How to protect public money in Islamic law

Abstract

Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of messengers, our Master Muhammad, and upon all his family and companions.

Money is the foundation of life and one of the most important means of developing the earth. God Almighty has appointed some people as successors to it, as He, the Most High, says:
“Do not give to the foolish your property, which God has made a means of support for you. Provide for them from it, clothe them, and speak to them words of appropriate kindness.”

Public money serves to develop the state’s economic system, as it is an important means for the modern state to carry out its various activities, from establishing and operating public facilities to achieving public benefit. The state develops future plans aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development in all areas, based on the availability of public money. It seeks to protect public money through systems that deter all forms of aggression against it. Despite the multiplicity of protection systems, It is well-known that forms of aggression vary across societies, perhaps due to the lack of enforcement or inadequacy of these laws.

The Islamic approach provides a comprehensive Sharia, valid for all times and places, to preserve and protect public funds, prohibit aggression against them, and consider them part of the five essential objectives.

Given this critical importance of public funds, this study aims to demonstrate their role in the modern state, identify forms of legal protection for them, and ways to limit aggression against them. It also presents the Islamic approach to benefit from its approach to achieving effective protection for this wealth, as Islamic Sharia is the original reference for all positive laws.