Baitul-Mal (Baitul Mali) shi ne hukumar da ke da alhakin dukkan kudaden Jiha da dukkan kashe-kashen da Musulmi suka cancanta da su. Saboda haka, duk wata dukiya, ko ƙasa ce, ko gine-gine, ko ma'adinai, ko kuɗi, ko kayayyaki, wadda Musulmi suke da hakki a kanta bisa ga dokokin Allah, amma ba a ƙayyade mutumin da ya cancanci mallakarta ba, duk da cewa an riga an tsayar da bangaren da za a kashe ta a kansa, to irin wannan dukiya ta zama mallakar Baitul-Mal na Musulmi, ko tana cikin ajiyar Baitul-Mal ko ba ta cikinta ba. Haka kuma, duk wata dukiya da ya kamata a kashe ta ga waɗanda suka cancance ta kuma masu hakkinta, ko don maslahar Musulmi da al'amuransu, ko don ɗaukar da'awar Musulunci, dukkan irin waɗannan kuɗaɗe nauyi ne a kan Baitul-Mal, ko an kashe kuɗaɗen ko ba a kashe ba. Don haka, Baitul-Mal a wannan mahallin, ita ce hukumar da ke da iko da alhaki.

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.

Har ila yau, kalmar "Baitul Mal" tana nufin 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 hukumar da ke da iko, ya kasance bayan saukar da wahayin Allah (SWT) na wannan ayar: "Suna tambayarka game da ganima. Ka ce: ganima tana hannun Allah (SWT) da Manzonsa ﷺ. Saboda haka ku ji tsoron Allah (SWT), ku gyara alakar da ke 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]

An wahayin wannan ayar ne bayan yakin Badar, lokacin da Musulmi suka shiga jayayya game da ganimar yaƙi. Sa'eed Ibnu Jubair ya ruwaito: Na tambayi Ibnu Abbas game da Suratul Anfal. Ya ce: "An saukar da ita a Badar." Ganimar Badar ita ce kuɗi na farko da Musulmi suka samu bayan ganimar tafiyar Abdullahi Ibnu Jahsh, sai Allah (swt) ya bayyana hukuncin rabon ganimar. Ya sanya ganimar ta zama mallakar Musulmi, kuma ya umurci Manzon Allah ﷺ da ya raba ta yadda ya ga ya fi amfani ga Musulmi. Saboda haka ganimar tana cikin Baitul-mali, kuma mai kula da Musulmi ne zai raba ta bisa abin da ya ga ya 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-mali, wato wurin da ake ajiye kuɗin shiga da kuma daga inda ake kashe kuɗaɗen kashewa, wannan ba shi da wani takamaiman wuri a lokacin rayuwar Manzon Allah ﷺ, domin a wancan lokaci kuɗaɗen shiga sun yi kaɗan, kuma hakan ba ya barin komai bayan an raba abin da aka raba wa Musulmi da kuma kashewa wajen kula da al'amuransu. Manzon Allah ﷺ yana raba ganima da humusi (Al-Khums) a ƙarshen kowane yaƙi. Ba ya jinkirta raba 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 zo tare da ni, kuma ka tuna mini komai, domin kada ya wuce kwana uku.' Sai ya ce: 'Don haka sai na ci gaba da tunatar da shi tsawon kwana uku game da duk wani kuɗi ko abinci ko wani kuɗi da na karɓa.' Don haka 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 ajiye wani kuɗi har zuwa ƙarshen rana ko har zuwa dare ba, "wato idan ya karɓe shi da safe, zai raba shi kafin tsakar rana, idan kuma ya karɓe shi da yamma zai kashe shi, ba zai ajiye shi har dare ba." Saboda haka, ba a taɓa samun wasu kuɗaɗen da aka ajiye waɗanda suke buƙatar a ajiye su a wani wuri ko a rubuta su a rubuce 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 hali ya ci gaba a lokacin rayuwar Manzon Allah ﷺ. Lokacin da aka naɗa Abu Bakr a matsayin Khalifa, ya ci gaba da wannan tafarki a shekara ta farko ta Khilafarsa. Yana kawo duk kuɗaɗen da suka isa gare shi daga kowane yanki zuwa masallacin Manzon Allah ﷺ, yana raba su ga waɗanda suka cancanta. Ya naɗa Abu Ubaidah Ibnul Jarrah a matsayin mataimakinsa a wannan al'amari. Abu Ubaidah ya ce masa, a lokacin da ya riƙe wannan muƙami: "Zan kula da kuɗaɗen a madadinka." Sai dai Abu Bakr, a shekara ta biyu ta khilafa, ya kafa tushen baitul-mali, inda ya ware wani wuri a gidansa domin ajiye kuɗaɗen da suka zo Madina, kuma yana kashe duk abin ga Musulmi da al'amuransu. Lokacin da Abu Bakr ya rasu aka naɗa Umar a matsayin Khalifa, ya tara amintattun ajiya ya shiga gidan Abu Bakr. Ya buɗe baitul-malin ya tarar da Dinari guda ɗaya kacal da ta faɗi daga cikin jaka. Lokacin da fatattakar yaƙe-yaƙe ta yi ƙarfi a lokacin Khilafar Umar, Musulmi suka ci ƙasashen "Kisra" (Farisawa) da "Qaysar" (Romawa), kuɗaɗe suka ƙaru suka cika Madina, sai Umar ya ware musu wani gida. Ya shimfiɗa musu littattafan lissafi, ya naɗa ma'aikatan lissafi, ya rarraba musu alawus daga cikinsu, ya kuma sa wa rundunar soja kayan aiki, sai dai wani lokaci yana sanya rabin ganima na ɗaya bisa biyar da ta isa gare shi a masallaci yana raba su ba tare da jinkiri ba. Ibnu Abbas ya ruwaito: "Umar ya taba kirana, da na isa wurinsa sai ya zauna a gaban wani tsumma da zinariya warwatse a kanta kamar ciyawa. Ya ce: Zo ka raba wa mutanenka, Allah ne Mafi sani dalilin da ya sa Ya riƙe wannan daga Manzonsa ﷺ da Abu Bakr sannan Ya ba ni shi? Ko yana nufin alheri ne ko sharri da hakan?" Abdurrahman Ibnu Auf ya ruwaito: "Umar ya taba kirana da tsakar rana, sai na tafi wurinsa. Da na shiga gidansa, ya riƙe ni da hannu ya kai ni wani ɗaki inda aka jera fakitin kuɗi bisa juna." Daga nan ya ce: "To yanzu dangin Al-Khattab sun zama abin wulakanci a wajen Allah (swt), ta hanyar Allah (swt), idan mun sami girma saboda wannan, da Allah (swt) zai ba abokaina biyu, kuma da sun kafa mini tsari da zan bi su a cikin wannan al'amari.." Abdul Rahman ya ce: "Lokacin da na ga abin da ya kawo sai na ce masa: 'Zauna, ya Amirul muminai, mu yi tunani.' Ya ce: 'Muka zauna, muka rubuta mutanen Madina, mu mujahidai a tafarkin Allah (swt) da matan Manzon Allah ﷺ, sa'an nan muka rubuta sauran mutane.'"

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 su kafa Baitul-mal mai tsari, inda ake tara kudade, ake ajiye littattafan rikodi, daga nan kuma a rika ba da tallafi, a biya kudade ga wadanda suka cancance su karba.

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.