and forty. A poor man may not be assessed at less than twelve dirhams, a wealthy man may not be charged more than forty-eight, and those of moderate means are liable for twenty-four.

Aḥmad (d. 241 AH) says: the due amount is one dinar—or its equivalent value in Maʿāfir cloth—with no increase and no reduction.

Their disagreement stems from the divergent reports transmitted in this regard. It has been related that
“the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent Muʿādh to Yemen and ordered him to take from every adult male a single dinar, or its equivalent in Maʿāfir cloth,”
which are garments produced in Yemen.

It is also established that ʿUmar (d. 23 AH) imposed four dinars on those whose currency was gold and forty dirhams on those who dealt in silver, together with provisions for the Muslims and hospitality for three days.

Another report from him states that he dispatched ʿUthmān ibn Ḥunayf and set the jizyah upon the people of the Sawād at forty-eight, twenty-four, and twelve dirhams respectively.

Hence, those who treat all these narrations as indications of discretionary choice—relying on the general sense of the word “jizyah,” and noting that no ḥadīth of indisputable authenticity fixes a specific rate, while the Qur’an itself speaks only in general terms—conclude that there is no fixed minimum or maximum. This is the stronger view, and Allah knows best.

Those who reconcile the report of Muʿādh with the reliable report from ʿUmar say: the minimum is set, but there is no ceiling.

Those who give preference to one of the two reports from ʿUmar hold that the assessment is either forty dirhams and four dinars, or forty-eight, twenty-four, and twelve dirhams as previously mentioned.

Those who favor the report of Muʿādh—because it is marfūʿ (attributed directly to the Prophet)—say: only one dinar, or its equivalent in Maʿāfir cloth, neither more nor less.

Fourth Question – When does the jizyah become due?

They agree that it is not obligatory until a full lunar year has passed, and that it is waived if the person embraces Islam before the year’s end.

They differ, however, concerning one who accepts Islam after the year has elapsed: is the jizyah collected for the whole of the previous year, or only for the elapsed portion?

One group maintains that once he embraces Islam, no jizyah is taken from him after the year’s close, whether his conversion occurred before or after that date; this is the view of the majority.

Another group holds that if he accepts Islam after the year has ended, the jizyah remains due, whereas if he does so before the year’s completion, it does not.

All agree that the levy does not fall due before the year ends, because the lapse of the year is a condition for obligation. If the factor that lifts the obligation—namely, Islam—occurs before the condition is fulfilled, the duty never arises.

The dispute concerns the period after the year has elapsed, when the obligation has technically arisen. Those who regard Islam as nullifying obligations incurred in disbelief—just as it cancels many other liabilities—say that the jizyah is remitted even if he converts after the year has passed.

Those who hold that Islam does not erase such accrued obligations, just as it does not cancel many established rights like debts, say that it is not remitted once the year has elapsed.

Thus the root of their disagreement is whether Islam annuls an already-incurred jizyah or leaves it in force.