Taxation in Islam

Al-Maraghi defines the tax as a monetary levy the individual owes the state as a member of society, filling needs that other revenues cannot ¹. Islam, he argues, does not forbid imposing it in need: 'Umar asked the governors for money and food in the year of famine, and al-Ghazali permits the imam to levy on the rich the cost of the army when the treasury is empty and the enemy feared ^{1 2}. He lists five differences between tax and zakat — the latter a fixed religious duty with set channels and thresholds, the former variable with society's need.