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Encyclopedia > Jizyah

In Islamic law, jizyah (Arabic: جزْية) is a per capita tax required of adult males of other faiths under Muslim rule in exchange for the protection of the Muslim community. Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

Contents

Source

The imposition of a jizyah upon non-Muslims is mandated by Sura 9.29 of the Qur'an.: A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... See also: Sura (disambiguation). ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; its literal meaning is the recitation and is often called Al Quran Al Karim: The Noble Quran, also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold forbidden that which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued. An example of aḷḷāhu written in simple Arabic calligraphy For the town in Nigeria see Allah (town in Nigeria) Allah (Arabic aḷḷāhu الله) is traditionally used by Muslims as the Arabic word for God (not Gods personal name, but the equivalent of the Hebrew word El as opposed to...

Universalunity.net Parallel Translation of the Qur'an (http://www.universalunity.net/quran4/009.qmt.html) (Translation of Yusuf Ali) Yusuf Ali, Abdullah (1872-1952), Yusuf Ali, Abdullah was born in Bombay, India (in 1872) to a wealthy merchant family. ...

The word itself comes from the Arabic root jaza which means compensation. It is unclear if the Qur'an is refering to monetary compensation [1] (http://bismikaallahuma.org/History/jizya-islam.htm). The word "Jizyah" became used describe a type of taxation imposed on nonmuslims. Islamic scholar Yusuf Ali notes "The derived meaning, which became the technical meaning, was a poll-tax levied from those who did not accept Islam, but were willing to live under the protection of Islam, and were thus tacitly willing to submit to its ideals being enforced in the Muslim State." Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Yusuf Ali, Abdullah (1872-1952), Yusuf Ali, Abdullah was born in Bombay, India (in 1872) to a wealthy merchant family. ... A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). ... Islam (Arabic al-islām الإسلام,  listen) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith and the worlds second-largest religion. ...


Definitions

Shakir and Kahlifa's English translations of the Qur'an translate jizyah as "tax", while Pickthal translates it as "tribute". Yusuf Ali prefers to transliterate the term as jizyah. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Translation is an activity comprising the interpretation of the meaning of a text in one language—the called the source text—and the production of a new, equivalent text in another language—called the target text, or the translation. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ... (Mohammed) Marmaduke William Pickthall, (1875 - May 19, 1936), one of the most renowned Western Islamic scholars of all-time, noted as one of the most poetic and accurate translators of the Quran into English. ... A tribute (from Latin tribulum, contribution) is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contests, of submission or allegiance. ... Yusuf Ali, Abdullah (1872-1952), Yusuf Ali, Abdullah was born in Bombay, India (in 1872) to a wealthy merchant family. ... Transliteration in a narrow sense is a mapping from one script into another script. ...


The Fiqh Alsunna by Shaikh Sayed Sabiq, a commonly used source of fiqh, also states that the underlying root of the word jizyah is jaza, and defines it as "A sum of money to be put on anyone who enters the themah (protection and the treaty of the muslims) from the people of the book".[2] (http://www.jannah.org/articles/jizyah.html) In practice the word is applied to a special type of tax levied on those who did not accept Islam. Islamic jurisprudence, Fiqh (in Arabic and Persian: فقه) is made up of the rulings of Islamic scholars to direct the lives of the Muslim faithful. ...


Application

Jizyah was applied to every free adult male member of the People of the Book, and/or non-Muslim living in lands under Muslim rule. There was no amount permanently fixed for it, though the payment usually depended on wealth: the Kitab al-Kharaj of Abu Yusuf (quoted in Stillman, Norman: The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book (Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979 pp. 159–160)) sets the amounts at 48 dirhams for the richest (e.g. moneychangers), 24 for those of moderate wealth, and 12 for craftsmen and manual laborers. Females, children, the poor, and hermits were exempt from it. The disabled and elderly were exempt unless they were independently wealthy, as were mendicant monks—those living in productive monasteries had to pay. Historically Muslim rulers also attempted to collect jizyah from Hindus, Sikhs and Zoroastrians under their rule. The collection of the tax was often the duty of the elders of those communities. In Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb, Arabic: اهل الكتاب, are peoples who have, according to the Quran, received and possess the divine scriptures. ... The dirham (درهم) is a unit of currency and a unit of the dinar. ... The Mendicant (or Begging) Orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood. ... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ... A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism, a religious faith originating in the Punjab. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ...


