21.10 The Rules Of The Dhimmi
The dhimmi is the one who follows a deen other than Islam and becomes a citizen of the Dar al Islam while remaining in his deen other than Islam. “Dhimmi” is taken from the word “dhimmah” which means the covenant. They are upon our pledge that we treat them according to what we made truce with them upon, and that we run their transactions and affairs according to the rules of Islam. Islam came with many rules regarding the people of dhimmah. Among them is that they are not seduced from their religion, and they are only obliged to pay the jizyah so no wealth other than that is taken from them unless it is a condition of the truce conditions. It is narrated from Urwah bin As-Zubayr who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to the people of Yemen
“That whoever is upon Judaism or Christianity then they are not seduced from it and upon them is the jizyah”
Similar to the Jews and Christians are the polytheists and the rest of the disbelievers other than them. It is narrated from Al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abu Talib who said:
“The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to the Zoroastrians of Hijr inviting them to Islam. Whoever embraced Islam it would be accepted from him, and whoever did not then jizyah was imposed over him and no slaughtered animal is eaten from them and no woman is married from them” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
This is not specific to the Zoroastrians of Hijr but rather is general. There is no understanding (mafhum) of the hadith because the understanding of the surname is not a proof nor it is considered. Jizyah is not taken except from mature males. It is narrated from Nafi’ from Aslam the freed slave (mawla) of Umar:
“Umar wrote to the army leaders to impose the jizyah but not to impose it upon women and children, and not to impose it except upon the one whom the razor has taken effect upon” (Narrated by Abu Ubayd)
And no one rejected this from him. Rather Abu Ubayd said: ‘This hadith is the basis in those upon whom the jizyah is obliged and those from whom it is not obliged.’ Jizyah is not taken except from the one capable of paying it due to Allah’s statement: “from the hand” i.e. from the capable ones. So if someone is incapable and is poor, it is not allowed (merely) not to take the jizyah. Rather it is obliged to spend upon him from the Bait al-Mal as it is spent upon Muslims. Upon taking the jizyah, it is obliged to take it with goodness and not with harshness or punishment, and to take it in a measure which they are able to bear. They are not oppressed nor is it taken from them beyond their capability. It is narrated from Hisham bin Hakim bin Hazzam that he passed by a people being punished over the jizyah in Palestine, so Hisham said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“Verily Allah will punish on the Day of Judgement those who punish in the world.”
It is narrated from Abdurrahman bin Jubayr bin Nafeer from his father
“That great wealth was brought to Umar bin Al-Khattab (Abu Ubayd said: I think he said ‘of the jizyah’). He said: Verily I believe that you caused the people to perish. They said: No, by Allah, what we took was the extra portion and the pure. He said: Without whip or additional burden? They said: Yes. He said: Praise be to Allah who did not ordain that upon my hands nor in my authority” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
It is not allowed to sell the means of the dhimmi’s sustenance in order to take the jizyah no matter what value they reach. It is narrated from Sufyan bin Abu Hamza who said: Umar bin Abdulaziz wrote “not to sell the tool of the people of dhimmah.” Abu Ubayd said: ‘It is said due to its kharaj since if the farming tool is taken then he is not able to farm so the kharaj becomes void’ and other tools of life are analogized upon farming tools. If the dhimmi embraces Islam, the jizyah is omitted from him. It is narrated from Ubaydullah bin Rawaha who said:
“We were with Masruq in Silsilah and he related to me that a man became a Muslim and jizyah was taken from him so he came to Umar bin Al-Khattab and said: O Amir al-Mu’mineen, I have become Muslim. He said: Perhaps you became Muslim to seek protection? He said: Is there in Islam what would protect me? He said: Surely. He said: So Umar wrote that jizyah is not to be taken from him” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
“We were with Masruq in Silsilah and he related to me that a man became a Muslim and jizyah was taken from him so he came to Umar bin Al-Khattab and said: O Amir al-Mu’mineen, I have become Muslim. He said: Perhaps you became Muslim to seek protection? He said: Is there in Islam what would protect me? He said: Surely. He said: So Umar wrote that jizyah is not to be taken from him” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
And it is narrated from Qaboos bin Abu Dhibyan from his father who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“There is not jizyah upon the Muslim” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
From ibn Abbas (ra) who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
From ibn Abbas (ra) who said: The Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Two qiblahs are not suitable in the world, and there is no jizyah upon the Muslim” (narrated by Ahmad and Abu Dawud).
Ahmad and Abu Dawud). Umar bin Abdulaziz wrote to his official who considered that jihad was obliged against the Muslim who embraced Islam to flee from jizyah, and he said in his book:
“Verily Allah sent Muhammad (saw) as a guide and did not send him as a tax-collector.”
