Taxing property is “haram” in Islam, claims Salaf NGO

Religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf has claimed that imposing taxes on a Muslim’s property without his or her consent is haram (forbidden) in Islam.

“Without doubt, using a person’s property or profiting from the property without the consent of the owner is haram in Islam,” the NGO said today in a press release. “Only the compulsory Zakat (alms for the poor) portion can be taxed from a Muslim’s property.”

Salaf cited Surah 2:188: “And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].’’

In addition, the Salaf press statement referred to Prophet Mohamed’s (pbuh) final sermon, in which he said, “O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as Sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust.  Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners.”

Salaf noted that Islam protected personal property “to an extent that is not found in any other religion.”

The religious NGO contended that “formulating a law and taking people’s property whatever name it is done under is for a certainty haram.”

“Jamiyyathul Salaf would remind the Speaker of Parliament and all MPs that those who formulate such laws and those who assist them will without a doubt have to bear responsibility before Almighty Allah,” the Salaf statement warned.

It adds that there is consensus in the Islamic ummah (community) that “stealing property by compulsion with laws on taxes, duties and pension imposed on a Muslim’s property is definitely haram.”

Salaf warned that those who claimed personal property “for entertainment or as a sport” would face their old age with “no one to care for them.”

If the state believed that there was no other way to manage its finances but to “take taxes and duties from the halal income of Muslim citizens,” Salaf said that it implied “corruption and a failed economic policy” and was the sign of “a philosophy of enslavement.”

Press Secretary for the President Mohamed Zuhair observed that there were many civilised Muslim nations that had introduced direct taxation as well as import duties.

“Salaf should refer to the parliament on this issue, because the parliament cannot make any law against the tenets of Islam,” Zuhair suggested. “I believe that parliamentarians will keep to the tenets of Islam in drafting any law.”

Zuhair added that as Islam was the most modern of the three monotheistic religions, he did not believe taxation could be haram.

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36 thoughts on “Taxing property is “haram” in Islam, claims Salaf NGO”

  1. I don't care what it says in there. You go and dissect the chapters and interpret what you want. Whip your immediate family into submission.

    Leave the rest. Please. You can take my slot in heaven.

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  2. Al Qaida is a branch of Salaf an Ultra orthodox conservative ideology. These fanatics are financed by Saudi Arabians to spread their version of Islam. So we are not surprised at all of them making such idiotic statements.

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  3. Why is a statement of Salaf making a irrelevant quotation becomes newsworthy. These self professed scholars should not be given any place in the mainstream media. They only give bad name to our beautiful and righteous religion of Islam.

    Banning Taxation by Salaf is similar to Osama Bin Laden legitimizing suicide bombings and killing of innocent people muslim and non-muslim.

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  4. Hmmm! it seems everybody who comment here is either a scholar or an economist or Lawyer . . . if you think salaf is not qualified enough to comment on such issues what makes you worthy of comment.
    . . . perverts

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  5. Taking VAT is an alternative to income tax. Taking high rent and import duty is an alternative to business tax. charging bed tax is also okay. Salaf says you cannon tax a person's income and take his money forcefully. They did not says government cannot raise finance from the economy.

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  6. This just shows the true colors of the ones who are behind salaf and fund their operations. They are running scared that they will have to pay some thing to the society rather than poison it with their vial hate

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  7. When there is taxation one has to declare ones income information. Is salaf scared that they may not be able to explain some of their income. I don't think the government will ask about the real origin of these funds or would they?

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  8. the stone age barbarians speaks out...what do these ugly looking perverts think of themselves..

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  9. This clearly show who is behind salaf. Salaf is funded by Gayoom. They do not want government/ State to stand on it's feet. Salaf is headed by self proclaimed scholars who thinks they know it all. While we have self proclaimed commenting scholars such as Salim Waheed, Zuhair (President office spoke person), and the likes who is also like salaf who thinks they know total Islam to make others 'fundamentalist". It's sad to see the situation we are in. Salaf is clearly funded by Gayoom, and Islamic foundation funded by Zaki, Adaalath funded by Gasim, street thugs funded by Yameen and J nazim, secularist/group atheist funded by "Ali Naseer" and thasmeen. Dr.waheed and dr.Hassan saeed to design the coup of atheist. Beware!!!