In return, those who paid the jizyah were not required to serve in the military and were considered under the protection of the Muslim state, with certain rights and responsibilities. Non-Muslims were also exempt from zakat, or mandatory charity imposed on Muslims. In addition, if a non-Muslim chose to serve in the army, he would be exempt from the jizyah. Zakât (or Zakaat or Zakah) (Arabic: زكاة, Old (Quran) Arabic: زكوة) is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam. ...


Islamic Legal commentary

Al-Mawardi (the famous Shafi’i jurist of Baghdad), stated in al-Ahkam as-Sultaniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance) that jizyah is paid by the enemy in return for peace, and if the payment of jizyah ceases, then jihad is resumed.[3] (http://www.secularislam.org/articles/bostom.htm) Contents // Categories: People stubs | 972 births | 1058 deaths ... A street map of Baghdad Average temperature (red) and precipitations (blue) in Baghdad Baghdad (بغداد) is the capital of Iraq and the Baghdad Province. ... Jihad (ǧihād جهاد) is an Arabic word which comes from the Arabic root word jahada, which means exerting utmost effort or to strive. The word connotes a wide range of meanings, from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith, to holy war. ...


Syed Abu-Ala' Maududi's Chapter Introductions to the Quran states that Muslims were enjoined to tolerate the "misguidance" of non-Muslims "only to the extent that they might have the freedom to remain misguided if they chose to be so provided that they paid Jizyah as a sign of their subjugation to the Islamic State."[4] (http://www.islam101.com/quran/maududi/i009.htm) A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...


The Hedaya states that "it cannot be accepted of the infidel if he send it by the hands of a messenger, but must be exacted in a mortifying and humiliating manner, by the collector sitting and receiving it from him in a standing posture; (according to one tradition), the collector is to seize him by the throat, and shake him saying ‘Pay your tax, Zimmee’."[5] (http://voi.org/books/jihad/app2.htm)It also states that jizyah means "retribution", and defines it as "a species of punishment, inflicted upon infidels on account of their infidelity, whence it is termed Jizyat"[6] (http://voi.org/books/jihad/app2.htm) Ibn Al-Mutaraz derives the word from from ’idjzã, meaning "substitute" or "sufficiency" because "it suffices as a substitute for the dhimmi's embracement of Islam."[7] (http://bismikaallahuma.org/History/jizya-islam.htm) A Dhimmi, or Zimmi (Arabic ذمّي), as defined in classical Islamic legal and political literature, is a person living in a Muslim state who is a member of an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion. ...


Al-Zamakhshari, a commentator on the Qur'an, said that "the Jizyah shall be taken from them with belittlement and humiliation. The dhimmi shall come in person, walking not riding. When he pays, he shall stand, while the tax collector sits. The collector shall seize him by the scruff of the neck, shake him, and say "Pay the Jizyah!" and when he pays it he shall be slapped on the nape of the neck." Zamakhshari [Abu-1 Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar uz-Zamakhshari] (1070 (?)-1143) was a Persian learned man of medieval times. ... A Dhimmi, or Zimmi (Arabic ذمّي), as defined in classical Islamic legal and political literature, is a person living in a Muslim state who is a member of an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion. ...


Abu Yusuf, in his Kitab al-Kharaj, wrote that "[n]o one of the ahl al-dhimma should be beaten in order to exact payment of the jizya, nor made to stand in the hot sun, nor should hateful things be inflicted upon their bodies, or anything of that sort. Rather, they should be treated with leniency. [. . .] It is proper, O Commander of the Faithful--may Allah be your support--that you treat leniently those people who have a contract of protection from your Prophet and cousin, Muhammad--may Allah bless him and grant him peace. You should look after them, so that they are not oppressed, mistreated, or taxed beyond their means." (translated in Stillman, Norman: The Jews of Arab Lands: A History and Source Book (Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society of America, 1979 pp. 160–161)


History

Jizyah was levied in the time of Muhammad on vassal tribes under Muslim protection, including Jews in Khaybar, Christians in Najran, and Zoroastrians in Bahrain. The hadith of Bukhari and Tarmethi, considered by some to be weak and unverifiable [8] (http://www.quran-islam.org/238.html), record that Muhammad himself levied jizyah upon the Majoos, a tribe of Zoroastrians. This is Muhammad, I lied god isnt real I just wanted some attention ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... This article is about the religious people known as Christians. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... The Hadith (الحديث, pl. ... This is Muhammad, I lied god isnt real I just wanted some attention ...


Moshe Gil, a prominent Jewish historian, in his A History of Palestine, 634-1099, records a letter purportedly from Muhammad to the Christians and Jews of Eilat requiring the imposition of jizyah (Note:the letter exists in no other history, Muslim or secular): The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... Eilat or Elat (אילת), pop. ...

