What Are Tax Reforms Of Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.)
Hazrat Umar Farooq
(R.A.) spent his entire life obedience to Allah and His Messenger (P.B.U.H.).
The Holy Prophet (saws) has spent his whole life in Allah's creatures' service and
good deeds. The Prophet (P.B.U.H.) rehabilitated the downtrodden
sections of the society where he led them out of error and on the path of
guidance.
The Prophet (P.B.U.H.)
established the economic system on a solid foundation. The eco. system that the
Holy Prophet (saws) gave for the stability of the government. Hazrat Omar Farooq
(R.A.) established this natural system in regular administrative departments at
the national level.
The system that affected
all classes is the system of Hazrat Umar Farooq. He established Majlis-e-Shura,
Tax, and Treasury for the development of the country. He set up an army and
police system for defense.
The Court system for the
people's welfare established the distribution of provinces and the postal
system. During your rule, non-Muslims were treated equally.
The following were the
essential aspects of the economic system of Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (R.A.).
The System Of Revenue
Of Hazrat Umar Bin Khattab
Hazrat Umar bin Khattab
(R.A.) introduced the tax system to strengthen the economic system of his
country. In this matter, he did not want to measure the land and tax on non-Muslim
farmers more than they could afford.
In the time of Farooqi,
the tax system had improved so much that Hazrat Umar bin Abdul Aziz began to
say:
A tribute to the
covenant of Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him.
"In the time of
Amir al-mu'minin Hazrat Umar Farooq, One Hundred Thousand dirhams tax was
collected from Savad."
(Balazari, Ahmad ibn
Yahya ibn Jabir, Imam Abi al-Abbas, Fatah al-Baldan, Al-Ma'arif Institute,
Beirut, 1403 AH, p: 270)
Instructions Of Hazrat
Umar (Ra) In Collecting Taxes
Taxes are a vital source
of national income, shared by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Hazrat Omar Farooq
(R.A.) cared for the rights of non-Muslim citizens and did not place more
responsibility on them than his strength.
Hazrat Aslam, the freed
slave of Amir al-mu'minin Hazrat Umar bin Khattab, says:
Umar, may Allah be
pleased with him, the books to the princes of the age:
"Hazrat Omar Farooq
wrote a letter to the generals not to impose taxes on non-Muslim women and
children."
(Abd al-Razzaq, Abu Bakr
ibn Hammam ibn Nafi', author, Islamic school, Beirut, Lebanon, 1403 AH, 85:
6, No. 10009)
Strict Prohibition On
Tax Collection
Tax collection is a
complicated process. Amir al-mu'minin Hazrat Umar bin Khattab received a lot of
wealth from another province regarding the Taxes. Seeing more wealth, the Commander of the
Faithful, Hazrat Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), began to say that he did not bring this wealth by oppression or
hardship.
Encourage Kindness And
Leniency In Tax Collection.
The Commander of the
Faithful, Hazrat Umar (R.A.), used to be gentle with his subjects according to
the command of the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H.). Once on a journey to Syria, Amir
al-mu'minin Hazrat Umar bin Khattab saw that his agents made non-Muslims
stand in the sun to collect taxes. He rebuked the perpetrators and said:
فدعوهم
، لاتكلفوهم مالا يطيقون ، فاني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
(Abu Yusuf, Yaqub ibn
Ibrahim, Kitab al-Kharaj, Dar al-Ma'rifah, Beirut, Lebanon, p. 135)
"Leave them alone, do
not harm them in a way that they do not have the power to do. Allah will punish
them on the Day of Resurrection.
Similarly, Hisham bin. Hukam saw a non-Muslim Coptic man from Homs standing in the sun collecting
taxes. He rebuked the government official and said, "I heard the Messenger
of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say:
God punishes those who
torment people in this world.
(Abu Dawud, Sulayman ibn
Ash'ath Sijistani, Al-Sunan, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, 1994, 106: 3, No.
3045)
"Surely Allah will
punish those who torment people in this world."
Tax Exemption For The
Older People
In the reign of Amir
al-mu'minin Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (R.A.), the people of all races,
nationalities, and nations were given comfort and ease. Still, their leniency
can be gauged because non-Muslim citizens were not only exempted from taxes.
