6,632
edits
Jizyah: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
No edit summary |
|||
| (38 intermediate revisions by 10 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=4|Content=3|Language=3|References=3}}'''Jizyah''' or '''jizya''' (جزية) is the extra tax imposed on non-Muslims ([[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Dhimmitude|Dhimmis]]) who live under Muslim rule according to the [[Qur'an]] and [[hadith]]: | |||
==Definition== | ==Definition== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}|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.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|9|29}}|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.}} | ||
| Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
{{Quote|Umar ibn al-Khattab during the conquest of al-Basrah (636 CE)|Summon the people to God; those who respond to your call, accept it from them, but those who refuse must pay the poll tax out of humiliation and lowliness. If they refuse this, it is the sword without leniency. Fear God with regard to what you have been entrusted. (Al Tabari, Volume XII)}} | {{Quote|Umar ibn al-Khattab during the conquest of al-Basrah (636 CE)|Summon the people to God; those who respond to your call, accept it from them, but those who refuse must pay the poll tax out of humiliation and lowliness. If they refuse this, it is the sword without leniency. Fear God with regard to what you have been entrusted. (Al Tabari, Volume XII)}} | ||
Additional quotes can be found at [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Jizyah]]. | |||
Once a land is conquered by Islamic armies the ruler can impose a taxation on those non-Muslims who will not convert to [[Islam]]. | Once a land is conquered by Islamic armies the ruler can impose a taxation on those non-Muslims who will not convert to [[Islam]]. | ||
Jizyah is paid as a sign of submission and gives Dhimmis some legal protection in return. Under dhimmitude (the status that [[Islamic law]], the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims) Dhimmis usually are not allowed to carry arms to protect themselves, serve in the army or government, display symbols of their faith, build or repair places of worship etc. If the conquered do not wish to pay or convert, their fate may very well be slavery (under which, [[rape]] is permitted) or (as evidenced in the quotes above) death. | Jizyah is paid as a sign of submission and humiliation and gives Dhimmis some legal protection in return. Under dhimmitude (the status that [[Islamic law]], the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims) Dhimmis usually are not allowed to carry arms to protect themselves, serve in the army or government, display symbols of their faith, build or repair places of worship etc. Further stipulations can include the requirement for dhimmis to dress differently, live in inferior houses, use inferior transport, and oblige themselves to the feeding and housing of Muslims as needed. If the conquered do not wish to pay or convert, their fate may very well be slavery (under which, [[rape]] is permitted) or (as evidenced in the quotes above) death. | ||
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.<ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9368576 Jizya] - Encyclopedia Britannica</ref> In some cases the taxation of the non-Muslims was so profitable that | 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.<ref>[http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9368576 Jizya] - Encyclopedia Britannica</ref> In some cases the taxation of the non-Muslims was so profitable that some Islamic rulers discouraged their subjects from converting to Islam, lest they should lose their income.<ref>Hawting, G.R. ''The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750''. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 0-415-24073-5.</ref> | ||
==Context== | ==Context== | ||
Jizyah was not entirely an Islamic initiative or the innovation of its prophet [[Muhammad]]. A certain form of Jizyah had existed among the tribes of Northern Arabia in pre-Islamic times. This fact is attested by the famous historian Philip. K. Hitti in his ''History of Arabs''. ''Ghazw'' (غزو) or raiding others for feeding mouths was an accepted norm among the Bedouin tribes of that time. As ''Hitti'' noted, "Ghazw was a manly occupation of Bedouins where fighting mood was a chronic mental condition". For people among the tribes, everything that belonged to the other tribes guaranteeing material gain made a legitimate target. The context made it necessary for a weaker tribe or a sedentary settlement on the borderland to buy protection from the stronger tribe by paying what it then called ''Khuwwah'' which later became Jizyah in Muhammad’s Islam. Along with the booty acquired through raids and wars, Jizyah turned out to be a good source of income for believers. | |||
