Kharaj ni haki ambayo Allah (swt) aliwawezesha Waislamu kuichukua kutoka kwa makafiri. Ni haki iliyowekwa juu ya shingo ya ardhi ambayo imetekwa kutoka kwa makafiri kwa njia ya vita au kwa njia ya makubaliano ya amani, mradi tu makubaliano ya amani yaseme kwamba ardhi hiyo ni yetu (yaani ni mali ya Waislamu) na kwamba watandelea kulima ardhi hiyo badala ya Kharaj watakayolipa kwa Serikali. Kharaj katika lugha ya Kiarabu maana yake ni kodi ya upangaji na mavuno au zao. Kila ardhi iliyotekwa kutoka kwa makafiri baada ya kutangaza vita dhidi yao inachukuliwa kuwa ardhi ya Kharaj, na hata kama wakisilimu baada ya kutekwa, ardhi hiyo inabaki kuwa ya Kharaj. Abu ‘Ubayd alisimulia katika Al-Amwal kwa mapokezi ya Al-Zuhri: "Mtume wa Allah (ﷺ) alipokea Jizya kutoka kwa Majusi wa Bahrain." Al-Zuhri alisema: "Yule aliyesilimu, yeye (ﷺ) alipokea Uislamu wake, na Uislamu wake ulihakikisha maisha yake na mali yake ziko salama, isipokuwa ardhi. Ardhi hiyo ikawa ni ghanima kwa Waislamu kwa sababu hakuwa amesilimu hapo mwanzo alipokuwa katika nafasi ya nguvu", yaani alipokuwa nje ya uwezo wa Waislamu. Kuhusu kiasi cha Kharaj kinachowekwa juu ya ardhi, hukadiriwa kulingana na uwezo wa ardhi husika. ‘Umar (RA) alipoweka Kharaj, alizingatia uwezo wa ardhi, bila kumdhulumu mmiliki na bila kumdhuru mkulima. Katika baadhi ya maeneo aliweka kwa kila Jareeb (kipande cha ardhi inayolimika) Qafeez moja na Dirham moja, na katika maeneo mengine aliweka kiasi tofauti, na katika ardhi ya Ash-Sham aliweka kiasi kingine tena. Inajulikana kwamba alizingatia uwezo wa ardhi. Ikiwa Kharaj imekadiriwa kulingana na uwezo wa ardhi, itakusanywa kwa namna ile ile ilivyowekwa. Ikiwa Kharaj ingewekwa kwa eneo la ardhi kila mwaka, basi ardhi ingetozwa mwishoni mwa mwaka wa mwezi, kwa sababu ndio mwaka unaotambuliwa na Shariy'a. Hata hivyo, ikiwa Kharaj itawekwa juu ya eneo lililolimwa la ardhi, Kharaj itakusanywa mwishoni mwa mwaka wa kalenda kwa kuwa ni mwaka unaohusiana na mvua na upandaji wa mazao. Ikiwa Kharaj itawekwa kwa njia ya kugawana, yaani ikiwa makadirio maalum yamewekwa kulingana na kile ardhi huzalisha kwa kawaida, Kharaj itakusanywa wakati wowote mazao yanapoiva na yanapokuwa yameshavunwa. Imam ana haki ya kukadiria Kharaj, huku akizingatia njia inayofaa zaidi kuhusiana na mambo haya matatu, ama kwa msingi wa eneo la ardhi, au eneo la sehemu iliyopandwa, au kwa kukadiria mazao. Ikiwa maboresho yatafanywa kwenye ardhi, na hayo yakasababisha ongezeko la mazao, au ikiwa ardhi imekumbwa na mambo mengi yaliyosababisha kupungua kwa kiasi cha mazao, basi hali hiyo lazima ichunguzwe. Ikiwa ongezeko lilitokana na kitendo alichokifanya mkulima, kama kuchimba kisima au mfereji, basi Kharaj haitaongezwa. Ikiwa, hata hivyo, kupungua kulitokana na uzembe wao wenyewe, kama kuharibu mfereji au kupuuza kisima, basi Kharaj haitapunguzwa na wataamriwa kutengeneza uharibifu waliousababisha. Ikiwa ongezeko au upungufu ulisababishwa na Dola, yaani ikiwa Dola ingechimba kisima au ikiwa kwa upande mwingine ingepuuza ukarabati wa visima na mifereji, katika hali hii Dola ina haki ya kuongeza Kharaj, na pia inapaswa kuipunguza mazao yanapopungua. Ikiwa upungufu au ongezeko litatokea kwa sababu ya mambo ya kimaumbile, kama kung'olewa kwa miti na kimbunga au kuharibiwa kwa mifereji kutokana na mafuriko, katika hali hii ardhi itatozwa kulingana na uwezo wake wa kuzalisha ili wakulima wasidhulumiwe. Kharaj inapaswa kukadiriwa kwa kipindi maalum na kinachojulikana, na haipaswi kuwekwa kudumu milele. Makadirio haya hubadilika wakati kipindi kinapomalizika, na makadirio mapya yatawekwa kulingana na uwezo wa ardhi wakati wa kukadiria kwa kipindi kipya.

