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Muslim Rulers Squander Public Wealth
After his recent election victory, Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair has
set about implementing his election manifesto. One of his first moves was to
raise the salaries of MPs and Government Ministers- something he had not
discussed during the elections. His own salary increased by 40%, while
Cabinet Ministers received 18% pay rises. There was a public outcry and much
media dismay over this manoeuvre, which seemed politically insensitive due
to the timing (amid news of job cuts and economic slowdown). Unions too were
furious that Labour had made the decision after continually preaching
restraint on public sector pay.
However, even a mere 40% increase in salary cannot bring Blair up to the
standards of the Muslim rulers, many of whom appear prominently in the
recent Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people.
With seven out of the top 10 richest heads of state, Muslim leaders have
remained remarkably wealthy in spite of disastrously low oil prices and
political tensions in the region. In fact, the wealth of most Arab leaders
has risen sharply since 1998 estimates. In the case of President Saddam
Hussein, the multi-billion dollar rating comes at a time of continuing, if
not increasing, poverty among the Iraqi population. The heads of state list,
entitled 'The Non-working rich: Kings, Queens and Dictators," is published
in parallel to the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people. It makes
interesting reading, especially for the Muslims who live under these
un-elected dictators.
The richest head of state (if not the richest man) in the world used to be
the Sultan of Brunei who is valued at $16 billion, but his wealth is down
considerably from an estimated $36 billion a few years ago, and that puts
him into second place on the list.
The world's third richest head of state is Sheikh Zayed of the United Arab
Emirates (Abu Dhabi) with $23 billion. The Emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Ahmed
Al-Sabah, comes in fourth with $18 billion.
Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai lies in sixth place, with $12
billion from oil, investments and services. In seventh place comes the Iraqi
president, Saddam Hussein. Forbes says Saddam Hussein's $7 billion comes
from oil, while his son Uday allegedly controls smuggling across Iraq's
borders.
Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar has $5 billion in oil and
investments, and is in 8th place. Finally, the deceased President Hafez Al-Assad
of Syria completes the top ten list- he was worth $2.3 billion from oil and
agriculture.
But richer than them all, and in number one position, is Saudi Arabia's King
Fahd, with an estimated wealth of $30 billion, up from $25 billion last
year. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, and oil wealth is
treated as indistinguishable from the wealth of the ruling Al-Saud family.
Prince al-Walid ibn Talal is easily the second richest in the house of al-Saud,
with an estimated $15 billion, based on extensive investments in US and
European blue-chip stocks and hotel investments.
The Saud family is not small. There are 3,000 to 4,000 Saudi princes (some
30 to 40 new males are born every month), and each receive an annual fund of
$500,000 plus various other perks including 'grace-and-favour' tickets on
the national airline and favourable access to appropriated land in order to
enhance their real-estate portfolios.
The Saudis are one of the West's most lucrative customers for modern weapons
systems with a military force numbering more than 150,000. Saudi arms
purchase, some $14 billion since the Gulf War alone, produce hundreds of
thousands of jobs in the U.S., and keep the production lines of Britain and
America's defense industry running.
The Saudi royal family is well known for its profligate displays of wealth.
King Fahd is said to owe billions to Saudi banks - $1.5 billion to the
National Commercial Bank alone. In the 1980s Saudi royalty were accused of
selling oil on the spot market, taking advantage of price differentials to
divert billions from the public treasury.
When King Fahd visited London once with his favourite son 'Abdul Aziz (then
14 years old), Fahd told journalists, "Young Azoouzi overspends, but Allah (swt)
gave us wealth and we are glad to share it with our son. I've just
transferred $300 million into his personal account to meet his needs"!
Fahd boasts at least 12 royal palaces, ranging from the $2.5 billion al-Yameemah
Palace complex in Riyadh to a 'cottage' four times the size of the White
House in Marbella Spain. He owns several jets and yachts, all with gold
bathrooms. His main yacht is a $60 million craft in addition he has a fleet
of air-conditioned Rolls-Royces, Cadillacs and Mercedes.
In the meantime the income of the average Saudi citizen fell from $14,600 in
1982 to $6,800 today. The Saudi state has run budget deficits for 17
straight years. It now has a public debt of 150 per cent of annual income -
roughly equivalent to that of Lebanon with its legacy of war. Tens of
billions were paid out to the allies after the Gulf War. Virtually every
part of the Saudi budget has been cut with the exception of the royal
family's upkeep and the military budget.
