IV. THE IMPOSITION OF JIZYA DURING THE REIGN OF AURANGZEB
The Islamic Tax System – Part I
THE ISLAMIC TAX SYSTEM – PART I
In the first
part we shall look at the taxes
which a Muslim is obliged to pay.
According to the Islamic Law (Sharia)
all Muslims having a minimum
threshold annual income (Nisab) are
ordained to pay taxes as described
below:
- Zakat
-
Fitra on
Eid Al Fitri (Eid after the Holy
month of Ramazan)
- Udhiya
(Animal Sacrifice) on Eid Al
Adha (Eid after the Hajj)
Definitions
of these terms:
- Nisab is
the Arabic term used for
defining the poverty line.
- Zakat is
an annual tax which should be
paid on all of your personal
monetary, gold, silver savings
and agricultural produce. The
importance and significance of
Zakat under Islamic Law can be
gauged from the fact that it is
one of the five pillars of
Islam.
- Fitra is a
festival tax collected before
the Eid Al Fitri prayer the
purpose of which is to subsidize
and help the poor people of the
area to enjoin in the
festivities of Eid Al Fitri.
- Udhiya is
the animal sacrifice given on
the day of Eid Al Adha in the
memory of Prophet Ibrahim
(Abraham) (PBUH) who sacrificed
his son Ismaeel (Ishmael). The
meat from the sacrifice is
divided into three equal parts.
One part for the poor people,
the other part for your
relatives and the third part for
your household.
The
calculations of taxes:
- Zakat is
calculated at the rate of 2.5%
on all of your monetary, gold
and silver savings. However on
Agricultural produce the
calculation differs depending on
the kind of land you have. If it
is a dry land then you are
obliged to pay only 10% of your
produce. If it is a wet land
then you are obliged to pay 20%
of your produce. Therefore the
range of Zakat is between
2.5% to 20% of your total
wealth after the end of the
year.
- Fitra is a
purely variable amount
calculated based on the cost of
living index pertinent to the
locality you live in at the
time. In the United Stated the
amount is fixed at $8.00 per
member of the household and in
India it is about INR Rs 50.00.
- The udhiya
is the animal you choose to
sacrifice. It is obligatory only
on the adult members of your
household. There is no
restriction on the kind of
animal and is left to ones
discretion and generosity. The
generally acceptable single unit
of sacrifice is a goat, sheep or
lamb. The cow and camel
constitute multiple units of
sacrifice. For example
sacrificing a cow is equal to 7
sheep’s.
The
Obligation of Zakat:
- The
Islamic ruling (Fatwa) on those
who don’t pay the Zakat
willingly without any
justification is Apostasy.
- The Quran
says: Take a portion of their
(The Muslims) wealth as zakat
(9: 103)
- The Quran
says: The proceeds of the
Zakat are for the poor and the
needy, and for those employed
in connection with their
collection and distribution,
for those whose hearts are to be
comforted, and for the freeing
of slaves, and for those
burdened with debt, and for
those striving in the cause of
Allah, and for the comfort of
the wayfarers. This is an
ordinance from Allah. A1lah
is All Knowing, Wise.
(9:60).
- The verse
just cited requires the state to
establish a department for the
collection and dispensation of
the Zakat.
- As Abu
Bakr (RAH) was the Khalifa
(successor) after Prophet
Mohammed (PBUH) it was his
obligation to collect the Zakat
in the way as the Holy Prophet
himself collected it. That is
why he affirmed that if any
Muslim, who paid Zakat to the
Holy Prophet, would withhold
from him as little as the
nose-string of a camel that he
used to render, he would acquire
it from him by the sword if
necessary.
- When some
tribes of Medina refused to pay
the Zakat to the new government
of Khalifa Abu Bakr (RAH) he
declared them as Apostates
(Non-Muslim)
- He then
immediately waged a war with
them in the face of such
defiance and rebellion.
Payment of
Zakat during Mughal Rule:
The extract
below is the paragraph from a letter
written by Aurangzeb to Shah Jahan
who was in confinement at Agra Fort:
[Source: Aabad-e-Alamgiri compiled
by Inayatullah Khan Kashmiri]
exhibits that the Zakat was paid
during Mughal Rule even by the
Emperor.
“It was written by
your majesty, that seizing the
possessions of another was contrary
to religion. Surely it cannot be
unknown to your mind, expansive as
the ocean, that the treasures of
kings and rulers are for the good of
the state and religion; not a
personal property or inheritance.
From hence it is that the Zakat of
such property is not given in
personal charity. The Most High
commits them for a time to each of
the accepted of his presence, for
the support of mankind, and resigns
to such chosen agent the reins of
government; that dealing with all
according to the rules of justice,
and regarding the rights of
claimants with fairness and
integrity, he may consider himself
merely as a trustee for the public
good. Perhaps, the learned of this
age, from fear or flattery, may not
have informed your majesty, that no
one can claim the public treasure as
his sole property.”
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