(Series of Answers by the Great Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of the Visitors to his Facebook Page "Economist")
To: Tahsin Hasan Hadyah
Question:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful... Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Please clarify the intent of what is mentioned below; it was mentioned in The Economic System under "The State Budget" the following phrase: "As for the Islamic State, no annual budget is drawn up for it, such that it requires a law to be enacted for it every year. It is not presented to the Majlis al-Ummah (Council of the Ummah), nor is their opinion taken on it. This is because the budget in the democratic system is a law regarding its chapters, sections, and the amounts it contains, and it is a law for one year. For them, a law is enacted by the Parliament. Therefore, it needs to be presented to the Parliament. None of this is needed by the Islamic State because the revenues of the Bayt al-Mal (House of Funds) are collected according to the Sharia rulings mentioned in the texts, and spent according to the Sharia rulings mentioned in the texts. These are all permanent Sharia rulings. There is no room for opinion regarding the chapters of revenue, nor regarding the chapters of expenditure at all; rather, they are permanent chapters determined by permanent Sharia rulings. This is from the perspective of the budget chapters. As for the sections of the budget, the amounts included in each section, and the matters for which these amounts are allocated in each section, all of that is entrusted to the opinion and ijtihad (discretion) of the Caliph. This is because it is part of the management of affairs that the Sharia left for the Caliph to decide as he sees fit, and his command is mandatory to be executed."
It was also mentioned in the book Funds in the Khilafah State regarding the General Budget Department: "The General Budget Department, the General Accounting Department, and the Auditing Department. As for the General Budget Department, it is the department that prepares the state's future budget, according to what the Caliph sees fit, in terms of estimating the state's revenues and its expenditures, and by comparing the revenues and the actual total expenditures with that budget, and tracking the outcome of the state's revenues and its actual expenditures. This department is attached to the Caliph's Office (Dar al-Khilafah)." Accordingly, I see a contradiction between the two books; the first denies the existence of a state budget, and the second acknowledges the existence of a state budget. Please clarify the matter, and thank you very much... Abu Hassan.
Answer:
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
First: To make the answer clear, we mention the following:
A budget generally consists of revenues and expenditures. Each of them has chapters (Abwab) and sections (Fusul).
The chapters of revenues relate to the sources of income, and the sections relate to what is allocated from the revenues for expenditures on state sectors and the management of the people's affairs. The chapters of expenditures relate to how the income is spent, and the sections relate to determining the types of sectors spent on and controlling expenditures according to what is allocated for them.
In democratic capitalist states and their likes, the parliament meets and decides on the budget chapters and sections in revenues and expenditures. Meaning, it decides the annual sources of income, such as saying: from taxes so much, from loans so much, from aid so much, from the public sector so much, and so on. Then it allocates specific amounts from these sources, for example, for road construction so much, and for some factories so much, and so on. It also decides how to spend, determining expenditures and controlling them according to the allocation. This is what happens in current states.
In Islam, the budget chapters for revenues and expenditures are fixed and permanent. It is not permissible to take money from other than them, nor to spend it in a non-Sharia manner:
a. As for the chapters of revenues, they are specific sources from public property and state property, such as Kharaj (land tax) and Fay’ (booty)... as well as Zakat... These sources are permanent; they are not decided by the Caliph or the Majlis al-Ummah. As for its sections, such as estimating what comes from them in a year—like calculating the expected oil income or the expected Kharaj for this year—this is permissible. Or estimating the allocations from revenues for some sectors, this is permissible. Therefore, no annual budget is set for the chapters of the budget because they do not change, neither by increase nor decrease. However, for its sections, such as estimating their production or distributing them to state interests and managing the people's affairs, this is permissible.
b. As for the chapters of expenditures, they are also determined in Islam by Sharia rulings. They relate to how the income sources from public property, state property, and Zakat are spent. This cannot be bypassed by the Caliph or the Majlis al-Ummah. As for its sections—in terms of the type of sectors spent on and controlling expenditures so that they do not exceed what is allocated—these can be determined by the Caliph based on his opinion and ijtihad, and he may consult the Majlis al-Ummah. Thus, expenditure on this project is decided as so much, and on another project as so much, and so on.
Meaning, there is a part of the budget that the Majlis al-Ummah and the Caliph are not permitted to decide, which is the chapters of the budget... and there is a part the Caliph is permitted to decide and consult the Majlis al-Ummah about, which is the sections of the budget.
