to impose taxes? Is it obligatory to pay them?
Praise be to Allah.
Zakaah is one of the pillars of Islam which Allah, may He be exalted,
has enjoined upon the rich Muslims so as to achieve a kind of social
security, solidarity and financing some common interests, such as
jihad for the sake of Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted, has mentioned it alongside prayer in more
than one verse of the Qur'an, which confirms its importance. The fact
that it is obligatory is proven according to the Qur'an, Sunnah and
scholarly consensus.
With regard to the taxes that are decreed by the state and imposed on
the people, they have nothing to do with what Allah has enjoined upon
them of giving the zakaah of their wealth.
Taxes in general terms are a financial obligation imposed by the state
on people, from which the state spends on the public interest, such as
transportation, health, education and so on.
Taxes come under the heading of man-made systems, and are not
prescribed by Allah, may He be exalted. As for zakaah, it is divinely
ordained and it is one of the greatest acts of worship in Islam.
Some people do not pay zakaah on their wealth, because they think that
the taxes they pay to the state are sufficient, but this is not
permissible, because taxes are one thing and zakaah is something else
altogether.
The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:
It is not permissible to regard the taxes that the owners of wealth
pay on their wealth as coming under the heading of the zakaah on that
on which it is obligatory to give zakaah. Rather it is obligatory to
give the zakaah ordained by Allah to those who are entitled to it
according to sharee'ah, as Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
says (interpretation of the meaning):"As-Sadaqat (here it means Zakat)
are only for the Fuqara' (poor), and Al-Masakin (the poor)…"
[at-Tawbah 9:60].
End quote fromFataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 9/285.
The basic principle with regard to the imposition of taxes on people
is that it is haraam, and in fact is a major sin, for which the one
who does it is subject to the warning that he will never enter
Paradise. In the Prophet's Sunnah there is an indication that imposing
taxes is a greater sin than zina. This has been discussed previously
in the answer to question no. 39461.
It may be permissible in exceptional circumstances for the state to
impose taxes on the people, according to specific conditions, which
include the following:
1.That it should be imposed fairly, in the sense that the obligation
is fairly distributed among the people. So no group or class should be
burdened with it to the exclusion of another; rather it should be
imposed on the wealthy, each according to his wealth. It is not
permissible to impose it on the poor or to treat the poor and the rich
equally in this regard.
2.The bayt al-maal (which nowadays is known as the state treasury)
should be empty. But if the state is rich in resources, it is not
permissible to impose taxes on the people; in that case taxes would
come under the heading ofmukoos(levies) which are haraam and are
regarded as major sins.
3.That should be in exceptional cases where it is required to ward off
some harm. It is not permissible to make this an ongoing system at all
times.
Inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah(8/247) it says that the resources of the
bayt al-maal include the following:
Taxes imposed on the people for their own interests, whether that is
for jihad or otherwise. They should not be imposed on them unless what
is in the bayt al-maal is not sufficient and it is a case of
necessity. Otherwise it is an illegitimate source of revenue. End
quote.
There are many permissible and legitimate sources of revenue for the
bayt al-maal of the Muslims. They have been discussed previously in
the answer to question no. 138115.
If the Muslims follow these guidelines, Allah, may He be exalted, will
make them independent of means and they will have no need to impose
taxes except in very rare circumstances.
4.(The revenue) should be spent in the real interests of the ummah;
nothing of it should be spent in acts of disobedience towards Allah or
anything that is not in their interests, such as money that is spent
on actors, artists and sports players.
Shaykh Ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
With regard to paying the taxes imposed by governments, such as sales
tax, income tax, taxes on industry and on workers, and so on, this is
a matter that is subject to ijtihaad. If the state collects taxes
instead of the obligatory zakaah that merchants and the like should
pay, then it must be paid. If it collects taxes in addition to zakaah,
but the bayt al-maal needs to finance essential interests such as
schools, bridges and mosques, and to pay civil servants, it is
permissible to pay it and it is not permissible to withhold it.