==A Sign of Kufr and Disgrace== | ==A Sign of Kufr and Disgrace== | ||
| Line 29: | Line 31: | ||
{{Quote|Ahkaam al-Sijn wa’l-Sujana’ wa Mu’aamalat al-Sujana’ fi’l-Islam by Hasan Abi’l-Ghuddah, 256|If some people persist in rejecting the religion of Allaah and stand in the way of ruling by that which Allaah has revealed on earth, or they fight against the call to Allaah, then we give them the choice of three things: Either they become Muslim; or if they refuse they pay the jizyah (whereby they pay a specified amount to the Muslims in return for being allowed to remain their land, and the Muslims undertake to protect them); or, if they refuse that, there is nothing left but the way which they themselves have chosen, which is fighting and dealing violently with those who have persecuted the Muslims and put obstacles in the path of the Islamic da’wah. In this way the Muslims will gain the upper hand and the enemies will be humiliated; then when we have killed and wounded many of them and gained the upper hand over them, we may take prisoners and bind a bond firmly on them.|}} | {{Quote|Ahkaam al-Sijn wa’l-Sujana’ wa Mu’aamalat al-Sujana’ fi’l-Islam by Hasan Abi’l-Ghuddah, 256|If some people persist in rejecting the religion of Allaah and stand in the way of ruling by that which Allaah has revealed on earth, or they fight against the call to Allaah, then we give them the choice of three things: Either they become Muslim; or if they refuse they pay the jizyah (whereby they pay a specified amount to the Muslims in return for being allowed to remain their land, and the Muslims undertake to protect them); or, if they refuse that, there is nothing left but the way which they themselves have chosen, which is fighting and dealing violently with those who have persecuted the Muslims and put obstacles in the path of the Islamic da’wah. In this way the Muslims will gain the upper hand and the enemies will be humiliated; then when we have killed and wounded many of them and gained the upper hand over them, we may take prisoners and bind a bond firmly on them.|}} | ||
Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-'Arifi, Imam of the mosque of King Fahd Defense Academy, | Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-'Arifi, Imam of the mosque of King Fahd Defense Academy, imagines the coming Muslim conquest of the Vatican: | ||
{{Quote|Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-'Arifi|"… We will control the land of the Vatican; we will control Rome and introduce Islam in it. Yes, the Christians, who carve crosses on the breasts of the Muslims … will yet pay us the Jiziya [poll tax paid by non-Muslims under Muslim rule], in humiliation, or they will convert to Islam…"<ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17710 The Next Pope and Islamic Prophecy] frontpagemag.com</ref>}} | {{Quote|Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-'Arifi|"… We will control the land of the Vatican; we will control Rome and introduce Islam in it. Yes, the Christians, who carve crosses on the breasts of the Muslims … will yet pay us the Jiziya [poll tax paid by non-Muslims under Muslim rule], in humiliation, or they will convert to Islam…"<ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=17710 The Next Pope and Islamic Prophecy] frontpagemag.com</ref>}} | ||
| Line 45: | Line 47: | ||
{{Quote|[http://www.himalmag.com/apr2001/commentary.html Idolatry and the Taliban]|Once Muhammad Bin Qasim had established himself in Sindh he sent a letter to the Muslim Caliph in Damascus, seeking instruction as to how he should deal with the Hindus and Buddhists of the conquered area. The reply came that they be treated in accordance with the Quranic commandments relating to the People of the Book (Ahl-i-Kitab), the Jews and the Christians. Accordingly, the Buddhists and the Hindus of Sindh were to be given full freedom to practise their faiths, and their lives and property, including temples, were to be protected. In return, they were to pay a tax, the jizya. The old, the sick, children and priests were to be exempted from the tax. The non-Muslims were not obliged to perform military service, unlike the Muslims. Following these dictates, Muhammad Bin Qasim thus set a precedent which several other Muslim rulers after him followed.}} | {{Quote|[http://www.himalmag.com/apr2001/commentary.html Idolatry and the Taliban]|Once Muhammad Bin Qasim had established himself in Sindh he sent a letter to the Muslim Caliph in Damascus, seeking instruction as to how he should deal with the Hindus and Buddhists of the conquered area. The reply came that they be treated in accordance with the Quranic commandments relating to the People of the Book (Ahl-i-Kitab), the Jews and the Christians. Accordingly, the Buddhists and the Hindus of Sindh were to be given full freedom to practise their faiths, and their lives and property, including temples, were to be protected. In return, they were to pay a tax, the jizya. The old, the sick, children and priests were to be exempted from the tax. The non-Muslims were not obliged to perform military service, unlike the Muslims. Following these dictates, Muhammad Bin Qasim thus set a precedent which several other Muslim rulers after him followed.}} | ||