With Saudi Arabia one of the richest countries in the world (resource-wise),
and after its reserves reached 140 billion dollars at one time, Saudi now
has foreign debts of $28 billion. Meanwhile, domestic debt has increased to
$100 billion and unemployment among those who have already left school
hovers around 25%.
The most disgusting thing about all of this is that Fahd's personal wealth
and the lavish upkeep of his family is built upon a fee levied on every
barrel of oil sold. Saudi Arabia has 25% of the World’s known oil reserves,
thus making it an immensely wealthy nation. However, in Islam oil is defined
as a public commodity that cannot be owned by any individuals.
In fact, the wealth of each and every ruler from the Muslim world is
entirely based upon similar misappropriation of public funds and assets such
as oil/gas, mineral resources, agriculture and the like. This is in addition
to defaulting on massive bank loans and earnings from kickbacks on
industrial projects, aka Mr 10% Asif Zaradari (husband of ex- Pakistan Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto).
When we look to other parts of the Muslim world, we see a similar misuse of
what Islam has defined as public property. In Turkey and Pakistan, IMF
imposed loan conditions have resulted in wholesale privatization of public
utilities and other assets that do not belong to the rulers for them to
dispose of in the first place. For example in Pakistan, the government is
planning to sell Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Karachi Electric Supply
Corporation (KESC), Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC), Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) and a host of other public utilities in order
to raise funds to pay off its debts.
The Prophet (saw) has said- “Muslims are partners
in three things: in water, pastures and the fire” (Abu Dawud).
Fire here also includes the utilities that enable the people to heat their
homes and cook food, such as gas and electricity. Public Property is defined
as utilities of all people that they cannot do without in their daily life,
causing their dispersion in case of the absence of these resources, e.g.
water.
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) has explained the description of these
utilities and clarified them in the Ahadith reported from him. From Abi
Khurash from some of the companions of the Prophet SAW, he said: “The
Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘Muslims are partners in three (things):
Water, pasture and fire.’” And in another transmission: “People
are partners in three: water, pasture and fire.” From Abu Hurayra
that the Prophet (SAW) said: “Three should not be withheld: Water, fire and
pasture.” It was also reported from him (SAW) his saying: “The Muslim is a
brother to the Muslim, they accommodate each other over water and trees.”
Water, fire and pasture were among the first things that the Messenger (SAW)
permitted to all the people, and he made them partners in them and forbade
them from protecting any part of them against the use by all Muslims as it
is a right for all Muslims.
This matter is not restricted to these three assets mentioned in the
previous Ahadith. It rather includes everything that can be described as
being from the public utilities. The evidence to this is, that at the time
the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: “People are partners in three: water,
pasture and fire”, he consented that individuals in Khayber and Taif own
their wells as individual property such that they drink from them, water
their cattle, livestock and gardens and he did not prevent them from owning
them. These wells were small such that the need of the public did not relate
to them. To reconcile these two Hadith, it becomes clear that when water is
related to the need of the community it would be a public property and is
prevented from being a private property. Whereas, when the need of the
public is not related to it, it can be a private property and thus
individuals are allowed to own it.
As for insignificant amounts of minerals which are limited in measure, these
are private property that individuals are permitted to own as the Messenger
of Allah (SAW) gave Bilal ibn Al-Harith al-Muzni the minerals of the
Qabaliya in the area of Al-Far’a in Hijaz. Bilal had asked the Messenger of
Allah (SAW) to allocate them to him, so he granted them to him and made him
the owner. Therefore the deposits of gold and silver, and other types of
minerals, present in small non-commercial amounts are private property.
Individuals are permitted to own them as is permitted for the State to allot
them to the people.
As for the vast minerals, not limited in measure, these are public property
owned by all Muslims. They are not allowed to be given in ownership to any
person or persons. Similarly, it is not allowed to give a concession for
their mining to individuals or companies. Rather they must remain a property
jointly owned by all Muslims, and the State should carry out their
extraction, purification, smelting and selling on their behalf and place
their price in the Bait ul-Mal of the Muslims.
The evidence that these vast minerals of unlimited measure are public
property, is what is narrated from Abyadh b. Hammal al-Mazini “that he
called on the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and asked him to allocate to him the
salt and he allocated it to him. When he turned away a man in the gathering
said: ‘Do you know what you have allotted to him? Verily you have allotted
to him replenishable water’, so the Prophet (SAW) withdrew it from him.” The
fact that the Messenger of Allah (SAW) took back from Abyadh b. Hammal the
salt he had allotted to him, after he knew that it was abundant, is an
evidence that any vast quantity of mineral, which does not deplete, is not
allowed to be owned by individuals as it is an ownership of all the Muslims.