The famous Imam Abu
Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Salam in his Kitab al-Amwal has written about this matter as
follows:
The Commander of the
Faithful, Omar (may Allah be pleased with him), the mentor of the people of
Dhimma, asked the people about the chapters: He said: We add that we
take the partiality in the night and then the loss in the grave. He said: Then
the reward is from the treasury.
(Abu Ubaid, Qasim ibn Salam,
Kitab al-Amwal, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, 1988, p. 57, No. 119)
Indeed, the Commander of
the Faithful, Hazrat Umar bin Al-Khattab (R.A.), passed by an older man among
the non-Muslim citizens begging at the people's doors. He said: We did
not do you the justice that we collected taxes from you in your youth and then
left you helpless in your old age. The narrator says that he then issued an
order to pay the stipend from the treasury for his needs.
Pakistan's Tax System
In the present era,
every government performs its duties. The government protects the country from
foreign invaders. He is responsible for maintaining law and order in the
country. The social welfare of the people also becomes the duty of the
government.
The government provides
public health, education, and social welfare services and is also responsible
for the country's economic development. The government builds airports in the
country. It makes ports and strives to improve the living standards of the
people. At the same time, its most important goal is to increase its real
national income and create a full-fledged employment situation.
Perfect employment
refers to a situation in which all people are employed according to their
ability and potential. In addition, the government formulates development
programs in various sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, industry,
trade, and the banking system. To stabilize the economy by giving maximum
development to these sectors is required.
The government collects
money by levying direct and indirect taxes. In addition, sometimes, the
government also prints excess notes, which we call deficit financing in
economic terms. Meets your need Many times, the government covers her expenses
by borrowing from internal and external sources. Taxes are the most significant
and vital source of revenue for any government.
Taxes are mandatory
payments that people pay to the government and, in return, do not demand any
direct interest. Tax money is spent on the collective welfare of the people.
There are many types of taxes. There are generally two types of taxes in
Pakistan.
1. Direct Tax
2. Indirect Tax
Direct taxes are levied
on those who pay them, such as salaries, land, property, businesses,
etc., while indirect taxes are levied on imports and exports.
There are five types of
taxes:
1. Direct Tax
2. Indirect Tax
3. Proportional Tax
4. Progressive Tax
5. Regressive Tax
In the case of
proportional taxation, the same rate is maintained at the time of taxation.
Whether a person's income is low or high, everyone is taxed at the same rate.
If the tax rate goes up
as the income goes up and the tax rate goes down as the revenue goes down, it
is called surplus tax.
A deductible tax is a tax that goes down with increasing income.
There are three taxing
agencies in Pakistan:
1. Central Government: Taxes levied
include central excise duty, customs duty, income tax, business tax, etc.
2. Provincial
Governments: In their jurisdiction, they collect finance,
irrigation, occupational tax, provincial excise duty, electricity, motor
vehicle tax, property tax, etc.
3. Local governments: For example,
corporations, municipal committees, districts, and local councils also levy
some taxes after the approval of the provincial governments. From which they
get excise duty, toll tax, and various rates.
In short, the revenue of
any government, including direct taxes and indirect taxes, is more important.
Direct Tax Enforcement
The Federal Board of
Revenue (FBR) is a government agency that collects income tax. It operated
under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance. Its benefits include overseeing
fiscal policies and collecting taxes at the federal level. However, there are also
many irregularities.
When Pakistan came into
being, it fell into the hands of a few conscientious objectors who returned to
Pakistan and tried their best to cripple this prosperous state at an early
stage. The people in power were at the forefront of this work, followed by the
rich and feudal lords who never paid total taxes to the government. (Mujahid
Hussain, Who is the Biggest Corrupt, Yusuf Market, Lahore, p. 56)
Imposition Of Indirect
Taxes
According to renowned
analyst Dr. Farah Saleem, another major flaw of the tax system in Pakistan is
indirect taxes. The main mistake in the tax system in Pakistan is that 60% of
the taxes are collected in the form of indirect taxes, and 40% are direct
taxes. Indirect tax means that as your income decreases, the tax burden on you
increases. The tax system is doing this to increase the cost of running the
entire government of Pakistan on the low-income class of Pakistan.
