He may therefore either make use of it or leave it. This differs from kharaj land, because that land is not his property; rather, it belongs to the Muslim community. For this reason, we distinguish between the two.

Regarding the kharaj official, the validity of his appointment requires that he be free and trustworthy. The matter then depends on the nature of his office: if he is appointed to assess the kharaj, he must be a jurist qualified for independent legal reasoning. If he is appointed to collect the kharaj, his appointment is valid even if he is not a jurist qualified for independent legal reasoning. The kharaj official’s stipend is paid from kharaj funds, just as the zakat collector’s stipend is paid from zakat funds, specifically from the share allocated to those employed to collect it. The surveyor’s fee is likewise paid from kharaj funds. As for the apportioner’s fee in connection with the ʿushr (tithe) and kharaj, it is paid from the due amount that the sultan collects in those two cases.

Kharaj is a known due imposed on a known area, and determining it requires knowledge of three measurements. The first is the size of the jريب according to the cubit used to survey it; the second is the amount in dirhams levied for it; and the third is the capacity of the measure used to collect it.

The jريب is ten qasabahs by ten qasabahs. The qafiz is ten qasabahs by one qasabah. The ʿashīr is one qasabah by one qasabah, and a qasabah is six cubits. Thus, the jريب consists of 3,600 square cubits; the qafiz consists of 360 square cubits, which is one tenth of a jريب; and the ʿashīr consists of 36 cubits, which is one tenth of a qafiz.

There are seven standards of the cubit. The shortest is the qāḍiya, followed by the Yūsufiyya, then the sawdāʾ, then the lesser Hāshimiyya, which is the Bilāliyya; then the greater Hāshimiyya, which is the Ziyādiyya; then the ʿUmariyya; and finally the mīzāniyya.