Thou hast to accept Islam, or pay the tax, and obey God and His Messenger and the messengers of His Messenger, and do them honor and dress them in fine clothing, not in the raiment of raiders…for if you satisfy my envoys you will satisfy me. Surely the tax is known to you. Therefore if you wish to be secure on land and on sea, obey God and His Messenger…But be careful lest thou do not satisfy…for then I shall not accept anything from you, but I shall fight you and take the young as captives and slay the elderly…Come then, before a calamity befalls you…[9] (http://www.secularislam.org/articles/bostom.htm)

Under Caliph Umar the Zoroastrian Persians were given People of the Book status, and jizyah was levied on them. Christian Arab tribes in the north of the Arabian Peninsula refused to pay jizyah, but agreed to pay double the amount, and calling it sadaqah, a word meaning "alms" or "charity". According to Yusuf al-Qaradawi the name change was done for the benefit of the Christian tribesmen, "out of consideration for their feelings".[10] (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=64354) Fred Donner, however, in The Early Islamic Conquests, states that the difference between sadaqah and jizyah is that the former was levied on nomads, whereas the latter was levied on settled non-Muslims. Donner sees sadaqah as being a indicative of the lower status of nomadic tribes, so much so that that Christian tribesmen preferred to pay the jizyah Jabala b. al-Ayham of the B. Ghassan is reported asked Umar "Will you levy sadaqa from me as you would from the [ordinary] bedouin (al-'arab)?" Umar aceded to collecting jizyah from him instead, as he did from other Christians.[11] (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/donner.html) Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Umar has been the name of several people: Umar ibn al-Khattab was the second caliph of Islam Umar_II,Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the ummayed Caliph Umar (Bulgars) was a khan of the Bulgars in 766. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... In Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb, Arabic: اهل الكتاب, are peoples who have, according to the Quran, received and possess the divine scriptures. ... This article is about the religious people known as Christians. ... There are three factors which may assist to varying degrees in determining whether someone is considered Arab or not: Political: whether they live in a country which is a member of the Arab League (or, more vaguely, the Arab world); this definition covers more than 300 million people. ... Arabia redirects here. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Ghassanid kingdom was a Christian Arab kingdom who immigrated from Yemen to the north of Arabia. ...


In his message to the people of Al-Hirah, Khalid bin Walid is recorded as saying (in reference to the jizya), "When a person is too old to work or suffers a handicap, or when he falls into poverty, he is free from the dues of the poll tax; his sustenance is provided by the Muslim Exchequer."[12] (http://www.ummah.org.uk/what-is-islam/war/war6.htm) Al Hirah was an ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south-central Iraq. ... Khalid bin Walid (AKA:Syaifullah/Sword of Allah);(584 - 642) was a Muslim Arab soldier and general. ...


According to Muslim accounts of Umar, in his time some payers of the jizyah were compensated if they had not been cared for properly. The accounts vary, but describe his meeting an old Jew begging, and assisting him; according to one version:

Umar said to him, "Old man! We have not done justice to you. In your youth we realized Jizyah from you and have left you to fend for yourself in your old age". Holding him by the hand, he led him to his own house, and preparing food with his own hands fed him and issued orders to the treasurer of the Bait-al-mal that that old man and all others like him, should be regularly doled out a daily allowance which should suffice for them and their dependents.[13] (http://english.islamway.com/bindex.php?section=article&id=176)

In India, Islamic rulers imposed jizyah since the 11th century. Aurangzeb, the last prominent Mughal Emperor, levied jizyah on his mostly Hindu subjects in 1679.[14] (http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/History/Mughals/Aurang3.html) The imposition of jizyah, after it had not been collected by previous emperors for 117 years, created enormous opposition and sectarian strife which started the decline of the Mughal Empire. Abu Muzaffar Muhiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir (November 3, 1618 - March 3, 1707), also known as Alamgir I, was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1658 until 1707. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ... This article is about the Hindu religion OM, the most sacred syllable and quintessential symbol of Hinduism, represents the first manifestation of the unmanifest Brahman. ... Events January 24 - King Charles II of England disbands Parliament August 7 - The brigantine Le Griffon, which was commissioned by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is towed to the southern end of the Niagara River, to become the first ship to sail the upper Great Lakes. ... The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...


