The Bayt al-Mal was not only the property of the Muslims alone but of non-Muslims also, Out of the funds of the Bayt al-Mal the State was obliged to support needy dhimrns1 as well as indigent Muslims. The terms of the treaty entered between Khalid b. Walid and the people of Hira was that the old dhimmis2 and their dependents would not only be exempt from the payment of Jizyah but would be given regular financial support as long as they would reside within the boundary of the Islamic State. While explaining sadaqah, Maulana Shibli Nu'mani, the author of 'Umar al-Faruq, says that it was meant for the Muslim beggars and the needy dhimmis.3 The Bayt al-Mal al-Khas was the personel treasury of the Umayyad, Abbasid and other caliphs, their princes and harems.
According to a Mez, the learned German author of the Renaissance of Islam, the State Chest was kept at, Fustat in front of the pulpit of Amr's Mosque and it had wooden steps and iron doors with a lock.4 As early as 97 and 99 H/715 A.D. 'Uthamah b. Zaid (who had lead the Syrian expedition under caliph Abu Bakr (R) in 632 A. D.) while posted as the director of finance in al-Fustat built a qubbah on pillars in front of the minbar (pulpit) of the Mosque of Amr for the Bayt al-Mal of Egypt.5 The treasury stood in a Syrian Mosque at Barda on nine columns and had iron doors and a leaden roof.6 The caliph al-Mu'tadid of Baghdad (270-89 H/892-902 A.D.) built a house for his private treasures and got its joints filled with lead. He kept the money in purses with the seal of the treasurers. The Ikhshid rulers of Egypt kept the money in sacks made of nets of steel wire inside the armory. While other Muslim rulers of the 10th century kept it in the chest. Maqqari says that the treasures were always kept in sealed jars within the palace of the caliph at Cordova. But when Sultanah Subh, the widow of Hakam II, was found laying hands on it, Hajib al-Mansur, the Prime Minister of Hisham II (366-403H/976-1012 A.D.), was the first man to remove it from the palace of Hisham II to his newly constructed palace at Zahirah in a newly built capital city al-Zahirah7 which was different from al-Zahra palace city of 'Abd al-Rahman al-Nasir III (301-350H/912-961 A.D.) both were located in the neighborhood of Cordova.
Bayt al-Mal dealt with the income and expenditure of the State. Some slight changes were introduced in the Byzantine dinar and Persian dirham which were retained in circulation by Hadrat 'Umar to be Arabicized fully later under the Umayyad caliph 'Abd al-Malik (43-63 H/685-705 A.D.) and registers were maintained in Persian in Iraq and Persia, Syriac in Syria and Coptic in Egypt for recording revenues and expenditures, these were also Arabicized by 'Abd al-Malik, the builder of Qubbat al-Sakhara (Dome of the Rock) at Jerusalem, the second sanctuary of the Muslims. Among the sources of revenue were the zakat (poor rate), al-sadaqah (alms), jizyah (pool-tax), 'ushr and kftardj (land tax), al'ushur (tithes, customs and market duties); taxes on mines, khtims (one-fifth of the booty), al-Fayy (income from State lands). The income from the zakat the religio-State duty paid by the Muslims formed the part of revenue resources of Bayt al-Mal al-Muslimin and was spent on the needy and indigent Muslims, collectors of zakat, the emancipation of slaves, military enterprises, debtors, thieves and women of suspected characters etc. The jizyah being a military tax was collected from able and earning adult members of the Dhimmis only when the Muslims were sure of giving protection to the life and property of the protected non-Muslims. On failure of giving protection the jizyah was returned to the people of Hims, Damascus and other advance posts before the battle of Yarmuk and the Cypriots were exempt from the payment of jizyah for sometimes even after surrender till Hadrat 'Uthman, the third caliph, became sure of their security and protection. The income from jizyah, kharaj and ghanimah etc. went to the general treasury and was spent on the maintenance of soldiers and other administrative purposes. The earliest al-Fayy land was the Fadak, the income from which was spent on the Prophet's relatives, the orphans, the indigents, and the wayfarers and on the general welfare of the Muslim community. A good portion of al-Fayy lands was assigned to the soldiers and converted to 'Ushri lands later on and some were acquired by the caliphs under the Umayyads and the revenue from such lands went to their personal treasury, the Bayt al-Mal al-Khas, The income from the state lands which formed the source of the general treasury was spent on public works like digging of canals, construction of dams, dykes, tanks and roads and maintenance of postal service. The Bayt al-Mal al-Muslimin, as discussed above, was located in the chief mosque under the custody of the chief Qadi Ibn Abdun, the author of al-Hisbah, commenting on this opines: "The treasury of the pious foundation should be kept in a mosque well guarded and locked. Its keys should be in the possession of the Qadi. If sufficient amount of money was not found available in the general treasury and the rulers liked to spent a necessary sum for the undertakings of some meritorious works, like that of organizing a campaign, repairing some fortresses or for defending the Muslims against the attacks of enemies, the Qadi was entitled to give him the necessary amount which he deemed essential for the improvement of the conditions of the Muslims from the treasury but would not give him any more since after all he was responsible for the administration of the funds".8 The Bayt al-Mal. al-MusIimin, functioned as the center of deposits. While writing the biographies of Qadis of Spain in the 9th and 10th centuries, the famous writer al-Khushani mentions a number of cases of embezzlement of awqaf funds and orphans' money by qadis like Yosuf b. Basil of Sidonia, Nadarb. Salmah al-Kalbi of Cabra, Musa b. Muhammad and 'Amr b. 'Abdullah and the Cordovans demonstrated against the appointment of greedy Abi al-Ghamar b. Fahd as the chief Qadi of Cordova during the time of 'Abd Allah, Amir of Spain (852-86 A.D.). Documents have been found of depositing money by dying father for his children and 10,000 dinars by Ibn al-Qusaybi, a merchant, about 260 H/873 A.D. and 263 H/876 A.D. and another document of the time of Qadi al-Hablb (d. 312/924-5 A.D.). The chief Qadi Mundhir b. Sa'id b. 'Abd al-Balluti was the in-charge of the house of the orphan children of Zakariya, the brother of Najda, and refused to sell the house to 'Abd al-Rahman III saying, "the property of an orphan cannot be sold except for three reasons: necessity, impending ruins, or the offer of more advantageous terms than those on which it was at first obtained". Al-Mu'tasim b. Samadih, ruler of Aimeria, could not complete his palace till he bought an orphan's orchard by paying the price fixed by the orphan and his guardian. There are many other cases of orphans' deposits in the Bayt al-Mal al-Muslimin (Mosque), which was under the custody of Qadis both in the East and West. In the absence of legal guardians the Qadis (courts) are still guardians of orphan's property, a tradition, which has been followed by the Muslims with some modifications throughout the ages.

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