Assalamu alaikoum dear sister,
I posted this thread some time ago but only one person read it...lol! I hope you find it useful.
Wassalam
Jizya Tax
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I found this article posted on
www.guidetosalvation.com when I was searching for answers about jizya tax. Comments are welcome.
REFUTING ALLEGATIONS AGAINST 9:29
(JIZYA TAX)
Chapter 9, verse 29 of the Qur'an reads:
"Fight those of the People of the Book who do not [truly] believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, who do not obey the rule of justice, until they pay the tax and agree to submit."
It's important to note that the Arabic word that is translated to tax is "jizya", which means 'payment in return'. Muslims pay what is called Zakah, which is every adult that is mentally stable, and financially able is required to pay to certain groups of people as outlined in the Qur'an chapter 9 verse 60:
"Alms are meant only for the poor, the needy, those who administer them, those whose hearts need winning over, to free slaves and help those in debt, for God's cause, and for travelers in need. This is ordained by God; God is all knowing and wise."
People of the Book living in Muslim territories were required to pay jizya. As stated above, jizya means 'payment in return'. What they're getting in return is protection from the Muslim state along with all the benefits and exemptions from military service. Also, they were also exempt from paying the Muslim tax (zakah). This tax was only required of able-bodied men that have attained puberty, and exempted monks. This tax was ridiculously low (one dinar per year.)
So basically it was a situation where the state protected the Jews and Christians, gave them all the benefits, didn't make them risk their lives as the Muslims did, and didn't require them to pay the zakah tax, which is 2.5% of total savings, jewelry and property at the end of the year. Two quick points:
1. If an Muslim country came under attack , Muslims were required to defend it. Christians and Jews didn't need to ever raise a sword, but were still protected because their payment of jizya earned them the protection of the Muslims.
2. While Muslims were required to pay 2.5% of their savings, jewelry, and property, Christians and Jews were not required to pay jizya on property, livestock, crops or produce, and only paid at all if they could afford it. Who do you think has the more difficult burden?
3. It comes down to this. Muslims pay the higher Zakah tax and are required to defend their country (including Jews and Christians.) Jews and Christians paid a lower tax and didn't need to ever fight.
So that jizya tax wasn't a penalty or meant as punishment, it was a tax that helped run the state. If we refuse to pay taxes in the U.S., we end up in prison. The argument that everyone has to pay the same tax could be made, but again, the tax on Christians and Jew was low, and not required of those that couldn't afford it. And everyone was taxed, Muslims with any decent or semi-decent amount of savings were required to pay much more than Christians and Jews. Some countries today execute tax evaders (China). How can Christians and Jews demand all the rights of Muslims, plus protection without ever needed to step into a battlefield for nothing in return, while Muslims that do fight to defend the country, including Christians and Jews are required to pay zakah, which in most cases is much higher than jizya anyway?
The Romans at the time levied high taxes trying to support their military conquests. The following is from:
http://www.crystalinks.com/romanempire7.html
"There is no simple explanation for the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, but several interconnected elements provide some answers. The demands of the military and the growing bureaucracy forced the government to seek more income. When the elite avoided taxes, the burden fell on the peasantry, who had barely enough to feed themselves and no surplus to pay taxes. When farmers fled the land, incomes declined still further and manpower shortages forced the military to hire German mercenaries."
Unlike the Roman Government, the Muslim states protected the poor, women, children, and monks while exempting them from having to pay the jizya tax. Christian and Jews were also given equal rights, and allowed to practice their religion. Also, they were allowed to build houses of worship, and their monks were tax exempt. That is tolerance.
The following comes from Wikipedia:
Under Caliph Umar the Zoroastrian Persians were given People of the Book status, and jizya was levied on them. Christian Arab tribes in the north of the Arabian Peninsula refused to pay jizya, but agreed to pay double the amount, and calling it sadaqa, a word meaning "alms" or "charity". According to Yusuf al-Qaradawi the name change was done for the benefit of the Christian tribesmen, "out of consideration for their feelings".[11] Fred Donner, however, in The Early Islamic Conquests, states that the difference between sadaqa and jizya is that the former was levied on nomads, whereas the latter was levied on settled non-Muslims. Donner sees sadaqa as being indicative of the lower status of nomadic tribes, so much so that that Christian tribesmen preferred to pay the jizya. Jabala b. al-Ayham of the B. Ghassan is reported asked Umar "Will you levy sadaqa from me as you would from the [ordinary] bedouin (al-'arab)?" Umar acceded to collecting jizya from him instead, as he did from other Christians.[12]
Sir Thomas Arnold, an early 20th century orientalist, gives an example of a Christian Arab tribe which avoided paying the jizya altogether by fighting alongside Muslim armies "such was the case with the tribe of al-Jurajimah, a Christian tribe in the neighborhood of Antioch, who made peace with the Muslims, promising to be their allies and fight on their side in battle, on condition that they should not be called upon to pay jizya and should receive their proper share of the booty".[13]
In his message to the people of Al-Hirah, Khalid bin Walid is recorded as saying (in reference to the jizya), "When a person is too old to work or suffers a handicap, or when he falls into poverty, he is free from the dues of the poll tax; his sustenance is provided by the Muslim Exchequer."[14] A letter attributed to Khalid bin Walid said that "This is a letter of Khalid ibn al-Waleed to Saluba ibn Nastuna and his people; I agreed with you on al-jezyah and protection. As long as we protect you we have the right in al-jezyah, otherwise we have none.”[15]
According to Muslim accounts of Umar, in his time some payers of the jizya were compensated if they had not been cared for properly. The accounts vary, but describe his meeting an old Jew begging, and assisting him; according to one version:
Umar said to him, "Old man! We have not done justice to you. In your youth we realized Jizyah from you and have left you to fend for yourself in your old age". Holding him by the hand, he led him to his own house, and preparing food with his own hands fed him and issued orders to the treasurer of the Bait-al-mal that that old man and all others like him, should be regularly doled out a daily allowance which should suffice for them and their dependents.[16]
If Jizya is unfair on anyone, it would be the Muslims. They were, after all, required to pay higher taxes, and protect those that paid Jizya. Still, you never hear them complain, because that is what God ordered.
