Public Finance (al-mal al-‘amm) in Sharia Law: Terminology, Normative Framework, and Specific Characteristics

Abstract

This article analyzes the terminology, definition, historical development, normative framework, and distinctive features of public finance in Sharia law. The terms public money, public finance, and public good are used in the paper in interrelated meanings, but not as complete synonyms: public money denotes funds and property of common interest; public finance refers to the framework of their collection and expenditure; while public good designates resources and property intended for general use. The paper pays particular attention to the ways in which Muslim society developed mechanisms for safeguarding public finance through the institutions of hisba, understood as supervision and public oversight, wilayat al-mazalim, understood as an appellate council, and diwan, understood as a public register. The paper also examines abuses of public funds, including theft, embezzlement, misappropriation, bribery, wastefulness, corruption, and the usurpation of public roads. It further discusses the conversion of public property into a private legal regime through sale, land cultivation, and the allocation of entitlements, as well as the normativity of expropriating private property for the benefit of the public good and the question of whether zakat is obligatory on public funds.