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Meaning and Rules of Jizyah
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Justification of Jizyah
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Jizyah and Modern Islamic State
Jizyah is another
highly controversial subject which has attracted most hostile
criticism against Islam and early Muslims. Jizyah (or Poll-Tax as
it is called by the western writers) is a tax which was charged by
the Islamic state, on the authority of the Qur’an, from its
non-Muslim conquered people who submitted to the Islamic rule and
agreed to pay it generally under a treaty of peace. Non-Muslim
writers, particularly of the modern age, call this tax as
most-discriminatory, which, according to them, is charged by the
Islamic state to humiliate its non-Muslim subjects. In this
chapter, we shall discuss Jizyah in detail in the light of the
Qur’an and the Sunnah and also in the light of the practice of the
early caliphs of Islam, and would try to establish how the picture
of this humble levy has been wrongly painted by the Non-Muslim
writers because of their prejudice against Islam.
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I- Meaning and Rules of Jizyah
The word ‘Jizyah’
is derived from ‘Jaza’ which means ‘recompense’ or ‘compensation’.
Jizyah is a tax imposed by an Islamic state on its non-Muslim
subjects. It is charged in lieu of protection or Zimma given by
the Muslim community to the lives and properties of the
non-Muslims who are called Zimmis (the protected or covenanted
people). Jizyah is charged on the authority of Al-Qur’an which
enjoins upon its followers: “fight against such of those who have
been given the scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day,
and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger,
and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute (Jizyah)
readily, being brought low” (9:29). In accordance with this verse
of the Qur’an, the Prophet of Islam collected Jizyah from the
followers of the Book such as the Jews and the Christians.
However, during the reign of his successors when the Muslim armies
conquered Persia, Iraq, Syria,
Palestine
and Egypt, Jizyah was imposed on all the non-Muslims belonging to
any faith.
According to
authentic Traditions, the Prophet of Islam imposed Jizyah of one
dinar on every adult non-Muslim per annum and directed
Muadh-bin-Jabal to collect it when the latter was appointed
governor of Yemen (Abu Daud). However, during the reign of caliph
Umar, the Muslim empire expanded to include rich lands of Egypt,
Syria, Iraq and Palestine. So, Caliph Umar raised the rates of
Jizyah according to the income level of non-Muslims. The rate of
tax for the rich was fixed at 4 dinars, for the middle class it
was 2 dinars and for the lower class it was 1 dinar per person per
year.
It is not without
interest to mention here that Jizyah is levied only on the
able-bodied adult non-Muslim men who are capable to fight or who
have actually fought against the Islamic forces. Non-combatants
like women, children, old, sick, blind, crippled, poor, destitutes,
insane, etc. are exempted from its payment. Similarly, priests,
monks and slaves are also exempt. Persons who join military
service of the Islamic state are also given exemption from the
payment of Jizyah. It is reported that the people of Jarjoma,
during the conquest of Syria, refused to pay Jizyah on the plea
that they were prepared to fight the Muslim battles against their
enemy. The condition was accepted by the Muslims and peace was
concluded accordingly.
The use of force or
coercive methods in the collection of Jizyah are not allowed. For
recovery of Jizyah, the non-Muslims are not to be put to undue
inconvenience and harassment. Caliph Umar issued a directive to
Abu Ubaidah, the governor of Syria, that the collectors of Jizyah
should not harm the Zimmis or unlawfully deprive them of their
properties. During his journey to Syria, Umar issued following
instructions about the recovery of Jizyah from the Zimmis : “Do
not chastise them, for if you do so, Allah Almighty would do the
same to you on the Day of Judgement”. Hasham bin Hakam found a tax
collector punishing a non-Muslim for his failure to pay Jizyah. He
reprimanded him and said : “I have heard the Prophet (PBUH) saying
that God will chastise (in the Hereafter) those who chastise human
beings in this world”. According to Imam Abu Yusuf, if any Zimmi
has to pay Jizyah and dies before paying it, the same will not be
recoverable from his successors nor from the property left by him.
Caliph Ali once
directed his Jizyah collectors not to be so much harsh in the
collection of Jizyah that the Zimmis are forced to sell their
cattle or clothes or other belongings.
The Muslims were so
fair and just in respect of Jizyah that when they found themselves
unable to protect and safeguard their non-Muslim subjects, they
refunded the amount of Jizyah which they had realized. It is
reported on the authority of Imam Abu Yusaf that before the battle
of Yurmuk when the Muslims withdrew from Hims, Damascus and other
advanced posts, Abu Ubaidah, the commander of Muslim army,
refunded the whole amount of Jizyah collected from the people of
those areas. Not accustomed to such a benevolent treatment by the
conquerors, the non-Muslims prayed for the victory and return of
the Muslims and said: “O Muslims! We prefer you to the Byzantines,
though they are of our own faith because you keep better faith
with us and are more merciful to us and refrain from doing us
injustice and your rule over us is better than theirs, for they
have robbed us of our goods and our homes”.
When Cyprus was
conquered. Caliph Usman did not impose Jizyah on the non-Muslims
as he was not sure whether he would be able to protect them
against foreign invasion.
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II- Justification of Jizyah
Imposition of
Jizyah has been unfortunately subjected to very harsh and bitter
criticism, particularly by the non-Muslim scholars. By referring
to the words of the relevant Qur'’nic verse (9:29), they allege
that Jizyah is levied on the Zimmis as a punishment for their
disbelief in order to humiliate them. But this allegation is
absolutely biased and unfair. In fact, the words of the Qur’anic
verse mean that the infidels in the war should be forced to
surrender and submit to the Muslim rule and accept to pay tribute.
