PREFACE
The gizya verse (IX.29) is an important part of Koranic law. This verse states that the People of the Book should be fought by the Muslims: hatta yu`tu l-gizyata `an yadin wa-hum sagirun. The revelation of this verse is set by Muslim tradition on the eve of the expedition to Tabuk (9 A.H.).1 The aim of this verse seems to have been to promise the Muslims financial compensation through the gizya2 for the loss of income caused by the breaking of commercial relations with non-Muslim traders. The latter are prohibited from approaching Mecca in the previous verse (IX.28).3
During the last thirty-five years Western scholars tried to figure out what the Koran expected of the People of the Book in requesting them to pay the gizya `an yadin. In order to elucidate the linguistic meaning of can yadin some of them looked for a suitable interpretation in Muslim tafsir. In the present study it will be shown that the various Muslim interpretations of `an yadin are merely reflections of views of later jurists. It will be demonstrated that the significance of the Koranic can yadin is rather preserved in nonex- egetical material using the term yad in the context of taxation. In general, the present study provides additional evidence that rather than preserve the original meaning of the Koranic legal injunctions, Muslim tafsir reads into the Koran legal procedures that developed much later.
I
The Muslim interpretations of an yadin4 fall into two main groups: (A) those based on the view that the term yad stands for the "hand" of the payer of the gizya; and (B) those based on the view that the yad is that of the receiver.
(A) yad is that of the payer
In this group we have the following interpretations:
(1) `an yadin = 'an ginan.5 An ginan is actually an abridgment of the phrase an zahri ginan. This expression occurs in Muslim traditions stating that charity should only be practiced out of sufficient means.6 The interpretation taking an yadin in the sense of an ginan means that the payment of the gizya should not affect the economic stability of the payer. It seems to reflect views of Muslim leaders and scholars who tried to fight against overtaxing. Already the Umayyad caliphs were aware of the danger of overtaxing. The caliph Yazid III undertook in his accession speech (126 A.H.) to destroy nobody's income by overtaxing dimmis and thus causing them to flee.? In hadit material, the first caliphs are credited with statements against overtaxing. Many Iraqi hadits against overtaxing center around the figure of 'Umar.8 There is also one Syrian tradition about'Umar's objection to overtaxing.9 The Kufans circulated similar traditions about IAli.l0 There is also one prophetic utterance against overtaxing of a Higazi provenance." Notable Iraqi representatives of the Hanafi school, like Abu Yusuf (d. 182 A.H.) and al-Saybani (d. 189 A.H.), were very much concerned about overtaxing. Abu YUsuf stresses12 that the dimmis should be treated with kindness (rifq); the Muslims are not to lay upon them rates of taxes that they cannot afford (fawqa tagatihim); taxes may be collected from them only according to the obligations of the law (... illa bi-haggin yagibu 'alayhim). Al-Saybani states that the Muslims may collect taxes from the allied non-Muslims (= the dimmis) only with the latter's consent and goodwill (illy bi-tibi anfusihim). Commenting on this, al-Sarahsi notes that taking taxes from the dimmis without their goodwill (bi-gayri tibi anfusihim) means violation of the treaty made with them by the Muslims.13
(2) `an yadin = an zahri yadin.14 The expression an zahri yadin means mubtadi'an, that is, of one's own volition. It occurs in the context of noble gestures, when something is given away not as recompense for a favor, but rather due to one's own benefaction. In this case yad means ni'ma; in`dm.15 According to this interpretation the gizya should be paid in the largest possible sums, as if paid due to the payer's own wish to give as much as possible, without holding anything back. This, too, seems to reflect a specific tendency of later Muslim scholars concerning the fixation of the gizya sums. Some of them were of the opinion that the gizya should be as high as possible in order to keep the dimmis in a state of sagar (lowliness), and to force them to embrace Islam. For example, the Si'i Imam, Galfar al-Sadiq, reportedly declared that the dimmis should be forced to pay as much as they could afford in order to cause them depression and sagar, which is designed to make them prefer being Muslims. 16
(3) an yadin = `an`ahd. This interpretation 17 means that the gizya payer must have a treaty in which the rates of the taxes imposed on him are fixed. It is obvious that this interpretation, too, reflects a practice of post-Koranic period. In hadit material there is often reference to the idea that taxation should be based on mutually agreed treaties. The adherence to treaties which applied mainly to land tax, was attributed by the Iraqis to<="" p="">
(4) `an yadin = an gama'a.22 This interpretation implies that the gizya is a collective tax imposed on the community as a whole. This interpretation reflects a reality: the entire community had to participate in raising the total sum of the gizya, as will be shown below.
