...........Tax (Jizyah) Slander...............

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Reply to Tax Slander (Jizyah)





They said :

The Messenger of Islam came with a verse (aya) calls for killing all the People of the Scripture then make us to pay poll tax, and we are belittled and humbled……are these Prophet ‘s ethics ? and they mentioned Allah Almighty’s verse : “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled” .Altawba 29



Refuting this slander





First :

The objectors’ understanding for the holy verse that they depend on is obscure; that the Allah Almighty says : “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled” .Altawba 29.

The holy verse did not order killing all the People of the Scripture , but it has is a particular conception that will be clear by understanding the meaning of one word , and it is (min , from), and it is obvious in Allah’s speech “from those who were given the Scripture” , ie : not all the People of the Scripture; cause the word (from) means some….. and consequently the meaning becomes : kill a particular group from People of the Scripture and that is clear from the biography of the Prophet (peace be upon him)that he did not fight all the People of the Scripture; he did not kill the delegation visitors from Najran when they came to him yet he received them graceful nice reception, in spite of what they said he allowed them to pray and did not kill them ……

Another thing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came with Holy Quran that Allah Almighty says in “Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly”. Al-Mumtahina 8.

It is written in Tafseer Maysar : Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with those who fight not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal (speak and behave) with equity.



So, what mentioned before is refuting the objectors first allegation which is : The Messenger of Islam came with a verse (aya) calls for killing all the People of the Scripture ….

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Second :

the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him and Allah be pleased with them) when they introduced Islam to the countries that were not believing in Allah so that to be saved from the hell to the Merciful Allah’s paradise but the infidel idols came between believing in Islam and the people, and consequently they are obliged to choose three one of three options : Islam , paying poll tax, or fighting; they fight the authority who avoids the people from accepting the message of Allah , and delivering the religion of Allah for people to save them from the hell, and that will be a reason to the Generous Lord ’s satisfaction, and that is called the holy war of request, and that is what referred to in the holy verse, that we previously talked about in replying to the slander (A prophet says: I was ordered to fight people) and it is like the verse. And the holy war of request we don’t carry out from along time ago.

Consequently if the arrogant authorities let the Muslim scholars to enter their countries and to call people to the religion of Allah they surely stopped from doing what mentioned before; fighting did not occur …… but this did not happen , and the evidence for what mentioned before it is in the Muslim Correct number 3261 : It has been reported from Sulaiman b. Buraid through his father that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say:

Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of Muhairs and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajirs. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muilims and will be subjected to the Commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or Fai' except when they actually fight with the Muslims (against the disbelievers). If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. When you lay siege to a fort and the besieged appeal to you for protection in the name of Allah and His Prophet, do not accord to them the guarantee of Allah and His Prophet, but accord to them your own guarantee and the guarantee of your companions for it is a lesser sin that the security given by you or your companions be disregarded than that the security granted in the name of Allah and His Prophet be violated When you besiege a fort and the besieged want you to let them out in accordance with Allah's Command, do not let them come out in accordance with His Command, but do so at your (own) command, for you do not know whether or not you will be able to carry out Allah's behest with regard to them.

So this is our Prophet’s (peace be upon him) sunnah (morals) which demands to be kind with the enemies in calling them for Islam and select what they want, and the purpose is not fighting nor wreak and blood shedding thirsty like we see in occupied Islamic countries in earlier times and now , the history is a trusty witness on this……

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Third :

The meaning of Jizya (poll tax) in is totally different from how they imagine to be; it is a financial tax levied on non-Muslims that they have those features:



First :

they don’t believe in Allah nor the Judgment Day a correct believe that Allah Almighty becomes satisfied with.



Second :

They do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful ; they don’t follow the law of Islam in banning the unlawful…..



Third :

They do not believe in the correct religion, and it is the religion of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) the religion of all the messengers is the Islam religion.

