If we look around us today in the West, the population suffers from having to give every last penny away in tax, everything from income tax, council tax, value added tax, death duties, road tax, even petrol is taxed. All these taxes have to be paid and as a result the poor suffer the most. Islam has a unique system of taxation where there is no taxation of the poor. There are three types of regular taxes taken from those who are able to pay. The Jizyah is a tax on non-Muslim citizens who are able to pay it. This is much less than any tax on Muslim citizens.
The Ushr is a tax levied on land where the indigenous population did not refuse to be ruled by Islam, at a rate of one tenth of the produce if the land is irrigated by rain, and one twentieth if the land is mechanically irrigated. The Kharaj is a tax on conquered land, whose rate is fixed by the Khaleefah.
There was one time during the Khaleefah Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (rh) during his rule in 7th Century CE, where he could not find one poor person to give Zakat to. However today in Britain alone, the world’s 4th richest country, a vast amount of the population is below the poverty line. Yet they still charge the highest petrol prices in the world and forever increasing taxes.
The root of the problem is that as Capitalist’s their only concern is with production and consumption, they have no concern for distribution. This leads to problems such as poverty, famine, inflation, etc. Even though it is a well-known fact that there are enough resources to provide for everyone in the world; food mountains are left to rot as too much of the product on the market will reduce the price of the product. The rich get richer and the poor to get poorer simply because there is no distribution in this man made system.
Taxation is simply another method of the government gaining money. Hence such high petrol prices and such a large amount of a persons salary is taken away in tax. One of the functions of the Islamic Economic system however, is to satisfy the basic needs of every individual in the state completely and not having some suffering and others taking every luxury available. Distribution is top of the list, to look after and maintain the affairs of the people.
Study the history of the Islamic State and see how under its rule, it’s citizens enjoyed security and prosperity. Humans were cared for, they were housed, well fed and their lives elevated to a standard of dignity. The only way out of today’s disastrous situation is to bring about the justice of Islam. The economic system of Islam is a comprehensive distribution of wealth to the world. It does not discriminate between rich or poor, Muslim or non-Muslim; all citizens are treated justly. Its only concern is to eliminate the oppression which ensues from the corruption of man made law.
The beauty of the Islamic way of life has been hidden away from us for decades, it can be enjoyed again by the Muslims and non-Muslims alike, when the systems of Islam are implemented once more.
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