According to FBR
spokesperson Israr Rauf, corruption is a problem, and the scope of tax collection
needs to be widened, for which several steps are being taken. The R.S.T. is
being brought in to check the same thing because we have a chain of wholesalers
and distributors; the rate will come down.
According to Israr Rauf,
taxes of Rs 1328 billion were collected last year, and this year the target is
Rs 1304 billion. The rest of the analysts believe that the government may face
public resistance to imposing more taxes after the data on the loss of tax money
came to light. (Shakur Rahim: Current Affairs Editor: Officer Awan, because of
Rs 600 billion in taxes in Pakistan,
Farooqi Reforms And Tax
System In Pakistan
Pakistan is an Islamic
country. However, its system is not Islamic; whatever system is set up to run
it on the Islamic path should follow Shariah's aims. In the light of
Farooqi's reforms, the tax system in Pakistan should be based on these lines.
1. Tax collection staff
must be honest.
2. The number of staff
should not be so high that much tax revenue goes to their salaries.
3. Unnecessary expenses
should be reduced in the offices. Facilitate workers to pay their dues. There
are fewer opportunities for bribery and illicit wealth. It is true that when
workers are reformed at the national level, the situation of reforming younger
workers comes to the fore automatically. When such actions are taken, the
public will be spared all the wealth that will enable them to meet their needs,
and the chances of losses will be less.
4. In the presence of Zakat
and Ushr, there is no justification for wealth tax in the Islamic State system.
There is a need to do various things to correct the Zakat system and implement new reforms. If only the system of Zakat and Ushr is correct, then
there is no need for any other tax in the Islamic world.
5. A fair change should be
made in the tax system. No one can raise illicit capital, and everyone can pay
total taxes. The source of economic catastrophe is that when taxes
are imposed on the people, various strategies are adopted to avoid taxes. Due
to which the government treasury remains empty. This behavior should be stopped.
6. Taxes and economic
wealth should not be in the hands of government workers. To carry out
this task, people from different organizations should also be involved in running the economic system in a good way. This will also benefit from maintaining equal trust between the government and the people
and reducing economic problems.
7. The people should be mentally
prepared to eliminate tax evasion and illegal means of tax evasion.
If the government acts first, then the people will act because taxes are spent
on the welfare of the nation and Shariah issues, not on government banquets,
so-called government ceremonies, spectacles, and the construction of government
officials bungalows.
8. Open college schools and
technical education institutions where free education is provided to the poor were done in the 1990s. The results are positive and increase, and tax
exemptions are given to individuals.
9. The number of taxes that
the government will impose on the people should not be high, but the tax should
be small, but the profit should be such that it can meet the government's welfare and sharia
expenses and powers.
10. The government should
avoid extravagance and save the national capital so that society's class struggle can
end.
11. Taxes should be levied
on merit and not on production. Its rate should be equal, and Intermediate, i.e.,
secondary items, should not be taxed. Even necessities should not be taxed. The
items to be collected and sold should be categorized, i.e., the amount of
tax should be fixed on different types of goods, including raw materials and
products. These fixed taxes are well known to importers and exporters.
12. The working class, whose
salaries are low, is at a disadvantage because it pays direct and
indirect taxes. Therefore, the tax burden must not be placed on the working
class and the poor. The poorer sections of the population suffer from various
complications. Their salaries go down while taxes go up. If taxes are to be
levied, wages should be increased accordingly.
Implementation Of
Agrarian Reforms In The Time Of Hazrat Umar Farooq
Amir al-mu'minin Hazrat
Umar bin Khattab was his right-hand man during the reign of Hazrat Abu Bakr
Siddiq, so his services started from that time. However, at the same time, due
to the benefit he got from the company of Hazrat Abu Bakr, he became a great expert
in ruling codes. After the demise of Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq in 13 A.H., he
became the Caliph. Hazrat Umar (R.A.) drew attention to the high level of
activity and great wisdom in irrigating and irrigating the lands.
He issued orders to the
generals and officers of the country and said, "Raise your hands from the
victories now. Now the order is issued to you to gather the means of
development of agriculture and public welfare in the peaceful population and
the attention of the people."
Be directed to At that
time, the internal situation was very peaceful, and the invasion of the Islamic
Empire was in full swing in remote areas. As soon as you come back from this
campaign, pay more attention to that. A large part of Iraq's lush green land
had been incorporated into the Islamic Empire by Khalid bin Waleed.
