Punishment of Apostacy in Islam — Page 65
65 crimes which they committed after their apostacy, which necessitated their suppression by force for the sake of the security of the Islamic state, and had confined themselves only to refusing to pay the zakat while still claiming to be Muslims, that alone would have been a sufficient cause for fighting them. Hazrat Abu Bakr was perfectly right in declaring that he would fight those who refused to pay the zakat even if their refusal did not go beyond holding back from him one nose string of a camel which they used to render to the Holy Prophet, or holding back a single lamb that they used to surrender as zakat to the Holy Prophet. He was not only the spiritual Successor of the Holy Prophet, peace be on him, but also his political Successor. The Islamic state had been established allover Arabia during the life-time of the Holy Prophet and it was the primary duty of his Successors to maintain the Islamic state, and to safeguard it and to arrange to recover the financial dues that were owed to the state treasury. The Holy Prophet, peace be on him, had organised the revenue system of the Islamic state which was based on the zakat, and the zakat was recognised as an obligatory tax due to the state. The Islamic state made provision for its diverse activities from the proceeds of the zakat. The military requirements of the state were met out of the zakat and all aspects of social welfare were provided out of the proceeds of the zakat. For instance, it is the duty of an Islamic state to provide for the maintenance of the unemployed and of the disabled; to provide capital for those who have been trained for a profession or an occupation or other beneficent activity, but lack the means of carrying it on; to promote industry and commerce; to provide facilities for transportation and for the