On This Day
1564 – Mughal Emperor Akbar abolishes the jizya tax on non-Muslim subjects.[8]
Jizya (Arabic: جِزْيَة jizyah / ǧizyah [d͡ʒɪzjæ]) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law.[1][2][3] The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,[4] and the application of jizya varied in the course of Islamic history. However, scholars largely agree that early Muslim rulers adapted existing systems of taxation and tribute that were established under previous rulers of the conquered lands, such as those of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires.[5][6][7][8][9] Jews and Christians were required to pay the jizyah while pagans were required to either accept Islam or die.[10]
Together with kharāj, a term that was sometimes used interchangeably with jizya,[11][12][13] taxes levied on non-Muslim subjects were among the main sources of revenues collected by some Islamic polities, such as the Ottoman Empire and Indian Muslim Sultanates.[14] Jizya rate was usually a fixed annual amount depending on the financial capability of the payer.[15] Sources comparing taxes levied on Muslims and jizya differ as to their relative burden depending on time, place, specific taxes under consideration, and other factors.[1][16][17]
Muslim jurists required adult, free, sane males among the dhimma community to pay the jizya,[18] while exempting women, children, elders, handicapped, the ill, the insane, monks, hermits, slaves,[19][20][21][22][23] and musta’mins—non-Muslim foreigners who only temporarily reside in Muslim lands.[19][5] Dhimmis who chose to join military service were also exempted from payment,[1][20][24][25][26] as were those who could not afford to pay.[20][27][28] According to Islamic law, elders, handicapped etc. must be given pensions, and they must not go into begging.
Historically, the jizya tax has been understood in Islam as a fee for protection provided by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims, for the exemption from military service for non-Muslims, for the permission to practice a non-Muslim faith with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state, and as material proof of the non-Muslims’ submission to the Muslim state and its laws,[29][30][31] Jizya has also been understood by some as a badge or state of humiliation of the non-Muslims in a Muslim state for not converting to Islam,[32][33] (the Quran calling for unbelievers to pay jizyah “willingly while they are humbled” Q.9:29), a substantial source of revenue for at least some times and places (such as the Umayyad era);[34] while others argue that if it were meant to be a punishment for the dhimmis’ unbelief then monks and the clergy wouldn’t have been exempted.[35]
The term appears in the Quran referring to a tax or tribute from People of the Book, specifically Jews and Christians. Followers of other religions like Zoroastrians and Hindus too were later integrated into the category of dhimmis and required to pay jizya. In the Indian Subcontinent the practice was eradicated by the 18th century. It almost vanished during the 20th century with disappearance of Islamic states and spread of religious tolerance.[36] The tax is no longer imposed by nation states in the Islamic world,[37][38] although there are reported cases of organizations such as the Pakistani Taliban and ISIS attempting to revive the practice.[36][39][40]
Some modern Islamic scholars have argued that jizya should be paid by non-Muslim subjects of an Islamic state, offering different rationales.[41][42] For example, Sayyid Qutb saw it as punishment for “polytheism”, while Abdul Rahman Doi viewed it as a counterpart of the zakat tax paid by Muslims.[41]
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Born On This Day
1852 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish landowner, playwright, and translator (d. 1932)
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (née Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932)[1] was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory produced a number of books of retellings of stories taken from Irish mythology. Born into a class that identified closely with British rule, she turned against it. Her conversion to cultural nationalism, as evidenced by her writings, was emblematic of many of the political struggles to occur in Ireland during her lifetime.
Lady Gregory is mainly remembered for her work behind the Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park in County Galway served as an important meeting place for leading Revival figures, and her early work as a member of the board of the Abbey was at least as important as her creative writings for that theatre’s development. Lady Gregory’s motto was taken from Aristotle: “To think like a wise man, but to express oneself like the common people.”[2]
FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
By Taras Shevchenko, Beshara Magazine: Calamity Again
By Ilya Kaminsky (Mr. Kaminsky is a Ukrainian American poet and the author of “Dancing in Odessa” and “Deaf Republic.”) The New York Times: Poems in a Time of Crisis
By Ryan Haidet , WTSP: Dolly Parton ‘respectfully’ bows out as Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee ‘I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again – if I’m ever worthy.’