Incentives For Farming
Amir al-mu'minin, Hazrat
Umar, given the importance of farming, encouraged his people to do so. Hazrat
Omar (R.A.) once said about the prisoners:
Investigate and release
the farmers and agriculturists first. This is being done only for the
immediate release of the farmers from the ordinary prisoners because of the
country's public welfare. The focus is on the general production of commodities
and grains.
Settlement Of Barren
Lands
Arrangements were made
to resettle the lands that had been barren and barren for many years. In this
regard, your movement started very effectively. He declared that the lands that
have been destroyed since ancient times belong to Allah and His Messenger
(peace be upon him), and then they are for you from them. So whoever resurrects
a dead land, it belongs to him, and only the one who covers it after three
years will have no right. Anyone who does not cultivate any occupied land for
three years will be stripped of it. Wherever the people left their homes, they
were told to come back and acquire their lands. He dug canals in the government's conquered
areas built dams and set up regular irrigation departments
to manage the distribution of water and drainage.
Allama Maqrizi has
written that 120,000 workers would be engaged in this irrigation work daily
in Egypt alone. All these expenses were paid from the treasury. In the
districts of Nuristan and Ahwaz, Jaz bin Maafiya dug many canals with your
permission, which settled many wastelands.
Distribute Uncultivated
Lands To Farmers
In Islam, the
settlement of the earth is the real goal. Hazrat Umar paid special attention in
this regard. When some poor farmers settled uncultivated lands, So the real
owners of these lands came to Hazrat Umar (R.A.) for a complaint, and he said:
"You people have
left your lands uncultivated till now. Now that they have settled it, you want
to remove it. I would not have given you anything if I had not respected the
fact that the Holy Prophet (saws) had given you all estates. Now I decide that
if you pay for its settlement, the land will be handed over to you, and if you
do not do so, they will become the landowners by paying the price of
the uninhabited condition of the land.
And he added:
Van Shaytam rejected you
as Saman Adam Al-Ard Hi Lahm.
"If you want them
to pay you back the price of the land, it will be theirs."
After that, Hazrat Umar
(R.A.) issued a general order that whoever left a piece of land uninhabited for
three years, then whoever will settle it after that, his ownership will be
recognized.
This order had a
significant effect, and many useless lands and occupied lands were settled.
Imam Mawardi writes in Ahkam-ul-Sultania that the estates of the people of the
Mazina tribe were like this.
The people complained to
Hazrat Umar (R.A.). He said:
"If a person leaves
his land like this for three years and another person settles it, then this other people will be entitled to this land."
Payment Of Compensation
To The Farmer From The Treasury
The Military job is to
protect the borders of the country, but during the journey, they are not allowed to
cause any harm to the people, as happened in the time of Hazrat Umar.
Umar, may Allah be
pleased with him, said: O Amir al-mu'minin, cultivate the land and cultivate
it. He said: A tenth of the reward.
A farmer came to the
service of Hazrat Umar (R.A.) and said: O Commander of the Faithful, I sowed
the field. An army of Syrians passed by and trampled the fields. The narrator
says that Hazrat Umar (R.A.) took ten thousand dirhams from the treasury as
compensation.
Hazrat Umar (R.A.)
carried out agrarian reforms in his time after the conquests of Iraq, Syria,
and Egypt. No one consciously can ignore the importance of agriculture. The
common denominator in the history of all nations is that no country can achieve
development and prosperity without developing agriculture. In the same way,
agriculture and farmers are the backbones of any country. Agriculture provides
raw materials to industry and trade. Similarly, agriculture is fundamental to
the development of industry and trade.
Shah Waliullah writes in
his book Hujjatullah al-Balghah:
Therefore, most of them
are schools of agriculture and politics, and a few are schools, and
agriculturists are corrupt in the world.
"If the inhabitants
of a city become heavily involved in the industry and domestic politics, and
very few of them are involved in cattle grazing and agriculture, their
condition in the world will deteriorate."
Considering the
importance mentioned above of agriculture, most jurists have given the
status of obligatory sufficiency to the profession of agriculture under the
teachings and blessed deeds of the Holy Prophet (saws). For example, Abdul
Rahman Al-Jazeera writes: Nevertheless, farming on its own, except for
participation, is not sufficient for the need of human beings and animals.