Islam exhorted treating the dhimmi with the good treatment. So he is shown gentleness and assisted in his matter(s), and the Muslims are obliged to undertake protecting him, his wealth and honour and to guarantee for him his strength, residence and clothing. It is narrated from Abu Wail from Abu Musa or one of them in his chain that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:
“Feed the hungry, visit the ill and release the one in captivitiy”
Abu Ubayd said: ‘The same applies for the people of the dhimmah for whose protection they fight. When they are freed, they return to their dhimmah and pledge as free persons; this issue is addressed in many ahadith.’ It is narrated from Amru bin Maymun from Umar bin Al-Khattab (ra) that he said in his will before his death:
“I recommend the Khalifah after me with such and such, and I recommend to him to be good with the dhimmah of Allah and the dhimmah of His Messenger, to fight those behind them and not to impose upon them more than their ability.”
The dhimmis are left with what they believe and their worships due to the Messenger’s statement:
“Whoever is upon Judaism or Christianity, then he is not tempted from it” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
The meaning of “he is not tempted from it” i.e. he is not forced to leave it but is rather left upon it; and leaving him upon it means leaving him upon his creed and worship. This is not specific to the People of the Book but rather others are analogized upon them in this subject due to the Messenger (saw)’s statement about the Zoroastrians (majus):
“Follow with them the practice (Sunnah) of the People of the Book” (Narrated by Malik via the way of Abdurrahman bin Awf).
Similar to the Zoroastrians are the remaining polytheists. As for eating their slaughtered meat and marrying from their women, this is looked into. If they are from the People of the Book i.e. from the Jews and Christians, then it is allowed for Muslims to eat their slaughtered meat and marry from their women due to Allah’s statement:
“And the food of those given the Book before you is allowed for you and your food is allowed for them. And the chaste women of the believing women and the chaste women of those given the Book before you” [TMQ 5:5].
However, if they are of other than the People of the Book, then it is not allowed to eat their slaughtered meat or marry from their women due to the Messenger’s statement regarding the Zoroastrians of Hijr
“In that not to eat the slaughtered meat from them nor marry from their women.”
As for the disbelievers marrying from the Muslims’ women, this is absolutely not allowed, and is haram whether they are from the People of the Book or other than them due to Allah’s statement:
“If you know them as believing women then do not return them to the disbelievers. These women are not allowed for them and they are not allowed for these women” [TMQ 60:10].
It is allowed to occur between the dhimmis and Muslims the transactions of buying, selling, renting, partnership, pledge etc. without distinction between them and the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah (saw) conducted business with the people of Khayber, and they were Jews, upon half of what is produced from the land upon condition that they work it with their wealth and bodies. The Messenger (saw) bought food from a Jew of Madinah and pledged to him his armour, and he sent to a Jew requiring two garments from him until a time of ease. All this is evidence upon the permissibility of all transactions occurring with dhimmis except when they are dealt with transaction related to renting, buying, and selling or pledging it is obligatory that the Islamic rules alone be implemented; it is absolutely not allowed to deal with other than them. In this way are the dhimmi citizens of the Islamic State like the rest of the citizens. For them is the right of citizenship, protection, guaranteeing their life, treating them well, kindness and softly. Upon them is to participate in the Muslims’ army and fight together with them but fighting is not obligatory upon them. For them is justice as for Muslims, and upon them is what is upon them as equity. They are considered by the Imam and judge in taking care of their affairs and when implementing the transactions and punishments just like the Muslims are looked upon without any distinction so justice is obligatory for them as it is obligatory for Muslims.
As for what came about Umar’s pledge with them and his imposing conditions upon them, they made truce upon these pledges and these conditions were inserted in the truce and they were pleased with them. So it was compulsory to execute the covenant as it was. Whereas if the truce pledge with them does not include specific transactions stating specific matters, then it is not allowed to deal with them except as Muslims or deal with except for what the text came regarding treating them differently to what Muslims are dealt with such as the non-permissibility of their marrying Muslim women. The evidence that what Umar did was based upon what his pledge included is what Umar himself did in the tax on trade. He (ra) took quarter-tithe (2.5%) from Muslims and half-tithe from the dhimmis even though the Shari’ah rule is that nothing is taken from the Muslim or dhimmi as tax on his business. From Abu Al-Khayr who said: I heard Ruwayfi bin Thabit saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saw) saying:
“Verily the collector of duty is in the Fire i.e. the tithe collector” (narrated by Abu Ubayd)
From Ibrahim bin Muhajir who said: I heard Ziyad bin Hudayr saying:
“I am the first tithe-collector who collected tithe in Islam. I said: Whom did you use to tithe? He said: We did not tithe a Muslim or mu’ahid. We used to tithe the Christians of Bani Taghlib” (narrated by Abu Ubayd).
The tax on trade is not taken from the Muslim or the dhimmi. What Umar (ra) took from the Muslim was zakat, and from the dhimmi it was according to the conditions of the treaty to which they submitted and became dhimmis. As for what was done to dhimmis in the declined ages, this was an error in understanding and imitation of some of what came of the conditions of Umar (ra) in his time. Had they comprehended accurately, they would understand that Umar (ra) did what the treaty conditions which they accepted included and apart from that Umar advised all the good for the dhimmis. Therefore the dhimmis are treated with the best treatment and what the Shar’a came with is implemented upon them except if the pledge of their truce includes conditions which will be executed upon them as they came