Such a class act! I recently read her book with James Patterson, “Run, Rose, Run” and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Anchorage Public Library has digital copies of it. I am planning to buy the album.
By Val Lick , 11Alive: Senate passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent Even if the bill becomes law, the U.S. will still “fall back” in November 2022, before “springing forward” again next year.
By Steave Keating: How to Avoid Every Confrontation Why compassion is a key ingredient to confrontation
Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State News: Anyone can be trained to be creative, researchers say New program shows early success with U.S. Army, others
By Richard Baimbridge Business reporter, BBC News: The innovative surfing tech making waves
Claire Colbert, CNN: Climbers hold world’s highest tea party on Mount Everest
By Casey Newton, Platformer: Everything platforms know about the war but won’t tell us CrowdTangle co-founder Brandon Silverman on social networks’ responsibility to open up
By Thrillist Entertainment: The Best Memes of 2022 (So Far)
A tool to let you compare the size of different countries.
Ha!
Ideas
By Ivan Beldiagin: Treats (cakes) for Birds
By Daniel Travis Bow: Ultimate Tire Swing
Recipes
By yellowcone: Crazy Vegetable Pies- Three Potatoes and Ratatouille
By In The Kitchen With Matt: 3-Ingredient Strawberry IceBox Cake
Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Ham and cheese omelette June 2, 2023I’ve updated the way I make omelettes. This “scrambled egg” approach is easier and yields a better result without having to worry about raw egg in the middle. Today’s omelette recipe is filled with ham and cheese. Sauté your ham first! Ham and cheese omelette I used to cook omelettes using the technique whereby you... […]Nagi
- Antipasto Chickpea Salad May 31, 2023I love this chickpea salad because it involves little more than opening jars, it keeps well for days and the chickpeas keep me full for longer. It’s like an antipasto platter, in the form of a protein-laden, good-for-you meal! Antipasto Chickpea Salad Professional food writers would probably describe chickpeas as a blank canvas for flavour.... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 2 June 2, 2023Picture of the day Ascent to the steeple of the St. Viktor Church, Dülmen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 1 June 1, 2023Picture of the day Aerial view of the Victoria Falls of the Zambezi River, border between Zambia (left side) and Zimbabwe (right side). The Victoria Falls is the largest sheet of falling water in the world based on its combined width of 1,708 metres (5,604 ft) and height of 108 metres (354 ft).
AV Club Wiki Wormhole
- Margaret Atwood once became so enraptured watching Captain Underpants her manuscript was almost stolen June 2, 2023Even for Margaret Atwood, whose body of dystopian work has often been referenced as a strangely prescient vision of the state of abortion rights in America, life has some real surprises in store. Case in point: her compellingly complicated relationship with the 2018 movie Captain Underpants, which she shared in a…Read more...Hattie Lindert
- That time Stephen King came to my hometown June 2, 2023Maine doesn’t have many celebrities, so when someone makes it on a national scale, it’s a big deal. Anna Kendrick, Patrick Dempsey, and Judd Nelson all come to mind, but the Pine Tree State’s favorite son is Stephen King. When I moved to Maine at the age of 8, I immediately came to know that […]Drew Gillis
- After 17 years, Padma Lakshmi announces departure from Top Chef June 2, 2023After 17 years with the show, Padma Lakshmi has announced she’s leaving Top Chef. The host and executive producer shared the news of her “difficult decision” to depart the Bravo staple in a message shared on social media on June 2. Top Chef’s currently airing 20th season, which premiered on March 9 of this year, […]Hattie Lindert
- 18 years later, We Love Katamari remains a perfect video game June 2, 2023Every Friday, A.V. Club staffers kick off our weekly open thread for the discussion of gaming plans and recent gaming glories, but of course, the real action is down in the comments, where we invite you to answer our eternal question: What Are You Playing This Weekend?Read more...William Hughes
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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