Baitul-Mal (Baitul-Mali) na Jiha shi ne hukumar da ke da alhakin dukkan kudaden shiga na Jiha da dukkan kashe-kashen da Musulmai suka cancanta da su. Saboda haka, duk wata dukiya, ko ta kasa, gine-gine, ma'adinai, kudi, ko kayayyakin ciniki, wacce Musulmai suke da hakki a kanta bisa ga dokokin Allah, amma ba a ayyana mutumin da ya cancanci mallakarta ba, duk da cewa an riga an tabbatar da bangaren da za a kashe ta a kai, to irin wannan dukiya ta zama mallakin Baitul-Mali na Musulmai, ko tana cikin ajiyar Baitul-Mali ko babu. Haka kuma, duk wata dukiya da ya wajaba a kashe ta ga wadanda suka cancance ta kuma masu hakkinta, ko domin muradun Musulmai da al'amuransu, ko wajen daukar da Da'awar Musulunci, dukkan wadannan kudade nauyi ne a kan baitul-mali, ko an kashe kudaden ko ba a kashe ba. Saboda haka, Baitul-Mali a wannan mahallin ita ce hukumar da ke da alhakin hakan.

The State Treasury (Bait-ul-Mal) is the competent authority in charge of all the State’s revenues and all the expenditures for which the Muslims are eligible. So every property, be it land, buildings, minerals, money, or merchandise for which the Muslims are entitled, according to the divine rules, but the person entitled for its ownership has not been designated though the area upon which it is spent is determined; such property would be a rightful property of Muslims’ Treasury, regardless of whether it is already in the sanctuary of the Treasury or not. Likewise, every property due to be spent upon its beneficiaries and rightful owners, or in the interests of the Muslims and their affairs, or in carrying the Islamic Daw’ah; all such funds area duty upon the treasury, regardless of whether the funds are spent or not. Therefore, the Treasury in this context, is the competent authority.

Baitul-mali kuma wata kalma ce da ake amfani da ita wajen bayyana wurin da ake ajiye kuɗaɗen shiga na gwamnati, kuma daga inda ake kashe su.

The Treasury is also a term used to describe the place where the funds which are the state’s revenues are kept and from which they are spent.

Baitul Mali na farko da aka kafa, wato hukuma mai iko, ya kasance bayan saukar ayar Allah (swt) cewa: "Suna tambayarka game da ganima. Ka ce: ganima tana hannun Allah (swt) da Manzon Allah ﷺ. Saboda haka ku ji tsoron Allah (swt), kuma ku gyara dangantaka a tsakaninku, kuma ku yi biyayya ga Allah (swt) da Manzonsa ﷺ idan kun kasance masu imani." [Al-Anfal: 1]

The first Treasury to be established, meaning the competent authority, was after the Revelation of Allah (swt) of the following verse: “They ask you about spoils of war. Say such spoils are at the disposal of Allah (swt) and the Messenger (saw): so fear Allah (swt) and keep straight the relations between yourselves, and obey Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) if you do believe.” [Al-Anfal: 1]

Wannan ayar an saukar da ita ne bayan yakin Badr, lokacin da Musulmi suka shiga jayayya game da ganimar yaki. Sa'eed Ibnu Jubair ya ruwaito: Na tambayi Ibnu Abbas game da Surar Al-Anfal. Ya ce: "An saukar da ita ne a Badr." Ganimar Badr ita ce kudi na farko da Musulmi suka samu bayan ganimar tawagar Abdullah Ibnu Jahsh. Allah (SWT) ya bayyana hukuncin rabon ganimar. Ya sanya ganimar ta zama mallakar Musulmi, kuma ya umarci Manzon Allah ﷺ da ya yi amfani da ita yadda ya ga ta fi amfani ga Musulmi. Don haka ganimar ta kasance mallakar Baitul-mali, wanda shugaban Musulmi zai yi amfani da ita yadda ya ga ta fi amfani a gare su.

This was revealed in the wake of the battle of Badr, when the Muslims engaged in dispute over the spoils of war. Sa’eed Ibnu Jubair reported: I asked Ibnu Abbas regarding the Surah of Al-Anfal. He said: “It was revealed in Badr.” The spoils of Badr were the first funds the Muslims gained after the spoils of Abdullah Ibnu Jahsh expedition, Allah (swt) demonstrated the rule concerning their distribution. He made the spoils the property of the Muslims, and He commissioned the Messenger of Allah (saw) to dispose of them according to what he deemed in the best interest of the Muslims. So they were the property of the Treasury, to be disposed of by the guardian of the Muslims according to what he deemed in their best interest.

