This document discusses the concept of al-Kharaj in Islam. It begins by defining al-Kharaj as taxes, revenue, or rental obtained from land or property. It describes how al-Kharaj was implemented during the Prophet's time and the early Caliphates. Factors that determined the amount of al-Kharaj included the quality of land, type of crops planted, and watering system. The document also examines different views on rights of non-Muslim land holders and the functions of al-Kharaj as an official tax document and source of government revenue.

1. AL-KHARAJ
IN
ISLAM
SITI NUR JANNAH BT HASANUDDIN 1122051
NUR SYAFIQAH BT MOHD NAJIB 1122045
KAMALIAH BT ABBAS 1122492

2. Content
• 1. 0 Definition
- 1.1. General definition
- 1.2 Authorities
- 1.3 The Implementation of Al-Kharaj in Islamic period
- 1.4 Scholar’s Views In Rights Vested
On The Non Muslim Holder Of Kharaj Lands
• 2.0 Determining amount of kharaj
- 2.1 Factors determining amount of kharaj
2.1.1 Quality of the land
2.1.2 Types of plant planted
2.1.2 Watering system
- 2.2 Dynamism in the policy and the rationale for setting the rate of al-kharaj
• 3.0 The Function of al-Kharaj
- 3.1 Al-Kharāj as an Official Government Document
- 3.2 The Word al-Kharāj Is Used To Mean Ministry of Finance and Revenue From Tax
- 3.3 Al-Kharaj Is Used In More Than One Sense
3.3.1 Taxes in General
3.3.2 Land Tax
3.3.3 Rent
- 3.4 Current Situation – Quit Rent

3. 1.Definition
• Al-Kharaj is an Arabic word
• It is also said taken from literary official
language of Rome, Byzantine and Ancient
Greek which generally means `tax’
• Throughout the history of Islam it was used to
refer to land tax which is imposed on the
developing land.

4. 1.1 Generally
• Al-Kharaj is defined as
taxes,
 revenue,
revenue obtained from human property, tribute,
rental,
Income of general property,
a public’s revenue or revenue from land,
a rates.

5. 1.2 Authorities
• Al-Kharāj and kharj are used in the Quran but
not to mean land tax. The words generally
means a gift/income/reward as in
Surah al-Mu’minun, 23 verse 72:
• “Or is it that thou askest them for some
recompense? But the recompense of thy Lord
is best: He is the Best of those who give
sustenance”.

6. • According to Subhi Salih, al-kharāj as used in
the verse above means to ‘withdraw’; as if a
portion is taken out from a whole (taxable
item) in order to fulfil an obligation; as is
meant in (Surah al-Kahfi, 18:94)
• They said: “O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog
(People) do great mischief on earth: shall we
then render thee tribute in order that thou
mightest erect a barrier between us and
them?”

7. • Hence, one should not be confused with the
interpretation term of al-kharaj in the Quran
and Hadith with the interpretation term al-
kharaj that stipulate the meaning of taxes in
the Islamic ruling era.

8. 1.3 The Implementation of Al-Kharaj in
Islamic period
(a) The Prophet period ;
• Implemented early in the Islamic rule in the event
of Khaibar when the Jews requested for the land
that Muslims had conquered to remain as theirs
because they were very good farmers.
• The prophet (p.b.u.h). consented to the request
on condition that they surrender half the revenue
obtained from the land as tax al-kharaj
• Findings: The taxation were directed towards the
people of the conquered land, not the land itself

9. (b) Caliphate period
• the first modification system of al-kharaj was first
imposed by Caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab after
consultation with the companions .
• Initially al-kharaj included in ghanimah’s type of
asset, which should be divided among the
Muslim soldiers but Caliph ‘Umar felt that the
practice was a waste for Muslims of that time as
well as the future if the land in Iraq and Syam
were divided among Muslim soldiers since the
area of Muslim state at that time became very
large due to conquests.

10. • So he proposed that the land remained the
owners’ on condition that they pay kharaj.
• This can be seen in a narration stated that;
“But I saw that there was nothing left to
conquer the land of Khusrau. Allah has given us
their property and land. I have distributed
whatever property among the deserving . I
believe that I should keep aside these lands with
their peasants and impose kharaj on the land on
the persons jizyah which they should pay.”

11. (c) Umayyad period
• Some peasants and landlords, though not the majority
by any account who wished to escape the burden of
kharaj began to convert to Islam, hoping that their
kharaj obligation to the state be changed over to ’ushr
but to no avail as Conversion to Islam did not relieve
the non-Arab subject from jizya or kharaj.
• However, new administrative reforms under Umar b.
Abd al-Aziz where the burden of jizya was removed
from the new converts while enforcing the land tax for
areas classified as kharaj lands.
• As a consequence, al-kharaj now became a
mandatory tax for lands categorized as such regardless
of ownership.