(5) can yadin = "out of one's own hand." This interpretation is represented in a series of variations taking an yadin as signifying various aspects of the actual deliverance of the gizya from the hand of the humble payer to that of the superior receiver. These interpretations reflect the view that the social status of dimmis should remain inferior:
a. The gizya is given in cash (`an naqd).23
b. Payer brings money on foot, with his own hands.24
c. Payer gives money directly from his own hand.25
d. Payment is made while the hand of the payer is lower than that of the receiver.26 The idea behind this interpretation becomes clear in view of a hadit to the effect that the upper hand, that is, the hand that gives, is better than the lower hand, that is, the hand that receives.27 The intention of this interpretation is, therefore, to maintain the superiority of the Muslims although they are the receiving, not the giving, party.
B. yad is that of the receiver
All the interpretations in this group reflect the inferior status of the dimmis:
(1) can yadin = an ni'ma, in`am. Payment is made as a favor on the part of the receiver, in agreeing to accept payment.28 In this interpretation yad signifies ni'ma, as is the case in A(2), above.
(2) an yadin = out of power. This view is reflected in a series of interpretations taking yad as a metaphorical description of various aspects of the superiority of the Muslims over the dimmis:
a. 'an qudra, `an quwwa29-out of ability, or power, of the Muslims to overcome the dimmis.
b. an zuhur30-"out of triumph"
c. `an gahr31-"out of oppression."
There are more interpretations that elaborate on the humbleness of the dimmis, but although recorded as tafsir of an yadin, they actually pertain to the clause wa-hum sagirun.32
II
All the above interpretations are, in fact, retrospective attempts to read into the Koranic text already existing ideas of post Muhammadan jurists, or existing post-Muhammadan situations of real life. Most of them evolve round the idea of the lowliness (sagar) of the dimmis.33 The wide range of meanings that the word yad has in Arabic made it possible to interpret our verse in so many ways. Nevertheless, some Islamicists have been convinced that these interpretations contain a clue to the original meaning of the Koranic an yadin. They actually suggested one interpretation or another as the true one, but their suggestions seem quite arbitrary.34 Most noteworthy are the studies of Bravmann and Kister. Bravmann's translation runs as follows: ". . . until they give the reward due for a benefaction (since their lives are spared)."35 This is an obvious reflection of the interpretation taking can yadin in the sense of can ni'ma (B[l]). Bravmann's argumentation in favour of his translation is not convincing. He says that ,an yadin "is necessarily complement of the verbal noun al-gizya: gazahu can yadin `he compensated him for a favour.' " It seems to me, however, that the phrase gazahu can yadin is purely hypothetical; it does not occur in practical usage, at least not in the texts adduced by Bravmann himself. In the Koran, an yadin is obviously a ha l of yu`tu, not a complement of al-gizya.
Kister, in his study, seems to have chosen more than just one interpretation. He points out as credible the interpretation of can ginan (A[l]) as well as the interpretation of an zahri yadin (A[2]). Kister's translation is: ". . . until they pay the gizya out of ability and sufficient means ..."38 But as seen above, the two interpretations chosen by Kister are not identical; they reflect two contradictory ideas about how the gizya ought to have been collected from the dimmis. 'An ginan means that the dimmis are not to be overtaxed, whereas can zahri yadin means that they have to pay the largest possible sums. In order to uphold his translation, Kister maintains that wa-hum sagirun is not complementary to 'an yadin,39 and translates it: ". . . they (nevertheless) being inferior." But the waw in wa-hum sagirun is obviously waw al-hal, which means that the gizya is paid while the payers are being in a state of sagar, not in spite of it. In other words, whatever the meaning of an yadin may be, the clause wa-hum sagirun is complementing it.