Dangane da Baitul-mal, wato wurin da ake ajiye kuɗaɗen shiga kuma daga inda ake kashe kuɗaɗen kashewa, to a lokacin rayuwar Manzon Allah ﷺ ba shi da wani takamaiman wuri, domin a lokacin kuɗaɗen shiga sun yi kaɗan, kuma kusan ba a samun abin da zai rage bayan an raba abin da aka samu ga Musulmai da kuma kashewa a kan harkokinsu. Manzon Allah ﷺ yana raba ganima da khumusi (Al-Khums) a ƙarshen kowane yaƙi. Ba ya jinkirta rarraba kuɗaɗen ko kashe su ga rukunonin da suka cancanta. Hanzalah Ibnu Sayfi, wanda ya kasance magatakarda ga Manzon Allah ﷺ, ya ruwaito cewa: "Manzon Allah ﷺ ya ce mini: 'Ka bi ni, ka tunatar da ni kowane abu, domin kada ya wuce kwana uku.'" Ya ce: "Sai na ci gaba da tunatar da shi kwana uku game da duk wani kuɗi ko abinci ko dukiya da na karɓa. Manzon Allah ﷺ ba ya kwana sai bayan ya raba komai." Mafi yawan lokuta, ana raba kuɗaɗen a rana guda. Al-Hassan Ibnu Muhammad ya ruwaito cewa Manzon Allah ﷺ bai taɓa riƙe wani kuɗi har zuwa ƙarshen yini ko har dare ba, "watau idan ya karɓa da safe, zai raba kafin tsakar rana, idan kuma ya karɓa da yamma, zai kashe shi, ba zai ajiye shi har dare ba." Saboda haka, ba a taɓa samun kuɗaɗen ajiya da suke buƙatar a ajiye su a wuri guda ko a rubuta su a rajista ba.

As for the Treasury, meaning the place where the revenues are kept and from which expenses are spent, this did not have a specific place during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saw) , for at that time, the revenues were limited and there was hardly anything left after what had been distributed amongst the Muslims and spent in looking after their affairs. The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to distribute the spoils and the fifths (Al-Khums) at the end of each battle. He (saw) would not delay the distribution of the funds or spending them to their eligible categories. Hanzalah Ibnu Sayfi, who was a clerk to the Messenger of Allah (saw) , reported: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) said to me: “Accompany me and remind me of everything, for no later than three days.” He (saw) said: ‘so I kept on reminding him for three days about any fund or food or any money I received.’ So the Messenger of Allah (saw) would not spend the night except after the disposed of everything.’” Most of the time, the funds used to be distributed on the same day. Al-Hassan Ibnu Muhammad (saw) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saw) never used to keep any fund till late in the day or overnight, “i.e. if he (saw) received it in the morning, he would distribute before noon, and if he received it in the evening he would spend it and would not keep it overnight.” Therefore, there never used to be any saved funds that needed to be kept in a place or on record.

