Jizya is a right that Allah (swt) allowed the Muslims to take from the Kuffar, in return for their submission to the ruling of Islam. The Muslims adhere to forbearing, protecting and ensuring the security of the Kuffar who give the Jizya. Jizya originates from the saying of Allah (swt) in Surah At-Tauba,

“Fight those who do not believe in Allah (swt) and the last day and who forbid not what Allah (swt) and His Messenger (saw) have forbidden, who do not practise the religion of truth, being of the people of the Book, until they pay the Jizya out of hand and are humbled.” (At-Tauba: 29)

Who are Jizya taken from?

Jizya is taken from the people of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, by evidence of the previous mentioned Ayah, “Being of the people of the Book” whether they are Jews, Christians, Arabs or non-Arabs. This is because the Messenger of Allah (saw) took Jizya from the Jews of Yemen and from the Christians of Najran. It has been narrated from Arwa ibn Az-Zubayr who said, “The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote a letter to the people of Yemen saying, ‘…whoever is upon the religion of Judaism or Christianity is not forced to turn away from it and he must pay the Jizya.’” It has also been narrated from Ibn Shihaab who said, “The first to give the Jizya were the people of Najran who were Christians.” Abu Bakr took the Jizya from the Christians of al-Hira who were Arabs, and ‘Umar, likewise took the Jizya from the Christians of Ash-Sham who were both Arab and non-Arab.

Jizya is also taken from people other than the people of the Book namely from the Zoroastrians, Sabians, Hindus and the communists, because the Messenger of Allah (saw) took Jizya from the Zoroastrians of Hajr. It has been narrated from Hasan bin Muhammad (saw) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to the Zoroastrians of Hajr inviting them to Islam and those who accepted were accepted into Islam and those who didn’t Jizya was enforced upon them, observing that their meat must not be eaten and their women must not be married.” It has been narrated from Ibn Shihab that the “Messenger of Allah (saw) took the Jizya from the Zoroastrians of Hajr,” and ‘Umar took the Jizya from the Zoroastrians of Persia and that Uthman took the Jizya from the Berbers. It has also been narrated that ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab stopped from taking Jizya from the Zorastians until Abdur-Rahman bin Auf testified that the Messenger of Allah (saw) took the Jizya from the Zorastians of Hajr. Likewise, it has been narrated from the Messenger (saw) that he said, “Deal with them as you would with of the people of the Book.”

As for the Arabs who worshipped idols they are forced to accept Islam otherwise they would be fought against according to Allah (swt) ’s saying,

“Kill the polytheists wherever you may find them”, [At-Tauba: 5] and His ’s saying,

“You shall be summoned to fight against people of great strength, you shall fight or they shall submit(become Muslims).” [Al-Fath: 16]

This was in the year of Tabuk in the ninth year of Hijra in which Surah At- Taubah (Bara’ah) was revealed making the collection of Jizya from the people of the Book and the killing of the polytheists from the Arabs who worshiped idols as obligatory. The Arab people of who worshiped idols ceased to exist after the tenth year of Hijra.

As for the people or groups who were Muslim and then apostatised such as are present today, their current reality has to be examined. If they were born to parents who had apostatised and didn’t apostatise themselves, rather their parents, or grandparents, or great grandparents apostatised like the Druze, the Bahais, the Ismaelies and the Nusairis who made Ali god; all of them are not treated as apostates. They are rather treated as the Zoroastrians and the Sabians. Jizya is enforced upon them, their slaughtered meat is not eaten and their women cannot be wedded. However, if they renewed their Islam and entered Islam again, then the rule applied to Muslims would apply to them

As for those who apostatised from Islam themselves, be it they converted to Judaism, or Christianity, or communism, or to any thought which denies that Islam is a Deen revealed by Allah (swt) , or denies that Muhammad (saw) is the Messenger of Allah (saw), or denies the duty of implementing Islam, or denies some of the Quranic Ayat as the communists and those like them do, they are treated exactly like the apostates.

Jizya is taken from men who are sane and mature and it is not taken from the youth, the insane or the women. This is because when the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Mu’az to Yemen, he ordered him to take a Dinar from every boy that had reached puberty. And ‘Umar wrote to the leaders of the armies saying, “Enforce the Jizya, but do not enforce it upon the women and the boys who had not reached puberty – namely do not enforce it upon boys unless they started to shave (their private parts) ie. they had become mature.” When the boy reaches maturity, or the insane regains sanity then the Jizya becomes mandatory upon him. If the maturity or the sanity, was attained at the beginning the of first year of his people, the Jizya is paid for the whole year with them, and if the maturity or sanity was attained during the year, a portion of the Jizya is paid with his people so that his year with their year is disciplined. It is also forced on the monk in the temples, the people of the monasteries, the ill, the blind and the elderly if they are prosperous. This is because the Ayah and Ahadith related to Jizya are general and include them and there is no text to exclude them. However, if they are entitled to charity, then the Jizya is lifted and is not collected from them because they cannot afford to pay it. And the Ayah says, “Allah (swt) does not charge a soul with more then it can bear.” And it has been narrated from ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab that he passed by an old man from the Ahl az-Zimma begging from the people. He said to him, “what forced you to do that?” The man said, “The Jizya, old age and need.” So ‘Umar said to him, “We have not done justice to you, as we have taken Jizya from you in your youth then we have failed you in your old age.” He took him to his house and gave him something to eat. Then he sent him to the treasurer of the Bait ul-Mal and ordered him to stop taking Jizya from him and to give him from the funds of the Bait ul-Mal.