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  10. Hehehe, are Salaf scared, that the origins of their funding would be exposed? Who will run to defend them then? Nasheed? DJ Baaree? Hehehehee!

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  11. Thin beru Waheed atheist, this is news.
    This zombi wonts to be president my foot.

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  12. what does stupid Salaf know about managing a modern economy? There is no one among them who knows anything about economics, finance, banking etc. Why they did not trumpet their thoughts about import duty imposed on people's property for all those years? hypocrites!

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  13. salaf is certainly funded Gayoom, Yamin and Umar Naseer... I know about a recent deal they made with former dictator's z- DRP and PA. ASK ME!

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  14. Ya perhaps those clerics who ruled that ijma were the rich guys who wanted to avoid taxes. For them, religion means business. Each and every maldivian should not take what these so called salaf or any cleric says at its face value. People, you have brains, you know how to read, and you know how to think. Tax is not unjustly taking away people's property. Everyone uses community resources and the benefit of this so called 'society'to derive their profit (and even abnormal profit). It is perfectly just and HALAL to tax on them. Shame on you salaf.

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  15. Richard, what makes you think that a company or a corporation is not a 'person'? If a corporation could be taxed, a person also could be taxed. Comeon, have some common sense. Learn little bit about what it means by a company or a corporation or a partnership. Its just a mode of doing business. At the end, its just people, its people's property, people's income. Perhaps salaf would even say that forming a legal entity is also haram, because that concept was not there in 6th century.

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  16. Sad to see men of reason such as Zuhair debase his great mind in such manner. He is now needing to resort to medieval methods of political decision making (debating Scripture and basing political decisions on religion rather than on reason, science, and a sense of true humaniarian justice for all.

    But IF we need play these crazy games to do justice economically, well...

    The Caliph's (Umar, Uthman, Ali Ibn Abu Talib) lead massive land redistribution programmes based on their understanding of Islam. They operated from the spirit of Islam, (Istishan - Juristic preference) as early islam was not so literalistic.

    It is Fard in Islam to do whatever it takes to restore the wellbeing and dignity of the most oppressed, 9Abu Bakr bought slaves, a Muslim should not not desire for himself that which.... A Muslim should not eat to his full whilst...The Qur'an speaks volumes about the dignity of the Masakin or the poor) Prophet was most generous so much so he and family almost starved all the time so others ate, list goes on and on and on...

    Anything which is also Fard (limiting land taxes) which stifles the first stated aim has to be understood contextually.

    The context was, limiting the greed of the Zakat takers, we see millions of examples in Hadith's.

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  17. All these mindless folks bashing a different view does not make a good read but salaf has a point.

    the point is how they apply the tax. our current govt is using tax to increase revenues and has not done significant work to cut huge wastage of capital. Over the years the govt got cozy with wasteful practices and is still refusing to let go of them and instead opt to pass the bill to us the common ppl as taxes.

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  18. Salaf is spot on!! It is Haram to tax individuals against their consent in Islam, should they be agents of power and wealth.

    Surah 2:188: “And do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly or send it [in bribery] to the rulers in order that [they might aid] you [to] consume a portion of the wealth of the people in sin, while you know [it is unlawful].’’

    However, should the state in question have conflicting interpretations about this, the most amicable way to approach this issue would be to tax individuals according to their disposable income. Hence, a regressive tax system would be most ideal and appropriate under these circumstances.

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  19. This is not news. The NGO has a right to its opinion and a right to test its political strength.

    We are treating Qayyoom like old Europe used to treat the "jew".

    If a child dies then Maumoon must be to blame, if an epidemic spreads Maumoon must be poisoning the wells and if a religious NGO publicizes their opinion then Maumoon must be financing them.

    Blaming others is a sign of a lack of control. We have poor leaders at the helm right now. Shall we bring in some good leadership and set our country on the right track?

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  20. You must read Salaf’s text properly. First get Zakath from whoever has to pay, reduce the unnecessary government expenditure and then as a last resort go for taxation.

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  21. The first thing that is needed here is to relocate the haabees to somewhere in the arabian desert, where they can live like Bedouins.