This matter is not specific to salt, rather it is general for all minerals
whatever their type, on condition that they are of the same status as the
vast quantity of water (salt mineral) i.e. which is replenishable.
So this is what Islam has to say on the matter. It is clear that King Fahd,
by stealing the oil wealth of the Ummah for his personal use, is committing
a great sin and will be held accountable on the day of reckoning. How can he
own and benefit from something RasulAllah SAW did not allow the Sahaba to
own? Did not Allah SWT inform us in the Quran-
"And take whatever the Messenger ordered you, and
refrain from whatever he forbids, and fear Allah, for he is severe in
punishment" [ 59:7]
And yet the Saud family has the audacity to proclaim in the constitution for
Saudi Arabia-
“All God's bestowed wealth, be it under the ground, on the surface or in
national territorial waters, in the land or maritime domains under the
state's control, are the property of the state as defined by law. The law
defines means of exploiting, protecting, and developing such wealth in the
interests of the state, its security and economy.” (Chapter 4 Article 14)
The state here implies the Saudi royal family, with the King as head of
state.
Indeed the house of al-Saud will pay dearly for making halaal what is haraam,
and vice versa, in order to satisfy their evil desires. And the same applies
to every ruler who is misusing the wealth of the Ummah. Allah SWT has
informed us about cutting the hand of the thief- but this will be only the
first item on the list of punishments for these oppressors, once the
Khilafah has been re-established and each has been apprehended.
It is with a sense of great shame and reluctance that we now compare the
current corrupt thieves who pass themselves off as ‘rulers’ with our great
leaders of the past, who were the servants of the Islamic Ummah.
Khaleefah 'Umar bin al-Khattab, the Conqueror of the Romans and Persians
left behind one coarse dress and five dinars upon his death. He lived on
salted barley bread, dry dates and olive oil, and allowed no better for his
family. His clothes were made of the poorest material, patched in many
places.
Abu Bakr as-Siddiq on his deathbed said to his daughter, "The
camel that draws water for me and that Nubian slave are public property. The
garment that I am putting on now was purchased out of the allowance fixed
for me, on my death return these to Umar". This is the man
who had 40,000 dirham at the time of his conversion to Islam.
Khalid bin Walid the greatest General born to Islam left behind one horse
and one sword. This is the man who defeated the Romans at the Battle of
Yarmuk.
Salahudeen al-Ayubi, the great liberator of Al-Quds, left nothing at his
death. The money for his burial had to be borrowed.
Khaleefah 'Umar bin 'Abdul Aziz , one day went to his wife and said " O
Fatimah! do you have a dirham so I may buy some grapes with it?" she
replied, "No, but Amir al-Momineen do you not possess a dirham to buy some
grapes?" He replied, "This is easier for me than to labour under monarchs in
Hell!".
Hisham Ibn-Abdel Malik was asked once by his son to provide him with a mount
(a donkey) because his was too weak. The Khalifah responded by giving his
son instructions of how to take care of the animal and make him strong, he
denied his son's request since he wouldn't provide it from the state
coffers. This is the same Khalifah whose army was battling the Byzentines in
the north.
From the above beautiful examples we can see that the true Muslim ruler
regards the wealth of the Ummah as amanah, a trust. He is never paid
a wage but receives an income of compensation for lost earnings. A Khaleefah
could never be rich whilst the Ummah, his citizens, were hungry. Our rulers
today are rich in the wealth they have stolen from the Ummah but
impoverished of Islam. That is our curse and brings home the duty of
replacing them with a sincere Khalifah.
Conclusion
The Islamic economy is a comprehensive system aimed at adequately
distributing the wealth in the society. It has defined detailed rules with
regards to taxation, contractual law, and rules regarding the ownership of
properties/assets. Islam clearly prohibits the activities of the current
Muslim rulers regarding the public property, which must be condemned by the
Ummah.
Umar R.A. once said that if a donkey tripped in As-Sham (modern day
Iraq/Syria) he should be aware of it. Look at the care he showed for the
Ummah, unlike today’s bunch of thieves and criminals, who don’t care about
the suffering of the Ummah or the hegemony of the kufaar upon our affairs.
As Muslims, we should long for - and work hard towards - a return to the
days when we had the sincere Khulafaa who would rather die than steal the
wealth of the Ummah. They were the true guardians of the Ummah, as the
hadith mentions, on the authority of 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: "Verily!
Every one of you is a guardian (shepherd) and is responsible for his
charges: The Imam (ruler) of the people is a guardian and is responsible for
his subjects;”
Athar Jamil |
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This page was last updated on
08/28/2003.
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