158 chapter five
Rightly Guided caliphs ought to be considered as part of the
general consensus,ijma", in the science of jurisprudence. They base
their arguments on Prophets’ Aœadìthin favour of the judicial abil-
ity of caliphs Abù-Bakr, Umar and Ali (see for example, Al-Qattan,
1986).
The first wave of the specialised work on Islamic economics was
therefore surrounded by economic and intellectual changes in the
fabric of the Islamic state. To fully appreciate the role of these
changes, in stimulating the need for the work and the shaping of its
dimension, it might be worthwhile to look into these changes, briefly.
This is shown below with particular emphasis on the economic and
intellectual changes during the period under examination.
Main Changes in the Economic FeaturesThe Increasing Wealth of the State
The increase in state revenue from the time of the Rightly Guided
caliphate to the Abbasìd rule was enormous. History books tell us
how the second caliph Umar found the figure of the revenue reported
to him by his envoy to Iraq beyond comprehension, “You are prob-
ably confused as a result of your tiring journey, go to sleep and
report to me tomorrow” said the sympathetic caliph (Al- ̨abarì).
Little did Caliph Umar know that the revenue would far exceed his
expectation during the time of the Abbasìd caliph al-Rashìd.
Comparing the state revenue at the time of the third Rightly Guided
caliph Utman, around 650 A.C., when the caliphate reached its peak
of prosperity, to that at the time of al-Rashìd, around 796 A.C.,
when the Abbasìd caliphate reached what it is known as the golden
age, reveals that the revenue increased dramatically. From a total
of about 200,402,000 dirhams, (Abù-Yùsuf, Al-Balaûrì, Al-Mawirdì,
Al-Rayyis, 1977), the revenue reached a sum of 530,312,000 dirham
(Al-Jahshiyari, 1938, Al-Rayyis, 1977). By the standard of the day
that was a considerable sum. The increase reflects not only the
growth in the state revenue but also the budget as a whole includ-
ing expenditures, which would determine the size of the state admin-
istration. Caliphs, particularly in matters related to a highly sensitive
subject like taxation, liked to be seen as fair and just, while, simul-
taneously, they had their concern about the size of the tax revenue.