Is tax a form of charity, according to the quran?
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It is partially charity to the precise and perfectly calculated extent that the government uses it for the charitable purposes ordained by the God.
485 - Whoever recommends and helps a good cause becomes a partner therein And whoever recommends and helps an evil cause, shares in its burden And Allah hath power over all things.
As submitters to God alone we must always be vigilant about this. By the standards set out in 485 even the weight of a human hair in the wrong place is an evil deed on your record. So how imperative it is that we are always, always, always aware about the consequences of every single one of our actions. Regardless of how socially acceptable or common these actions are, regardless of how 'normal' and 'mundane' these actions are (e.g. paying tax, brushing your teeth, buying clothes made from sweat shop labour).
You can see from this alone that we are surely in a state of constant deprivation of the fruits of our good deeds. Can you see the irony in millions of people marching in protest against evil global wars, only to pay for the very bombs and chemical weapons that destroy those very lives they direly wished to save? Do you think any of us will have an excuse before God when we stand on that fateful day?
If one does not actively do charitable works or good deeds of whatever shape and fashion of a magnitude at least enough to balance out that evil, then one may fall into a fire despite being so close to the glorious supreme truth! Does this not put into context the chapter Al-Asr (103)?
I swear by the time,
Most surely man is in loss,
Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.Then we may look towards this As believers we are commanded that if we are in a government/country that does not yield to God that we must move through the Earth to places which accept God's mercy and avoid His mighty and truly deserved retribution.
497 - When angels take the souls of those who die in sin against their souls, they say "In what (plight) Were ye?" They reply "Weak and oppressed Were we in the earth." They say "Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to move yourselves away (From evil)?" Such men will find their abode in Hell,- What an evil refuge! -
These boundaries do not exist to the master of the planet. What are borders to one who has created everything? So let us not be decieved by the illusions of mankind's attempt to hold onto transient glory that in truth belongs to God alone.
We are walking on hot coals everywhere. Tread softly, then tread softer. May God guide us all and show us the error of our ways, however subtle they may be )
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What is tax?
- a charity as its a help for the poor and those in need.
- or not a charity as it is imposed by the state?
hmm
What do you mean by tax? What tax? If you are talking about Jizya, Jizya to me is not tax but compensation or reperation. It came in the Quran regarding the Meccans and not the people of Medina.