Wannan yanayi ya ci gaba a lokacin rayuwar Manzon Allah ﷺ. Lokacin da aka nada Abu Bakr a matsayin Khalifa, ya ci gaba da bin wannan hanya a shekara ta farko ta mulkinsa. Yana kawo duk kudin da ya iso gare shi daga kowane yanki zuwa masallacin Manzon Allah ﷺ, yana raba su ga wadanda suka cancanta. Ya nada Abu Ubaidah Ibnul Jarrah a matsayin mataimakinsa a wannan al'amari. Abu Ubaidah ya ce masa, a lokacin da ya rike wannan mukami: Zan kula da kudaden a madadinka. Sai dai Abu Bakr a shekara ta biyu ta mulkinsa ya kafa farkon baitul mali, inda ya ware wuri a gidansa domin ajiye kudaden da suka zo Madina, kuma yana kashe duk wannan a kan Musulmai da harkokinsu. Lokacin da Abu Bakr ya rasu aka nada Umar Khalifa, ya tara amintattun kuma ya shiga gidan Abu Bakr. Ya bude baitul malin ya sami Dinari guda daya kacal da ya fadi daga cikin jaka. Lokacin da fatattakar yaki ta yi tsanani a lokacin Khilafar Umar, Musulmai suka ci kasashen "Kisra" (Farisawa) da "Qaysar" (Rumawa), kudade suka karu suka malale zuwa Madina, sai Umar ya ware musu gida. Ya kafa musu littattafan lissafi, ya nada ma'aikatan lissafi, ya raba musu alawus daga cikinsu, kuma ya samar da kayan yaki ga sojoji. Duk da haka, wani lokaci yana sanya rabin ganima na biyar da ke zuwa gare shi a masallaci yana raba su ba tare da jinkiri ba. Ibnu Abbas ya ruwaito: "Umar ya taba kiran ni, lokacin da na je wurinsa sai ya zauna a gaban wata tsummoki da zinare warwatse a kanta kamar ciyawa. Ya ce: Zo ka raba wa mutanenka, domin Allah (swt) ya fi sani dalilin da ya sa ya hana wannan daga Manzonsa ﷺ da Abu Bakr ya ba ni shi?, shin yana nufin alheri ko sharri da haka?" Abdur Rahman Ibnu Auf ya ruwaito: "Umar ya taba kira na da tsakar rana, sai na je wurinsa. Lokacin da na shiga gidansa, ya kama hannuna ya jagorance ni zuwa wani daki inda aka tara kunshe-kunshe a saman juna." Daga nan ya ce: “Yanzu iyalan Al-Khattab sun zama ƙasƙantattu a wajen Allah (swt), don Allah (swt) idan za a girmama mu da wannan, da Allah (swt) zai ba abokan raina biyu, kuma da sun kafa mini misali in bi su a wannan al’amari.” Abdurrahman ya ce: “Lokacin da na ga abin da ya kawo sai na ce masa: ‘Zauna, ya Amirul Muminina, mu yi tunani.’ Ya ce: ‘Mun zauna, muka rubuta mutanen Madina, mu Mujahidai a hanyar Allah (swt), da matan Manzon Allah ﷺ, sannan muka rubuta sauran.’”

This state of affairs continued during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (saw) . When Abu Bakr was appointed Khalifah, he continued on that course in the first year of his Khilafah. He used to bring any funds that reached him from any region to the mosque of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and distribute them among those entitled. He appointed Abu Ubaidah Ibnul Jarrah as his deputy in this matter. Abu Ubaidah said to him, when he held this post: I will look after the funds on your behalf. Abu Bakr however did in the second year of the khilafah establish a starting point for the treasury, where he assigned a place in his house to place in the funds which came to Madinah, and he used to spent all of that on the Muslims and their affairs. When Abu Bakr died and ‘Umar was appointed Khalifah , he gathered the trustees and entered Abu Bakr’s house. He opened the treasury and found one single Dinar which had fallen from a sack. When the conquests had intensified during the Khilafah of ‘Umar, and the Muslims conquered the lands of “Kisra” (Persians) and “Qaysar” (Romans), the funds increased and poured into Madinah, so ‘Umar designated a house for them. He set down for them account books and appointed accountants, allocated grants from them and equipped the armed forces, though he used to sometimes place the fifths of the spoils that reached him in the mosque and distribute them without delay. Ibnu Abbas reported: “Umar once summoned me, and when I got there he was sitting before a rag with the gold scattered over it like hay. He said: Come on and divide among your folk, for Allah (swt) knows best why He did hold this from His Messenger (saw) and Abu Bakr and He gave it to me?, Did he want good or bad by this?” Abdul Rahman Ibnu Auf reported: “Umar summoned me once at noon, so I went to him. When I entered his home, he took me by the hand and led me to a room where the parcels were stacked on top of each other. He then said: “Now the family of Al-Khattab became lowly before Allah (swt), by Allah (swt) if we were to be honoured by this, Allah (swt) would have given it to my two companions and they would have set for me a precedent to follow them in this matter..” Abdul Rahman said: “When I saw what he has brought I said to him. ‘Sit down O Amir of the believers, and let us think.’ He said: ‘we sat down, we wrote down the people of Madinah, we the Mujahideen in the way of Allah (swt) and the wives of the Messenger of Allah (saw) and then we wrote the others.’”.

Don haka, Musulmi suka koma da wani Baitul-mal da aka kafa, inda ake tara kuɗaɗe, ana ajiye littattafan rajista, daga nan ake bayar da tallafi, kuma ana biyan kuɗaɗe ga waɗanda suka cancanta da su.

Thus, the Muslims turned to have an established Treasury where the funds were collected, the books of record were kept, from which the grants were given and the funds were paid to their beneficiaries.