The previous definition came in Allah Almighty’s speech : “Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah willingly while they are humbled.” Al Tawba 29

Moreover the child , women, the mad , the blind, the patient , the old man, the poor, and the slave warrior who does not have any money are exempted from paying tax….

Al-Qartuby (Allah grant mercy upon his soul) said in his explanation (Part 8 page 112) : our scholars (Allah grant mercy upon their soul) : What Quran refers to is that the tax will be taken from man fighters; cause Allah Almighty says : “kill those” till His speech “until they give the jizyah” that means the fighter must give the tax. And means that paying tax is not levied on slave even if he is fighter, cause he has no money , and for Allah Almighty’s speech : “until they give”. We can not say (until he gives) to one who does not own. All the Muslim scholars have the same opinion that the free adult men are obliged to pay tax, they are those who fight and not including the women, children, the slaves, the mad who lost their min and the very old man.

That will be clear in Allah Almighty saying : “So if they remove themselves from you and do not fight you and offer you peace, then Allah has not made for you a cause [for fighting] against them”. Al-Nisa 90.

So the poll tax is taken only from fighter, and if he was an owned poor slave he is not obliged to pay the poll tax……

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Fourth :



If asked :

What is the amount of the tax that the Muslims take from the fighters ?

I said : one dinar per year and it is paid for reconstructing roads, transformation facilities, building bridges and offering other services, and protecting him as he participates in fighting ……

It is stated in Al-Qartuby (Allah grant mercy upon his soul) explanation (part 8/ page 112): Allah Almighty did not mention in his Holy Book the amount of the tax they should pay. And the Muslim Scholars differ in opinion concerning the amount of the Jizya to be paid, Atah Bin Abi Rbah said : there is no schedule for this, it depends on what they agree on, thus said Yahya Bin Adam , Abw Abid and Al-Tabari, but Al-Qourtby said : the minimum is one dinar and the maximum is un-limited. And they depend on what is narrated by the correct holders from Amro Bin Awf : that the Messengar of Allah (peace be upon him) agreed with the Bahrainians on paying tax. Al-Shafihi said : not less than one dinar not le to be paid by free adults of rich and poor, and he depended on what narrated by Abw-Dawod and others from Mahath : the Messengar of Allah (peace be upon him) sent him to Yemen and ordered him to take one dinar tax from every mature.

Al-Shafihi said : it is clear from what Allah Almighty meant. It is what Abi-Thawr said. Al-Shafihi said: if they agreed on more than one dinar it becomes legal, if they added more and they agreed on it will be taken from them. If they agreed on three days accommodation it becomes legal, if the accommodation contains bread, barley, straw and broth, and it is mentioned that it is imposed on the middle the same thing on the rich and mentioning the site of the accommodation and sheltering from cold and warm….



And concerning Muslim citizens, they pay more than this; Muslim pays zakat every year, and gives alms and votive money …. The prophet (peace be upon him) advised us to be good with the non-Muslim residents, it is in Sunan Abi Dawd number 2561 the prophet (peace be upon him) said : Narrated A number of Companions of the Prophet: Safwan reported from a number of Companions of the Apostle of Allah () on the authority of their fathers who were relatives of each other. The Apostle of Allah () said: Beware, if anyone wrongs a contracting man, or diminishes his right, or forces him to work beyond his capacity, or takes from him anything without his consent, I shall plead for him on the Day of Judgment. Albani proved it as correct in the book (Sunan Abi Dawd) number 3052.





Fifth :

Their saying “and we are belittled and humbled!!” indicates their comprehension, that is distorted understanding of the holy verse that Allah Almighty says : “they are humbled”; the meaning : they submissive and obedient to Islam authority, and that is what the Jalalan said in their explanation, Ibn Kathir in his explanation and others , the same way we Muslims are submissive and obedient to Islam authority that rules us by Islamic law that we are ordered by and we order by, so what is given to them is given to us and what they should giving we should giving…

Or the meaning becomes : in their continuous paying tax , and companionship with Muslims they would convert to Islam in future after that they will become brothers and all will be obedient to Islam authority, and in this way the misunderstood will be gone due to Allah’s Grace.

