The expenditures of the Bait ul-Mal are based upon six principles:

1. The expenditures for which the Treasury acts as custodian, and these are the Zakat funds. These will be paid to those eligible subject to availability. If the funds were available to the Treasury in the Zakat section, they would be paid to those among the eight categories mentioned in the Qur’an as their right. These funds must be paid to them. However, if these funds were not available, this waives their payment to those eligible; i.e. if the funds were not available to the Treasury in the Zakat section, then none of the eight categories would be given any money from the Zakat fund and the State would not have to borrow any money pending the levying of Zakat.

2. The expenditures which are due on the Treasury by way of “I’aalah” i.e. financial support and with regard to undertaking the duty of Jihad; such as spending on the destitute, the indigent and the traveller, and such as the spending on Jihad. The eligibility of this expenditure is not subject to availability, for it is a right that must be fulfilled whether funds were available to the Treasury or not. Hence, if the funds were available, they must be paid at once. However, if the funds were not available and if it were feared that a serious hardship would be caused by delaying the payment, the State should borrow the money at once, pending its collection from the Muslims, and then pay it back. If it were not feared that a hardship would be caused, then the principle: “It is delayed to the time of ease” would apply. Hence, payment would be deferred until the funds are levied and then they would be paid to those eligible.

3. The expenditures which are due upon the Treasury by way of “Badal” i.e. recompense or allowance, meaning that the funds are owed to people who rendered a service to the State, they took money for their services; such as the salaries of soldiers, civil servants, judges, teachers and the like. Hence, such payments are also not subject to availability. These are rights that must be fulfilled regardless of availability or scarcity i.e. whether the funds were available in the Treasury or not. If the funds are available, they should be paid immediately; if they are not available, the State would be obliged to make them available by taking whatever is needed from the Muslims. If it is feared that a serious hardship would be caused by delaying the payment, the State should borrow the money at once, pending its collection from the Muslims and then pay it back. If it were not feared that a hardship would be caused, then the principle: “It is delayed to the time of ease” would apply. Hence, payment would be deferred until the funds are levied and then they would be paid to those eligible.

4. The expenditures that are due on the Treasury, and whose payments are due by way of “Maslaha” i.e. welfare and “Irfaq” i.e. public utilities, however without recompense; in other words the payments are spent on a host of utilities without any returns or revenues, such as roads, water services, mosques, schools, hospitals and any other similar utility whose availability is considered a necessity and whose non availability would cause hardship to the Ummah. Hence, the payment for these utilities is not subject to availability of funds. Rather they are an obligatory liability regardless of availability or scarcity. So, if the cash were available to the Treasury, it should be then spent on these utilities; and if it were not available in the Treasury, the onus would be shifted to the Ummah; thus whatever is required for such projects in terms of finance would be collected from the Ummah in order to meet the costs, then the Treasury would spend on these projects. This is because any expenditure by way of welfare and without a return, and whose non-payment would cause a hardship would be a binding expenditure whether the funds are available or not. If the cash was available to the Treasury, it becomes a duty upon the State to spend on these utilities and the duty would be waived off the Muslims, But if it was not available, then the onus would be on them to provide it for the Treasury and consequently it becomes a compulsory expenditure on the Treasury.

5. The expenditures that are due upon the Treasury, and whose payments are due by way of “Maslaha” i.e. welfare and “Irfaq” i.e. public utilities, and without recompense; however, the scarcity of which would not cause hardship to the Ummah, such as the building of another road while a road exists, or the building of a hospital while another exists and is capable of providing adequate service, or the building of a road for which people can find an alternative road nearby or anything similar. In this case, the spending on such projects would be subject to availability only. Hence, if the funds were available to the Treasury, they should then be spent on such projects; otherwise, the duty of such expenditure on the Treasury would be waived and the Muslims would not be obliged to meet the costs of such projects, because in essence, they are not obligatory upon the Muslims.

6. The expenditures that are due upon the Treasury by way of emergency, such as famine, flood, earthquake or attack by an enemy. The payment of such expenditure is not subject to availability; rather the onus is upon the State to provide such money regardless of availability or scarcity. If the cash is available, it should be paid immediately, and if it was not, then the obligation would shift to the Muslims; in this case the money should be levied from the Muslims at once and it should be placed in the Treasury in order to spend on them. If it was feared that a delay in levying the money could cause hardship, the State must in this case borrow the necessary money and place it at the disposal of the Treasury, then pay out the money at once to those eligible and pay off the debt from what it collects from the Muslims later.