III
If one is still to investigate the significance of the Koranic an yadin, one may consult some nonexegetic data preserved in historiographical sources in which the term yad is used in the context of taxation. Let us begin with the texts of some early gizya treaties concluded with the local populations of various places in Iraq and Persia, which are recorded in alTabari. Whether authentic or not,40 the linguistic usage of the term yad in these texts is most instructive.
(1) The treaty of al-Hira: This treaty was drawn upon behalf of Halid b. al-Walid in the year 12 A.H.41 It is adduced by al-Tabari from Sayf b. 'Umar (d. 200 A.H.), probably from the latter's Kitab al-ridda wa-l futuh42 it runs as follows:
In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate. This is the treaty made by Halid b. al-Walid with `Adi and `Amr, sons of `Adi, and with 'Amr b. 'Abd al-Masih, and Iyas b. Qabis and Hayri b. Akkal-'Ubayd Allah said: " Jabri (b. Akkal)." They represented the people of al-Hira; the people of al-Hira agreed to it and told (the representatives) to (ratify) it (i.e., the treaty). The treaty he made with them stipulated that they should pay 190,000 dirhams per year, as kizya, out of their `hands' in this world. [The burden should be shared by] their monks and priests. Exempt are those who have no "hand," who are deprived of temporal (matters), (or) abstain from them....
As we see, the treaty states that the gizya should be paid out of the "hands" the payers have in this world (`an aydihim fa l-dunya). Exempt are those who have no "hand" (yad). It is clear that the term yad (and its plural, aydi) stands, in this context, for property, possessions. Out of it, a certain amount should be given away as gizya. It should be observed that among the numerous meanings the lexicons give for yad, one is, indeed, milk, that is, property, estate.43 The general rule implicit in this treaty is that the gizya is only imposed on owners of property to the exclusion of those who have no estate (yad) of their own. Although not stated explicitly, it is clear that the individual rates are to be determined by the local leaders themselves according to the extent of property possessed by each payer. The Muslim authorities are only concerned with the total sum.
(2) Lower and Middle Bihqubad (12 A.H.): The treaty made by Ha lid with the inhabitants of this region stipulates that the gizya be paid an kull di yad.44 Here, too, yad signifies property: the tax should be paid by the leaders of the community on behalf of every owner of property.
(3) Baniqya and Basma (12 A.H.): This treaty45 stipulates a collective gizya of ten thousand dinars to be (shared by) kull di yad: every owner of property. The treaty states also that the individual rates should be proportional to the total amount of one's own property: al-gawiyyu 'ala qadri quwwatihi, wa-l-muqillu `ala qadri iqlalihi, that is, the rich in proportion to his resources, and the poor in proportion to his limited capability.46
(4) Adarbigan (22 A.H.): The treaty of Adarbigan47 stipulates that the gizya be imposed on every one who is capable of paying, to the exclusion of minors, women, chronically ill people, and pious worshipers; these classes do not have in their "hand" any temporal possessions of their own (... laysa fa yadihi shay'un min al-dunya). Yad in this case is not exactly the property itself but rather the hand that "possesses" it.
(5) Qumis (22 A.H.):48 The clause containing the term yad in this treaty runs as follows:... `ala an yu'addu 1-gizyata an yadin, an kulli halimin bi-qadri td-gatihi-"(they will have protection) on condition that they pay the gizya out of (their) property (`an yadin), on behalf of every adult, according to his ability to pay."
Ahbar material
A similar use of the term yad in the sense of private property possessed by the taxpayers is made in ahbar material. In a report from Sayf pertaining to 16 A.H., it is related that the peasants of the Sawad were held responsible for the maintenance of roads, bridges, markets, and fields. They were compelled to guide the Muslim troops, as well as to pay gizya out of their property, and in accordance with what they could possibly afford: ma`a l-gaza'i `an aydihim `ala qadri tagatihim. The Dihqans, too, had to pay the gizya out of their property (`an aydihim).49
In view of the textual evidence of the gizya treaties and the ahbar,50 one may assume that the meaning of the same text in the Koranic gizya verse would not be different. The Koranic an yadin may therefore be translated: ". . . (till they pay the gizya) out of their property. . . ." This means that the tax should be levied on the property possessed by every taxpayer (and be proportional to it).