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Sixth :




For replying the question that the objectors asked I understood : are killing people and taking tax from Prophet ‘s ethics ?

I said : in spite of my feelings that they mean another thing in the question I say : the Bible with its both The Old Testament and the New Testament confirms taking tax , and makes sure that it is the moral of the prophets; cause the Lord ordered his messengers to kill people and take tax, and this is in many places in the Bible like :



First :
The New Testament

We find in it that Paul the Apostle assures the necessity of taking tax…. And this is in his letter to Romans Chapter 13 number 7 : Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

And we find that the Jesus recommends giving tax to Caesar…. Like in :



1-The Book of Mark chapter 12 number 13-16 :

13 . And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 . And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?. 15 . Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 . And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. 17. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at him.



2- The Book of Luke Chapter 20 number 22-26:

22 . Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 . But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? . 24 . Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. 25 . And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's. 26 . And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.



3- The Book of Mathew Chapter 22 number 17-22 :

17 . Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? . 18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 . Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. 20 . And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?. 21. They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22 . When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.



4- The book of Mathew Chapter 17 number 24-27:

24 . And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? . 25 . He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? 26 . Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

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Second :

The Old Testament:


The texts talking about fighting and tax are a lot….. I mention from it the followings:

1 - The Messenger of Allah Moses paid and took jizyah, and this is in the Book of 2 nd Chronicles chapter 24 numbers 8-10:
8 . And at the king's commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. 9 . And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. 10 . And all the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.



2- The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 20 numbers 10-18:
10 . When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 . And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. 12 . And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: . 13 . And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: . 14. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 15 . Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 . But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: . 17 . But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: . 18 . That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Thus the Lord said to Moses (peace be upon him), I leave the reader to think about those texts with noticing this text :
11 . And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.



3- The Messenger of Allah Jacob (Israel) took jizya, and this is in The Book of Judges chapter 1 number 28:
And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.



4- The Messenger of Allah Joseph paid it , this is in The Book of Judges chapter 1 number 35 :
But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.


5- The Messenger of Allah Hosea paid Jizyah, and this is in the Book of Kings 2, chapter 17 number 3 : Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.


6- The Messenger of Allah Joshua paid tax, and this is in The Book of Joshua chapter 16 number 10 : And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.


We notice that the when the Children of Israel ordered by the Lord to enter the holy land with their Prophet Joshua , after that they took tax from the Canaanites

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7- The Messenger of Allah David took tax, and this is in the Book of Samuel 2 Chapter 8 number 1:

After this David defeated the Philistines and subdued them in rows, and measured them with a rope, he was killing each two rows and leaving one row alive. and David took Philistines slaves and paying tribute to him.(translation of Life Application Bible).

While we read in the Translation of Protestant: 1. After this David knocked the Philistines and belittled them, and David took Methegammah out of the hand of the Philistines. 2. He beat the Philistines and measured them by a rope. Cast them down to the ground , he put to lines measured with rope to death and spared one line to live. And so the Moabites became David's slaves, and brought gifts to David. No Comment.

8- The Messenger of Allah Solomon took tax, and this is in The Book of Kings 1 Chapter 4 number 21 the text is stating : And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: Those Kingdoms paid tribute to him, and served Solomon all the days of his life. ( Translation of Life Application Bible).

And we read in the Van Dyke translation: “ they were bringing presents to Solomon and serving him in every day of his life”.

According to what is written in Translation of Life Application Bible we find that Solomon (peace be upon him) was dominating all the kingdoms from the river to Palestain land and surrounding of Egypt, and those kingdoms gave tribute to him and obeyed him in all of the days of his life…….

Written by:AkramHassanMorsi
Translation:Dr.Hushaym

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