Addressees of the Prophet and Jaziya
Question:
Salaam bro
I will be grateful for your advice on the following issues;
1. What defines the nation or ummah of a prophet i.e his addressees? would it not be geographical rather then a people of particular following. What I mean is that if a Prophet is present in Makkah, will he not give Shahdah to every one living in that city rather then specifically selecting children of Ishmael and thus will itmam ul hujjah be completed on every one living in that city and not just children of Ishmael? if so why would not the fate of all his addressees be the same?
2. Were there people from other religions out side people of Book and idolaters in Arabia at the time of prophet pbuh i.e those called the majoosis. Was their fate in accordance with surah Tawbah with idolaters or people of Book?
3. Reference to Jazyah; there were maftooh ahli zimah ( those people who were subjugated after fighting against Muslims ) but they were also Muaid ahli zima ( those who willingly agreed to live under the Muslim empireas its citizens) my query is that people of which faith could chose to become muaid ahli zima? as surah tawbah had already decided the fate of people of Book and idolaters?
Answer:
Salam,
1. Based on the verse 3:110 it seems to be more inline with the Qur'an to consider the Ummi'in (Bani Ishmael) the Ummah of the Prophet (pbuh). Of course anyone else from other nations who join Islam will also be considered as part of the Ummah. This however does not mean that the Prophet (pbuh) was not sent to warn and guide the other groups in Arabia. The reference to Ummah here is mainly due to its function of becoming one of the chosen communities of God and a witness to the rest of the people in Arabia (22:78).
The Sunnah of the Almighty is that when He sends a messenger, people to whom he is sent will be given enough time to study and accept that message. Once the message is crystal clear, those who arrogantly rejected it while knowing its truth will be punished by God. At the time of the Prophet (pbuh) this punishment was of two kinds depending on the category of rejecters who were punished. If they were among idolaters in Arabia then this punishment was death. However if they were among the people of the book in Arabia, the fact that they were at least nominally adherents to the religion of Tawhid was appreciated. Accordingly the punishment of the Almighty for them was much lighter, and that was to be subjugated by the believers and to pay Jaziya as a part of this subjugation. Note, the demand of God from the people of the book in Arabia was not to become Muslims, but to simply stop their implicit enmity towards the prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims and to use the opportunity to fix some of their incorrect behaviours and beliefs.
2. Since the verse 22:17 refers to Majus and Saba'in, it is only rational to conclude that Arabs knew these groups and that perhaps they were also some of them who were living in Arabia at the time although not in a big numbers.
3. Many terminologies have been developed later that are helpful but can also be confusing if we want to relate them to the Qur'an and the incidents at the time of the Prophet (pbuh). It is better to keep it simple:
Those who were supposed to pay Jaziyah based on the Qur'an have two conditions:
a. They should be considered as people of the book
b. They should be among those for whom the Itmam al-Hujjah (completing the evidences of the truth so that no excuses remain) has been done. This was only limited to the Arabia
Therefore the original application of jaziya as prescribed by the Qur'an was only applicable, as a punishment, to the people of the book in Arabia at the time who kept their implicit enmity towards the prophet (pbuh) and Muslims. Application of the same financial commitment for the other groups was simply the ijtihad of the companions.
This is what Islam says as far as I understand. At the time when Itmam al-Hujjah is no longer possible (like our time), the state of Muslims may assign any kind of tax for its non-Muslim citizens. This will be purely for covering the costs of citizenship. This tax of course should be fair and on the basis of justice and it makes sense to make it inline with the amount of the Zakah that Muslims should pay as the (only legitimate) tax.
--------------
April 2013
Revised: October 2016
Salaam bro
I will be grateful for your advice on the following issues;
1. What defines the nation or ummah of a prophet i.e his addressees? would it not be geographical rather then a people of particular following. What I mean is that if a Prophet is present in Makkah, will he not give Shahdah to every one living in that city rather then specifically selecting children of Ishmael and thus will itmam ul hujjah be completed on every one living in that city and not just children of Ishmael? if so why would not the fate of all his addressees be the same?
2. Were there people from other religions out side people of Book and idolaters in Arabia at the time of prophet pbuh i.e those called the majoosis. Was their fate in accordance with surah Tawbah with idolaters or people of Book?
3. Reference to Jazyah; there were maftooh ahli zimah ( those people who were subjugated after fighting against Muslims ) but they were also Muaid ahli zima ( those who willingly agreed to live under the Muslim empireas its citizens) my query is that people of which faith could chose to become muaid ahli zima? as surah tawbah had already decided the fate of people of Book and idolaters?
Answer:
Salam,
1. Based on the verse 3:110 it seems to be more inline with the Qur'an to consider the Ummi'in (Bani Ishmael) the Ummah of the Prophet (pbuh). Of course anyone else from other nations who join Islam will also be considered as part of the Ummah. This however does not mean that the Prophet (pbuh) was not sent to warn and guide the other groups in Arabia. The reference to Ummah here is mainly due to its function of becoming one of the chosen communities of God and a witness to the rest of the people in Arabia (22:78).
The Sunnah of the Almighty is that when He sends a messenger, people to whom he is sent will be given enough time to study and accept that message. Once the message is crystal clear, those who arrogantly rejected it while knowing its truth will be punished by God. At the time of the Prophet (pbuh) this punishment was of two kinds depending on the category of rejecters who were punished. If they were among idolaters in Arabia then this punishment was death. However if they were among the people of the book in Arabia, the fact that they were at least nominally adherents to the religion of Tawhid was appreciated. Accordingly the punishment of the Almighty for them was much lighter, and that was to be subjugated by the believers and to pay Jaziya as a part of this subjugation. Note, the demand of God from the people of the book in Arabia was not to become Muslims, but to simply stop their implicit enmity towards the prophet (pbuh) and the Muslims and to use the opportunity to fix some of their incorrect behaviours and beliefs.
2. Since the verse 22:17 refers to Majus and Saba'in, it is only rational to conclude that Arabs knew these groups and that perhaps they were also some of them who were living in Arabia at the time although not in a big numbers.
3. Many terminologies have been developed later that are helpful but can also be confusing if we want to relate them to the Qur'an and the incidents at the time of the Prophet (pbuh). It is better to keep it simple:
Those who were supposed to pay Jaziyah based on the Qur'an have two conditions:
a. They should be considered as people of the book
b. They should be among those for whom the Itmam al-Hujjah (completing the evidences of the truth so that no excuses remain) has been done. This was only limited to the Arabia
Therefore the original application of jaziya as prescribed by the Qur'an was only applicable, as a punishment, to the people of the book in Arabia at the time who kept their implicit enmity towards the prophet (pbuh) and Muslims. Application of the same financial commitment for the other groups was simply the ijtihad of the companions.
This is what Islam says as far as I understand. At the time when Itmam al-Hujjah is no longer possible (like our time), the state of Muslims may assign any kind of tax for its non-Muslim citizens. This will be purely for covering the costs of citizenship. This tax of course should be fair and on the basis of justice and it makes sense to make it inline with the amount of the Zakah that Muslims should pay as the (only legitimate) tax.
--------------
April 2013
Revised: October 2016
