Hazina ya Serikali (Bait-ul-Mal) ni mamlaka yenye wajibu wa kusimamia mapato yote ya Dola na matumizi yote ambayo Waislamu wana haki ya kunufaika nayo. Kwa hiyo, kila mali, iwe ni ardhi, majengo, madini, fedha, au bidhaa, ambayo Waislamu wana haki nayo kwa mujibu wa hukumu za Mwenyezi Mungu, lakini mtu mwenye haki ya kumiliki mali hiyo hajateuliwa, ingawa eneo la matumizi yake limeshabainishwa, mali hiyo itakuwa mali halali ya Hazina ya Waislamu, bila kujali kama tayari imo katika hifadhi ya Hazina au la. Vilevile, kila mali inayopaswa kutumiwa kwa walengwa wake na wamiliki halali wake, au kwa maslahi ya Waislamu na mambo yao, au kwa ajili ya kubeba Da'wah ya Kiislamu; fedha zote za aina hiyo ni wajibu wa Hazina, bila kujali kama fedha hizo zimetumika au la. Hivyo basi, Hazina katika muktadha huu ndiyo mamlaka yenye mamlaka husika.

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.

Hazina pia ni neno linalotumika kueleza mahali ambapo fedha zinazokuwa mapato ya serikali huhifadhiwa na ambapo hutumiwa kutoka.

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.

Hazina ya kwanza kuanzishwa, yaani mamlaka husika, ilikuwa baada ya kuteremshwa kwa Aya ifuatayo kutoka kwa Mwenyezi Mungu (subhanahu wa ta'ala): "Wanakuuliza juu ya ngawira za vita. Sema: ngawira ni za Mwenyezi Mungu (subhanahu wa ta'ala) na Mtume ﷺ. Basi mcheni Mwenyezi Mungu (subhanahu wa ta'ala) na mtengeneze uhusiano kati yenu, na mtiini Mwenyezi Mungu (subhanahu wa ta'ala) na Mtume ﷺ wake ikiwa ni waumini." [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]

Hii ilishushwa baada ya vita vya Badr, wakati Waislamu walipozozana kuhusu ngawira za vita. Sa'eed Ibnu Jubair alipokea kutoka kwa Ibnu Abbas kwamba alisema: "Niliomba kumuuliza Ibnu Abbas kuhusu Sura Al-Anfal. Akasema: 'Ilishushwa Badr.'" Ngawira za Badr zilikuwa mali ya kwanza ambayo Waislamu waliipata baada ya ngawira za msafara wa Abdullah Ibnu Jahsh. Allah (SWT) alionyesha hukumu kuhusu namna ya kuzigawa. Alizifanya ngawira hizo kuwa mali ya Waislamu, na akamwagiza Mjumbe wa Allah ﷺ azitumie kwa namna aliyoona yenye manufaa zaidi kwa Waislamu. Hivyo ngawira hizo zilikuwa mali ya Hazina, zikitumiwa na mlezi wa Waislamu kwa namna aliyoona yenye manufaa zaidi kwao.

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.

Kuhusu Hazina, yaani mahali pa kuhifadhi mapato na mahali ambapo matumizi hutolewa, hili halikuwa na mahali maalum wakati wa uhai wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ, kwa kuwa wakati huo mapato yalikuwa machache, na hapakuwa na kitu cha kubaki baada ya yale yaliyogawiwa kwa Waislamu na kutumika katika kuyatunza mambo yao. Mtume wa Allah ﷺ alikuwa akigawa ngawira na khumsi (Al-Khums) mwishoni mwa kila vita. Hakuwa akichelewesha kugawa mali wala kuitumia kwa makundi yanayostahiki. Hanzalah Ibnu Sayfi, ambaye alikuwa karani wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ, alisimulia: “Mtume wa Allah ﷺ aliniambia: ‘Nisindikize na unikumbushe kila kitu, lakini si zaidi ya siku tatu.’ Akasema: ‘Basi nilikuwa nikimkumbusha kwa siku tatu juu ya mali yoyote, chakula au fedha yoyote niliyopokea. Hivyo Mtume wa Allah ﷺ hakuwa akilala usiku isipokuwa baada ya kuwa ametoa kila kitu.’” Mara nyingi mali ilikuwa ikigawanywa siku ileile. Al-Hassan Ibnu Muhammad alisimulia kuwa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ hakuwahi kuweka mali hadi mwishoni mwa mchana au usiku kucha, “yaani, akiipokea asubuhi, angeigawa kabla ya adhuhuri, na akiipokea jioni angeitumia na asingeiweka usiku kucha.” Kwa hiyo, hapakuwa na mali iliyokusanywa ambayo ingehitaji kuhifadhiwa mahali maalum au kuandikwa kumbukumbu.