The Ottoman empire imposed jizya on its Jewish and Christian subjects. Jizya collected from these communities was one of the main sources of income of the Ottoman treasury.<ref>Oded Peri; Gilbar (Ed), Gad (1990). ''Ottoman Palestine, 1800-1914 : Studies in economic and social history''. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 287. ISBN 978-90-04-07785-0. "The jizya was one of the main sources of revenue accruing to the Ottoman state treasury as a whole."</ref> The empire abolished it in 1856, but this action was dubbed as "cosmetic" because they replaced it with ''bedel-i askeri'', a tax on non-Muslims in return for their exemption from military services.<ref>Stillman, Norman. The Jews of Arab lands: a history and source book. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-8276-0198-7.</ref><ref>Gribetz, Jonathan Marc. ''Defining Neighbors: Religion, Race, and the Early Zionist-Arab Encounter''. Princeton University Press. 22-09-2014. ISBN 140085265X.</ref> | |||
==Jizyah in the Modern World== | ==Jizyah in the Modern World== | ||
| Line 96: | Line 100: | ||
{{Quote|1=[http://www.laqueur.net/print.php?r=2&rr=2&id=31 A Dire Continental Drift: While Europe Slept by Bruce Bave]<BR>Walter Laqueur, Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2006|2=In Denmark, Muslims make up 5% of the population but receive 40% of social-welfare outlays. Their preachers have told them, Mr. Bawer reports, that only a fool would not take maximum advantage of the bounty that Western Europe offers and that it is perfectly legitimate to cheat and lie. The benefits they receive are a kind of jizya, the tribute that infidels in Muslim-occupied countries have to pay to preserve their lives. (The subsidized-radical situation in Britain and Germany is not much different: The four suicide bombers in London last year had raked in close to a million dollars in social benefits before going on their murderous mission.)}} | {{Quote|1=[http://www.laqueur.net/print.php?r=2&rr=2&id=31 A Dire Continental Drift: While Europe Slept by Bruce Bave]<BR>Walter Laqueur, Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2006|2=In Denmark, Muslims make up 5% of the population but receive 40% of social-welfare outlays. Their preachers have told them, Mr. Bawer reports, that only a fool would not take maximum advantage of the bounty that Western Europe offers and that it is perfectly legitimate to cheat and lie. The benefits they receive are a kind of jizya, the tribute that infidels in Muslim-occupied countries have to pay to preserve their lives. (The subsidized-radical situation in Britain and Germany is not much different: The four suicide bombers in London last year had raked in close to a million dollars in social benefits before going on their murderous mission.)}} | ||
{{Quote|1=[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/3834.htm|2=2013-05-28}} Libyan Writer Mojahed Busify: Some European Muslims Collect Social Welfare, Claiming It Is Jizya]<BR>MEMRI, Clip No. 3834, April 19, 2013|2=Mojahed Bosify: Sixty percent of the Muslims in the Netherlands live off social security. | |||
Interviewer: They are unemployed... | |||
Mojahed Bosify: Many of them consider this to be the jizya poll tax, on the basis of official fatwas. | |||
Interviewer: They consider social security to be the jizya? | |||
Mojahed Bosify: When they go to the ATM or the bank teller, and say: "Convert to Islam or pay the jizya."<BR>. . .<BR> | |||
Interviewer: And the teller has no idea... | |||
Mojahed Bosify: No, he just says: "Here is your money," and that's the end of it. Today, fewer people behave this way, but some still do.}} | |||
