a group of these men there to cultivate it, the affairs of the religion that only they could attend to would have been neglected. Later, in the time of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, when lands had been conquered and the Muslims had grown numerous, they no longer needed the Jews and expelled them. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, had said:

“We shall allow you to remain there as long as we wish”—or, according to another narration, “as long as Allah allows you to remain.”

At the time of his death, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered their expulsion, saying:

“Expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula.”

For this reason, some scholars, such as Muhammad ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī, held that unbelievers may remain in Muslim lands on payment of jizya only when the Muslims need them. Once the Muslims no longer need them, they are to expel them, as happened to the people of Khaybar. There is disagreement on this issue, but this is not the place to discuss it.

The point here is that when people need millers and bakers, this takes one of two forms:

First, they may need their services, as in the case of those who grind grain and bake bread for households. Such workers are entitled to payment, but when people need them, they may demand no more than the customary fee for comparable work, just like other craftsmen.

Second, people may need both production and sale: someone to buy wheat and grind it, and someone to bake it and sell it as bread, because people need to