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.

Hali hii iliendelea wakati wa uhai wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ. Abu Bakr alipoteuliwa kuwa Khalifah, aliendelea na mwenendo huo katika mwaka wa kwanza wa Ukhalifa wake. Alikuwa akileta fedha yoyote iliyomfikia kutoka kila mkoa hadi msikiti wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ na kuigawa miongoni mwa wale wenye haki nayo. Katika jambo hili alimteua Abu Ubaidah Ibnul Jarrah kuwa naibu wake. Abu Ubaidah alimwambia, alipokuwa katika wadhifa huo: "Nitazisimamia fedha hizo kwa niaba yako." Walakini, Abu Bakr katika mwaka wa pili wa ukhalifa alianzisha kituo cha kuanzia cha hazina, ambapo alitenga mahali nyumbani kwake pa kuweka fedha zilizofika Madinah, na alikuwa akitumia yote hayo kwa Waislamu na mambo yao. Abu Bakr alipofariki na Umar akateuliwa kuwa Khalifah, alikusanya wadhamini na kuingia nyumbani kwa Abu Bakr. Alifungua hazina na kukuta dinari moja tu iliyokuwa imeanguka kutoka kwenye gunia. Ushindi ulipozidi wakati wa Ukhalifa wa Umar, na Waislamu wakashinda ardhi ya "Kisra" (Waajemi) na "Qaysar" (Warumi), fedha ziliongezeka na kumiminika Madinah, hivyo Umar akaitenga nyumba kwa ajili yake. Aliweka kwa ajili yake vitabu vya hesabu na kuwateua wahasibu, akagawa ruzuku kutoka humo na kuwatayarisha vikosi vya jeshi, ingawa wakati mwingine alikuwa akiweka sehemu ya tano ya ngawira iliyomfikia msikitini na kuigawa bila kuchelewa. Ibnu Abbas alisimulia: "Umar aliwahi kuniita, nilipofika kwake alikuwa ameketi mbele ya kitambaa kilichokuwa na dhahabu iliyotawanyika juu yake kama majani. Alisema: Njoo ugawe miongoni mwa watu wako, kwani Allah (swt) anajua zaidi kwa nini alizuia hili kutoka kwa Mtume wake ﷺ na Abu Bakr kisha akanipa mimi; je, alitaka jema au baya kwa hili?" Abdul Rahman Ibnu Auf alisimulia: "Umar aliwahi kuniita wakati wa adhuhuri, nikaenda kwake. Nilipoingia nyumbani kwake, alinishika mkono na kunipeleka chumba ambamo mizigo ilikuwa imerundikwa juu ya nyingine." Kisha akasema: “Sasa familia ya Al-Khattab imekuwa ya chini mbele ya Allah (swt). Kwa Allah (swt), kama tungeheshimiwa kwa hili, Allah (swt) angelimpa wenzangu wawili, nao wangeniwekea mfano wa kuwafuata katika jambo hili..” Abdul Rahman akasema: “Nilipoona alichokileta, nilimwambia: ‘Keti chini, Ewe Amir wa waumini, tufikiri.’ Akasema: ‘Tuliketi chini, tukawaandika watu wa Madina, sisi Mujahidina katika njia ya Allah (swt), na wake wa Mtume wa Allah ﷺ, kisha tukawaandika wengine.’”

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.’”.

Hivyo, Waislamu walianzisha Hazina iliyoimarika ambako fedha zilikusanywa, vitabu vya kumbukumbu vilihifadhiwa, na kutoka huko ruzuku zilitolewa na fedha zililipwa kwa wale waliostahili kuzipokea.

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.