"As far as
agriculture is concerned, whether it came into being through participation or
without participation, it has the status of a duty of self-sufficiency because
man and animals all need it."
Conquered lands and
Mujahideen
Regarding the conquered
lands in the time of Farooqi, Hazrat Umar disagreed with the division of the
lands and said, "Then what will happen to these Muslims?" Who will
come later and see that the lands and their cultivators have been divided among
the conquerors, and the rights of ancestral inheritance have deprived others of
them forever?
Hazrat Abdul Rahman bin
Awf said that this is not an opinion. These lands have been given to conquerors
by Allah in the form of victory, and the truth is that they cannot be given to
non-Muslim farmers under any circumstances. Hazrat Umar (R.A.) replied that what you are saying is not, in my opinion.
Hazrat Umar (R.A.) said:
By Allah, the next
conqueror of the land of Fiqh in the great blue, but Asa, who is one of the
Muslims, the fate of the land of Iraq in the north. The capital of Syria, the
world of Jaha, the victory of Thadhur, and not the land of Syria and Iraq,
except for Syria and Iraq.
"By Allah, no such the city will be conquered after me." This may be of such great benefit that
it may even become a burden on Muslims. If the lands of Iraq and Syria and
their cultivators are divided among the conquerors, how will the borders of
(the Islamic State) be protected? The widows and orphans of the cities of
Iraq and Syria be sponsored?"
Hazrat Umar (R.A.)
gathered the first Muhajireen, and there was a difference of opinion. Hazrat Abdul Rahman bin Awf insisted that the rights of the conquerors
should be divided among them, and Hazrat Uthman (R.A.), Hazrat Ali (R.A.), and
Hazrat Talha (R.A.) agreed with Farooq Azam (R.A.). Now Hazrat Umar (R.A.)
called ten wise nobles of Ansar. Five of them belonged to Aws and five to
Khazraj. One of them said, "I have troubled you gentlemen so that you may
help me in paying the trust which I have entrusted to you for the advice and
welfare of the people."
Hazrat Umar (R.A.) said:
You have heard the words of those who think that I am encroaching on their
rights even though I seek refuge in God from taking the path of oppression.
Hazrat Umar, given his
insight and foresight, said to him:
"As far as the
lands are concerned, I am looking to leave them to the non-Arab farmers and
levy taxes on them. They already pay the jizya. Thus, both of these revenues
are for Muslims, including Mujahideen, children, and future generations. Look!
These are the borders on which security checkpoints must be set up. These are
big cities that cannot control without military barracks, and money must be both. Then where will the salaries of these guards be paid. What if the
lands and their dwarfs and plowmen (slaves) were divided among the Muslims?"
Hazrat Omar (R.A.) and
the victorious Mujahideen, who considered themselves the rightful owners of the
lands of Iraq. The matter became so severe that he even accused Amir
al-mu'minin of oppression. Despite this, Farooq Azam did not deviate from his
opinion. So they all said in unison:
"In view of your
opinion and the future, what you have said and said is correct. We will accept
it if security checkpoints and military barracks are not set up at these
borders and in these cities and for the passage of the guards." If their
fasts are not fixed, then the disbelievers will take over their cities again.
Orders Relating To
Government Lands
After the conquest of
Iran, there is a tradition about the lands of the Shah of Iran that when the
Muslims asked Hazrat Umar (R.A.) about the government lands of Kasra, Hazrat
Umar Farooq (R.A.) wrote to them that He has given you four parts of it in the
army and one-fifth of it will remain with me. If they want to settle there,
the land will belong to the one who stays there.
When the Muslims were
given the authority to do so, they believed that they should not be scattered
in the land of the non-Arabs, so they retained it for them. They would
distribute the produce and make him the ruler on whom they agreed with pleasure
and consent. His condition remained the same in Madyan, and when he moved to
Kufa, it remained the same.
On the authority of
Abdullah ibn Abi Tayyibah, the books of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him,
said,
It is narrated on the
authority of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Tayyiba that' Umar (may Allah be pleased with
him) wrote: Take your booty because if you do not seize it and it is too late,
things will get worse ۔ O Allah! You
are a witness to that."
