The Institutions of State in the Khilafah by Hizb ut-Tahrir

Bayt al-Mal is a compound phrase construction, and indicates the place where the State's revenues are kept till they are spent. It could also mean the authority responsible for receiving and spending the funds entitled for the Muslims. .

We have already adopted that the wali is given a special authority that excludes the army, judiciary and funds. Thus, the whole army will be a central department (presided over by Amir al-Jihad). The judiciary will be a central department (known as judiciary), and the entire funds form a central department (known as bayt al-mal), which is separate from any other organisation in the State, and follows the Khalifah as do the other organisations. .

There are abundant evidences that the bayt al-mal was under the direct authority of the Messenger (PBUH) or the Khalifah, or whoever he appointed to preside over it. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to on occasions deal directly with the funds, where they had a safe. He used to receive the funds, distribute them and spend them in their due place. On other occasions He (PBUH) used to appoint somebody to take care of that. This is what the Khulafaa' Rashidun used to do after him, where they either they took charge of the Bayt al-mal by themselves or they delegated others to do that on their behalf.. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to place the funds in the mosque, as Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas, he said:. "Some funds were brought to the Prophet (PBUH) from Bahrain. He said: ‘Spread it in the mosque’" [Bukhari, Sahih, #421].. He would sometimes put it in one of the rooms of his wives, as it was narrated by Al-Bukhari from Uqbah, he said: .

hold me back, and I ordered it should be divided’". He otherwise kept them in his safe as Muslim narrated from ‘Umar that he said: .

"So I said to her, ‘Where is the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)?’ She said ‘He is in his safe in the wooden oriel.’ I gazed in the safe of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and I suddenly saw an amount of barley of about one sa' (a small cubic measure) and equal to that of tree fruits used for juice on one side of the room. I saw as well an untanned skin hanging in the room. My eyes wept. The Prophet said ‘What does make you weep, son of Al-Khattab?’ I said ‘O Prophet of Allah! Why I should not weep when this mat has influenced your side and this is your safe in which I do not see except that which I see’.” .

At the time of the khulafa’ al-rashidun, the place in which funds were kept came to be known as bayt al-mal. Sa'd mentioned in Al-Tabaqaat from Shall ibn Abi Haythma and others: "Abu Bakr used to have a house in Al-Sanh not guarded by anybody. So it was said to him, ‘Why do you not put somebody to guard it?’ He said, ‘It has a lock.’ He used to give out that which was in it till it became empty. When he moved to Madinah, he moved it and placed it in his house." .

Hinad narrated in Al-Zuhd through a good narration from Anas, he said: "A person came to ‘Umar and said, ‘O Amir ul-Mu'minin! Support me for I want to go in Jihad. ‘Umar replied, ‘Hold his hand and take him to bayt al-malso he can take the funds he wants." Al-Shafi'i narrated in Al-Umm, which was authenticated by Ibn Hajar from ‘Abdullah ibn Wadi’ah, he said: "Salim, the servant of Abu Hudhayfah was a servant to a woman from us called Salma bint Yeaar, she freed him in her days of Jahiliyyah. When he was killed in Al- Yamamah, his heritage was brought to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab. So he called upon Wadeeah ibn Khidham and said, ‘This is the heritage of your servant, and you deserve it more.’ He said, ‘O Amir ul-Mu'minin. Allah has made us of no need to him. Our woman has freed him unrestricted; so we do not want to bring disgrace to ourselves, (or to bring loss upon us) from his matter.’ So, ‘Umar put his heritage wealth in the Bayt al-Mal." Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Darimi narrated, and Ibn Hazim corrected that "Sufyan ibn Abdullah ibn Rabeeah Al- Thaqafy found a leather bag and brought it to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab. He said, announce it for one year; and if it was recognised then give it, otherwise it is yours.’ .

Nobody recognised it, so he met him the next year and mentioned it to him. ‘Umar said, ‘It is yours, for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered us "I prayed the asr behind the Prophet (PBUH) in Madinah. He gave salam at the end of the prayer and stood up quickly. He crossed the lines of the Muslims behind him going to some of his wives' rooms. The people were amazed of his speed. He came back to them, and saw they were surprised of his speed. He said, ‘I remembered some gold dust with us, so I hated it would hold me back, and I ordered it should be divided’". He otherwise kept them in his safe as Muslim narrated from ‘Umar that he said: "So I said to her, ‘Where is the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)?’ She said ‘He is in his safe in the wooden oriel.’ I gazed in the safe of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and I suddenly saw an amount of barley of about one sa' (a small cubic measure) and equal to that of tree fruits used for juice on one side of the room. I saw as well an untanned skin hanging in the room. My eyes wept. The Prophet said ‘What does make you weep, son of Al-Khattab?’ I said ‘O Prophet of Allah! Why I should not weep when this mat has influenced your side and this is your safe in which I do not see except that which I see’.” .