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  22. The contemporary taxation on income leads to several imbalances in an economy in the form of Inflation and diversion of economic resources. Did any of you think about who is going to benifit and who will lose in Taxation. We all know that the rich, or rather the producer will transfer the tax burden to the consumers. This is how its happening all around the world. Whereas this tax burden is suppose to be borne by the producers (in our case the key businesses). I know that in all tax systems, the poor are exempted from paying tax. But we all know that when these producers, transfer the tax burden, the rich source funds for paying tax from the consumers. Unltimately, the rich get richer and the poor gets poorer... this is just one simple example from many more.. so i would say, thumps up for SALAF!!!

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  23. My representatives are in the parliament and if they give consent for taxing then indirectly I am giving permission to tax my income and my wealth and it can never be called unjust wealth or robbing or stealing or bribery.

    I am no damn so called scholar, but my common sense say so and I am sure that's how it is.

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  24. Shaheem says it is not haram:
    http://www.miadhu.com/2011/07/local-news/taxation-is-not-forbidden-in-islam-shaheem/

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  25. Can someone ask the Salaf and the Adhaalath party, whether marrying a 6 year old girl is haraam or halal?

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  26. it is halal to marry 6 years old. For this good act you get six huraleens.

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  27. Why do we care about what Salaf says when they fall to this level where they are scrapping the bottom of all religious material and still find no surah or hadith to back what they say. If what they quoted is the best material in favour of their standing, then to me it is undountedly clear that taxing is not Haram...

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  28. I pray that one day these people who like criticizing Muslim scholars without any proof from Hadith or Quran in their responses can meet those friendly anti-muslim skin heads in Europe and have a cup of coffee to see if these right-wing Muslim haters would differentiate a religious Muslim to a non-practicing Muslim 🙂 May Allah (swt) bring a situation like this to those who try to ridicule Islam and the believers by trying to change Islam to fit the western led economic world instead of changing ones life to fit Islam.

    Here is a good inside story regarding the growing love of the West towards Islam. Its a trend that will only increase due to economic failures in those countries by uncontrolled greed for capitalism. They need to blame someone for this failure and they will blame the Muslims, be it you have a beard or no beard. Try to face the facts or if not, pls try the cup of tea idea with the right-wings in Europe.

    Since the right-wing movement is surely the future of Europe, why bother criticizing the only people that would give protection to your children in the future against a right-wing Europe?

    http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/insidestory/2011/07/201172783630939769.html

    http://www.sandhaanu.net/videos/imam-anwar-al-awlaki/change-yourself-not-islam-video_e0600c952.html

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  29. gosh i can't believe you idiots are actually WITH taxing of private property. it's really none of the government's business.only in medieval times like (as seen in robin hood for instance) were poor people taxed on their private possesions, so that the rulers can revel in luxury. it's just totally ridiculous...religious scholar or not i am with this salaf dude. he actually makes a lot more sense than this government consisting of a bunch of half wits

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  30. @ Muad MZ

    I believe bananas are more nutritious than apples, and everyone who says different are afraid of the superiority of bananas in diet. This is so obvious it does not need justification at all, so we can move on to debate the end results of the use of bananas without further adieu.

    The union of apple producers are all secret admirers of bananas (they secretly consume them), yet will at every opportunity seek to destroy the image of yellowy goodness.

    I know this as i just ate a banana.

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  31. Salaf,Salaf,Salaf... what is it after all..i have read thier claim, it looks good to me, cox we dont have to pay now.. Hahaha..becox The contemporary taxation on income leads to several imbalances in an economy in the form of Inflation and diversion of economic resources. Did any of you think about who is going to benefit and who will lose in Taxation. We all know that the rich, or rather the producer will transfer the tax burden to the consumers. This is how its happening all around the world. Whereas this tax burden is suppose to be borne by the producers (in our case the key businesses). I know that in all tax systems, the poor are exempted from paying tax. But we all know that when these producers, transfer the tax burden, the rich source funds for paying tax from the consumers. Ultimately, the rich get richer and the poor gets poorer

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  32. Can you not see what's out there?

    Religion is a man made concoction. Although the idea behind is to have a working fabric of society, it now has become the tool of choice in political warfare.

    Islam principles are based on wet dreams of desert dwelling ignorant male-driven society of nomadic Arabs.

    Religions are more destructive than constructive nowadays. And they are spoon fed, force fed, with stigmatization, intimidation, and keeping most uneducated. It has become the best Political tool for all politicians.

    Unfortunately for us, there is no way out.

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