in injustice unless justice requires that .

4  ) The tribute and the   Lakhraj: As for the jizyah, it is what the Muslim state takes on non-Muslims who are subject to the Islamic state, so the dhimmi is safe from his honor, himself and his money, provided that no harm, intrigue, betrayal and espionage are provided for a small sum of (48 dirhams for the rich), (24 dirhams for the average), (12 dirhams for the impoverished) It is taken from men only, and the Shari'ah conditioning of it is the title of their submission and their satisfaction with the Islamic system and a contribution to the expenses of defending the House of Islam, and the reasons for the Hanafis by saying (when the people of the Dhimmah are not fit for their bodies to defend the abode of Islam because of the existence of disbelief that may lead them to plague, this was replaced by their contribution With a small part of their money) and what the Hanafis mentioned is what we prefer, contrary to what some of them said, which is: He made disbelief and dwelling as a reason for the reward and it is weak, because if the reason for them being infidels was obligatory on the boy and the woman, and since the state does not take from them, then it is not a punishment, and if the reasoning is housing It is true that the insane and the woman were obliged, and where she was not obligated to them, this reasoning is not correct .

As for the Kharaj, it is a financial tax similar to that imposed by Umar on the countries of Iraq that were opened by force and Umar, may God be pleased with him, did not divide them like the traditions after an argument took place, and a group of the Companions discussed it until Bilal got stricter on Omar: How do you prevent us from the spoil that God gave us ? Umar listened to him because freedom of opinion is guaranteed, and Islamic jurisprudence extends to what Umar went to, and the caliph is free in the imprisoned land either to confine it in the hands of its owners in exchange for a fee and its neck for the Muslims, or he divides it among the winners. Omar chose the first and said: (If it divided it from where will the state spend on it? The Almoravids, the Mujahideen, and others), and his action is rationality and the right thing to do .

5  ) Faiha: which is what is returned by non-Muslims to Muslims without fighting, and it is included in it instead of reconciliation, and the kharaj and tithes are spent on public interests such as salaries for soldiers and judges, and repair of roads and bridges .

6  ) The lost money that has no owner and whose owner is unknown, and likewise, whoever dies and has no heir, then his money is transferred to the treasury .

  Legality of taxation

  The imposition of  taxes to  meet state spending on services and carrying out  their duties they do not give a  successor to dispose of himself he takes them necessary for the  need to provide security, safety and justice, if I said money house resources and achieved enough for the  poor all  well and enjoyed no need for taxes, but did not stop   Will the  imposition of  taxes on money may Muslims ?

The answer :   The jurists stipulated this authority in an explicit text. Imams Al-Shatibi and Al-Juwayni said: If the treasury is vacant and there is a need to employ taxes in the wealth of the rich, it is permissible either by borrowing or taking, and it is clear from this that the survival of the soldiers requires finding salaries for them .

This is what the scholars mentioned about the legitimacy of imposing taxes in the event that the Islamic State needs money to fulfill the requirements of the army and fighting, and this does not prevent them from withdrawing their words and generalizing in relation to all the needs of the other state, and we must provide general controls for our topic and it may be more likely to mention some rules . 

The first rule: It includes three things :

  First  : The guardian (the caliph) must strive in what he must do to achieve what he is entrusted with, which is (the policy of the world with religion), that is, managing the affairs of the state according to the provisions and controls of religion . 

It is well known that what the Imam is doing is striving for what is not mentioned in a definitive Shariah text regarding his proof and significance .

  Second  : The duty for the parish to obey the guardian in what he strives in is included in the issues of ijtihad and it is forbidden for them to disobey him in that. Between the litigants because he may object to him if he issued a judgment and disagreed with others on the pretext that his judgment contravenes the diligence of one of the litigants or the diligence of the one who follows this opponent, and this result is null and what leads to falsehood is invalid .

  Third  : Imposing taxes on citizens when money is needed is one of the issues of jurisprudence in which the judgment is made. He may impose the tax in terms of the amount and money that is required to achieve the policy of worldly matters with religion .

Imam Al-Juwayni said: The imam has the right to impose taxes on crops, fruits, and reproductions in order to supply the house of wealth with the necessary money, and these taxes are easy, and it is not permissible to object to them. And the achievement of this guard and security for them is by employing the sufficient number of guards who branch to this requirement and who have to guard and therefore must be given enough of the treasury, and this money or what takes its place may be private through the citizens and it may be general and analogous to the imam .

The second rule :   can prevent the  imam to benefit from the  money citizen to guide this benefit to others, and indicates that the  Prophet  ﷺ prevent Muslims from saving sacrificial meat   And it was in this prohibition that included its prohibition on using what they possessed for the sake of (the wheel), that is, for the arrival of the Bedouins to Medina and their need for aid from their brothers in Medina and in the noble hadith (I was forbidding you for   Do   not eat and save )  The guardian may intervene in and direct citizens' funds .

The third rule: the    imam is charged with implementing the rulings of the Sharia and what is one of the competing duties, including the preparation of strength, which is a duty of Muslims. Muslims have empowered him and gave him the authority. That he hit taxes for the treasury, and   it is   not   said that the Prophet was imposing such taxes on Muslims, so how can you obtain this for the rulers ?

