jizya

[beenie]

Salaam,

can someone kindly explain the whole concept of jizya? i understand it's a "tax" non-Muslims pay for living in a Muslim country, but how is it calculated? is it based on income? is it comparable to the zakah Muslims pay yearly?

i'm curious because i've seen many comments regarding jizya (many negative ones) and i don't understand it well enough to explain it.

if someone could make it simple too so i can explain it to others...that would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bowingtoGod]

Salaam,

can someone kindly explain the whole concept of jizya? i understand it's a "tax" non-Muslims pay for living in a Muslim country, but how is it calculated? is it based on income? is it comparable to the zakah Muslims pay yearly?

i'm curious because i've seen many comments regarding jizya (many negative ones) and i don't understand it well enough to explain it.

if someone could make it simple too so i can explain it to others...that would be greatly appreciated.

Wa alykum salaam
All I know about the jizya is that it is less than the zakat

 

[Bismillah]

It was a tax levied on male non-Muslims capable of supporting themselves. This excluded women and elders. This was to ensure that they accepted the sovereignty and legitimacy of an Islamic State. It was also levied because non-Muslims would, by deafult, not have to pay zakat and were not required to fight in the army. The jizya was not supposed to fund religious related concerns (i.e construction of masjids) and the zakat was not supposed to fund non-Muslim concerns. Jizya was typically used to pay the salaries of the statesmen and was not supposed to be used to raise the private wealth of the ruler of the state.

The jizya was a progressive tax, meaning that the tax itself varied according to the financial situation of the person. It could either be paid during tax season as a whole or in increments throughout the year.

It was a crime to not pay jizya or zakat and if a non-Muslim left Muslim lands without paying jizya, then if he were ever captured he would be susceptible to being stripped of his wealth and reduced to slave status.

Its negative connotations arise after some rulers imposed the jizya on women as well as men. They also increased the jizya, putting a financial burden on the poorer classes and some of it went towards private treasuries. However, in comparison to the feudal system and heavy taxes in Europe that all went to the Church, I argue that the jizya was an improvement. Christians in Byzantium celebrated and welcomed the Muslim rulers after the Byzantine empire was ousted because of the previously high taxes imposed by the Christian rulers was far greater than the successive jizya tax.

This was all taken from various references in books, articles, and wikipedia

 

[beenie]

^ thank you.

i really appreciate your help. i also looked it up and it was just unclear to me.

Salaam.