of wealth on such things. Rather, it is to be spent on matters of public welfare. Here there are some questions:

First: Is repairing roads among matters of public welfare? The answer: Yes, it is.

Second: Is constructing dams across valleys among matters of public welfare? The answer: Yes, it is.

Third: Is planting trees in the places where people need to stop among matters of public welfare? The answer: Yes, it is.

Thus, public welfare is broad in scope. Everything that benefits the Muslims in their religious or worldly affairs is to be funded from the public treasury. It is not permissible to spend this fay'—that is, the public treasury—except on that which benefits the Muslims. As for that in which there is no benefit, not a single penny may be spent on it, for that is a waste of wealth. If a person is prohibited from wasting the wealth that he himself owns, then what of wasting wealth that belongs to the Muslims collectively?

If it is spent on something unlawful, two sins are involved:

First: taking a portion of the Muslims’ wealth for something that does not serve their interests.

Second: spending it on something unlawful, which is thereby assistance in sin.

For this reason, we say that the responsibility of those entrusted with the Muslims’ wealth is greater than the responsibility of one entrusted with an orphan’s wealth, the wealth of an incompetent person, or his own wealth. This is because the rights of all Muslims are connected to it: every Muslim has a share in it.

It is well known what happened to Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, as related by the historians: one night, he was walking through the streets of Madinah, checking on the people. He saw a fire and went toward it. With him was a freedman named Aslam, and he went to that fire.