The Sun and the Lion

After arranging Murad and Ahmed's training plan in the dungeon, Ibrahim returned to the study and continued working, studying the priests' petition. At the same time he sent his guards to summon Sadr, summoning him to study the problem with the King of Kings.

In previous conquests, the original clerics and other Sufi orders were violently wiped out by Ibrahim and the Qizilbash, and the Safavid dervishes took over the mosques. , preside over local religious affairs.

Taking this opportunity, Ibrahim set out to build a new church. He built a pyramid-shaped Shiite church with the Safavid order as the main body, and directly used the organization and discipline of the order to restrain the people everywhere from top to bottom. local church. Therefore, in addition to the title of Shah Khan Shah, which represents his secular identity, he and the monarchs after the Safavid dynasty will also have the religious title of Perfect Leader. All Shia priests must submit to the Perfect Leader. Religious affairs can only be carried out with allegiance to leaders. Otherwise, he will be regarded as spreading heretical doctrines, confusing ignorant people, disrupting social order, and subverting state power, and then the court will severely punish him.

At the same time, Ibrahim confiscated a large amount of mosque property during the war, and almost all real estate was wiped out. The mosque relied on meager allocations from the government and donations from local believers to survive.

To this end, Ibrahim received several petitions asking him to allow the mosque to accept real estate donations. However, religious real estate is exempt from taxation, and Ibrahim, who is well aware of this, has repeatedly delayed it.

But this was not an option, so Ibrahim came up with a new idea.

The Tianfang religion has five pillars, namely chanting, praying, fasting, zakah, and hajj. Among them, the so-called zakah means that Muslims need to donate a certain amount of money every year after their property exceeds a certain amount. Charity, religious affairs and wages of Zakat collectors.

Among Sunnis, Zakat is a compulsory donation, equivalent to a religious tax, which is also proof of the legitimacy of the government, such as the Arab tribes who opposed the Caliph Abu Bakr in the Ridda War and the refusal to pay Zakat to Muawiya The Shias clearly do not recognize the legitimacy of the authorities. Until the twenty-first century, Zakat is still imposed in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, Malaysia, and Pakistan.

This is different among Shiites, who traditionally view zakat as optional and believers give their donations to imams rather than government-selected zakat collectors.

Ibrahim planned to start with Zakat and let the clergy persuad wealthy households to make regular donations as compensation for the mosque's loss of financial resources. I don’t know if the local wealthy households are used to this kind of life without anyone asking them to make donations. Ibrahim believes that Iranian landowners and businessmen who have experienced long-term Sunni rule will definitely be able to get used to it.

Your Majesty, your Sadr Yusuf requests an audience. While he was still thinking, the eunuch came over and reminded him.

Oh, please come in. Ibrahim came to his senses and asked the eunuch to bring Sadr in.

Skipping the necessary etiquette, Ibrahim said to the confidant who had helped him evade capture many times: Take a look at these petitions.

Your Majesty, I think your order should be revoked. This will not only appease the Ulema, but also stabilize society. With the support of real estate, almshouses, schools, and hospitals can operate normally and expand in scale to benefit more believers. After reading the petition, Yusuf gave his own answer.

But this will also bring about a problem, Sadr. Waqf does not need to pay taxes. What if someone invests all his property in the mosque to avoid taxes? Ibrahim asked.

Your Majesty, humans have been doing this for thousands of years. Although there are some disadvantages, overall the harm is greater than the benefit.

Wait a minute, I have another idea. Ibrahim summoned the eunuch: Now go and invite the royal representative over, hurry up.

Your Majesty? Yusuf didn't know what Ibrahim was thinking, but he could guess some. What else can we do if we summon the head of the supervisory system?

As a later generation, Ibrahim planned to introduce a system of property disclosure and the crime of unknown sources of property, which mainly targeted bureaucrats and clergy. And then establish strict censorship in government and churches.

The two didn't wait long. The royal representative Qawaz came to the study and sat next to Sadr.

Looking at the two people who were listening attentively, Ibrahim expressed all his thoughts-dividing parishes according to administrative divisions. Within a parish, the designated amil (Zakah collector) would report to the local mullah with the help of the local mullah. Local people collect Zakat. Please find Shuyuan www.zhaoshuyuan.com. These Zakat do not need to be handed in, and are all reserved for the use of mosques and ancillary buildings in the area. Mosques in various places are still not allowed to own real estate, accept donations, and are not allowed to purchase. Non-Muslim religious buildings, such as churches, are allowed to own real estate, but there is no tax exemption and they are still subject to tax.

Then came the work of the supervision system. Ibrahim asked Qawaz to allocate personnel to audit the finances of the government and various mosques, and investigate whether the income and expenditure were reasonable and legal, and whether there was any embezzlement of public funds and other corruption.

Yes, Your Majesty. Qawaz, who took the order, left the study with Ibrahim's permission and returned to his official office to complete the tasks assigned by the King of Kings.

Yusuf was still thinking about Ibrahim's wild idea that day. Using the extra tax money to exchange for, or redeem, their real estate seemed to be a feasible solution. Seeing the resolute attitude of the King of Kings, Yusuf thought that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he could not persuade him, so it was better to comply with his wishes first.

Your Majesty, I have no objection to this matter. I completely agree with you. Yusuf said obediently.

Besides, Yusuf, I still have a task for you to do. Ibrahim took the map, laid it flat on the table, and marked the black spots of Ardabil and Qom with his hand. I clicked twice - one is the base and holy place of the Safavid order, and the other is the holy place of the Twelve Imams.

I want to build, renovate, and expand the seminaries in Ardabil and Qom to train enough caliphs for me and the Order. Ibrahim looked at Yusuf.

I understand, Your Majesty. Yusuf nodded.

Very good, you can go back, Sadr. Ibrahim waved Yusuf away, then studied the map and thought about plans for the next few years.