urge on or drive any horses or camels.

For this reason, the jurists say that fay’ is wealth taken from the disbelievers without fighting, since spurring on horses and camels signifies fighting. It is called fay’ because Allah restored it to the Muslims—that is, returned it to them from the disbelievers. The underlying principle is that Allah Most High created wealth only to assist in His worship, just as He created His creatures only to worship Him. He therefore made lawful for His believing servants who worship Him the lives of the disbelievers, which they did not devote to His worship, and their wealth, which they did not use to assist them in His worship. He restored to the believers what was rightfully theirs, just as a man is given back what was wrongfully taken from his inheritance, even if he had never previously received it.

This includes the jizyah levied on Jews and Christians; money that the enemy agrees to pay under a peace settlement or presents to the Muslim ruler, such as payments sent from Christian lands and the like; the one-tenth levy collected from merchants from enemy territories; and the one-twentieth levy collected from merchants of protected non-Muslim communities when they trade outside their own lands. This was how ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, collected these levies. It also includes wealth taken from those among them who break their covenant, and the land tax originally imposed upon them, even if some of it has since come to be borne by some Muslims.

Furthermore, fay’ encompasses all state funds belonging to the Muslim treasury, such as property with no identifiable owner—for example, the estate of a Muslim who dies without an identifiable heir—and wrongfully seized property, articles lent for use, and deposits held in trust: