The Kharaj (Land Tax) and its Contemporary Application: A jurisprudential Comparative Law

Taxes in the Islamic State is represented in the Kharaj (law tax). It is an important issue in the Islamic financial law because of its connection to land. The laws laid by the scholars of jurisprudence, however, are problematic when applied to contemporary life because of the pressures and different interests. Thus, the authority of the head of the state changing laws should be clear. Which of these laws can be changed based on changeable interests? And which ones are fixed? This study explores the jurisprudential law of the kharaj (land tax) in light of Hanafy and Hanbali doctrine. It then compares how the law was applied at that age, and to which extent it can be applied nowadays in light of contemporary laws. The study also investigates which contemporary laws can be applied without the disagreement with Sharia laws. This study explores the very concept of kharaj; its use for scholars of jurisprudence, the division of lands in light of this law, the Islamic State and its division amongst the deserving. This study also investigates the Islamic financial system in general, and the Kharaj in particular based on contemporary financial laws. It concludes that the Islamic law is successful in realizing justice.