At the time of the khulafa’ al-rashidun, the place in which funds were kept came to be known as bayt al-mal. Sa'd mentioned in Al-Tabaqaat from Shall ibn Abi Haythma and others: "Abu Bakr used to have a house in Al-Sanh not guarded by anybody. So it was said to him, ‘Why do you not put somebody to guard it?’ He said, ‘It has a lock.’ He used to give out that which was in it till it became empty. When he moved to Madinah, he moved it and placed it in his house.". Hinad narrated in Al-Zuhd through a good narration from Anas, he said: "A person came to ‘Umar and said, ‘O Amir ul-Mu'minin! Support me for I want to go in Jihad. ‘Umar replied, ‘Hold his hand and take him to bayt al-malso he can take the funds he wants." Al-Shafi'i narrated in Al-Umm, which was authenticated by Ibn Hajar from ‘Abdullah ibn Wadi’ah, he said: "Salim, the servant of Abu Hudhayfah was a servant to a woman from us called Salma bint Yeaar, she freed him in her days of Jahiliyyah. When he was killed in Al- Yamamah, his heritage was brought to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab. So he called upon Wadeeah ibn Khidham and said, ‘This is the heritage of your servant, and you deserve it more.’ He said, ‘O Amir ul-Mu'minin. Allah has made us of no need to him. Our woman has freed him unrestricted; so we do not want to bring disgrace to ourselves, (or to bring loss upon us) from his matter.’ So, ‘Umar put his heritage wealth in the Bayt al-Mal." Al-Bayhaqi and Al-Darimi narrated, and Ibn Hazim corrected that "Sufyan ibn Abdullah ibn Rabeeah Al- Thaqafy found a leather bag and brought it to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab. He said, announce it for one year; and if it was recognised then give it, otherwise it is yours.’ .

Nobody recognised it, so he met him the next year and mentioned it to him. ‘Umar said, ‘It is yours, for the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered us to do that.’ He said, ‘I do not want it.’ ‘Umar took it and put it in the Bayt al- mal." Al-Darimi narrated from Abdullah ibn Amru, he said: "A servant passed away at the time of ‘Uthman without having a relative. So, he ordered that his wealth be put in Bayt al-mal." Ibn Abd al-Barr narrated in Al-Istidhkar from Anas ibn Sirin “Ali used to divide the funds until the bayt al-mal became empty. It would then be cleaned and he would sit in it.". This is in regards to the first meaning of Bayt al-mal, which is the place. With regards to the second meaning, which is the responsible authority, this is necessitated by the fact that the funds are sometimes not kept in a place, such as like the lands, oil wells, gas wells, mines, and the charity funds that are taken from the wealth and paid to its deserved people without being kept in a place. The Bayt al-malis sometimes used to mean the responsible authority as narrated by Al-Bayhaqi, Ahmad in Al-Musnad, and ‘Abd al-Razzaq in His Musannaf, from Lahiq ibn Humayd "Ibn Mas'ud was sent to preside over the judiciary and bayt al-mal.” It would not mean that ‘Umar sent him as a doorman to the bayt al-mal, rather with responsible authority of collecting and spending the funds. This is the same meaning as narrated by Ibn Al- Mubarak in Al-Zuhd from Al-Hasan, when the amirs of Al-Basrah came with Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari and requested from him to assign food for them. He said in concluding his words to them: "O folk of amirs! I have assigned to you from the Bayt al-maltwo sheep and two gareeb (a patch of arable land)", thus it can mean the responsible authority.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was the one that received the donations of ‘Uthman to the army of hardship ('usrah) in his lap. Ahmad narrated and Al-Tirmidhi narrated from hasan and gharib, and Al-Hakim narrated it and corrected it, Al-Dhahabi agreed with him, from Abdul Rahman ibn Samrah that he said: .

"‘Uthman came to the Prophet (PBUH) with one thousand dinar when he prepared the army of the hardship (ghazwah of Tabuk) and he emptied it in the lap of the Prophet (PBUH). He said the Prophet (PBUH) started to turn them around and say: ‘Uthman will not be harmed by any work he does after today, and he said that many times". He used sometimes to divide them by himself. Al-Bukhari narrated from Anas: .

"Funds from Bahrain were brought to the Prophet (PBUH). He said spread them in the mosque. When he finished the prayer, he sat down close to them and left nobody he saw without giving him. So, when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) stood up there was no single dirham left with them.". Abu Bakr took responsibility of dividing by himself the funds coming from Bahrain. Al-Bukhari narrated from Jabir, he said: .