It should be noted that the Koran could also have used the plural form: ,an aydihim as is the case in several treaties, but the singular form-'an yadin-seems to have been preferred as it is more poetic than can aydihim. The form an yadin in the sense of "out of one's property" occurs in classical poetry in the context of noblemen who do not hesitate to spend all their temporal possessions for the sake of the needy.5 t When applied to the Koranic gizya verse, an yadin preserved this very meaning. The People of the Book should readily pay the gizya out of their own property.
The final clause of the Koranic gizya verse states that the payers of the gizya are in a state of sagar, that is, lowliness. In fact, taxes were always a sign of lowliness and submission to the authorities. It is a universal phenomenon, in vogue already in the Bible.52 In the gizya treaties, too, the lowliness involved in taxpaying is explicit. The treaty of Taflis (22 A.H.) grants aman to the population on condition that they consent to saga r al- gizya, that is, the submission involved in the payment of the gizya.53
IV
In spite of the resemblance between the Koran and the gizya treaties, the latter do not seem to draw on the former.54 The Koranic gizya verse appears in none of the treaties, whereas the Koranic form an yadin occurs in only one of them. The non-Koranic nature of the treaties adds considerably to their possible authenticity.55 It also indicates that at the earliest stages of the development of Muslim law the Koran was not yet effective.56 A possible source for the yad principle of the treaties seems to have been the pre-Islamic Sasani taxation policy. It is reported that the Persians imposed a poll tax graded according to the amount of wealth found "in the hands" of the payers (wa-kana harag Kisra `ala ru'us al- rigal `ala ma ft aydihim min al-hissa wa-l-amwal).57 The Koran itself may reflect the same pre-Islamic Sasani model.58
Finally, a note on the value of tafsir as a means for unveiling the original significance of the legal parts of the Koran. The significance of yad as milk is not represented in the tafsirs of the Koranic gizya verse. It seems to have been eclipsed by other interpretations that seemed to the mufassirun more suitable, The latter, as always, tried to read their own ideas into the Koran. In the case of the gizya they gave predominance to those interpretations reflecting the social status of the dimmis or the procedures of their taxation, as they were known to them from the discus sions of the jurists, or as experienced by them in real life. This leads to the conclusion that tafsir in itself is sometimes a very poor tool for elucidating the earliest meaning of the Koranic text, but a very good one for the study of later ideas about the issues treated in the Koran.
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NOTES
1. See, e.g., Mugahid, Tafsir, I, 276.
2. For the history of the term gizya see Claude Cahen, s.v. "Djizya," EI (see. ed.). For more bibliography, see M. G. Morony, Iraq after the Muslim Conquest (Princeton, 1984), pp. 584-88.
3. See Tabari, Tafsir, X, 76-77; Huwwari, II, 125; Ibn Hisam, IV, 192-3; P. Crone, Meccan Trade (Princeton, 1987), p. 172. Both verses seem to form part of the proclamation of the Bara'a, for which see Uri Rubin, "Bara'a: A Study of Some Quranic Passages," Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam 5 (1984): 13-32.
4. The following tafsir compilations are used: Abu Hayyan, V, 30; Bagawi, III, 65; Baydawi, I, 196; Gassas, IV, 292-3; Huwwari, II, 125; Ibn al-Arabi, Ahkam, II, 922-23 (the author's numbering of the various interpretations is followed); Ibn al-Gawzi, Zad al-masir, III, 420; Ibn Qutayba, Garib, 184; Ibn Zamanin, 125; Mugatil, I, 152 b; Qurtubi, VIII, 115; Razi, XVI, 30; Suyuti, Dur, III, 228; Tabarsi, X, 45; Tusi, Tabyan, V, 203; Zaggag, Mayan!, II, 442; Zamahgari, Ka. Iaf, II, 184.
5. Ibn al-Arabi no. 9; Baydawi; Abu Hayyan.
6. See Fath al-ban, III, 233 f.
7. See P. Crone and M. Hinds, God's Caliph (Cambridge, 1986), p. 68.
8. See, e.g., Abu<="" p="">
9. See Abu 'Ubayd, Amwal, no. 114; Kanz, IV, no. 11478. And see the statement of Ibn Abbas transmitted by Ma`mar b. Ragid to the effect that the taxes imposed on ahl al-dimma should be confined to the `afw, i.e., to their spare property, 'Abd al-Razzaq, X, no. 19277; VI, no. 10122; Ibn Abi Sayba, XII, no. 12687; Yahya b. Adam, no. 233; Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 205. Cf. Abu 'Ubayd, Amwal, no. 253.
