The Ummah’s Charter by Al-Khilafah Publications

53. The economic problem is not the poverty of the country, but the poverty of individuals. Or in other words, the economic problem is the distribution of wealth and not the production of wealth. If a country is poor, its problem is solved by working to increase production, by expansion or by integration with other countries. The presence of the problem of poverty in a country is not inevitable. It may occur as in poor countries and it may not occur as in rich countries. It is not linked to the viewpoint about life, nor does it differ according to the peoples and nations, moreover, it does not create problems amongst the population. As for the problem of individual poverty, this will definitely happen. This is because the presence of the disabled and lazy people, beside others who became disabled through accidents; all of these and the like will inevitably exist in society. Furthermore, ownership is an instinct and competition among people for more ownership will inevitably occur in society. Thus, poverty of individuals in society is something that cannot be avoided. It is an inevitable problem that requires a solution. Also this problem relates to the viewpoint about life, which differs from people to people and nation to nation. So there are people who think the reward should be according to the effort, thus it is fair that the one who does not produce is poor. There are also people who think that it is injustice that the disabled be deprived from the right to live, even his inability was a natural handicap or if something happened to him beyond his control, thus causing him to be unable to earn. So justice demands that his livelihood is secured. Competition in life for livelihood and money is natural. Such competition creates problems amongst the population, which require solutions. This shows that the problem that needs a solution is the problem of the poverty of individuals, not the poverty of the country. Solving individual poverty solves the country’s poverty. Thus, the problem is distribution and not production.

54. One must insure that all the basic needs (Hajaat asaasiyyah), of all the citizens, are satisfied individually and in a complete manner. Every individual should also be enabled to satisfy his luxurious needs (Hajaat kamaaliyyah), and insure that the citizens have security, education, healthcare and the rest of the basic needs of the community. 55. Ownership is of three types: private ownership, public ownership and state ownership. As for private ownership it is a divine rule estimated in terms of asset or benefit, which accordingly enables the owner to utilize the asset and to receive compensation for it. As for public ownership, it is the permission of the Lawgiver to the community to share the use of the asset. State ownership is the property whose expenditure depends on the opinion and Ijtihaad of the head of state.

56. Public ownership is established by the nature and description of the property, regardless of the state’s view. It is the reality of the property that needs to be looked into: if the property is from the public amenities, like city squares or natural resources such as oil or anything which by its very nature is not owned by individuals, then it is naturally public property. The state cannot keep it as private property. If the property is not from one of these three then it remains as private property and it is not allowed for the state to forcibly take it from its owner and turn it into public or state property. As for the state property, this is restricted to the property that is the right of all the Muslims, but it is not property that belongs to the public. Even though the people have a right over it, such as Kharaj, taxes and Fay’, however it is state property and must be owned by the state. If the Muslims don’t have a right over it then it is the property of individuals and the state is not allowed to own it. Hence, what is known as nationalisation is completely haraam, because it is the state that transforms the private property into state property when it sees a general interest that requires the state’s ownership of a property owned individually. This is not allowed because the Sharee’ah has forbidden us to confiscate property. He (PBUH) said:

“It is not allowed for a person to take the stick of his brother without his permission.” He defined what is public property and he made the matter dependent on the nature and description of the property, not according to the opinion of the state. He defined state property and restricted it to the property in which the Muslim masses have a right.

57. Ownership of the land has specific rules. The possession of land is meant for agricultural production, and for the continuity and increase of this production. The land becomes owned as any other land would: by purchase, gift, inheritance and other types of ownership. It is also owned by reviving it, if it was dead land, or if the state granted its ownership to individuals. In the Sharee’ah terminology, this is known as ‘iqTaa’ (state property grants). When the individual gains ownership of the land he is obliged to personally undertake the responsibility of exploiting the land. He does this either by directly doing the work himself, or hiring workers, animals, farming equipment etc. It is not allowed for him to lease it out for cultivation. If he neglects it for more than three years, then the land is confiscated and given to someone else. He (PBUH) said:

“The one who revives a barren land it belongs to him.” It has been narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) granted land to Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. It has been authentically narrated that the Messenger (PBUH) said:

“Whosoever had a piece of land, let him cultivate it or let his brother cultivate it. He must not rent for it’s third or fourth of its harvest, and or a specified amount of food.” It has been reported that ‘Umar allowed fencing for three years. If the land has been left for three years and someone else revived it, then he is more entitled to it. It is also ‘Umar who said: “Anyone who fences a land (Muhtajir) has no right to it after three years.” 58. Foreign trade is allowed for all citizens, whether it is in goods or money. There is no need for licenses for import or export and no need for (foreign) money orders, due to the saying of Allah (SWTH), which is general in import:

