مَا أَفَاءَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ كَيْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةً بَيْنَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ مِنْكُمْ (7:59)

Whatever the Almighty has bestowed on His Prophet from the people of the cities, it is reserved for Allah and His Prophet and the relatives of the Prophet and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarers so that it may not circulate in only the rich among you. (59:7)

The context of this verse is that in the Prophet’s times when people demanded that the wealth, land and assets obtained from the enemy against whom no war had been waged be distributed among them, the Quran refused this demand; it asserted that they belonged to Allah and the Prophet (sws) and were reserved for the collective requirements of the state and religion, and for the poor and needy. This, according to the Qur’an, was necessary so that wealth should not get concentrated among the rich and that it be directed to those sectors of the society who, because of their natural disabilities and lack of resources, are unable to struggle for their livelihood or for some reason are left far behind others in earning for themselves.

Since the wealth and assets referred to in the above mentioned verse were obtained without any real assistance from the believers merely through the Almighty’s help in accordance with His law regarding His messengers, all of these were reserved for collective purposes. The spoils of war obtained in the times of the Prophet (sws) in various battles fought in Arabia were also owned by Allah and the Prophet (sws) [1] because of the peculiar nature of these armed offensives. However, since the believers had also assisted in acquiring them by using their personal weapons, camels and horses as well as food, camps and various other items needed during these wars, it was necessary that the spoils be distributed among them. Nevertheless, even in these spoils, the Qur’an reserved 1/5thof the share for these collective purposes:

وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّمَا غَنِمْتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَأَنَّ لِلَّهِ خُمُسَهُ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ (41:8)

And you should know that a fifth of the spoils you get hold of are for Allah and the Prophet and his near relatives and the orphans and the needy and the wayfarer. (8:41)

These verses provide a specific guidance to every Muslim state: Wealth and assets which are not in the ownership of an individual or cannot be in his ownership should remain in the ownership of the state so that besides fulfilling some other needs of the state through them they are directed to those sectors of the society which are dependent on others for their needs.

As far as the way in which this public wealth and property are to be organized is concerned, the shariah has left the matter to the circumstances which prevail in a society and upon the general well-being of the Muslims. Therefore, the rulers of an Islamic state in consultation with the elected representatives can adopt whatever measures they deem appropriate in this regard. Consequently, it is known that the Prophet (sws), in his times, gave the lands of Khaybar for crop sharing, [2] left certain lands under the permanent control of certain people for whom these lands had been reserved, [3] regarded certain lands as hima, [4] left certain things to be shared equally by every one, [5] fixed the principle of al-aqrab fa al-aqrab (nearest to the next nearest) for using the water of certain springs and canals [6] or the way the caliph Umar (rta) imposed a fixed amount of tribute (kharaj) on the state owned lands of Syria and Iraq conquered in his times, according to the extent of their produce while leaving them in the hands of their previous owners. [7]

(Javed Ahmed Ghamidi)

(Translated by Dr. Shehzad Saleem)

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[1]. [O Prophet!] They ask you about the spoils of war. Say: “The spoils belong to Allah and the Prophet.”(8:1)

[2]. Muslim, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 678-679, (no. 3967).

[3]. Abu Daud, Sunan, vol. 3, 170, (no. 3058).

[4]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 381, (no. 2370); Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 5, 22 (no. 16227).

[5]. Ibn Majah, Sunan, vol. 3, 187, (nos. 2473); Abu Da’ud, Sunan, vol. 3, 276, (no. 3477); Ibn Abi Shaybah, Musannaf, vol. 5, 7, (no. 23194).

[6]. Al-Bukhari, Al-Jami‘ al-sahih, 379, (no. 2361).

[7]. Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Ibrahim, Kitab al-kharaj, Fasl fi al-fay wa al-kharaj,(n.p.: 1302 AH), 26-29.