upon him is not in fad Zakat * , but rather a contribution exacted as
a return for the proteftion he receives, and which is requifite for the
fafeguard o f whatever he may poffefs ; it is therefore proper to take
from him the impoft ufually levied upon aliens, except where lie
declares, as above, with refpeft to his female {laves, that they are his
Am-Walids, which declaration muft be attended to and credited ;
becaufe, if an alien were to declare, concerning any other perforis who
accompany him, that “ they are his children,” his declaration is.
approved ; and lb, in like manner, with refpeft to his female (laves,
as the rights, of the Am-Walid are derived from the eftablilhment of
the child's defcent, and confequently the femaLe (laves do. not appear
to be transferable property; and nothing but transferable property
is an objeft of taxation.
Proportion F rom a Mujfiulman is taken the fourth of the tithe of his promerchiEe.
perty ; and from a Z immee the half o f the tithe ; and from an alien
the tithe ; Omar having inftrufted his collectors to this effeft.
Z M t to be I f an alien (hould come before the collector with property to the
property0of16 amount only of fifty Dirms, nothing whatfoever is to be exacted of
aliens, to the except where aliens exaCt contribution upon an equally fmall
y^rm^otty property of muflulmans; in which cafe a fimilar impoft muft be laid
upwards. n tjtis amount, the property of an ahen, becaufe what is taken
from aliens is merely in the way of reciprocity: contrary to the cafe
of Mujfiulmans or Zimmees, as what is levied upon them is in faCt
Zakat, either Angle or twofold, whence it is indifpenfable that the
property with them amount to a Nifdb.— This is the doCtrine of the
Jama Sagheer. In the Mabfoot, under the title Zakdt, it is written
that if the property of an alien (hould be fmall (that is, fhort of a
Nifdb,) nothing whatever is to be exaCted of him, let the cuftom of
aliens, in this refpeft, be what it may, becaufe a proportion of pro-
* Becaufe, as being an aft of piety, an infidel is held to be incapable of paying Zakat-,
wherefore it cannot be confidered in that fenfe, although it be exafted under that deno-
mination.
perty
perty not amounting to Nifdb is invariably to be confidered as Afoo,
or exempt; and alfo, becaufe a trifle of this fort is not fuppofed to
(land in need of the date’s protection, as travellers muft neceflarily
carry with them fmall fums for the purpofe of expences, and robbers
do not pay any attention to fuch trifles, not confidering them objefts
of their purfuit.
I f an alien come before the collector with two hundred Dirms,
and it be uncertain what tax foreigners levy upon a fimilar property
of Mujfiulmans, in this cafe a tithe is to be taken ; and if it be known
that foreign'dates exaCt only a twentieth or a fortieth, a fimilar proportion'is
to be taken; but if it be known that they take the whole,
yet the Mujfiulman collector muft not aft accordingly, becaufe this is
an aft of rapine. And if it be known that they take nothing of the
Mujfiulmans, it is then proper that nothing be taken from them, in
■ order that the Mujfulman merchants, travelling into foreign countries,
may remain free of impoft; and alfb, becaufe where foreign dates
obferve kindnefs towards Mujfiulmans, and exaft nothing of them,
it is requifite that nothing be exafted of them in return, as it
behoves the Mujfiulmans to preferve a charafter o f benevolence towards
all men.
If an alien come before the colleftor, and the latter exaft the
tithe of him, and he (hould again pafs near the ftation of the colleftor,
yet nothing more is to be exafted till the completion qf the Hawldn-
Hdwl, becaufe, if the tithe were to be repeatedly levied within the
year, the property would be annihilated, and the impoft is laid for the
purpofe of proteHiing the property ; moreover, the proteftion which
ts firft granted continues until the beginning o f a new year, when
the Amdn,. or proteftion, commences de novo, becaufe it is not permitted
to an alien to remain in a Mujfiulman territory beyond the (pace
o f a year.- But the tax may be again demanded of him at the expiration
of the fecond year, as this does'not tend to annihilate his
F i property.
Proportion to
be levied
upon the
property of
aliens:
muft not o€
exafted rt*
pealedly*