10. See Yahya b. Adam, no. 234, see also, Abu Yusuf, Harm, 16-17; Abu ,Ubayd, Amwal, no. 116; Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 205; Kanz, IV, no. 11488.
11. See Abu Dawud, II, 152:... man zalama mu`ahadan aw intagasahu aw kallafahu fawga taqatihi aw ahada minhu . ay'an bi-gayri tibi nafsin fa-and hagiguhu yawma l-qiyama. See also Bayhaqi, Sunan, IX, 205. Cf. also Yahya b. Adam, no. 235. See also Abu Yusuf, Harm, 135-36.
12. In his Kitab al-harm, 134 f.
13. Saybani, Siyar, I, 133.
14. Ibn Qutayba, Garib; Ibn Zamanin; Huwwari; Ibn al<="" p="">
15. Lisan, "y.d.y." (Asma`i); Zamahgari, Fa'iq, IV, 126 (= an zahri in`am); M. J. Kister, " "An yadin,' (Qur'an IX/29)," Arabica 11 (1964): 276 (chap. 5.6 in this volume); M. M. Bravmann, The Spiritual Background of Early Islam (Leiden, 1972), p. 206.
16. See'Ayyasi, Tafsir, II, 91, no. 41; Qummi, Tafsir, I, 287-88; Kulini, III, 566; Bihar, XCVIII, 63-64. See also the report about the negotiations with the people of al-Ruha (Edessa), in Abu Yusuf, Harm, 43-44.
17. Ibn al-Arabi, no. 10.
18. See 'Abu a1-Razzaq, X, no. 19284; VI, no. 10130. See also Abu Ubayd, Amwal, no. 390; Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 142.
19. See, 'Abu al-Razzaq, VI, no. 10100. See also X, no. 19270.
20. See 'Abu al-Razzaq, X, no. 19264; VI, no. 10093.
21. See cAbu al-Razzaq, X, no. 19272; VI, no. 10105; Said b. Mansur, II, no. 2603; Abu Dawud, II, 152; Yahya b. Adam, no. 237; Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 204-205. See also Abu Ubayd, Amwal, no. 388-99.
22. Abu Hayyan.
23. Gassas; Ibn al<="" p="">
24. Gassas (Ibn `Abbas); Ibn al-Arabi, no. 2.
25. No. 3; Bagawi; Tusi, Tabyan; Tabarsi; Zamahsari, Ka§.1af, Razi; Qurtubi; Baydawi; Abu Hayyan.
26. Abu Hayyan (Qatada).
27. E.g., Qurtubi, VIII, 115. See also Tabari, Tahdib, Musnad `Umar, I, 26 f.; Fath al-ban, III, 235 f.; Ibn Abi Sayba, III, 211-12; Ibn Huzayma, IV, 98.
28. Zaggag; Gassas; Bagawi; Zamahgari, Kag. af, Tusi, Tabyan; Tabarsi; Ibn al-Gawzi, Razi; Qurtubi; Baydawi; Abu Hayyan; Ibn al-Arabi, no. 14.
29. Zamahsari, Kaaf; Tabarsi; Razi; Qurtubi; Baydawi; Abu Hayyan; Ibn al 'Arabi, no. 4.
30. Ibn al-Arabi., no. 5. The phrase an zuhur is rendered by Kister (`An yadin, 274): "openly." But the correct meaning of zuhur is triumph.
31. Ibn al-Arabi no. 13; Abu `Ubayda; Zaggag (`an Bahr wa-dull); Gassas (Qatada); Bagawi; Zamahgari, KaJJaf; Razi; Baydawi; Tusi, Tabyan.