Thus, the verse refers to the complete submission of the
non-Muslims to the Muslim rule, which is of course inherent in the
conquest of their country by the Muslim troops. That the
non-Muslims should be humiliated at the time of payment of Jizyah
every time, is a misconceived and incorrect interpretation of this
verse. It would not be without interest to mention here the views
of Imam Shafii. He says that the humiliation referred to in the
Quran consists in the submission of the infidels to the Muslim
rule and that the non-Muslims should not be admitted into the
status of Zimmis except on condition of complete submission.
Muslim scholars and
jurists have held the imposition of Jizyah tax on Zimmis by the
Islamic state as justified on the following grounds :-
1.
In the Islamic State, every adult Muslim citizen is
obliged to take up arms for its defence when the state is attacked
and the freedom of his faith is imperilled. Participation in
Jihad or military service is compulsory for every healthy and
adult Muslim in case of foreign aggression, but it is not so in
case of the non-Muslim citizens who do not subscribe to the
ideology of Islam and, naturally, cannot be expected to assume
such a religious obligation. Since non-Muslims are exempted from
the military service, they are required in all fairness, to
compensate the Muslim community in sharing of civic burdens.
2.
Islamic state guarantees protection to the lives
and property of its non-Muslim subjects against internal as well
as external danger. Moreover, their religious freedom and all
civic rights are also protected. Despite the fact that such
non-Muslims had either been defeated in the war or had
surrendered, neither they are killed nor any war indemnities are
imposed on them. Rather, peace treaties are concluded with them
and they are given protection against any aggression. So Jizyah is
imposed for this protection.
3.
The Muslim citizens of an Islamic state pay Zakat
while the non-Muslims are not required to pay it. In this
situation, the non-Muslims are naturally expected to contribute to
the state exchequer for sharing the financial burdens of the
Islamic state.
4.
Zakat is paid by every Muslim, male or female, old
or minor, sane or insane, provided he possesses wealth at the
level of nisab. However, Jizyah is levied only on adult male
healthy non-Muslims capable to participate in a war. Women, old
men, minors, sick, persons of unsound mind, poor, beggars,
priests, etc. are exempted from the payment of Jizyah. Those
non-Muslims who join the military service of the Islamic state are
also exempted from the payment of Jizyah tax, while the Muslims
are not exempt from Zakat even if they discharge the defence
duties. Moreover, the rates of Jizyah are much lower as compared
to Zakat because the highest rate of Jizyah is 4 Dinar or 48
Dirhams per person per annum, while the amount of Zakat can be
substantial depending on the wealth of the tax payer. For
instance, a Zimmi with wealth of one million Dinar would pay
Jizyah at 4 Dinar only, while a Muslim possessing that much amount
shall pay Zakat at 25 thousand Dinar.
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III- Jizyah and Modern Islamic State
A question arises
whether a modern Islamic state should collect Jizyah from its
non-Muslim citizens or not. Before we answer this question, let us
consider the views of Dr. Hamidullah, an eminent scholar of Islam,
on this issue. He says :
“In the beginning
of Islam, this tax did not exist in the Muslim State, either in
Madinah or elsewhere. It was towards the year 9 H., that the
Qur’an ordained it. That it was a question of expediency, and
not a matter of dogmatic duty in Islam, is sufficiently shown by
the following incidents. It is reported (by Ibn Sa’d on the
authority of Zuhri) that at the moment of the death of his son,
Ibrahim, the Prophet Muhammaed declared : “Had he survived, I
would have exempted all the Copts from the Jizyah, as a
mark of esteem for Ibrahim’s mother” (who was a Coptic girl). Or
again, (cf. Suyuti. Husn al-Muhadarah, ch. Khalij Amir
al-Mu’minin), when a non-Muslim Egyptian laid before the Muslim
government the project of re-digging the ancient canal from
Fustat (Cairo) down to the Red Sea, thus facilitating the
maritime transport of the food stuffs of Egypt to Madinah–––the
famous Nahr Amir al-Mu’minin–––the caliph ‘Umar rewarded
him by exempting him from Jizyah during his whole life. There
are jurists who opine that one should also take into
consideration the international repercussions affecting Muslim
interests, in view of the fact that Islam has penetrated the
entire world, and there are millions of Muslims inhabiting
countries which are under non-Muslim domination; and the
Jizyah, if levied on Christians, Jews, Hindus and others in
the Islamic territory would inevitably produce a reaction on
Muslims among Christians and other countries”.
According to the
Qur’an and also according to the practice of the Prophet and
right-guided caliphs, Jizyah was collected from the non-Muslims
when they had been defeated in the battlefield or when they had
completely submitted to the Muslim rule because of fear of
imminent defeat. No modern Muslim state can claim of having
conquered its non-Muslim minorities. The non-Muslim minorities in
a modern Islamic state have somehow come to live with the Muslims.
Therefore, imposition of Jizyah on non-Muslim minorities is not
obligatory under Islamic law. Moreover, the yield from Jizyah
would be too little in monetary terms, but its repercussions on
the Muslim minorities living in non-Muslim lands may be
considerable. Instead of Jizyah, it would be more advisable to
levy wealth tax on the non-Muslim as well as Muslim citizens of
the Islamic state. However, the Muslim citizens should be exempted
from wealth tax in respect of those assets on which Zakat has been
paid by them.
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