Through Force or Faith? — Page 276
?— A Reply to Pope Benedict XVI 276 of interest in favour of the debtor ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:279). Not only that, it explained its disadvantage and harmful consequences: َنْيِذَّلَا َنْوُلُكْاَي اوٰبِّرلا اَل َنْوُمْوُقَي اَّلِا اَمَك ُمْوُقَي ْيِذَّلا ُهُطَّبَخَتَي ُنٰطْيَّشلا َنِم ِّسَمْلا Those who devour interest do not rise except as rises one whom Satan has smitten with insanity. ( S u rah al-Baqarah, 2:276) That is, such people lose their reasoning and fair-mindedness under the influence of their covetousness. As opposed to it, Islam has initiated a system of taxation in the form of Zak ā t in which the economic system is based on invest- ment. In comparison to other religions that laid the tax on income (for instance Bible specifies one tenth of the income: Deut. 14:22), Islam places the tax primarily on the money that is surplus after personal expenditure and remains non utilized for the whole year. It is more sensible that the money that remains unused and is not put into circulation should be taxed. The Holy Prophet gave elaborate instructions as to how to assess tax (Bukh ā rī, Kit ā b- ul-Zak ā t). Not only did he tell how the taxation shall be accom- plished and explained the significance of charity, he also outlined how the money so collected by the state shall be spent. Hence the Holy Quran described elaborately as to the usage of that money: ِهّٰللا َو ِنْبا ِلْيِبَّسلا ِءٓاَرَقُفْلِل َو ِنْيِكٰسَمْلا َو َنْيِلِمٰعْلا اَهْيَلَع َو ِةَفَّلَؤُمْلا ْمُهُبْوُلُق َو يِف ِباَقِّرلا َو َنْيِمِرٰغْلا َو ْيِف ِلْيِبَس For the poor and the needy, and for those employed in connection therewith, and for those whose hearts are to be reconciled, and for the freeing of slaves, and for those