Second: This is clarified by what is mentioned in the Introduction to the Constitution in Article 36, Clause (f), which states:
"(f - He [the Caliph] is the one who adopts the Sharia rulings by which the state budget is set, and he is the one who decides the budget sections and the amounts required for each direction, whether that relates to revenues or expenditures)" End quote.
It is detailed in Article 148, which states:
"(Article 148: The state budget has permanent chapters decided by Sharia rulings. As for the budget sections, the amounts included in each section, and the matters for which these amounts are allocated in each section, that is entrusted to the Caliph’s opinion and ijtihad.)" The following was mentioned in its explanation:
"(As for preparing this budget in its chapters, sections, and the amounts placed in it, the Sharia rulings have decided them... Thus, the budget chapters are permanent because Sharia rulings have decided them, and the Sharia ruling is permanent and does not change. As for its sections—which are the branches that branch out from it, such as the Kharaj of rain-fed lands, the Kharaj of irrigated lands, or similar—the Caliph sets them because they are part of the management of affairs and are left to his opinion and ijtihad. Likewise, the amounts are set according to his opinion and ijtihad, such as the amount of Jizyah (poll tax), the amount of Kharaj, and similar, because they are entrusted to him. Thus, the evidences of Sharia rulings are for the revenues of the Bayt al-Mal and its expenditures, and making the disposal of what is in the Bayt al-Mal—which the Sharia did not specify—entrusted to the Caliph's opinion and ijtihad... Since the Caliph can set by his opinion and ijtihad the sections of revenues and the amounts placed in each section, and the sections of expenditures and the amounts placed in each section, there is nothing to prevent setting an annual state budget for its sections and the amounts for each section, whether in revenues or expenditures. What is prohibited is setting an annual budget for the chapters of the budget, neither for its revenues nor for its expenditures, because Sharia rulings have decided them and they are permanent.)" End quote.
Accordingly, it is permissible for the state to have a budget set by the Caliph for its sections and branches according to his opinion and ijtihad, and it is permissible for it to be annual. This is most appropriate because much of the funds in Islam are collected once a year, such as Zakat and Jizyah. Thus, it is better for the budget to be annual, with the emphasis that "year" here refers to the Hijri year, not the Gregorian year; meaning, it is appropriate for the Khilafah State to set a budget in the sense mentioned above every Hijri year.
Third: Based on this, the negation of the budget mentioned in the book The Economic System is understood. It is a negation of the budget as it exists in democratic states, where an annual law is issued by the Parliament to determine the chapters, sections, details, and the amounts required for those details or sections. This does not exist in Islam because the Sharia has clarified the chapters of the budget and they are permanent, so no annual law is enacted for them. As for the sections, details, and the amounts required for those details or sections, as mentioned in the book: "all of that is entrusted to the opinion and ijtihad of the Caliph; because it is part of the management of affairs that the Sharia left for the Caliph to decide as he sees fit, and his command is mandatory to be executed." Therefore, the negation here is focused on making the budget a law in its chapters, sections, and branches, and having the Parliament be the authority that issues this law, as is the case in setting and preparing the budget in democratic states.
Fourth: Similarly, the affirmation of the budget in the book Funds in the Khilafah State is understood. It is an affirmation of the "state's future budget, according to what the Caliph sees fit, in terms of estimating the state's revenues and its expenditures, and by comparing the revenues and the actual total expenditures with that budget, and tracking the outcome of the state's revenues and its actual expenditures." What is meant by the budget here is its sections, branches, and the amounts required for those details or sections according to the Caliph's opinion and ijtihad. The existence of a budget in this sense is not negated in the book The Economic System, where it says at the end of the "State Budget" chapter: "...and the matter of deciding the sections, their details, and the amounts required for them was left to the Caliph whenever the interest dictates..."
This is the work of the department mentioned in Al-Amwal regarding the existence of a "budget" set by the Caliph according to his opinion and ijtihad whenever interest dictates... but not in the chapters of the budget, rather in its sections. End quote.
The Conclusion: It is not permissible to set an annual budget for the chapters of the budget because in Islam they are permanent, clarified by Sharia rulings that cannot be increased or decreased. Rather, it is permissible to set an annual budget for its sections and the expected amounts from the revenue sections during the year, as well as the amounts allocated for the expenditure sections during the year.
I hope the answer is clear... In any case, if we see anything that calls for more clarification to be placed in our books, we will look into the matter, Allah willing.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
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