Islam has made the circulation of currency between all citizens an obligation, and it has forbidden the restriction of such circulation to a certain group of people to the exclusion of others. Allah (swt) says:

“Lest it circulates solely among the wealthy from amongst you.” [Al-Hashr: 7]

If there were an excessive disparity between individuals within society in terms of securing the needs, and if society needed to be rebuilt anew, or if this disparity was caused by neglect of or the indifference in the implementation of the Islamic rules, the State would be under obligation to redress the situation by handing out financial assistance to those in need, until these basic needs were satisfied, and until a balance in distribution was struck. The State should endeavour to provide both movable and immovable commodities, for its aim should not only be to temporarily fulfil one’s needs, but also to provide the means which would assist the individual in his quest to fulfil his own needs over the long term. If the State were short of funds, and if its revenues were insufficient to generate such a balance within society, it would be wrong for it to impose taxes on its citizens for the sake of bringing about such balance, for this matter is not the duty of all the Muslims; it should rather endeavour to generate funds from sources other than taxes, such as the war booties and public properties in order to bring about the balance. Therefore, whenever the State feels that there is a disparity in the economic balance within society, it should address this disparity by handing out financial assistance from the treasury to those in need, provided funds gained from booties and public properties were available.

When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) realised that there had been a disparity in wealth between the Muhajireen and the Ansar, He (pbuh) divided the booty gained from Bani Nadheer exclusively among the Muhajireen, in order to generate an economic balance. It has been reported ‘that when the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) peacefully conquered Bani Nadheer and then expelled the Jews from it, the Muslims asked the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to divide the booty among them; so Allah (swt) revealed the following verses:

“What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger from them, for this you have madeno expedition” [Al-Hashr: 6]

So Allah (swt) had placed the wealth gained from Bani Nadheer exclusively at the disposal of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh), to spend in whichever way He deemed fit. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) divided it among the Muhajireen and did not give any of it to the Ansar except to Abu Dajana Sammak ibn Kharsha and Sahl ibn Haneef who both were at that time poor just like the Muhajireen.’ It has been reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to the Ansar: “If you wish I could ask you to share your homes and your wealth with the Muhajireen and divide among you this booty, or if you wish you could keep your homes and your wealth and I shall not have to give you anything from this booty.” Upon this the Ansar said: ‘We would rather share our homes and wealth with our brothers and let them have the booty as well.’ Allah (swt) then revealed:

“But they give them preference over themselves even though poverty was their own lot” [Al-Hashr: 9] Therefore, Allah (swt) saying:

“Lest it circulates solely among the wealthy from amongst you.” [Al-Hashr: 7]

means lest it circulates only amongst the rich. The Arabic word “Doola” means the object that circulates or changes hands amongst people; it also refers to the circulated wealth; this means that the booty which by right should be granted to the poor to help them secure a living, should not be exclusively circulated among the rich.

The booty of Bani Nadheer, which is part of the funds of the Bait ul- Mal that belonging to all the Muslims, was exclusively shared among the poor while the rich were excluded, in order to strike a balance in the provision of the basic needs within the society. Handing out financial aid from the treasury is performed by the State, provided these funds have not been collected from the Muslims, but rather from the war booties and the public properties revenues. If the funds have been collected from the Muslims, it should not be spent on generating such a balance. This approach should be followed at all times, for the precept lies in the generality of expression not in the particularity of the cause. Therefore, the Khalifah must ensure that the economic balance is established by handing out financial assistance exclusively to the poor from the treasury’s funds, which belong to all the Muslims, thereby ensuring that economic balance is maintained. However, this is not considered to be part of the fixed expenditure of the treasury, but rather a remedy for a specific situation from specific funds.