As late as 1894 jizyah was still being collected in Morocco; an Italian Jew described his experience there: 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

The kaid Uwida and the kadi Mawlay Mustafa had mounted their tent today near the Mellah [Jewish ghetto] gate and had summoned the Jews in order to collect from them the poll tax [jizya] which they are obliged to pay the sultan. They had me summoned also. I first inquired whether those who were European-protected subjects had to pay this tax. Having learned that a great many of them had already paid it, I wished to do likewise. After having remitted the amount of the tax to the two officials, I received from the kadi’s guard two blows in the back of the neck. Addressing the kadi and the kaid, I said” ‘Know that I am an Italian protected subject.’ Whereupon the kadi said to his guard: ‘Remove the kerchief covering his head and strike him strongly; he can then go and complain wherever he wants.’ The guards hastily obeyed and struck me once again more violently. This public mistreatment of a European-protected subject demonstrates to all the Arabs that they can, with impunity, mistreat the Jews.[15] (http://www.secularislam.org/articles/bostom.htm) Mellah is the term for the Jewish quarter of a city in Morocco; the name literally means the place where salt is prepared or sold. ... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic monarch ruling under the terms of shariah. ...

Criticism

Criticism of Jizya has typically focussed not only on its specific application to non-Muslims, but its alleged humiliating nature. It has been described as a demonstration of "constitutional inferiority and humiliation"[16] (http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/xstnc-5.html) and criticized for the alleged "consistent, intentionally humiliating character of its application".[17] (http://www.secularislam.org/articles/bostom.htm) According to orientalist S.D. Goitein in Evidence on the Muslim Poll Tax from Non-Muslim Sources

It was of course, evident that the tax represented a discrimination and was intended, according to the Koran's own words, to emphasize the inferior status of the non-believers. It seemed, however, that from the economic point of view, it did not constitute a heavy imposition, since it was on a sliding scale, approximately one, two, and four dinars, and thus adjusted to the financial capacity of the taxpayer. This impression proved to be entirely fallacious, for it did not take into consideration the immense extent of poverty and privation experienced by the masses, and in particular, their persistent lack of cash, which turned the 'season of the tax' into one of horror, dread, and misery.

However, Sir Thomas Arnold, an orientalist of the early 20th century, argued that:

This tax was not imposed on the Christians, as some would have us think, as a penalty for their refusal to accept the Muslim faith. Rather, it was paid by them in common with the other dhimmis or non-Muslim subjects of the state whose religion precluded them from serving in the army, in return for the protection secured for them by the arms of the Muslims. When the people of Hirah contributed the sum agreed upon, they expressly mentioned that they paid this jizyah on condition that ‘the Muslims and their leader protect us from those who would oppress us, whether they be Muslims or others.[18] (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=64354)

Resources

Many contemporary Muslim scholars can be cited, including Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Al-Qaradawi's book Non Muslims in Muslim Societies, which discusses many issues, including jizya, is available online in Arabic on his web site. A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... This article needs cleanup. ...


Bat Ye'or has written about the history and practice of jizya in her book "Dhimmitude." Ibn Warraq has described jizya as discriminatory and oppressive in his book Why I am not a Muslim. Bat Yeor is the pseudonym of an Egyptian-born British researcher; it means daughter of the Nile in Hebrew. ... Ibn Warraq, a name meaning son of a scribe, a reference to the medieval Islamic scholar Mohammad al Warraq, and with strong schismatic connotations from early Islamic history, is the pseudonym of a Muslim apostate writer and teacher currently living in Ohio. ...


See also

A Dhimmi, or Zimmi (Arabic ذمّي), as defined in classical Islamic legal and political literature, is a person living in a Muslim state who is a member of an officially tolerated non-Muslim religion. ... In Islamic law, kharaj is a tax on land, specifically agricultural land. ... Zakât (or Zakaat or Zakah) (Arabic: زكاة, Old (Quran) Arabic: زكوة) is the third of the Five Pillars of Islam. ...

External Links

Website of Yusuf al-Qaradawi

  • http://www.islamonline.net/
  • Jizyah and non-Muslim Minorities (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=64354)
  • The Fair Logic of Jizyah (http://www.islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=9296)
  • Jizyah, Jihad… or Islam?! (http://www.islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=4429) "If the non-Muslim community - after rejecting Islam - refused to agree to the Jizyah, then the only option left is fighting."

  Results from FactBites:
 
Jizyah - WikiIslam (1199 words)
Jizyah is the extra tax imposed on non-Muslims (Dhimmis) who live under Muslim rule according to the Qur'an and hadith:
Jizyah is paid as a sign of submission and gives Dhimmis some legal protection in return.
The amount of the Jizyah tax and the way it was collected varied from time to time and from place to place, but when imposed, the forced payment of Jizyah greatly stimulated the conversion of non-Muslims into Islam.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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