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Controversial miscellaneous issues related to Islam

Non Muslims had to pay AlJizyah and AlKharaj… Is that REALLY unfair?

What is the Jizyah:
The word itself comes from the Arabic root jaza which means compensation. According to the famous Islamic Scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi in his book “Non Muslims in the Islamic society" he said: “They are small per capita annual obligations levied on adults who can financially afford it."

What is the Kharaj:
It is a property tax levied on the land owned by non-Muslims.

Who pays the Jizyah:
Jizyah is to be paid by non-Muslim healthy adult males only. It is accepted from all non-Muslims whether they are Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists…etc.

Who levied the Jizyah:
The Jizyah was levied based on the Quranic verses like:
“Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyahwith willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." (AlTawba:29)

How much is the Jizyah:
It has no fixed limit and is left for the discretion of the Imam to decide how much each one should pay.

The Kharaj too is decided by the Imam. He should fix a ration of the land’s yield, such as one third or one fourth, or to fix a specific quantity in weight or measure according to its agricultural yield

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he sent his deputy to Yemen he told him to take one dinar from every adult.

Umar Ibn ElKhattab fixed it at 48 dirhams for the wealthy, 24 dirhams for the middle class and 12 dirhams for craftsmen and manual laborers.

Caliph Uthman, the third of the righteous Caliph’s, may Allah be pleased with them fixed it equivalent to one shilling (12p) per month for the rich, 6p for the middle class and 3p for the ordinary people.

Imam Al-Shafii suggests one Dinar per year (about 40p sterling) but adds that it would differ according to the time of ease or difficulty and the capacity of those whom it is imposed. (Al-Shaffi, Al-Umm, vol. 4 p.122)

Can anyone be exempted from the Jizyah:
Jizyah is levied only on males capable of performing military services. Any one who is not fit for military services is exempted from it. Consequently the following are exempted from paying Jizyah:

  • Women
  • Minors
  • The aged people
  • Those who were out of work or were chronically sick or crippled.
  • Lunatics
  • Monks
  • Any disabled person whether he has mental or physical disability.
  • Financially incapable persons
  • If a non-Muslim rendered an important service to the country, he is exempted from paying the Jizyah for the life time. During the caliphate of Umar Ibn El-Khattab, the second righteous caliph, may Allah be pleased with him, a non-Muslim Egyptian laid before the Islamic government the project of cleaning and re-digging the ancient canal named, Nahr Amir al-Muminin, from Cairo down to the red sea which would facilitate the transportation of food stuff from Egypt to Medina, the capital. Umar, may Allah be leased with him, exempted the man from paying the Jizyah throughout his life.

Why must male adult non Muslims pay the Jizyah:
The reasons behind the Jizyah are:
1- It is a financial substitute for military service and it is levied only on every non Muslim fit for combat. A non-Muslim is never asked to fight with the Islamic army against his will so he pays the Jizyah as a compensation for not performing the military service. It is also a contribution to the expenses of the state defense and protection similar to the now called defense tax.

The clearest incidence in history to prove this was when Abu Ubaidah, May Allah be pleased with him, knew that the Romans were gathering troops to regain Syria from the Muslims, he returned the Jizyah money and announced that: “We have returned your money back to you because we have been informed of the gathering of enemy troops. You people, according to the conditions stipulated in the contract, have obliged us to protect you. Since we are now unable to fulfill these conditions, we are returning your money to you. We will abide by the conditions as agreed upon if we overcome the enemy." (Related by Abu Yusufin Al-Kharaj)

2- A payment in return for the public services in the state (like today’s tax that we pay the government but only much less than what we pay now…) in which the non Muslim is living like courts, roads...etc. Muslims too contribute in these public services by their paying of Zakat and other alms that are obligatory on the Muslim.

3- Jizyah, from this point of view, is not only a symbol of loyalty but it is also a contributory compensation for exemption from military, and that is why it is imposed only on males capable of military service.

What if a non Muslim is ready to join the Islamic Army? The obligation of paying the Jizyah is cancelled if the non Muslim joins the Islamic army and participates with the Muslims in defending the Islamic state.

This verdict was applied more than once in the Islamic history one example is the treaty between Muslims and the Christians of Jarjima where it was stated that they would support Muslims against their enemies and they would not have to pay the Jizyah.

Rules of Collecting the Jizyah in Islam:

  • It was collected once every lunar year.
  • It can be paid in cash or in goods except carrion and swine.
  • It must be collected as easy as possible

1. Umar Ibn Elkhattab told his Jizyah collectors: "Accept whatever is possible from those who are unable to pay the jizyah and help those who have become incapable , since we don’t want it from them for a year or two."

2. The Islamic state, as reported by Abu Ubaid, would often postpone the Jizyah collection until the harvesting season so that non Muslims would be able to pay it without being inconvenienced in any way.

3. The fourth of the righteous Caliphs, Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, wrote to the collectors of the Kharaj: “When you come to them, do not sell their garments preserved for winter or summer, or the food they eat, or the animals they need. Don’t whip any of them for a Dirham, and do not oblige them to stand on one leg for a dirham. Do not sell any of their household goods for the payment of Kharaj, because we accept from them what they have. If you do not comply with my orders, Allah will punish you in my absence. And if I receive any complaint against you in this concern, your service will be terminated."

Jizyah Today
Is the imposition of Jizyah tax obligatory on the part of Muslim rulers over the non-Muslim subjects in the modern times? The answer is that it will depend squarely on the circumstances of the country concerned.

If the oil-rich Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia can do away with a number of taxes which are payable by the citizens in other countries that may as well exempt the Jizyah. I don’t think there is any Islamic country now that collects the Jizyah from non-Muslims. It is an irony, however, that critics of the Islamic Shariah still dwell upon the Jizyah which they consider as a discrimination against non-Muslims.