The answer  : The Prophet , as soon as he told them of the need for money, was sufficient to hasten them and there was no need for them to be obliged, but now the situation has changed, and the Muslims may scramble, so we do this to push these problems as our master Omar, may God be pleased with him, did when he left the land of Iraq to its people and imposed on them the Kharaj tax to meet the needs Country .

And the fourth rule :   that the imam is charged with what works for the parish, and the shepherd is the custodian who is entrusted with his flock and he is responsible before God if he falls short, and it is necessary to look at what they need and achieve their interest not only for the case but for the future, as if the treasury is vacated and this is not a restriction and it is not a rational policy, but rather for him To impose taxes and nourish the treasury, and not be less careful than the guardian of the little boy who looks at the future interest of the boy rather than the immediate .

The fifth rule: The    obligation to take care of those with needs and the orders to do so if it is a scar, then the guardian may order the delegate to achieve the interest of the cohesion and solidarity of individuals and the elimination of sensitivities when the poor find themselves in loss and the guardian and the rich do not care about them. Indeed, the hadiths indicate reaching the level of the competence duty that is based By the Caliph .

The sixth rule: it is    permissible to restrict permissibility for a benefit, just as Umar forbade some of the Companions from leaving Medina for a need, and all this gives the ruler a wide field of jurisprudence related to state matters, and the diversity of taxes is required and the imam’s diligence is broadened for him, and there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of the organizations of other countries as Omar benefited from the  Persians in the  notation diwans as in the  Battle of the  trench where the  Prophet benefited  ﷺ from the  signal Salman may Allah be pleased with him . 

The seventh rule :   Maintaining money by imposing taxes for the public interest does not benefit the imam for his own benefit .

The eighth rule :   These taxes do not meet the payment of zakat because zakat is a divine obligation that is specified in its expenditures. The citizen benefits from security, educational, judicial and health institutions, paving roads, and fortifying the holes. He must participate in the expenses of public services. Do you not think that whoever benefits from a joint money will pay his share ?

In conclusion  :   The   guardian may impose financial taxes, which are the so-called (tax base) and the amount of the expense is determined for the requirements of the state and the interests of the parish, taking into account the rules that our master Omar, may God be pleased with him, observed .

1  ) Justice is such that it does not prejudice or exhaust the citizen until the zakat is not required unless it reaches a certain limit (the quorum of zakat) so as not to burden the Muslim, and Omar, may God be pleased with him, when Uthman bin Hanif, may God be pleased with him, sent to assess the lands of the Kharaj, he advised them not to burden people with what they imposed To the extent that the land is able to observe the abundance of water, because the Kharaj is either a financial tax according to the area or a tax according to the outside, and the difference between the two is that the cash extraction is taken from the owner of the land who planted it or not cultivated it, and as for the other Kharaj, it must be cultivated, and if neglecting it is prevented from that .

2  ) Determining the tax, i.e. it is certain and its amount is known .

3  ) The tax rate is like tithe, and it determines the money that is taken from it .

4  ) Convenience: It is taken at a time when the taxpayer can pay the tax, and zakat is taken after a year when the profit is made. Likewise, the crops are not zakat in advance and there is an interest for the state and the supplier .

And if the state is rich, there is no need for taxes as a petroleum state, and the state is like a home for citizens. Just as a citizen is keen to restore his home, he must be keen on his state .

other notes :

A -  Appointing competent trustworthy employees to collect taxes so that they do not exploit their job ranks and have the ability and experience in tax collection .

B -   Forming a supervisory body for these dues, and upon him be peace and blessings be upon him held accountable the tax collectors, so when Ibn al-Libyah sent him who said: This is for you and this is given to me, he said   : ( Should he not sit in the house of his father and mother and see if his gift comes to him?) The collector does not slip into this suspicion, and Umar, may God be pleased with him, passed away a man over Bahrain and traded, so Omar said to him: One of the useful means for determining taxes when money is needed is for the ruler to instill in the citizens the meanings of faith and enlighten them of their duty towards their country by supplying money so that it remains to do what God Almighty has enjoined and commanded, and he has to guide them to a certain truth which is in the Almighty saying in Surat Al-Hadid: (And spend from what made you wasteful In it), Al-Qurtubi said: The verse indicates and shows to the Muslims that this money that is in your hands God made you caliphs, that is, a successor and punishment for others in possessing this money, and you are in fact not an angel, and money is the money of God. O Muslims, agents of your clients, and the agent disposes of the money he is entrusted with according to what the principal authorizes and what Almighty says in Surat Yassin:(They have owners) as a metaphor, and what Almighty says in Surat An-Nisa: (And do not give the fools of your money) it is an unreal addition but rather a metaphor, and the real owner is God Almighty, and the king is the jurisdiction over something on the side of people’s relationship with the guardian. They spend it on what God loves .

And may God bless our master Muhammad, his family and all his companions, and praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds .

Dr. Abdul Karim Zidan