Each year, the democratic states draw up a general budget for their State. The reality of the budget in the democratic State is that the budget itself is issued in the shape of a law known as the Budget Bill or Law for such and such year, which Parliament then approves and enacts it as a law once it has been debated, including the appropriations of the Budget one by one, and the sums assigned to each item. Each appropriation is in fact an integral part of the Budget and these are voted on as a whole, and not individually. Hence, Parliament can either accept or reject it outright, even if it reserves the right to debate it item per item and sum per sum at the debating stage. The law of the Budget is formed of several articles, one of which is drawn up to show the funds that are earmarked for the State’s upcoming expenditure in the financial year for which the Budget has been drawn up. Another article is drawn to show the State’s estimates with regard to the revenues of the coming financial year. Other articles are drawn in order to earmark the expenses of certain institutions, while yet other articles are drawn in order to estimate the revenues of certain institutions. Also, certain articles are drafted in order to give the Chancellor a host of mandatory powers. In each article a reference is made to a table that includes the sections of the Budget, outlining what each article contains in terms of expenditures and revenues, then in each column the items of the section are listed; then the overall sums of each item in the section are listed in the table. It is on this basis that the Budget is drawn up each year, with slight alterations introduced each year, according to the various events. There are also a host of peripheral changes in the budget of each democratic State, and this is also according to the various events.

As for the Islamic State, she does not draw up an annual budget because the matter does not require a specific law for the budget each year. The budget does not get proposed to the Ummah’s Council, nor is the Council’s opinion sought. This is because the budget with all its articles and sections, and the funds included in each of them, is law in the democratic system. It is a law for one single year. The law in the democratic system is enacted by Parliament, and that is why the matter is required to be proposed to Parliament for ratification. The Islamic State does not need this, because the Treasury’s revenues are levied according to the Shari’ah rules stipulated by text and they are paid out according to the Shari’ah rules stipulated by text. All of these are permanent Shari’ah rules; hence, there is absolutely no room for opinion seeking with regard to the revenues and with regard to the expenditures. The sections in the budget are formed of permanent sections that have been determined by permanent Shari’ah rules. This is as far as the Budget sections are concerned; as for the appropriations of the budget and the amounts included in each appropriation as well as the matters for which these amounts are allocated in each appropriation, all of this is down to the opinion and the Ijtihad of the Khalifah. This is because it is part of looking after people’s affairs, which Shari’ah had conferred upon the Khalifah to decide based on what He deems fit; and his order is binding and must be executed.

Therefore, there is no room in Islam for the State to draw up an annual budget, as is the case in the democratic system, whether this is with regard to its sections, its appropriations its items or the amounts required for each item or each appropriation. This is why no annual budget is drawn up for the Islamic State, though she has a permanent budget for which the Shar’a has determined its sections for both revenues and expenditures. The Khalifah reserves the right to determine the appropriations and their items, whenever it is required without linking that to a particular period.