Article 148

The budget of the State has permanent chapters determined by *Shari’ah* rules. As for the sections of the budget, the amounts

allocated for each section, and the issues of each section covered by these amounts are left to the opinion of the *Khalifah* and his *Ijtihad*.

The word *budget* is a Western term, and its meaning is the explanation of the income that the State takes, and an explanation of its chapters, which are the aspects that are gathered in the budget, and an explanation of its sections, which are the branches of these aspects, and an explanation of the amounts which are incoming. Alongside that, there is a draft of the explanation of the expenditure that the State will spend, by explaining its chapters which are the aspects upon which the expenditure will be used, and an explanation of its sections, in other words, the branches of these aspects, and an explanation of the amounts that will be spent upon every one of the issues mentioned in each section. This is the reality of the budget. This reality was not known to the Muslims; rather they knew the *Bayt Al-Mal*, and the income was sent there and the expenditure was spent from it. However, the presence of income for the *Bayt Al-Mal* and the fact that the expenditure comes from it, embodies the reality of the budget even if it was not named with that term, and there is nothing to prevent the use of this term according to its terminological meaning, which is the collection of the chapters of income and expenditure, with sections for each of these. Built upon this, the State has a budget, and the *Bayt Al-Mal* is responsible for this budget.

As for the preparation of this budget in terms of its chapters, sections and amounts which are drafted, these have been decided by the *Shari’ah* laws. So the *Shari’ah* laws introduced and decided income such as land taxes and booty, and expenditures were introduced and decided how it should be spent, and it was confirmed what must be spent upon and what needs to be spent upon if the money is found to do so. The income and expenditure were introduced and decided by the *Shari'ah* rules, and therefore the chapters of the budget are permanently based upon that, since the *Shari'ah* decided them and the *Shari'ah* rule is permanent and does not change.

As for the sections, which are the branches which branch off from them such as the land tax upon the land with a natural water supply, and the land tax upon irrigated land, or anything similar, the *Khalifah* can draft them, since they are part of the management of the affairs which have been left to his opinion and *Ijtihad*. In the same manner, the amounts which are drafted are done so according to his opinion and *Ijtihad*, such as how much the *Jizya* and land tax would be, and anything similar, since it is part of what he is responsible for. Accordingly, the evidences for the *Shari'ah* rules are regarding the income and expenditure of the *Bayt Al-Mal*, and the control over whatever is in the *Bayt Al-Mal* that the *Shari'ah* did not specify is left to the opinion and *Ijtihad* of the *Khalifah*.

These three evidences: the evidences regarding the income, those regarding the expenditures, and the evidence that the *Imam* is responsible for governing the affairs, are the evidences for this article. As long as the *Khalifah* has the right to draft the sections of the incomes and amounts which are drafted in each section according to his opinion and *Ijtihad*, then there is nothing to prevent the drafting of an annual budget for the State including its sections and the amounts for each section, whether that is for the income or expenditure. What would be prohibited is drafting an annual budget for the sake of new chapters, and not its income and expenditure, since these chapters have been decided by the *Shari'ah* rules and so they are permanent.

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