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==Jizyah in History== | ==Jizyah in History== | ||
Although many aspects of the [[dhimma]] were not enforced in many places and times throughout Islamic history, the jizyah and associated taxes such as the kharaj were not one of these aspects. Consistently throughout Islamic history, in accordance with the Islamic doctrine that the dhimmis and all of their economic output constitute the fay of the Islamic state and ummah in perpetuity, the jizyah and related taxes were extracted from the dhimmi peoples with stark consistency. Unlike many other aspects of the dhimma which did fall out use in time (although many were brought back later), Islamic states also came up with new taxes on the dhimmis, such as the "blood tax" of the devshirme in the Ottoman Empire, whereby the first born sons of the rayah (dhimmis, literally flock of animals) would be collected, forcibly converted to Islam and pressed into the service of the Sultan's elite military corps, the janissaries. | |||
Muslim empires from Spain to Bangladesh and everywhere in between implemented the jizyah. Although theoretically only applicable to Jews and Christians, a "sahih" hadith exists in which the Prophet commanded that Zoroastrians be subject to the jizyah. Although Islamic scholars initially laid down the death penalty, practical considerations forced the hanafi school of jurisprudence in India to countenance the collection of the dhimma from Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and other non-people of the book "mushrikuun" or "polytheists" in the Islamic empires of India, since killing or forcibly converting the hundreds of millions of polytheists in the subcontinent was impractical for pre-modern pre-industrial age states. As the hanafi school was the main school followed by Indian Muslims, this ruling is peculiar to them; the other 3 mainstream schools of Sunni [[fiqh]] and the salafis maintain that the polytheists should only be offered the choice of the sword or conversion to Islam by the imam of the Islamic state. | |||
{{Quote|1=[http://web.archive.org/web/20050625084731/http://www.turkishweekly.net/articles.php?id=68 The Historical Roots of Islamic Militancy in Pakistan and current scenario: Amicus]<BR>Mohammed Yousuf, Journal of Turkish Weekly, May 19, 2005|2=Not only Alamgir compiled Fatawa-u-Alamgiri, he re-imposed jizya (a tax on non-Muslims for protection under Muslim rule) that had been suspended by Akbar, destroyed some unauthorized temples and checked proselytizing activities of the Hindus.}} | {{Quote|1=[http://web.archive.org/web/20050625084731/http://www.turkishweekly.net/articles.php?id=68 The Historical Roots of Islamic Militancy in Pakistan and current scenario: Amicus]<BR>Mohammed Yousuf, Journal of Turkish Weekly, May 19, 2005|2=Not only Alamgir compiled Fatawa-u-Alamgiri, he re-imposed jizya (a tax on non-Muslims for protection under Muslim rule) that had been suspended by Akbar, destroyed some unauthorized temples and checked proselytizing activities of the Hindus.}} |