A Sign of the Hour Fulfilled: The End of Jizya and Kharaj
The jizya (tax
paid by non-Muslim subjects under Islamic rule) and kharaj (land tax imposed on
those who cultivated lands conquered by the Islamic state) were among the most
important sources of revenue for the Muslim treasury, or Bayt al-Mal. The
Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) foretold that these revenues
would eventually cease, depriving Muslims of an important source of income
under Islamic rule.
The
Prophetic Warning of Lost Revenues
In Sahih
Muslim, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Iraq would withhold its dirhams
and qafiz; Syria would withhold its mudd and dinar and Egypt would withhold its
irdab and dinar and you would recoil to that position from where you started
and you would recoil to that position from where you started and you would
recoil to that position from where you started, the flesh and blood of Abu
Huraira would bear testimony to it.” (Sahih
Muslim, Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour, Hadith 2896)
The qafiz,
mudd, and irdab were units of measurement used in those lands at the time, some
of which remain familiar to this day. The dirham and dinar were the names of
currencies in circulation during that era. The withholding of these revenues by
those lands was attributed to foreign powers taking control of Muslim
territories at various points in history. The Romans, followed by the Tatars,
seized large parts of the Muslim world.
In our own
time, non-Muslim powers have occupied Muslim lands, brought an end to the
Islamic Caliphate, and removed Islamic law from governance.
Imam
An-Nawawi’s Interpretations
Commenting on
this hadith, Imam An-Nawawi stated:
“The most
well-known interpretation is that the Persians and Romans will take control of
these lands at the end of time, preventing these revenues from reaching the
Muslims. Muslim narrated this hadith several pages after another hadith
reported by Jabir.”
He continued:
“It is near
that neither a qafiz nor a dirham will reach them.” We asked, “From where will
that happen?” He replied, “From the Persians, who will prevent it.” He
mentioned a similar account concerning the Romans preventing these revenues
from reaching Syria. This has occurred in our time in Iraq, and it is still
happening.
Another
interpretation holds that the people of these lands will apostatize at the end
of time and consequently refuse to pay the zakah and other dues.
A third
interpretation suggests that the non-Muslims who pay the jizya will grow
stronger at the end of time and refuse to pay the jizya, kharaj, and other
taxes they had previously been paying. (An-Nawawi’s Commentary on Sahih Muslim,
18/20)
The Loss
of the Islamic Treasury
All the
explanations cited by Imam An-Nawawi concerning the causes of these revenues
being withheld from the treasury of the Islamic state have come to pass. This
is in addition to the collapse of the Islamic state, which once governed its
economy according to Islamic law.
To Allah alone
do we turn in our complaint.
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