The Principles Governing Muslim Governor's Prerogatives to Distribute Natural Sources

In order to perform their duties, governments have riches and sources of revenue including natural sources at their disposal. The Islamic government, too, gets part of its wealth and revenue from natural sources. Natural sources can be classified into three general types: 1. spoils of war which is considered as part the Islamic governor’s property 2. The lands gained by conquest, and although they belong to all Muslims, the Muslim governor can choose the way of its distributing and cultivating them 3. Free-for-all properties and though they have no special owner, the Muslim governor can choose the way of distributing them if a conflict arises between the users. Considering the fact that the decision-making on the main part of natural sources is entrusted to the Muslim governor, this question arises: Do the actions taken by the Muslim governor regarding his acting as an owner, his intervention or his supervising the scale or way of distributing this huge wealth and the revenues come from it have boundaries or they are governed by some rules and regulation? This paper seeks to identify‘’ the principles governing Muslim governor’s prerogative to distribute natural sources’’. The result of this study shows that such principles like; looking after Muslims’ interests, justice, efficiency, and protecting the environment determine Islamic governor’s prerogative to distribute natural sources.