32. E.g., Zaggag; Ibn al-Arabi, no. 8: can dull, out of humbleness. Ibn al`Arabi, no. 12: payer recognizes the superiority of the Muslims; no. 7: payer's neck is being struck (i.e., sealed). For this practice, cf. Morony, Islam after the Muslim Conquest, pp. 112-13. `Umar reportedly used to stamp marks on the necks of the dimmis (yahtimu fi a`nagihim). See Ibn Abi Sayba, XII, no. 12682, 12686; 'Abd al-Razzaq, VI, no. 10090; Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 195, 198. Another interpretation: payment is made without acknowledgement. See Mugatil; Gassas; Abu I-Iayyan; Suyuti, Durr; Ibn al-Arabi, no. 6. Another one: Payment is made while payer is standing up. See Gassas • Ibn al-`Arabi, no. I ; Psi, Tabyan ('Ikrima).
33. The sagar became the main message of Koran IX.29 at a relatively early stage of tafsir. Already the Basran Qatada (d. 118 A.H.) adduced this verse to interpret Koran IL 114 which speaks about the disgrace (hizyun) in store for the Jews and the Christians in this world. See 'Abd al-Razzaq, VI, no. 9879; Tabari, Tafsir, 1, 339.
34. For the various attempts to elucidate the meaning of the Koranic an yadin, see R. Paret, Der Koran, Kommentar and Konkordanz (Stuttgart, Berlin, Koln, Mainz, 1971), pp. 199-200.
35. Bravmann, The Spiritual Background of Early Islam, p. 199.
36. Ibid., p. 207.
37. Kister, 'An yadin, pp. 277-78.
38. Ibid., p. 278.
39. Ibid.
40. On the problem of the authenticity of these treaties see A. Noth, "Die lit- erarisch uberlieferten Vertrage der Eroberungszeit als historische Quellen fur die Behandlung der unterworfenen nicht-Muslims durch ihre neuen muslimischen Oberherren," in Studien zu Minderheitenproblemen im Islam, ed. T. Nagel et al. (Bonn, 1973), pp. 282 f.
41. See Tabari, Tarih I, 2044-45; Hamidullah, no. 290.
42. On Sayf, see E. Landau-Tasseron, "Sayf b. `Umar in Medieval and Modern Scholarship," Der Islam 67 (1990): 1-26.
43. E.g., Lisan, s.v. "y.d.y."
44. Tabari, Tarih, I, 2051; Hamidullah, no. 301. For these districts, see Morony, Islam after the Muslim Conquest, pp. 147 f.
45. Tabari, Tarth, 1, 2050; Hamidullah, no. 293.
46. The same idea recurs in many gizya treaties stating that the people should pay as much as they can afford ('ala gadritagatihim). See the treaties of Mah Bahradan (19 A.H.): Tabari, Tarih, I, 2632-33; Hamidullah, no. 331. Mah Dinar: Tabari, Tarih, 1, 2633; Hamidullah, no. 332. Isfahan (21 A.x.): Tabari, Torah, 1, 2641; Yaqut, I, 209-10; Hamidullah, no. 333. Cf. Kister, "'An yadin," p. 278. Gurgan (22 A.x.): Tabari, Tarih, I, 2658; Hamidullah, no. 337. Cf Kister, "`An yadin," 278. Rayy (22 A.x.): Tabari, Tarih, 1, 2655; Hamidullah, no. 334.
47. Tabari, Tarih I, 2662; Hamidullah, no. 339.
48. Tabari, Tarih, II, 2657; Hamiddullah, no. 336.
49. Tabari, Tarih, I, 2470.
50. The term yad occurs in the context of taxation in hadit as well. It is related that'Umar laid a ten dinars tax upon the Sabi'un, but later on he increased the rate according to what was held "in their hands," and according to their occupations (summa yazidu 'alayhim ba`da dalika 'ala qadri ma bi-aydihim, wa-qadri a`malihim). See Kanz, IV, no. 1148 (from Ibn Zangawayhi).
51. One such poetic verse of Durayd b. al-Simma is quoted from the Asma'iyyat by Kister ("'An yadin," p. 277): wa-la ruz'a ft ma ahlaka l-maru'u ,an yadi. Kister translates the phrase an yadin in this verse: "out of plenty," thus missing the basic idea of the verse. The poet says that unlimited spending out of one's own property (,an yadin) can not be regarded misfortune. The idea is that one should not hesitate to lose all one's possessions for noble causes like charity. And cf. the analysis of this verse in Bravmann, The Spiritual Background of Early Islam, pp. 206 f. For another poetic usage of an yadin in the sense of giving away out of one's own possessions, see Baladuri, Ansab, V, 197.