When is the Jizya Waived?

The Jizya is waived by embracing Islam, so whoever embraced Islam, the Jizya enforced on him is terminated, whether he became Muslim at the beginning of the year, in the middle, at its end or after its elapse, thus no Jizya is obliged on him at all. This is due to what Allah (swt) said, “Say to those who disbelieve, if they desist then Allah (swt) will forgive them for everything that has passed.” Ibn Abbas also narrated from the Prophet (saw) that he said, “The Muslim does not pay the Jizya.” The reason for Jizya is Kufr and Islam eliminates it, so it does not exist together with Islam. If Islam eliminates what preceded it of Shirk, Kufr and sins then how would it not eliminate Jizya and its humiliation?

It has been narrated from the Messenger (saw) that he said, “Islam has nullifies what preceded it.” It has been narrated from Masrooq that one of the non-Arabs embraced Islam and Jizya was taken from him. He came to ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab and said, “O Amir-al Mu’mineen I have become a Muslim.” ‘Umar said, “Perhaps you embraced Islam seeking protection.” The man said, “Is there not in Islam that which guards me?.” ‘Umar said, “Yes, Indeed.” He said, “Umar wrote to say that no Jizya is to be taken from him.”

The Jizya does not cease by death if the person died after a year had elapsed as it would become Wajib and a debt upon him. Thus it is necessary to take the appropriate amount from his bequest like his other debts. If he doesn’t have any bequest then he doesn’t pay and it is not necessary for his heirs to pay, as this then falls into the rule pertaining to the poor and needy.

Any person from the Ahl az-Zimma who is obliged to pay the Jizya, can be excused from it because the Ayahs and Ahadith oblige its collection and not its exemption. No one is excused from it except those mentioned in the Ahadith. Even if the Zimmi joined the Islamic army as a soldier and fought against and killed the Kuffar along with the Muslims, or he was employed in a post, all this wouldn’t exempt him from paying the Jizya, as along as he remained on his Kufr and because he is paid for joining the army or the post.

A special register should be made for all the Ahl az-Zimma according to their religions and sects which is kept in the department of Jizya. It should contain all the necessary information regarding their date of birth, age, death and financial status in order to be the basis for estimating the amount of the Jizya.

The Amount of Jizya

The amount of Jizya enforced in the days of the Messenger (saw) and the Khulafa’a after him was not fixed, rather it differed from one place to another. When the Messenger of Allah (saw) sent Mu’az to Yemen he ordered him to take, “A Dinar or its equivalent of M’afir (garment) from every mature youth of the Ahl az-Zimma.” ‘Umar imposed 4 Dinars on the rich in Egypt and Ash-Sham, 2 Dinars on the middle class people and 1 Dinar on the poor who earns. Likewise he also imposed them to provide food for the soldiers and hospitality for the Muslims. He imposed 48 Dirhams on the rich in Iraq, 24 Dirhams on the middle class and 12 Dirhams on the poor who earn. Likewise, he imposed double the Zakat on Christians of bani Taghlub when they refused to impose Jizya on them. It has been narrated by N’uman bin Zara’a that he asked ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab and spoke to him regarding he Christians of bani Taghlub. ‘Umar was intent on taking the Jizya from them but they had dispersed throughout the land. Nu’man said to ‘Umar, “O Amir al-Mu’mineen, indeed the Bany Taghlub are an Arab tribe who look down upon the Jizya, and they don’t have wealth, as they are only people of farming and cattle. They have defiance against the enemy so do not help your armies by using them against you.” He said, so ‘Umar made peace with them by imposing double charity (Zakat)”

In Sahih al-Buhkari it has been narrated by Abu Najeeh who said, “I said to Mujahid: ‘What is the matter with the people of Ash-Sham who pay 4 Dinars and the people of Yemen pay 1 Dinar?’ He said, ‘This was decided based on prosperity.’”