“A nd Allah has permitted trade” [Al-Baqarah: 275], and the general import of the saying of the Messenger (PBUH):

“Trade with gold for silver as you wish, but hand to hand (without credit).” This is general and includes the domestic and foreign trade. Customs tax is not taken from those who carry citizenship, due to the saying of the Messenger (PBUH):

“He who imposes MMaakkss (custom duty) would not enter paradise.” As for non-citizens, they will not be allowed to enter the country or import their goods or money without permission, i.e. without an import licence and money order. The state has the right to give permission or withhold it. This is because the one who enters without citizenship cannot enter without amaan (pledge of protection) Customs taxes are taken from those who do not have citizenship according to what their country takes from our traders. It has been narrated that Abu Majlaz, Laahiq Ibn Hameed said: “They said to ‘Umar: ‘How much should we take from the belligerent people if they came to our land?’ He asked: ‘How much do they take from you?’ They said: ‘The ‘‘UUsshhrr (tithe)’ He said: ‘So take the same from them.’”.

59. Foreign trade is considered according to the citizenship of the trader, not the source of the goods. Traders who are kaafir Harbi hukman (potentially belligerent kafir) are banned from trading in our lands, except with the special permission given to the trader or the goods. Traders from any state with whom there is a treaty will be treated according to the agreements signed between them and us. The traders who hold citizenship are prevented from exporting the raw or strategic materials that the country needs, but they are not prevented from importing property they own.

The country that is actually at war with us, such as Israel, is excluded from such trading rules. The rules of the land of actual war apply to it, in all the relationships with it whether they are trade relations or not.

60. Utilization and investment of foreign money is banned in the country, as is the awarding of franchises to any foreigner.

61. It is not allowed for the Islamic State to participate in the IMF or the World Bank, or seek their help in order to strengthen the currency or to improve the financial or economic situation, due to the harm this causes to the state and the destruction of her currency and economy. This is because they are institutions used by America to control currency and trade in the world.

Similarly, it is not allowed for the Islamic state to take foreign debts from financial institutions or from foreign states to finance her projects, improve her economy or protect the value of her currency. Foreign debt is not allowed due to its danger to the state, economy, currency and sovereignty. This is because foreign debt is a tool to impoverish a country and destroy its economy and currency, whereby the debt multiplies. Beside that, it is a means to extend the influence of the money lending kaafir nations. This limits the state’s sovereignty and takes its will as a hostage. Therefore, the Sharee’ah does not allow this, because it is a means that leads to Haraam and the means that leads to Haraam is itself Haraam. These deals are also because they cannot take place without riba and riba is Haraam.

A quick look at the countries that allowed them-selves to take foreign loans such as Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Sudan and other countries indicates that these countries did not improve their economies. Their projects were not successful; they did not protect the value of the currency, or solve poverty. On the contrary, the currencies have collapsed, poverty has increased, the economy has declined, projects have failed and debts have multiplied manifold. The IMF and the World Bank now control their will and the donor countries have influence over them, which has led to a weakening of their sovereignty.

62. The ownership of a factory is, in origin, a private property, not a public property, nor a state property. This is because the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ordered the manufacture of a seal ring and the pulpit. He ordered the manufacture of both of these by people who owned the factory as an individual property. People used to order the manufacture of things at the time of the Messenger (PBUH) and he consented to that. This indicates that the Messenger (PBUH) consented to the individual ownership of the factories without restriction. As well as this, there is no text that indicates that the ownership of factories is a public or state property, so it is a private property.

However, it is allowed to give the factories that produce material from the public property the rule of the material they produce; thus they become public property. It is allowed as well to make them a state property, for she is the representative of the Ummah regarding the extraction of the public property material. It is allowed also to make them individual property, where the state hires these factories from the individuals in order to extract this material.

63. The permanent revenues of the state are the fay’, the jizyah, the kharaaj, the fifth of the hidden treasure and the zakaah. These revenues are collected continuously, whether there was a need or not. If these revenues meet the needs, there is no problem; it is not then allowed for the state to collect taxes at all. If however these revenues were not enough to meet the expenses, then the matter needs to be examined. If the needs that were not met were not necessary and no harm falls upon the land or the people due to them being left, such as building a road where there is another alternative road, and digging wells where the present wells are sufficient, then in this case the state collects taxes that are enough to undertake them. This is because this is obligatory on bait ul-maal and the Muslims. If there are no revenues in bait ul-maal, then the obligation is transferred to the Muslims. In that case the taxes are collected from everybody who has more than his needs, according to his situation and in a seemly manner. It is not allowed to lay down indirect taxes at all. Thus, there are absolutely no taxes for guarding, for health, for council and nor for courts or for auction and other things.