The Origins of the Islamic State/Part 3/Chapter 2
CHAPTER II
The Christians of the banu-Taghlib ibn-Wâʾil
ʿUmar doubles their ṣadaḳah. Shaibân ibn-Farrûkh from as-Saffâḥ ash-Shaibâni:—ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb wanted to collect the poll-tax from the Christian tribe, banu-Taghlib; but they took to flight and some of them went to a distant land. An-Nuʿmân ibn-Zurʿah (or Zurʿah ibn-an-Nuʿmân) addressed ʿUmar saying: "I plead in Allah's name for the banu-Taghlib. They are a body of Arabs too proud to pay poll-tax, but severe in warfare. Let not thy enemy, therefore, be enriched by them to thy disadvantage."[1] Thereupon ʿUmar called them back and doubled the ṣadaḳah laid on them.
Neither Moslems, nor of the "people of the Book." Shaibân from ibn-ʿAbbâs:—The latter said, "What is slaughtered by the Christians of the banu-Taghlib shall not be eaten, and their women shall not be taken as wives [by us]. They are neither of us nor of the 'people of the Book.'"
ʿUmair consults ʿUmar. ʿAbbâs ibn-Hishâm from ʿAwânah ibn-al-Ḥakam and abu-Mikhnaf:—ʿUmair ibn-Saʿd wrote to ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb informing him that he had come to the regions on the Syrian slope of the Euphrates and captured ʿÂnât and the other forts of [i. e., along the course of] the Euphrates; and that when he wished to constrain the banu-Taghlib of that region to accept Islâm, they refused and were on the point of leaving for some Byzantine territory; no one on the Syrian slope of the Euphrates whom he wished to constrain to Islâm had before the banu-Taghlib showed such tenacity and asked permission to emigrate. ʿUmair asked ʿUmar's advice on this matter. ʿUmar wrote back ordering him to double on all their pasturing cattle[2] and land the amount of ṣadaḳah ordinarily taken from Moslems; and if they should refuse to pay that, he ought to war with them until he annihilates them or they accept Islâm. They accepted to pay a double ṣadaḳah[3] saying, "So long as it is not the tax of the 'uncircumcized,' we shall pay it and retain our faith."[4]
The terms with the banu-Taghlib. ʿAmr an-Nâḳid from Dâʾûd ibn-Kurdûs:—After having crossed the Euphrates and decided to leave for the land of the Greeks, the banu-Taghlib made terms with ʿUmar ibn-al-Khaṭṭâb, agreeing not to immerse [baptize] a child or compel him to accept their faith, and to pay a double ṣadaḳah. Dâʾûd ibn-Kurdûs used to repeat that they had no claim to security [dhimmah], because they used immersion in their ritual—referring to baptism.
Only they pay double ṣadaḳah. Al-Ḥusain ibn-al-Aswad from az-Zuhri:—None of the "people of the Book" pay ṣadaḳah on their cattle except the Christian banu-Taghlib or—he perhaps said—the Christian Arabs, whose whole possessions consist of cattle. These pay twice what the Moslems pay.
Zurʿah intercedes in their behalf. Saʿîd ibn-Sulaimân Saʿdawaih from Zurʿah ibn-an-Nuʿmân:—The latter interceded with ʿUmar in favor of the Christians of the banu-Taghlib, saying, "They are Arabs too proud to pay the poll-tax, and are possessors of tillable land and cattle." ʿUmar had decided to take tax from them and they became dispersed in the whole country. At last, ʿUmar made terms with them, stipulating that they pay double what the Moslems pay in the form of ṣadaḳah on the land and cattle, and that they do not christen their children.
What ʿAli would do. According to Mughîrah, ʿAli used to repeat, "If I should have the time to deal with the banu-Taghlib, I would have my own way with them. Their fighters I would surely put to death, and their children I would take as captives, because by christening their children they violated the covenant and are no more in our trust [dhimmah]."
What Ziyâd said. Abu-Naṣr at-Tammâr from Ziyâd ibn-Ḥudair al-Asadi:—The latter said, "I was sent by ʿUmar to the Christians of the banu-Taghlib in order to collect from them half the tithe on their possessions, and was warned against collecting tithes from a Moslem, or from a dhimmi that pays kharâj."
ʿUthmân withdraws his word. Muḥammad ibn-Saʿd from Muḥammad ibn-Ibrâhim ibn-al-Ḥârith:—ʿUthmân gave orders that nothing be accepted from the banu-Taghlib as tax except the tithe on gold and silver. Having, however, learned the fact that ʿUmar took from them a double ṣadaḳah, he withdrew his word.
The tax on banu-Taghlib. According to al-Wâḳidi, it is said by Sufyân ath-Thauri, al-Auzâʿi, Mâlik ibn-Anas, ibn-abi-Lailah, ibn-abi-Dhiʾb, abu-Ḥanîfah and abu-Yûsuf that from one of the banu-Taghlib is collected double what is collected from a Moslem, on land, cattle and possessions. But if he is a child or idiot, a double ṣadaḳah—according to the school of al-ʿIrâḳ—is taken on his land, and nothing on his cattle; and according to the school of al-Ḥijaz, a double ṣadaḳah is taken on his cattle and his land. They all, however, agree that what is taken from the banu-Taghlib should be spent in the same way as kharâj, because it is a substitute for tax.