{{Quote|[http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/016325.php Hugh Fitzgerald, Dhimmiwatch]|The Jizyah has "not been imposed" since European pressure and power has been brought to bear. But non-Muslims have been subject to a disguised Jizyah. Despite the supposed reforms that were to bring complete legal equality to non-Muslims in Turkey, in World War II the Varlik Vergesi was a large tax imposed by the government on non-Muslim citizens, who despite Kemalism, or perhaps because of it, have never been considered "Turks" equal to Muslim "Turks." | {{Quote|[http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/016325.php Hugh Fitzgerald, Dhimmiwatch]|The Jizyah has "not been imposed" since European pressure and power has been brought to bear. But non-Muslims have been subject to a disguised Jizyah. Despite the supposed reforms that were to bring complete legal equality to non-Muslims in Turkey, in World War II the Varlik Vergesi was a large tax imposed by the government on non-Muslim citizens, who despite Kemalism, or perhaps because of it, have never been considered "Turks" equal to Muslim "Turks." | ||
| Line 107: | Line 125: | ||
===Zakat=== | ===Zakat=== | ||
Muslims also had to pay a tax called Zakat. However, this zakat is a 2.5% tax, while the jizyah (which can vary) is about a 10% income tax (although it has been known to be as high as 50%). Muslims are obligated to pay this so-called "charity tax" even today, as its one of the five pillars of Islam. But, instead of paying it to the state, they now pay zakat to charities of their choice. It must however be noted that the majority of Islamic scholars are of the view that non-Muslims should not benefit from this alms giving,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=984|title= The way of giving Zakat al-Fitr in non-Islamic Lands|publisher= IslamicAwakening|author= Haytham bin Jawwad al-Haddad|series= Article ID: 984|date= November 20, 2002|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=984&date=2011-05-09|deadurl=no}}</ref> which is why mainstream Islamic charities, like Islamic Relief, almost exclusively<ref>[http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Articles/Islamic-Relief.htm Islamic Relief and the Myth of Non-Discriminating Muslim Charity] - TROP</ref> focusing their humanitarian work in Muslim majority nations or areas in non-Muslim countries which are heavily populated by Muslim minorities. In the aftermath of the 2010 Pakistan floods, many Christian survivors were denied aid supplied by Muslim charities as a result.<ref>[http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=7460 Pakistan: some Christians denied aid unless they convert to Islam] - Catholic Culture, September 6, 2010</ref> | |||
===Devshirme=== | ===Devshirme=== | ||
| Line 119: | Line 137: | ||
In Islamic territories, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians who did not convert to Islam were required to pay a tax called the jizya. Many people converted to Islam to avoid this tax or to escape the ban on non-Muslims owning land. As financial problems mounted for the Umayyad rulers, authorities imposed the kharaj as a property tax for recent converts. Popular opposition to the tax led to a revolt in 747 and precipitated the downfall of the Umayyad dynasty.}} | In Islamic territories, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians who did not convert to Islam were required to pay a tax called the jizya. Many people converted to Islam to avoid this tax or to escape the ban on non-Muslims owning land. As financial problems mounted for the Umayyad rulers, authorities imposed the kharaj as a property tax for recent converts. Popular opposition to the tax led to a revolt in 747 and precipitated the downfall of the Umayyad dynasty.}} | ||
{{ | The Umayyad caliph Umar II made non-Arab converts to Islam pay kharaj as a compensation for the diminished jizya tax base.<ref>Kennedy, Hugh. ''The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates''. Pearson. p. 107. ISBN 0-582-40525-4.</ref> | ||
Some have said that jizya and kharaj were not significantly higher than the taxes collected in the pre-Islamic [[w:Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] and [[w:Sassanid Empire|Sassanid]] empires. However: | |||
{{Quote|N. V. Pigulevskaya, A. Yu. Yakubovski, I. P. Petrushevski, L. V. Stroeva, A. M. Belenitski. ''The History of Iran from Ancient Times to the End of Eighteenth Century'' (in Persian), Tehran, 1967, p. 161.|A comparison between pre-Islamic documents and those of the Islamic period reveals that conquering Arabs increased the land taxation without exception. Thus, raising taxes of each acre of wheat field to 4 dirhams and each acre of barley field to 2 dirhams, whereas during reign of Khosro Anushiravan it used to be a single dirham for each acre of a wheat or barley field. During the later stage of Umayyad Caliphate, conquered and subjugated Persians were paying from one fourth to one third of their land produce to the Arab Empire as kharaj.}} | |||
