Islamic levy
قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّىٰ يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ {29}
Fight those who are not believing in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor are they sanctifying what Allah and His Rasool Sanctified, nor are they making it to be a religion, the Religion of the Truth, from those Given the Book, until they give the tribute by hand and they are belittled [9:29]
عن جابر، قال: قال رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله): «لئن بقيت لأخرجن المشركين من جزيرة العرب
From Jabir who said,
‘Rasool Allah-saww said: ‘If I-saww were to remain, I-saww would expel the Polytheists from the Arabian peninsula’’.[1]
(دعائم الإسلام): عن علي (عليه السلام)، أنه قال: «لتمنعن مساجدكم يهودكم و نصاراكم و صبيانكم و مجانينكم أو ليمسخنكم الله قردة و خنازير ركعا و سجدا، و قد قال الله عز و جل: إِنَّمَا الْمُشْرِكُونَ نَجَسٌ فَلا يَقْرَبُوا الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرامَ
(From the book) Da’im Al Islam,
From Imam Ali-asws having said: ‘Preclude your Masjid from your Jews, and your Christians, and your children, and your insane ones, or Allah-azwj would Metamorphose you all as monkeys, and pigs performing Rukus and Sajdas, and Allah-azwj Mighty and Majestic has Said: But rather, the Polytheists are unclean, therefore they should not go near the Sacred Masjid [9:28]’.[2]
و عنه: عن محمد بن يحيى، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن أبي يحيى الواسطي، عن بعض أصحابنا، قال: سئل أبو عبد الله (عليه السلام) عن المجوس، أ كان لهم نبي؟ فقال: «نعم، أما بلغك كتاب رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله) إلى أهل مكة: أن أسلموا و إلا نابذتكم بحرب، فكتبوا إلى رسول الله (صلى الله عليه و آله): أن خذ منا الجزية و دعنا على عبادة الأوثان
And from him (Yaqoub Al Kulayni), from Muhammad Bin Yahya, from Ahmad Bin Muhammad, from Abu Yahya Al Wasity, from one of our companions who said,
‘I asked Abu Abdullah-asws about the Magians: Was there a Prophet-as for them?’ So he-asws said: ‘Yes! Has it not reached you, the letter of Rasool Allah-saww to the people of Makkah: ‘Either you submit or we shall go to war against you’. So they wrote back to Rasool Allah-saww, ‘You-saww can take the tax from us and leave us upon the worship of the idols’.
فكتب إليهم النبي (صلى الله عليه و آله): إني لست آخذ الجزية إلا من أهل الكتاب. فكتبوا إليه يريدون بذلك تكذيبه: زعمت أنك لا تأخذ الجزية إلا من أهل الكتاب، ثم أخذت الجزية من مجوس هجر. فكتب إليهم النبي (صلى الله عليه و آله): إن المجوس كان لهم نبي فقتلوه، و كتاب أحرقوه، أتاهم نبيهم بكتابهم في اثني عشر ألف جلد ثور
The Prophet-saww wrote to them: ‘I-saww do not take the tax except from the People of the Book’. They wrote back to him-saww, intending to belie that to him-saww, ‘You-saww claim that you-saww do not take the tax except from the People of the Book, then you-saww take the tax from the abandoned Magians’. So the Prophet-saww wrote to them: ‘The Magians used to have a Prophet-as for them, but they killed him-as, and they burnt the Book. Their Prophet-as gave them their Book in twelve thousand oxen skins.[3]
عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ حَرِيزٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) مَا حَدُّ الْجِزْيَةِ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَ هَلْ عَلَيْهِمْ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْءٌ مُوَظَّفٌ لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَجُوزُوا إِلَى غَيْرِهِ فَقَالَ ذَاكَ إِلَى الْإِمَامِ أَنْ يَأْخُذَ مِنْ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا شَاءَ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَالِهِ بِمَا يُطِيقُ
Ali Bin Ibrahim, from his father, from Hammad Bin Isa, from Hareyz, from Zurara who said,
‘I said to Abu Abdullah-asws, ‘What is the limit of the tax upon the People of the Book, and is there anything upon them regarding that which is fixed, not befitting for it to be exceeded to something else?’ So he-asws said: ‘That (determination) is up to the Imam-asws if he were to take from every person from them whatever he-asws so desires to in accordance with his wealth with what he can endure, until he becomes a Muslim.
إِنَّمَا هُمْ قَوْمٌ فَدَوْا أَنْفُسَهُمْ مِنْ أَنْ يُسْتَعْبَدُوا أَوْ يُقْتَلُوا فَالْجِزْيَةُ تُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى قَدْرِ مَا يُطِيقُونَ لَهُ أَنْ يَأْخُذَهُمْ بِهِ حَتَّى يُسْلِمُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالَى قَالَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَ هُمْ صاغِرُونَ وَ كَيْفَ يَكُونُ صَاغِراً وَ هُوَ لَا يَكْتَرِثُ لِمَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى يَجِدَ ذُلًّا لِمَا أُخِذَ مِنْهُ فَيَأْلَمَ لِذَلِكَ فَيُسْلِمَ
But rather they are a people who expiate themselves from being enslaves or fighting (in a war), therefore the tax would be taken from them upon a measurement of what they would be enduring to it, and they would be seized with it until they do become Muslims, for Allah-azwj Blessed and Exalted Said: until they give the tribute by hand and they are belittled [9:29]. And how would he happen to be belittled if he does not care to what is taken from him (due to its low rate) until he finds humiliation to what is taken from him, so he would be hurt by that, so he would become a Muslim.
قَالَ وَ قَالَ ابْنُ مُسْلِمٍ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ( عليه السلام ) أَ رَأَيْتَ مَا يَأْخُذُ هَؤُلَاءِ مِنْ هَذَا الْخُمُسِ مِنْ أَرْضِ الْجِزْيَةِ وَ يَأْخُذُ مِنَ الدَّهَاقِينِ جِزْيَةَ رُءُوسِهِمْ أَ مَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْءٌ مُوَظَّفٌ فَقَالَ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَجَازُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ لَيْسَ لِلْإِمَامِ أَكْثَرُ مِنَ الْجِزْيَةِ إِنْ شَاءَ الْإِمَامُ وَضَعَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمْ وَ لَيْسَ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ شَيْءٌ وَ إِنْ شَاءَ فَعَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ وَ لَيْسَ عَلَى رُءُوسِهِمْ شَيْءٌ
He (the narrator) said, ‘And Ibn Muslim said (to) Abu Abdullah-asws, ‘What is your view of what they (government) are taking from this fifth from a land as the taxation, and it is taken from farmers a taxation per head, is there anything fixed upon them with regards to that?’ So he-asws said: ‘It was upon them what they had allowed upon their own selves, and it not for the Imam-asws, more from the taxation. If the Imam-asws so desires to, he-asws can place that (tax) upon their heads (flat rate), and there would not be anything upon their wealth, and if he-asws so desires to, so upon their wealth, and there would be nothing upon their heads (flat rate)’.
فَقُلْتُ فَهَذَا الْخُمُسُ فَقَالَ إِنَّمَا هَذَا شَيْءٌ كَانَ صَالَحَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ( صلى الله عليه وآله )
‘He said, ‘So this if the fifth (Khums)’. So he-asws said: ‘But rather, this is something which Rasool Allah-saww reconciled upon them (with).[4]
[1] الدر المنثور 4: 166. (Non-Shia source)
[2] دعائم الإسلام 1: 149. (Non-Shia source)
[3] الكافي 3: 567/ 4.
[4] Al Kafi V 3 – The Book Of Zakāt CH 46 H 1