But if the state takes taxes from its citizens other than zakaah, and
wastes it on extravagance, corruption, idle leisure and other haraam
things, and it does not spend it on legitimate interests, such as
those who are entitled to zakaah, then it is permissible to conceal
wealth and profits so as not to give them haraam wealth and help them
in doing haraam things. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation
of the meaning):"but do not help one another in sin and transgression"
[al-Maa'idah 5:3]. End quote.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said, discussing the
difference between the public interest and innovated interests:
The public interest (al-maslahah al-mursalah) is completely different
from so-called "good innovation" (bid'ah hasanah). The public interest
is for the purpose of achieving some interest dictated by place and
time, that is approved of by Islam. In this regard, Imam ash-Shaatibi
confirmed that it is Islamically permissible to impose taxes that are
different from the taxes that are imposed nowadays in many, if not
all, Muslim countries on the basis of unclear, ambiguous laws, in
imitation of the kuffaar who were deprived of the blessing of
following the path of Allah that is based on the Book of Allah and the
Sunnah of His Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). For
those who were deprived of the guidance of the Qur'an and Sunnah, it
became a necessity to draw up for themselves a specific system and to
promulgate laws to deal with their problems. But for the Muslims,
Allah caused them to have no need of such things, by virtue of the
Book which He sent down to them and by virtue of what the Messenger of
Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) explained to them.
Hence it is not permissible for the Muslims to replace sharee'ah with
man-made laws, lest the words of Allah,"Would you exchange that which
is better for that which is lower?" [al-Baqarah 2:61]become applicable
to them. So it is not permissible under any circumstances to impose
taxes as a fixed, immutable law, as if it is a law divinely revealed
from heaven for all time. Rather the kind of taxes that it is
permissible for the Muslim state to impose is in specific
circumstances that the state is going through. I think that this
example is the one that was given by Imam ash-Shaatibi: If a Muslim
country is attacked, and there are no funds in the state treasury to
prepare and equip armies to ward off that attack by the enemies of
Islam, then in such circumstances the state may impose a specific tax
on particular people who can afford to pay what is imposed on them.
But that should not become a binding tax and established law -- as we
stated above. Once the passing reason, which is the kaafir attack and
the need to defend the Muslim land, is no longer applicable, then the
taxes are waived from the Muslims, because the reason for which the
taxes were imposed is no longer present. The ruling -- as the fuqaha'
stated -- is connected to the reason for it: if the reason exists then
the ruling applies, but when it is no longer present, the ruling no
longer applies. The reason or cause that makes this obligatory duty
essential is no longer present, and when it has disappeared the taxes
should also disappear.
To sum up: there are no taxes that should become part of Islamic law
and regulations; rather the Muslim state may impose specific taxes in
specific circumstances, and when circumstances change, the taxes
should be abolished. End quote.
http://audio.islamweb.n et /audio?page=FullContent &audioid=109346-44k
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Everything that is taken unlawfully is like a tax, and is haraam. It
is not permissible for anyone to take his brother's wealth unlawfully,
as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "If
you sell fruit to your brother then the crop (on the tree) fails, it
is not permissible for you to take anything of it (his brother's
money). On what basis would you consume your brother's wealth
unlawfully?" But the Muslim is required to hear and obey; he should
listen to those in authority and obey those in authority. If they ask
him for money for such matters, he should give it to them. Then if he
has a right to it, he will find it restored (i.e., on the Day of
Resurrection), and if it he does not have any right to it, in that it
was taken from him in a justifiable manner, then there will be nothing
to be settled. What matters is that what we are obliged to do is to
hear and obey with regard to those in authority. The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "Hear and obey, even
if your back is beaten and your wealth is taken." It is not
permissible to take these matters as an excuse to criticize those in
authority and to slander them in gatherings and the like. We should be
patient and whatever we do not get in this world we will get in the
Hereafter.
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