Kharaj was also imposed on Hindu peasants of India during the rule of the [[w:Delhi Sultanate|Delhi Sultanate]] and the Mughals. Its value varied from 20 percent to 50 percent of the produce.<ref>K. S. Lal. ''Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India''. Chapter IV: "Income of the State". Archived at [http://www.webcitation.org/6l5ThExd8]. Aditya Prakashan. 1999. ISBN 8186471723 </ref> | |||
===Miscellaneous=== | |||
*The Hedaya, a 12th-century legal manual considered one of the most influential books of Hanafi Islamic law, states that a [[w:tithe|tithe]] on wine and pork should be collected from [[dhimmi|dhimmis]] and polytheists whenever they pass by any collector's office in an Islamic state.<ref>Marghinani. ''The Hedaya'' (Arabic) Translated by Charles Hamilton. Book I Chapter IV. p. 13.</ref> | |||
*''Rav akçesi'', also called "rabbi tax," was imposed on Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turcica: revue d'études turques, Volumes 24-25|year=1992|publisher=Éditions Klincksieck|pages=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3lpAAAAMAAJ&q=Rav+ak%C3%A7esi&dq=Rav+ak%C3%A7esi&hl=en&ei=ENqtTc77LZCp8APbtrSVAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBA}}</ref><ref>Veinstein, Gilles. ''Sur la draperie juive de Salonique (XVIe-XVIIe s.)'' "Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée" 1992. v.66</ref> | |||
*Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707), known for persecuting non-Muslims under his rule, used to collect a customs duty called ''sair-jihat''. It was applicable on the sale of sundry objects, including cloth, oil, grains, food, horses, camels, and animal skins.<ref>Abul Fazl. ''Ain-i-Akbari''. Translated by Col. Henry Sullivan Jarrett (1891). Vol. II, p. 63.</ref> The rate was fixed according to the religion of the payer. Hindu merchants paid 5 per cent, Christians 4 per cent and Muslims 2.5 per cent. Later, he exempted Muslims completely from this tax.<ref>Manucci, Niccolao. ''Storia do Mogor'' also known as ''Mogul India 1603-1708'', Vol. 2. pp. 415-417. Translated by William Irvine. London, J. Murray (1907).</ref> | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
{{Hub4|Jizyah|Jizyah}} | |||
{{Translation-links-english|[[Джизя - Данък|Bulgarian]]}} | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
*[http://debate.org.uk/topics/ | |||
*[http://debate.org.uk/debate-topics/historical/the-jizyah-tax The Jizyah Tax: Equality And Dignity Under Islamic Law?] | |||
*[http://www.bharatvani.org/books/jihad/app2.htm Jizyah and the Zimmî] | *[http://www.bharatvani.org/books/jihad/app2.htm Jizyah and the Zimmî] | ||
*[http://www.dhimmitude.org/archive/by_lecture_10oct2002.htm Dhimmitude Past and Present: An Invented or Real History?]'', by Bat Ye'or'' | *[http://www.dhimmitude.org/archive/by_lecture_10oct2002.htm Dhimmitude Past and Present: An Invented or Real History?]'', by Bat Ye'or'' | ||
*[http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/media/payments-to-hamas-as-jizyah.html Payments to Hamas as Jizyah] | *[http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/media/payments-to-hamas-as-jizyah.html Payments to Hamas as Jizyah] ([http://web.archive.org/web/20080105075225/http://www.outsidethewire.com/blog/media/payments-to-hamas-as-jizyah.html Archived]) | ||
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizya Jizyah]'' - Wikipedia (Additional information and contains some more Hadith references)'' | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jizya Jizyah]'' - Wikipedia (Additional information and contains some more Hadith references)'' | ||
*[http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Quran/004-jizya.htm Islam: Requiring Other Faiths to Pay Up] ''- TheReligionofPeace.com'' | |||
*[http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=166 Regarding Jizyah on non-Muslim Citizens]'' - Understanding-Islam.com'' | |||
;Muslim websites | |||
*[http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=166 Regarding Jizyah on non-Muslim Citizens]'' - Understanding-Islam.com'' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20080409001311/http://www.understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=question&qid=166 Archived]) | |||
*[http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544994 Jizyah and non-Muslim Minorities] ''- Fatwa Bank at IslamOnline.net'' | *[http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503544994 Jizyah and non-Muslim Minorities] ''- Fatwa Bank at IslamOnline.net'' | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Dhimma]] | ||
[[Category:Islamic Law]] | [[Category:Shariah (Islamic Law)]] | ||
[[Category:People of the Book]] | [[Category:People of the Book]] | ||
[[Category:Human rights]] | |||
[[Category:Islamic finance]] | |||
[[ru:Джизья]] | |||
[[bg:Джизя (Данък)]] | |||
[[Category:Society and human nature]] | |||
[[Category:Criticism of Islam]] | |||