The value of the Dinars which ‘Umar imposed as Jizya on the people of adh-Zimma, estimated in grams, which is the standard unit of the gold today, is as follows:

	Dinar	Weight of Dinar in Grams	Dinar Grams in Gold
1. The rich	4	4.25	= 17 grams
2. The Middle class	2	4.25	= 8.50 grams
3. The Worker	1	4.25	= 4.25 grams

 

From this it is clear that the Jizya amount of was not the same, nor fixed by a certain limit that can’t be exceeded like the Nisab of Zakat. Rather it is left to the opinion and Ijtihad of the Khalifah where he takes into consideration the aspect of prosperity and poverty, in a way that he does not overburden Ahl az-Zimma, nor hrges them beyond their capabilities. Likewise he ensures that the Bait ul-Mal is not treated unjustly, nor he deprives it of fund rightly due to it from the people of Ahl az-Zimma.

Defining the levels of richness, middle class and poverty is referred to the common convention (Urf) and to the knowledge of experts. In this regard the Khalifah appoints people from the experts to distinguish between the rich, the middle class and the poor so as to put the levels of richness, middle class and poverty, and to suggest the value of Jizya for each category. Thus the Khalifah would use this as the premise to decide the amount of the Jizya in a way that he does not overburden the Ahl az-Zimma nor charges them beyond their capability, and does not deal unjustly with the Bait ul-Mal, by reducing its due right..

Time for the Collection of the Jizya

The Jizya is due on the passing of the year, and it is taken annually. The beginning of the year is defined by the start of Muharram and it is concluded by the end of Dhul-Hijja. In order to accomplish the collection before the arrival of Muharram of the following year, it is possible to specify the last three months of the year i.e. Shawwal, Dhul-Qi’ada and Dhul-Hijja as the appointed time for the payment of the Jizya. Thus, the year is fixed at the beginning and end for everyone, rather than making a special time of the year specific for each person. This arrangement achieves precision and ease in levying and collection Specific collectors will be chosen to collect and levy the Jizya and a certain section will be specified for them in the Department of Jizya in the Diwan (office) of Fai’ (war booty) and Kharaj. Their provisions and salaries will be from Bait ul-Mal and not from the people of the Zimmah. The collectors are prevented from taking anything more than the obliged amount from the people, and the increase in this is subject to punishment by law, because such an increase is injustice which is considered as darkness on The Day of Judgement. Also it is property stolen by the collectors and stolen property leads to the Hell-Fire. Similarly, the collectors are prevented from beating or torturing the people of Zimmah during the collection of Jizya as the Messenger (saw) prohibited this. Hisham b. ‘Urwa narrated from his father that ‘Umar b. al-Khattab passed in the road of Ash-Sham, while returning from his journey from Ash-Sham, by people who had been forced to stand in the sun with oil being poured onto their heads. He said: “What is the situation of these people?” They said: “They have not paid Jizya due on them. So they are tortured till they pay it.” ‘Umar said: “What do they say and what is their excuse is for not paying the Jizya?” They said: “They say, ‘We do not have it.’” He said: “Leave them and do not impose upon them what they cannot afford, for verily I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) say: “Don’t torture the people, as the one who tortures them in this world will be punished by Allah (swt) on the Day of Judgement.” He (‘Umar) ordered that they be released. And it was related from the Messenger of Allah (saw) that he appointed Abdullah b. Arqam over the Jizya of the people of Zimmah and when he was leaving, he called him back and said: “Surely, whoever oppresses a person under covenant (Mu’ahid) or imposes upon him more than he can afford and humiliates him or takes anything from him without his consent I will challenge him (i.e the oppressor), on the Day of Judgement.” The one who claims poverty from the people of Zimmah, he will be requested to prove his poverty; if he proves it he is granted a respite until a time of ease. But if he does not prove it and it is proved that he is a procrastinator then he is imprisoned and left in prison until he pays the Jizya. The Messenger (saw) has imprisoned procrastinators of debts. There is no superimposition of Jizya. Even if two years or more passed without payment, they do not superimpose and it is obligatory to settle the amount as it is obligatory to settle the debt. The assets of the Zimmi are not sold to pay off the Jizya. Gold and silver are not specified for Jizya. It is allowed that Jizya be in gold or silver and it is allowed to be goods or animals, or it is allowed to take its equivalent value. It was mentioned in the Hadith when Mu’adh was sent to Yemen that the Messenger (saw) ordered him to take one Dinar from each mature person of the people of Zimmah or its equivalent in “Mu’afir” i.e. in garments. The Messenger (saw) also concluded a peace treaty with the people of Najran over two thousand garments of which they give half in Safar and the other half in Rajab. And ‘Umar used to take grazing livestock and grains for Jizya instead of Dinars and Dirhams as did the righteous Khulafa’a. In order to ease collection, preservation and distribution in these days it is allowed to collect the Jizya in the circulating currency. Expenditure of Jizya There was no difference among Muslims that Jizya is spent the same way as the funds of the Fai’ (war booty) i.e. the Kharaj and tenths, are spent. So, it is placed in Bait ul-Mal and funds are spent from it according to the interests of the Muslims and carried in the way of Allah (swt), as viewed by the Khalifah, according to his opinion and Ijtihad in looking after the affairs of the Muslims and in discharging of their interests.