"The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘If funds came from Bahrain, I would give you thus and thus and thus, i.e. three times. When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) passed away and the funds came from Bahrain, Abu Bakr ordered somebody to call: Whoever has some debt or something with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) let him come to us. So I went to him and said the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘for me is thus and thus, so he gave me three times.’".

In a hadith mentioned above of Sufyan Al-Thaqafy regarding the leather bag which he found and announced to ‘Umar: "‘Umar took it and put it in the Bayt al-mal". Al-Shafi'i narrated in Al-Umm, he said: "More than one of the scholars told us that when the spoils of Iraq reached ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the trustee of Bayt al-mal told him, ‘let me put them in the Bayt al-mal.’ He said: ‘No! By the Lord of the Ka'bah, it will not be kept in any house till it is divided.’ So he ordered it should be put in the masjid, and leather mats were put on top of it and men from Al-Muhajirin and Al-Ansar guarded it. In the morning, Al-‘Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib and Abdul Rahman ibn Awf went out with him, he was either holding the hand of one of them, or one of them was holding his hand. When they saw him, they removed the leather mats away from the funds. So, he saw a scene he never saw before. He saw the gold, sapphire, chrysolite and pearl sparkling and he cried. One of them said to him, ‘By Allah! This is not a day of crying, rather a day of praising and delight.’ He said ‘By Allah! I did not think of it your way. Rather, such funds will not increase in any people except their harm falls between them.’ Then he turned to the Qiblah, rose up his hands and said, ‘O my Lord! I seek protection with you from being allured, for I hear You (S.W.T) saying: .

"We lead them on from whence they do not know". [TMQ 7:183].

Then he said, ‘Where is Suraqah ibn Ja'sham?’ He was brought to him while his arms were hairy and slim. He gave him the two bracelets of Kisra. He said, .

‘Wear them’ and he did. He then said, ‘Say Allahu akbar.’ He said allahu Akbar.’ He said, ‘Say Alhamdulillah who wrested them from Kisra ibn Hirmiz and dressed them to Suraqah ibn Ja'sham, a Bedouin from Bani Midlij.’ He started to turn over the funds with a stick and said, ‘Indeed the one that rendered that is honest.’ A man said to him, ‘Let me tell you, you are the trustee of Allah (ameen ullah), and they render to you that which you rendered to Allah. So, if you revelled they would revel.’ He said, ‘You said the truth.’ then he distributed it". We mentioned before also the hadith of Abdullah ibn Amru as reported by Al-Darimy "A servant passed away at the time of ‘Uthman without having a relative. So, he ordered that his wealth be put in bayt al-mal." This is besides the hadith of Anas ibn Seereen in Al-Istidhkar that “Ali used to divide the funds till bayt al-mal became empty. (It was cleaned and he sat in it." .

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to sometimes appoint one of his companions to preside over the division of the funds, or he used to appoint him over some of the issues of the funds. Al-Bukhari narrated a hadith from Uqbah that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: .

"I remembered some gold dust with us, so I hated it would hold me back, and I ordered it should be divided". The hadith of ibn Shihab, as reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah through a narration authenticated by Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar Al- Asqalani, Al-Mundhiri and Al-Haythami says: "The messenger of Allah (PBUH) entered the safe of Bilal in which he put the sadaqah and found in it a heap of dates, so he said, ‘What are these dates, O Bilal?’ He said ‘O Messenger of Allah, I took it for your misfortunes.’ He said, ‘Do you feel safe from waking up and finding it to fume in Jahanam? Spend and do not feel fear of reduction or stinginess from the Owner of the Throne.’".

This hadith states: "Abdul Rahman ibn Awf (ra) used to take charge of the sadaqah of camels and sheep at the time of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), and Bilal (ra) used to take charge of the sadaqah of fruits; while Mahmiyyah ibn Juz' used to take charge of the fifth (of the Messenger of Allah and his household)". And Khalifah said: “And Bilal was responsible for his expenses". .

Ibn Hibban narrated in the Sahih from Abdullah ibn Lahy Al-Huzany, he said: "I met with Bilal, the mu'azzin of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said, ‘O Bilal! How much were the expenses of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)?’ .

He replied, ‘He did not have anything. I was the one that took care of that since he was sent as a messenger till the day he ( ) passed away. If a Muslim came to him and he (PBUH) saw him not dressed, he ordered me to rush and borrow some money so as to buy him a cloak to dress him and also feed him’". Muslim narrated from Abi Rafi' the servant of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), he said: .