52. The Hebrew word for taxes (missim, sing.: mas) is used in the Bible in the sense of burdensome tasks (e.g., Exod. 1:11). The singular mas denotes submission and slavery (e.g., Deut. 20:11, etc.).
53. Tabari, Tarih, I, 2675; Abu Ubayd, Amwal, no. 523; Baladuri, Futuh, 204-5; Yaqut, II, 36; Hamidullah, no. 348-9. See also D. C. Dennett, Conversion and poll-tax in early Islam (Cambridge, 1950), pp. 44 f. The classical law schools paid special attention to the sagar of the dimmis. Malik states in his Muwatta' (Malik/Zurgani, II, 377) that the gizya was laid upon the People of the Book in order to demonstrate their sagar. Malik holds that the gizya can be accepted from the People of the Book only on condition that they recognize Muhammad as the true prophet of the Muslims, and do not speak evil of him and of Islam. Otherwise they must be killed. See Ibn Hazm, Muhalla, VII, 317-18 (from Malik). For al-Safi'!, too, the sagar was the basis for the social status of the dimmis. Relying on "a number of scholars," he says that the sagar of the People of the Book means that they must be subjected to the laws of Islam concerning them (Safi'i, Umm, IV, 186). In a special chapter (ibid., 223 f.) he surveys the legal social status of the dimmis in the Islamic state. The zahiri Ibn Hazm (d. 456 A.H.), too, states that the sagdr means that the dimmis should be subjected to the laws of Islam, that is to say, to the restrictions 'Umar laid upon them (Ibn Hazm, Muhalla, VII, 346-47).
54. Western scholars seem always to have been of the conviction that the Koran was the source for the gizya treaties. This seems to have been the conviction of Dennett (Conversion and Poll-Tax in Early Islam, 18) who, analyzing Halid's conduct in al-Hira, states that "for legal precedent he had sura 9:29."
55. The gizya verse appears intact only in much later ahbar. For instance, in the statement allegedly addressed by al-Mugira b. Su`ba to the Persian Rustam, as transmitted on the authority of the Kufan al-Sa`bi (d. 103 A.H.). See Baladuri, Futuh, 257; Tabari, Tarih, I, 2278. The gizya verse is also included in the speech allegedly addressed by Salman al-Farisi to the Persians when he raided their country (Ibn AN Sayba, XII, no. 12677), as well as in the speech allegedly addressed by Halid b. al-Walid to the people of al-Hira (Bayhagi, Sunan, IX, 187-88). All these speeches seem to be based an the same literary model. Some apocryphal "letters" of the Prophet and the first caliphs also contain the gizya verse. For instance, Muhammad's "letter" to Heraclius (Hamidullah, no. 27). Abu Bakr's "letter" to al-Yaman (Hamidullah, no. 302a), and `Umar's "letter" to Abu 'Ubayda (Abu Yusuf, Harag, 51-2; Hamidullah, no. 354-5).
56. Cf. J. Schacht, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (repr. Oxford, 1979), p. 24.
57. Tabari, Tarih, I, 2371. And see also, Claude Cahen, s.v. "Djizya," E12, p. 560a: "The Sasanid empire had possessed a fiscal system which distinguished between a general tax on land and a poll-tax, at rates varying according to the degree of wealth." And see also Dennett, Conversion and Poll-Tax in Early Islam, p. 15: "By the fiscal reform of Khusro I the poll-tax was graded according to each individual's income." See also, ibid., 28. Cf. also, F. LOkkegaard, Islamic Taxation in the Classic Period (Copenhagen, 1950), pp. 134, 142 f.
58. The Medinan population paid taxes to the Persians in pre-Islamic times, so that S5san1 taxation was well known in Medina, where the Koranic gizya verse was revealed. See, e.g., M. J. Kister, "al-Hira," Arabica 15 (1968): 154 f.; Barakat Ahmad, Muhammad and the Jews (New Delhi, 1979), p. 33.