Crisis free economic justice - economy in the Khilafah Final Part

The 5th and Final part of the keynote speech given by Abu Khaleel, the spokesman of Hizb ut-Tahrir Sudan in which he outlines the final principles of Economy in the Islamic Khilafah state, and his concluding words.

Part 5

Seventh: The Economic Welfare the State Carries out:

The state guarantees work for each of its citizens because the Prophet (saw) said:
“The Imam is the care taker and he is responsible for his herd.”
And he (saw) said:
“If somebody dies (among the Muslims) leaving some property, the property will go to his heirs; and if he leaves a debt or dependants, we will take care of them."
And he (saw) said:
“If anyone leaves property, it goes to his heirs, and if anyone leaves debt and dependants, let the matter come to me and I shall be responsible.”

Thus a destitute and poor person who is unable to work and has no close relative who is liable for his maintenance, and a poor person who can work but cannot find employment and has no close relative who is liable for his maintenance, then the state is liable for their maintenance in compliance with the above ahadeeth. The state has the responsibility to find employment for the one who is capable to work, and fulfill the responsibility of the one who is unable to work with funds from the bait ul maal. It has been reported in an authentic hadeeth:

A man of the Ansar came to the Prophet (saw) and begged from him. He (the Prophet) asked: Have you nothing in your house? He replied: Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water. He said: Bring them to me. He then brought these articles to him and he (the Prophet) took them in his hands and asked: Who will buy these? A man said: I shall buy them for one dirham. He said twice or thrice: Who will offer more than one dirham? A man said: I shall buy them for two dirhams. He gave these to him and took the two dirhams and, giving them to the Ansari, he said: Buy food with one of them and hand it to your family, and buy an axe and bring it to me. He then brought it to him. The Prophet (saw) fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight. The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned ten dirhams, he came to him and bought a garment with some of them and food with the others. The Prophet (saw) then said: This is better for you than begging that should come as a spot on your face on the Day of Judgment….”

These rules also cover the dhimmi who lives in the Islamic State and is a citizen of it; he is as well entitled to state welfare. A dhimmi is one who professes a religion other than Islam and becomes a citizen of the Islamic state while remaining on his non-Islamic deen. The term dhimmi is derived from the word dhimmah which implies a covenant of protection. They have the right upon us to treat them rightfully, deal with them and take care of their affairs in compliance with the rules of the Sharee’ah. Islam has come with several Ahkam for the dhimmis which guarantee them rights and duties as citizens. They are the same as Muslims in terms of justice and equity.

The dhimmis have the right of their welfare guarantee of livelihood just as the Muslims have, Abi Waa’l and Abi Moosa report that the Prophet (saw) said:
"Feed the hungry, visit the sick, and set free the captives."

This covers all citizens of the Islamic state, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Eighth: Accounting of State Employees re their non Shar’ii possessions:

The Islamic state does not permit its employees to economically exploit their employment; rather, it accounts them just as the Prophet (saw) used to do.

The Prophet (saw) used to account the governors and ‘aamils on their earnings and said in this regard:
“Whomever we appointed in his job and we provided for him (some funds), so whatever he took unduly would be ghalool (misappropriation).”

The Prophet (saw) appointed Ibn al-Lutbiyyah over the sadaqah of Bani Saleem, “When he returned back to the Prophet (saw) and he reviewed the accounts with him, he said, ‘This is what is yours, and this is a gift to me.’ The Prophet (saw) said, ‘(Why) Won’t you stay in your parents home and see if you get your present, if you say the truth?’ Then the Prophet (saw) stood and spoke to the people. So he praised Allah and glorified Him and said, ‘after all, I appoint some men of you over some affairs in which Allah gave me authority. Then someone amongst you comes and says: This is for you and this is a gift given to me. Had he not sat in his father’s and mother’s home so as his gift comes to him if he says the truth. By Allah, no one of you would take of them (the sadaqah) anything unduly but will meet Allah carrying it on the Day of Judgment. Beware; I will know any man who comes to Allah with a camel that brays and a cow that is mooing and a sheep that bleats.’ Then he raised his hands till I could see the whiteness of his armpits. ‘Did not I convey (the message)’.”

It is reported of ‘Omar bin Khattab (ra) that he used to account the properties of the ‘aamils before appointing them as well as after their terms and take away any unreasonably extra wealth found with them. He also accounted the possessions of some of the governors and took away part of the wealth of others because of suspicion over the means of their earning such wealth due to exploiting their position and influence. He would take possession of such wealth and take it to the bait ul maal.

Thus the employees are first of all encouraged to fulfil their duties with a sense of taqwa, then it is enforced with the Shar’ii rules which requires that the employees be accounted fairly to ensure that the wealth of the Ummah is protected and not violated.

Ninth: Monitoring/Supervision of the Economic System in Islam:

The monitoring apparatus of the state may be summarised as follows:

The Muhtasib (judge of the markets) monitors the markets for fair weights and measures and guards against cheating and deception in markets and public places in addition to monitoring other offences & violations.

The Judge: He rules in matters of all disputes including financial and economic which may emerge between people in their daily lives.

The Administrative structure: This is the mechanism to control the movement of money in the bait ul maal under various heads like the zakat money, state money or the public sector revenues. This exercises monitoring of incomes and expenditure and ensure that money is placed under its rightful category.

The Madhalim Court: This is the court of the unjust acts and takes up complaints raised against the ruler if the citizens’ rights are violated in any way, whether in matters of finance or economy.

These are the monitoring or accountability systems which ensure fairness in the economic system as required by the Sharee’ah.

