"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 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
by the Muslim state along with all the benefits and exemptions from military
service. They were also exempt from paying the Muslim tax (zakah).
This jizya 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. Three quick points:
1. If a 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 the 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?
"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.