The Kharaj is a right that Allah (swt) enabled the Muslims to take from the Kuffar. It is a right imposed on the neck of the land that has been conquered from the Kuffar by way of war or by way of peaceful agreement, provided that the peace agreement stipulates that the lands is ours (ie belonging to the Muslims) and that they will continue to farm the land in exchange of a Kharaj that they should pay to the State. The Kharaj in the Arabic language means the rental and the harvest or the crop. Each land conquered from the Kuffar after declaring war against them is considered Kharaji land, and even if they embraced Islam after the conquest, the land remains Kharaji. Abu ‘Ubayd reported in Al-amwal on the authority of Al-Zuhri: “The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) accepted the Jizya from the Magi of Bahrain.” Al-Zuhri said: “He who embraced Islam He (pbuh) accepted it from Him and his Islam ensured that his life and his wealth were safe, save for the land. That land became a booty for the Muslims because He had not embraced Islam in the first instance when He was in a position of strength”, meaning when He was beyond the reach of the Muslims. As for the amount of the Kharaj imposed on the land, this is estimated according to the potential of the land.When ‘Umar (RA) imposed the Kharaj, He took into consideration the potential of the land, without unfairness to the owner and without any prejudice against the farmer. In some areas, He imposed upon every Jareeb (a patch of arable land) a Qafeez and a Dirham and He imposed in other areas a different amount, and in the lands of Ash-Sham He imposed yet another. It was known that He took into consideration the potential of the land. If the Kharaj is determined according to the potential of the land, it will be levied according to the manner in which it was imposed. If the Kharaj were imposed over the area of the land annually, the land would then be levied at the end of the lunar year, because it is the year recognised by Shar’a. However, if the Kharaj is imposed upon the farmed area of the land, the Kharaj will be levied at the end of the calendar year because it is the year related to the rainfalls and to the sowing of the crop. If the Kharaj is imposed by way of sharing i.e. if a specific estimate is set according to what the land normally produces, the Kharaj will be levied as and when the crop is ripe and when it has been harvested. The Imam reserves the right to estimate the Kharaj, while taking into consideration the most appropriate way with regard to these three aspects, either on the area of the land, or the area of the planted part, or by way of estimating the produce. If improvements are introduced to the land, and this resulted in an increase in the produce, or if the lands have been subjected to a host of elements that led to a decrease in the amount of produce, then the situation must be examined. If the increase was the result of an action undertaken by the farmer, such as the digging of a well or a canal, then the Kharaj would not be increased. If, however, the decrease was as a result of by their own doing, such as the destroying of a canal or the neglect of a well, then the Kharaj would not be reduced and they would be ordered to repair the damage they had caused. If the increase or decrease was caused by the State i.e. if the State were to dig a well or if on the other hand she were to neglect the repair of the wells and the canals, in this case she reserves the right to increase the Kharaj and she has also to reduce it when the produce decreases. If the decrease or the increase were to occur due to natural elements, such as the uprooting of trees by a hurricane or the destroying of the canals due to a torrent, in this case the land will be levied according to its potential lest the farmers are wronged. The Kharaj should be estimated for a specific and known period of time and it should not be permanently fixed. This estimate changes when the period ends and a new estimate will be fixed according to the potential of the land at the time of estimation for the new period.