12. (d) Abbasid period
• The evolution of al-kharaj, taxation system
began during al-kharaj the Abbasid period,
under the third caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785),
• Throughout this period there were a lot of
ijtihad regarding the implementation of al-
kharaj system
• For instance, in determining the taxes based
on a proportion of the produce (muqasama).
• The change constituted a major shift in the
Islamic government’s economic policy.

13. 1.4 Scholar’s Views In Rights Vested
On The Non Muslim Holder Of Kharaj
Lands.
• Two types of kharaj lands :
a) land brought under Muslim sovereignty peacefully by
virtues of treaties or agreements with the inhabitans
which allowed the occupants of the respective land to
retain.
b) the lands which were acquired or conquered by force
of arms and possession but were left to the former
inhabitants subject to the terms and conditions
imposed by the state.
• There are different views among the scholars regarding
the rights vested on the non Muslim holder of kharaj
lands.
• It is said that the land in the non Muslim possession
were considered to be mulk land(private land).

14. • The Hanafi School view that all the kharaj lands
are deemed to be treated as mulk lands.
• Hence, the owner was equipped with the rights
of ownership, full rights of disposition over the
land and have the power to constitute waqf for
both first and second category of lands.
• Where as Maliki and Shafiee School shared the
same view in excluding the second types of land,
where the land were acquired by force of arms.
They do not have full ownership nor possess
power of disposition over the land.
• The second type of land is regarded as land in
waqf for the welfare of the Muslim community.

15. 2.0 DETERMINING AMOUNT OF
KHARAJ
• DETERMINING AMOUNT OF KHARAJ
1. Religion of the owner
2. Area of land
• Al-Mawardi
1. Mawat land
• Usyriah land-if cultivated by Muslim
• Kharajiah land-if cultivated by non-Muslim (kaffir zimmi)
2. Land owned by people who had converted to Islam
• Shafie school-Usyriah land
• Hanafi school- depend on the Khalifah-if declared as usyriah land
can convert to kharajiah land later-if declared as kharajiah land-
can not convert to usyriah land

16. 3. Land acquired from non-Muslim through war
• Shafie-usyriah land-part of ghanimah
• Malik-kharajiyah land-considered as waqaf to all
Muslims
• Hanafi-Khalifah will deciide whether khsrsjish or usyriah
4. Land acquired from non-Muslim through sulh
• Kharajiah land-divided into 2 :
– Land that was left by its owner without engaging into a war-
become waqaf land-imposed kharaj-can not be sold;
– Land that was remained with its original owner and they
entered into a peace agreement-imposed kharaj

17. • Abu Yusof
1. Usyriah land- all lands in Arab Peninsular.
2. The person who converts into Islam and the land is
owned by them for example, the land in Madinah and
Yaman, they did not have to pay jizyah.
3. When imam or khalifah divide non-arab land to the
army, it is usyriah land.
4. Kharajiah land- not owned by Arab. It is opened by
Islamic government. Then, the non-arab asked
permission to cultivate the land.
5. There is no division as ghanimah property on the
kharajiah land and no tax will be imposed.
6. Furthermore, non-arab land is the agreement with
Muslims to pay the kharaj on the kharajiah land. It is
compulsory to pay kharaj by agreement.

18. • According to Hanafi-2 types of kharaj:
1) Kharaj muqasasamah
– Certain rate imposed depend on the product
– ½,1/3, ¼,1/5
– Every agriculture season
2) Kharaj wazifah (muwazzaf)
– Depend on the area of the land or type of crops
planted on the land
– Collected once a year

19. 2.1 FACTORS DETERMINING AMOUNT OF
KHARAJ
2.1.1 QUALITY OF THE LAND
• Exemption of Kharaj-circumtances
• Crops destroyed due to natural disasters eg :
flood, fire,landslide –no kharaj
• If the land can still produce products in the
same year-kharaj
• Crops destroyed due to failure to take
necessary protection-still need to pay kharaj

20. • Building erected on kharaj land :
– Al-Mawardi: Kharaj imposed but still can derived
benefit from the house, building.
– Abu Hanifah: No kharaj except if planted with
crops
• Land leased or loaned to someone else
– Kharaj on the landowner
– Abu Hanifah: If the land was leased kharaj on land
owner
– Loaned: kharaj on the borrower

21. 2.1.2 TYPES OF PLANT PLANTED
• Zakat
– Imam Syafie-kharajiah land planted with zakatable
crops-imposed both kharaj and usyr.
– Imam Hanafi-kharaj only
• Status of Land
– Imam Syafie- status of the land unconvertible
– Imam Hanafi-convertible