"The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) borrowed a young camel. Camels of the sadaqah reached him, Abu Rafi' said the Messenger of Allah ( PBUH) ordered me to repay the man his young camel. I said I did not find in the camels except a four year old good camel. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said give it to him, for the best people are those who are best in repayment". It is also mentioned in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, which is agreed upon by the four books:. "That when the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent Muadh to Yemen, he said: If they obeyed you then inform them that Allah has obliged upon them a sadaqah which is taken from their wealth people and given to their poor. If they accepted that from you, then avoid taking the best of their wealth, and protect yourself of the imprecation of the oppressed, for there is no curtain between it and Allah". .

It is also reported in the two Saheeh from Abu Hurayarah "that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sent ‘Umar (ra) to collect the sadaqah". .

The khulafa’ rashidun followed him in his method, so they used to appoint some other people to run the affairs of funds. Ibn Ishaq and Khalifah narrated: "Abu Bakr appointed Abu Ubaydah ibn Al-Jarrah in charge of Bayt al-mal, and then he sent him to Al-Sham". .

Al-Dhahabi said commenting on the life of Muayqeeb that Abu Bakr and ‘Umar appointed him in charge of Bayt al-mal. Ibn Ishaq mentioned in a narration praised by Al-Hakim as the author of Al-Taratib Al-Idariyyah (the administrative arrangements) from Abdullah ibn Al-Zubayr that he said: "He wrote to Abu Bakr, and he assigned Bayt al-mal to him, and ‘Umar ibn Al- Khattab consented to that", meaning Abdullah ibn Al-Arqam. Ibn Sa'd narrated in Al-Tabaqaat and Ibn Hajar in Al-Isabah that the treasurer of ‘Umar was his servant Yasser ibn Numayr. Ahmad narrated in his Musnad and Abd al-Razzaq in Al-Musannaf, from Lahiq ibn Hamid, he said, "And he sent Ibn Mas'ud in charge of Judiciary and Bayt al-mal", meaning to Al-Kufah. Khalifah narrated from Malik ibn Anas from Zayd ibn Aslam that “‘Umar appointed Abdullah ibn Arqam in charge of the Bayt al-mal". . Ibn Khuzymah reported in his saheeh from Urwah ibn Al-Zubayr that “Abd al- Rahman ibn ‘Abd al-Qari said, ‘I was in charge of the Bayt al-mal at the time of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab". Ibn Hajar narrated in Al-Fath in the context of speaking about the virtues of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud: "And he was appointed by ‘Umar and ‘Uthman to be in charge of the Bayt al-mal in Kufah". Al- Jahshayari mentioned in Al-Wuzara' wa l-Kuttab: "Abdullah ibn Arqam ibn Abd Yaghuth, one of the scribes of the Prophet, used to assume authority over the Bayt al-mal for him", meaning ‘Uthman. Al-Hakim mentioned in Al- Mustadrak from Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar that, "Abdullah ibn Al-Arqam ibn Abd Yaghuth was in charge of Bayt al-mal at the time of ‘Umar and the beginning of the authority of ‘Uthman till he passed away; and he had some companionship (with the Messenger)".. Ibn Abd al-Barr said in Al-Isti’ab: "Zayd ibn Thabit was in charge of the Bayt al- mal during the Khilafah of ‘Uthman; Zayd used to have a slave called Waheeb, ‘Uthman saw him helping them in bayt al-mal, so he said: ‘Who is this?’ Zayd replied, a slave to me.’ ‘Uthman said, ‘I see that he helps the Muslims, and he is entitled for a right, and I allocate it to him.’ So he allocated to him two thousand. Zayd said, ‘By Allah, you cannot allocate two thousand to a slave’, so he allocated to him one thousand"..

Al-Safadi mentioned in the book about the scholars of Egypt and the companions of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) who entered it: "Abu Rafi' was referred after that to Ali ibn Abu Talib, so he put him in charge of Bayt al-malin Al-Kufah". Ibn `Abd al-Barr said in Al-Isti’ab: "Ubaydullah ibn Abu Rafi' was a treasurer and secretary to Ali". Al-Ainee mentioned in Umdat ul- Qaari': "Abdullah ibn Wahb Al-Suwa'i, Ali used to honour him, love him and trust him, so he was put in charge of Bayt al-malin Al-Kufah". Ali appointed Ziyad in charge of Al-Basrah. Al-Jahshiyari said: "When he left Al-Basrah, he placed him in charge of Al-Kharaaj and diwan". .

Bayt al-mal can be divided into two parts: .

Revenues: It includes three diwans: .

• Diwan of spoils and kharaj: This includes the spoils, kharaj, lands, jizyah, booties and taxes. .

• Diwan of public property: This includes the oil, gas, electricity, minerals, seas, rivers, lakes, springs, forests, pastures and hima (protected lands). .