jihad and the islamic law of war - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

question 13
Look to the protected people around you who are old
and weak and who are no longer able to earn a living
and pay them from the treasury of the Muslims such
as will do them good. For indeed I have learned that
the Commander of the Believers Umar ibn al-
Khattab once passed an old man who was begging at
people’s doors. He said, “We have been unfair to you.
We used to take jizyah from you when you were
young, then neglected you when you were old.”Then
he said, “Pay him from the treasury of the Muslims
such as will do him good.” 26
Moreover, the word jizyah itself simply derives from a
root meaning “part”, referring to the fact that it is taken as a
partofthewealthoftheprotected peoples. Infact,theuseof
the word jizyah is not even required. The historian al-Tabari
relates that some members of the Christian community
asked‘Umaribnal-Khattabiftheycouldrefertothe jizyahas
sadaqah, literally “charity”, which he agreed to.
It is also worth noting in this context that in most cases
the jizyah taken was actually less than the zakat, or alms, paid
by Muslims, which the dhimmis were not required to pay
since the zakat is a religious requirement for Muslims only.
Another aspect of the debate over the status of protected
peoples is the practice of requiring protected peoples to
dress in some way that was recognizably distinct from
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