Chapter: Conduct toward the Dhimmīs

When the poll-tax payers have delivered the jizya that has been levied upon them, or when a settlement has been reached concerning it, they are left alone with all their property, including their vineyards and the wine they make, so long as they keep their wine hidden and do not openly sell it to a Muslim. They are forbidden to display wine or pork in the Muslims’ markets, yet they are not prevented from keeping such things out of our sight in their homes.

They are not interfered with regarding the rulings they issue among themselves, nor in the usurious trade they conduct with one another. If they bring a dispute for judgment, the judge is free to choose: if he wishes, he may adjudicate between them according to what Allah has revealed, and if he wishes, he may decline.

The imam must defend them against any enemy and may enlist their help in fighting, but they have no portion in the spoils of war (fay’). Concerning their churches, they may retain whatever has already been agreed upon; they may not enlarge them, though they are not barred from repairing what has deteriorated. They have no right to build new ones.

In their clothing and outward appearance they must be made to stand apart from the Muslims and are prohibited from imitating the people of Islam. Should they wrong one another, the ruler restrains and suppresses them, taking for the weak from the strong and for the wronged from the wrong-doer; he must not allow them to oppress one another. This is among the obligations of fulfilling their covenant, and he must not—