4,543
edits
Jizyah: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→Definition
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
==Definition== | ==Definition== | ||
The jizya's origin is found in the Qur'an: | |||
{{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.}} | ||
The text is clear that the tax is a sign of their submission to the Muslims. Its role is thus not only fiduciary but also social; it is a sign of vilification and humiliation which the person of the book under Muslim rule (id est, the [[Dhimmia|dhimmi]]) must suffer as the price for the right to live under Muslim rule. The Arabic text is specific that the dhimmi must pay the jizya عن يد "'an yadin" that is "by hand" and صاغرون "saaghiruun" that is humiliated and lowered. | |||
The institution of the [[dhimma]] and its linchpin the jizya is in Islamic [[fiqh]] part and parcel to the larger theory of [[Jihad in Islamic Law]]. Paying the tax is one of the three choices that Muslims imams (leaders) are to offer infidels before declaring jihad upon them: | |||
{{Quote|Khalid bin Al-Waheed (Muslim General, 632AD)|"I call you to God and to Islam. If you respond to the call, then you are Muslims: You obtain the benefits they enjoy and take up the responsibilities they bear. If you refuse, then you must pay the jizyah. If you refuse the jizyah, I will bring against you tribes of people who are more eager for death than you are for life. We will then fight you until God decides between us and you." (Al Tabari, Volume XI)}} | {{Quote|Khalid bin Al-Waheed (Muslim General, 632AD)|"I call you to God and to Islam. If you respond to the call, then you are Muslims: You obtain the benefits they enjoy and take up the responsibilities they bear. If you refuse, then you must pay the jizyah. If you refuse the jizyah, I will bring against you tribes of people who are more eager for death than you are for life. We will then fight you until God decides between us and you." (Al Tabari, Volume XI)}} | ||
{{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 (id est to convert to Islam); 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)}} | ||
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]]. | ||