Dear distinguished guests:

These are the broad outlines of the economic policy in Islam.
If the Khilafah state disburses the net incomes from the public properties among its citizens right from their birth;
And if the Khilafah state fulfills the basic needs of the poor and destitute like, food, clothing and shelter by providing work to the able-bodied among them and taking responsibility for those who are not capable of undertaking work, through funds from zakat and public wealth to cover their basic needs;
And when the Khilafah state distributes from the public money to a less rich person and not the very rich person, in order to create a balance in society and reduce disparities between peoples wealth;
Then the Khilafah state gives interest free loans to those who need it for the purpose of agriculture, industry or trading;
When the state prevents invalid transactions, whether the invalid contracts that do not comply with proper contractual regulations or the multinational companies, the limited liability companies or the insurance companies.
If the state prohibits the sale and purchase, both internally and externally, of goods that are not owned and not possessed as in the stock exchanges and stops speculation;
If the state prevents the sale of gold & silver and all other cash forms without taking possession, in case of different categories; and without taking possession and equal quantities in case of similar items, as is the practice in the stock markets currently;
If the state prohibits interest based credit cards and transactions in financial instruments and interest bearing bonds and the trading of the invalid shares;
If the monitoring departments of the state exercise control over all those who manipulate, violate, cheat, hoard, monopolise or gamble;
And then, the implementation of this system in the Khilafah state does not alter or reverse depending on the ‘mood’ or inclination of the ruler, rather it is the system mandated by Allah (swt) implemented on the basis of Taqwa, fairness of legislation in the state which is a welfare state and not a revenue collecting state;
Is it not the duty of the one who alone can deliver a life of security and prosperity free from crises to stand up to the task?

Dear Brothers!
It can be said that this system is indeed just, fair and secure. But it is only in the pages of books, and to establish the Khilafah state seems a preposterous matter in the current times or at least a very difficult task. Then why engage ourselves in the attempt to pluck the fruit from a high tree and expose ourselves to its perils? Why not feed ourselves with the fruits that fall from the tree, clean them of the dirt as much as we can and close our eyes to any dirt remaining on it that we can not clean, and eat the same!?

Dear Brothers!
As for the first excuse that the task is an impossible one, it is clear to any observer that it is not so, in fact it is not an impossible task, instead the Khilafah state is about to be formed soon with permission of Allah (swt) and the evidence for this is as follows:

The First: Allah (swt) has promised authority to those who believe in Him (swt) and do good deed:
“Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession to (the present rulers) in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them (i.e. Islam). And He will surely give them in exchange a safe security after their fear (provided) they (the believers) worship Me and do not associate anything (in worship) with Me. But whoever disbelieved after this, they are the Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allah).” [TMQ 24: 55]

The Second: The Prophet (saw) has given glad tidings for the return of the Khilafah on the pattern of the prophethood after a period of forcible governance that we are under currently, the Prophet (saw) said:

"The Prophethood will be among you as long as Allah wills, then he will eliminate it if he so wills. Then a Khilafah on the model of Prophethood will prevail so long as Allah wills, then he will eliminate it if he so wills. Then there will be a biting monarchy as long as Allah wills, then he will eliminate it if he so wills. Then there will be an oppressive monarchy as long as Allah wills, then he will eliminate it if he so wills. Then a Khilafah on the way of Prophethood will prevail and he kept silent."

The Third: The effective and aware Ummah will accept and appreciate the work to reestablish the Khilafah and it will support it until the promise of Allah (swt) takes shape and then it will guard and nurture it as well… because the Ummah is fast moving in the original direction for which it was created by Allah (swt), He said:

“You are the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; you enjoin Al-Ma'rûf (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained) and forbid Al-Munkar (polytheism, disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden), and you believe in Allâh.” [TMQ 03: 110]

The Fourth: The Hizb is sincere and dedicated to Allah (swt) and truthful to His Prophet (saw) and is striving its way day and night until the promise of Allah (swt) and the glad tidings of His Prophet (saw) materialise by it. In this path, the Hizb is not afraid of the blame from the accusers and is not weakened by the task and will remain so until the end just as the Prophet (saw) said in a hadeeth reported in the Muslim on the authority of Thauban (ra):

“So long as a group of my Ummah remains on the truth, they will not be harmed by those who are feeble and frustrated, until Allah (swt) comes up with His command and so will they…”

Indeed, any one of these is sufficient to state that the matter of the Khilafah state being re-established is not an absurd or difficult task, it is merely possible, rather it is on its way shortly by the permission of Allah (swt). If just one of these evidences is enough, then consider that there are four of these.

As for the other option that why not be content with picking the dropped fruits and cleaning and eating them just as the capitalists implement the capitalist system which they keep on attempting to patch up and try to erase its failures. In response to this attitude, I would say that this is not the characteristic of Muslims who desire the best of this world and the hereafter, similarly, this attitude is not of those who are thinkers and strive for a better life, even those thinkers who are not Muslims.

Indeed, the Islamic economic system ensures a blessed economic life to all people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike so long as they live under the shade of the Khilafah which protects their life and safety irrespective of their origin, deen or descent. Whoever follows it, is guided to the right path and a blessed life and whoever chooses other systems, then you can see them suffering its consequences, Allah (swt) said the truth when He stated:

“Then if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My Guidance he shall neither go astray nor shall be distressed. But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Qur'ân nor acts on its teachings), verily, for him is a life of hardship," [TMQ 020: 124]

7th Muharram, 1430 A.H
January 3rd, 2009 C.E