1. Financial institutions

A t the time of 'Ali ibn Ahi T2lib (&), there were not many changes worth mentioning in the financial policies of the Islamic state. Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&)returned to the way of Ahu B&T as-Siddeeq (&) in giving equal stipends to the people,' and he did not show preference to anyone; he gave to slaves as he gave to their masters.' In some regions, the treasury was entrusted to the governors themselves. Qays ibn Sa'd ibn 'Ubidah, the general governor of Egypt, was in charge of the treasury there. Similarly, when 'Ali (&,) sent al-Ashtar an-Nakha'i to be governor of Egypt, he indicated that in addition to his general duties, he was responsible for the treasury and for supervising it in a way that served the people's interests. He explained: "Because if the people are in good shape, than the treasury will continue to be in good shape. The affairs of the community cannot be sound unless they are in good shape, because all the people are dependent on the treasury and on those who are in charge of it. So your focus should he on developing the land to bring about prosperity, more than on collecting money from the people, because collection of taxes is dependent upon prosperity. Financial andjudicia~y institutions at the time of 'Ali Whoever seeks to collect taxes without paying attention to prosperity will harm the country and destroy the people, and he cannot last as governor except for a little while. If they complain about burdens, problems, shortages of water or damage to the land because of flooding or drought, then you should reduce their burden as much as you think may help them out, because the more you focus on prosperity, the better results you will get. The ruin of society results from the poverty of its people, and the poverty of the people results from the greed of governors and their focus on collecting taxes. Because of their misguided thinking, they will stay there for a long time, hoping to live for a long time, and not learning from the lessons of othersm3 The way Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali (&) viewed the treasury is something that went beyond collecting money; it encompassed the economy of the country as a whole, as the land tax formed the main source of income at that time. 'Ali (&) was known for being very , , strict in keeping an eye on his agents in all that ~ e y did. The treasury and financial affairs were important matters that Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali ibn Abi T2ih (&) kept a close eye on. He used to send spies and intelligence gatherers to find out about these rnatter~.~ The governors had general authority to spend from the wealth and public treasq of their provinces. The governors who were in direct control of the treasury and tax collectors at the time of the caliphs used to spend in legitimate ways from the wealth that they had when it was needed. They used this wealth for matters of jihad, such as preparing weapons and mounts, paying soldiers' salaries and other expenses. They also gave salaries to official workers and employees in the province.5 In addition to that, they used to cany out construction projects, such as building bridges and digging channels, springs and rivers, all of which required spending from the money that they collected from their provinces.6

'Ali ibn Abi Tiilib In some situations, control of the treasury was separate from the job of the governor. In that case, as part of their general supervision of the province, governors required the officials in charge of the treasury to spend on the activities mentioned above. Alternatively, the governor would hire workers to supervise a particular project, and the costs of the work would be paid from the income of the province through the treasury department. So even if the role of the treasury was separate from that of the governor, as has been suggested by some researcher^,^ spending was still supervised by the governors in many cases, whether it was for jihad or for development. Some Islamic jurists have pointed out that the governors had to spend in the interests of the Muslims and not freeze this wealth, because holding this wealth that was taken lawfully, and not spending it on the interests of the Muslims, would be equivalent to taking it in an unlawful manner. They regarded freezing public wealth a7 something unjust and as a shortcoming on the part of go~ernors.~ The regions and provinces were more entitled to their wealth and tax revenues than others, so the governors would not transfer the treasury's funds from the provinces to the capital in Madinah, or in Kufah later on, until they had covered the needs of their provinces first.9 Undoubtedly what the Rightly Guided Caliphs did, especially at the time of 'Umar (&), in terms of organising a precise system of financial affairs in the provinces, collecting sources of income or a general income in addition to general expenditure, is regarded as a new system. Nonetheless, this did not prevent them from benefiting from the experience of those who had come before them as they introduced the govemment ministries and controlled their financial affairs in all aspects. I have discussed the financial institutions during the era of 'Umar (&) in some detail. Any reader wishing to know Financial and judiciary institutions at the time of 'Ali more about that may refer to my book Fasl al-Khitcibfi Seerat Ameer al-Mu'mineen 'Umar ibn al-Khattcib (available in English under the title 'Umar ibn al-Khagcib - His Life and Times). Some Mentalists, including Philip Hitti in his History of the Arabs, have tried to undermine the importance of the efforts of the Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them) in organising the wealth of the state in general. Hitti writes: "Later developments, the result of many years of practice, were attributed by this tradition to the initiative of 'Umar. The fact is that the original part which the first caliphs and the early Moslem [sic] governors played in the imposition of taxes and the administration of finances could not have been great. The framework of the Byzantine provincial government in Syria and Egypt was continued in Allah's name, and no radical changes were introduced into the machinery of local administration in the former Persian domains. From the very beginning taxation varied according to the nature of the soil and the system that had prevailed in that locality under the old rule, whether Byzantine or Persian; it did not necessarily depend upon the acquisition of land by capitulation (sulhan) or by force ('anwatan) nor upon any legislative act on the part of mar."'^ The writer ignored reports that were narrated about the way in which 'Umar (&) worked out the tax on lands conquered by force, and how this new system was opposed by some of the Companions before the matter was settled and they all agreed to adopt it." Muhammad Diya' ad-Deen ar-Rayyis took on the task of refuting these Orientalists and their views, on the basis of authentic historical texts. He concluded that this claim has no sound basis and that the Muslims and their jurists differentiated between that which was introduced by 'Umar and that which was introduced by others. Indeed, they discussed in great detail the issue of tax collection at the time of 'Umar (&,).I2

'Ali ibn Abi Tcilib It is the habit of the Orientalists and their lackeys to criticise and undermine the great figures of Islam. The problem is that they find people in the Ummah who view their writings with respect and admiration. Due to the wars and internal conflict, the Muslim state at the time of 'Ali (&) was negatively affected with regard to its various institutions, suck as the financial and military ones. The position of caliphate itself was also affected, and this played a role in the demise of the Rightly Guided Caliphate. We will discuss this in more detail below.