₦airaland Forum

Wth the recent discussions around the new tax law in Nigeria, it is important for us as Muslims to understand the difference between tax and zakāh, because many people tend to mix the two or assume one can replace the other.

Zakāh is an act of worship. It is an obligation commanded directly by Allah and mentioned repeatedly alongside Ṣalāh in the Qur’an. It is taken from specific types of wealth, at a fixed rate, and given only to specific categories of people mentioned in the Qur’an. Zakāh purifies wealth and the soul, and it is a right of the poor upon the wealthy.

Allah says:
“Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase.” (Qur’an 9:103)

Tax, on the other hand, is a civic responsibility introduced by governments to run public affairs such as infrastructure, security, healthcare, and administration. It is not an act of worship, nor does it replace Zakāh, even if one pays a large amount.

Paying tax does not remove the obligation of Zakāh, and paying Zakāh does not exempt one from lawful taxes imposed by the government, as long as they do not contradict Islamic principles.

Zakāh is paid seeking the pleasure of Allah.
Tax is paid to maintain societal structure.
One cannot substitute one for the other.
As Muslims, we must be balanced: fulfill our religious duties sincerely and also act responsibly within the society we live in. Islam does not promote lawlessness, nor does it allow us to neglect obligations owed to Allah.

Let us be careful not to confuse acts of worship with civic duties, and let us fear Allah in how we handle wealth because we will surely be questioned about how we earned it and how we spent it.

May Allah grant us understanding, sincerity, and acceptance of our deeds.

Wonders


Shall


Never


End. We go survive am

Reposted from the thread:
No Tax If You Are Earning Below ₦800k Annually
https://www.nairaland.com/8591409/no-tax-earning-below-800k/3#137990000

I just need to break this down here because what you don't understand you will keep being misled.

A tax is money the government collects from people, businesses, or things you buy, to pay for public services like roads, schools, hospitals, and electricity.

Many Nigerians think only people with salaries pay tax because income tax (PAYE) is very visible, it comes straight off your paycheck. But in reality, everyone pays indirect taxes whenever they buy goods, fuel, food, use electricity, phone, or travel. The “hypocrisy” comes from the fact that government talks about income tax more because it’s easy to track, while indirect taxes are hidden in prices, so it feels like the poor or informal workers aren’t paying anything when they actually are.

What annoys me is the japa people that go abroad and yap about taxes. They want Nigeria to have the same western style. If you play with taxes abroad, you'll be shown the way out in the next election and you should also understand the white man and why he does things in a way. When you understand their history, you'll know why we are not the same.

Some countries really do not charge personal income tax at all meaning residents don’t file annual income tax returns like in the UK/US and don’t pay tax on their salaries. Examples include United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Monaco, Brunei and Vanuatu, among others. These countries still get money for government services through oil, trade, fees, or other taxes, not by taxing individual salaries. Do the maths and tell me one thing in common Nigeria has that some of these countries have. These countries fund government spending through other sources such as oil and gas revenues, corporate taxes, import duties, fees, tourism income or VAT/sales taxes, instead of taxing people’s income directly.

You need to get off this obsession with the west and trying to be like who you are not. This is the miseducation of the average African. Don't forget that in Aba and Ogun State, Women fought the imposition of taxes by the British. Many Nigerians don't even study their history. You should go and read why they didn't want the colonial government collecting taxes from them.


Historically, Western heavy taxation grew partly from scarcity and because they needed money to fund armies, wars, infrastructure, and administrative systems. Land and resources were limited, populations were growing, and scarcity of money made taxes necessary. Scarcity also came from their harsh climates, poor harvests, and limited technology, so the state had to extract more from people to survive and provide basic service, sunlike in some African systems, where wealth was shared communally rather than extracted as formal taxes. When you look at it today, the concept of Black Tax is because in Africa, we share the resources with the rest of us Ubuntu style. Learn why things are the way they are. Today, I see people teaching financial wealth and I laugh when they want us to copy westerners and their form of selfish indiduvual finance.


The day Nigerians wake up to know their rights and why the government cannot just squander their money, they will wake up.

This writer need to be commended.
I believe the problem is Islam is not Quran but those who translate or ibterprete it to d gullible minds.
They feast on d ignorance of those they were supposed to direct.
U can't substitute ur duty to God with duty to humanity. None is more than d other as none is less than d other.
That's why Jesus commanded his followers to pay tax.
Even d mosques go as far as not paying electricity bills.
Thats very bad and some churches now had started emulating what's bad.

Jazakallahu khayra.
Also there is reward from Allah if you abide by your government imposed tax. Obey your leaders, and Allah will reward you.

Tax is forbidden in Islam. All these APC paid agents. Una no go rest on this tax matter?

Lukgaf:
Wth the recent discussions around the new tax law in Nigeria, it is important for us as Muslims to understand the difference between tax and zakāh, because many people tend to mix the two or assume one can replace the other.

Zakāh is an act of worship. It is an obligation commanded directly by Allah and mentioned repeatedly alongside Ṣalāh in the Qur’an. It is taken from specific types of wealth, at a fixed rate, and given only to specific categories of people mentioned in the Qur’an. Zakāh purifies wealth and the soul, and it is a right of the poor upon the wealthy.

Allah says:
“Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase.” (Qur’an 9:103)

Tax, on the other hand, is a civic responsibility introduced by governments to run public affairs such as infrastructure, security, healthcare, and administration. It is not an act of worship, nor does it replace Zakāh, even if one pays a large amount.

Paying tax does not remove the obligation of Zakāh, and paying Zakāh does not exempt one from lawful taxes imposed by the government, as long as they do not contradict Islamic principles.

Zakāh is paid seeking the pleasure of Allah.
Tax is paid to maintain societal structure.
One cannot substitute one for the other.
As Muslims, we must be balanced: fulfill our religious duties sincerely and also act responsibly within the society we live in. Islam does not promote lawlessness, nor does it allow us to neglect obligations owed to Allah.

Let us be careful not to confuse acts of worship with civic duties, and let us fear Allah in how we handle wealth because we will surely be questioned about how we earned it and how we spent it.

May Allah grant us understanding, sincerity, and acceptance of our deeds.

You emphasize obedience and personal responsibility (paying taxes and Zakāh) but you do not mention the government’s responsibility to spend taxes properly.
In Nigeria, citizens pay lots of taxes, yet roads are bad, electricity is unreliable, healthcare is poor, so it’s unfair to stress obedience without accountability.

Zakah is personal, and tax is statutory, but both are meaningful only if the leaders handle resources responsibly. Civic duty goes both ways: the people pay, and the government serves. Zakah is your duty to Allah; tax is your duty to society. Just as the believer is accountable for giving, the ruler is accountable for justice and proper use. Obedience is incomplete if leaders fail their responsibility and I want you preachers to stop preaching responsibility without accountability.

Islam supports both personal contributions (like Zakah) and civic taxes, but insists that leaders use public funds responsibly and fairly, not just that citizens pay blindly. The western system is not compatible with Islam and if you read my last post, most of the countries that are tax free are Muslim countries! Please let's be real here and balance the message to every side. These politicians will come to your places of worship but you people will not be able to tell them the truth. You only want obidient followers without the other side performing its own responsibility. This is what has been perfected in northern Nigeria for years.

In other words Tax is known as Kharāj...

How about jizya ?


You know the tax those that Muslims conquer there land pay?


Is that not also part of islam