Islam's Reformers .pdf

Abû Dâwûd. This means that the state cannot take somethingillegitimately or more than the legitimate amount of somethingfrom the people. It cannot burden the people with illegitimatetaxes, either. If it does, this will be usurpation and cruelty; it willhave to return the property which it has taken by force andwithout a hearty consent, to their owners. It is peculiar tosocialist countries for the government to commandeer or tousurp the people’s property. There cannot be a socialisticgovernment in Islam. In explaining the ninety-eighth article ofMajalla, Haji Reshîd Pasha says that ishtirâk amwâl (collectiveownership, communism) is never permissible in Islam. Nor isthere a capitalistic system in Islam. The fard of zakât eradicatesthese two homes of cruelty which gnaw at humanity. There issocial justice in Islam. Everybody gets the reward of his labourand of the sweat of his brow. Nobody casts covetous eyes onothers’ possessions. Neither the government nor the rulers mayexploit the people. They cannot use the money of Bayt al-mâl,the treasury of the State, for their own pleasures.The government carries out the duties which Islamcommands and the services which the people need. It financesthem by means of the public treasury called Bayt al-mâl. It isnot permissible to take it from the people by force. The treasuryof Islamic state is Bayt al-mâl, and the revenue of the state isthe revenue of the Bayt al-mâl. The state should not exhaustthe sources of Bayt al-mâl or waste them or spend them onillegitimate places. If the revenue of Bayt al-mâl does not sufficefor jihâd and for legitimate services, it will be permissible for it toborrow money justfully from the people. But, afterwards, it hasto be paid back, unless the lenders agree to a waiver. If it doesnot run the sources of Bayt al-mâl and if it does not spend Baytal-mâl on legitimate places, it will have done cruelty. There isextensive information on this subject in the fifth volume of ad-Durr al-mukhtâr. If the state provides sources of revenue forthe Bayt al-mâl and uses them within the borders of legitimacy(drawn by Islam), it will suffice for all its duties and it will nothave to ask for any help from the people.In explaining the thirty-third article of Majalla, Haji ReshîdPasha says that Islam does not permit to meddle with theproperty of anybody. Even a person who is in urgent needcannot encroach on others’ rights. It has been permitted for ahungry person to eat someone else’s bread without his- 215 -