22. 2.1.3 WATERING SYSTEM
– Imam Shafie: If kharajiah land used water from
usyriah land-kharaj
– If usyriah land used water from kharajiah-usyr
– Based on types of land
– Imam Hanafi: If kharajiah land used water from
usyriah land-usyr
– If usyriah land used water from kharajiah land-
kharaj

23. 2.2 DYNAMISM IN THE POLICY AND THE RATIONALE
FOR SETTING THE RATE OF AL-KHARAJ
1. The reduction in the tax rate policy
• Caliph ‘Umar reduced the rate of kharaj from 27 dirham
to 1 dirham for every jarib land per qafiz of wheat or
barley or its equivalent, regardless whether the land
was used or unused but it is watered annually.
2. It must affordable and bearable to the land owner
• Caliph ‘Umar al-Khattab sets a standard amount of
money or a certain quantity of grain.
3. Adjustment in type of tax to avoid it from becomes a
burden
• The fixed rate tax which is al-wazifah or al-misahah
were too heavy to the land owner.

24. 3.0 The Function of al-Kharaj
• 3.1 As an official government document.
- there were twenty one known separate writings on
kharāj; written throughout the rule of the early Caliphs.
- Only three of them exist either in manuscript or
original document form till today.
- The three books are “Kitāb al-Kharāj” by Abu Yusuf,
“Kitāb al-Kharāj” by Yahya b. Adam and “Kitāb al-
Kharāj” by Qudamah b. Ja’far.
- They are now the main sources of reference for Islamic
taxation. These books have also been recompiled and
even translated into various languages as they are
referred to by academics all over the world.

25. • 3.2 Used To Mean Ministry of Finance and
Revenue From Tax
- Diwan al-Kharaj or Ministry of Finance are the
name used to present the ministry that in charge of
finance or taxation
- These bureau were assigned with evaluating,
collecting and surrendering tax revenue to Diwan
Bayt al-mal.
- The function of ministry is to make all forms of
payments at the regions, and salary for
government officers, soldiers, public works
expenses, including all other government
expenses.

26. • 3.3 Al-Kharaj Is Used In More Than One Sense
- 3.3.1 The Word al-Kharāj is Used to Mean Taxes in General
Muslim writers used the term according to its
original meaning in general to refer to all forms of
taxes.
Yahya b. Adam often used it to mean ‘land tax’.
He also used it to mean taxes in general.
Abu Yusuf, Abu ‘Ubayd, Qudāmah, Khatib and
Yahya also used ‘tasq’, ‘‘usyr, ‘jizya’ and ‘kharāj’ to
mean the same thing.
According to Muhammad Diya’ al-Din alRais the
word al-kharāj has two meanings; a general and a
specific meaning. Al-Kharāj in general terms
refers to public property or government revenue.

27. - 3.3.2 Al-Kharāj As Land Tax
Al-Kharaj is a tax imposed on the owner of a
piece of land that had been conquered by Muslim
soldiers in a war or peacefully.
Caliph ‘Umar’s rule, there were two categories of
conquered land: land with owners and land
without owners.
Land with owners : The former refers to land that
was owned by someone and the owner have
surrendered to the soldiers; while the latter
refers to land where the owners have absconded
or was killed during the war.
Both types of land are considered kharaj land and
are taxed, unless if the owner becomes a Muslim,
then zakat is imposed

28. Land without owner : They remain kharaj land
eventhough the person who manages the land
is a Muslim.
It was customary then for land without
owners to be managed by the local residents
since they were skilled farmers compared to
the Arabs.
However, where general administration like
work division, setting of rate of tax and the
distribution was concerned, these still reside
in the hands of the Arab army generals.

29. • As for unowned or abandoned lands, Caliph ‘Umar
instructed that these land cannot be sold off or
divided,instead should collectively belong to all
Muslims.
• Initially the tax was imposed on land owned by
non-Muslims, but when the majority of the society
submit to the new ruler and the people embraced
Islam, the government then began to impose it on
all the people.
• In other words, all land owners were subject to al-
kharāj. According to Muhammad Diya’ al-Din al-
Rais this went on until a point when the meaning of
al-kharāj evolved to mean land tax exclusively.

30. - 3.3.3 Al-Kharaj as rent
Calliph ‘Umar’s implementation of al-kharaj had
set a fixed rate, which means something was like
rental.
For that purpose, Caliph ‘Umar rented land for
one dirham and one qafiz per jarib annually. That
does not include the farms and date orchards. He
did not impose taxes on trees.
Ziaul Haque commented kharaj means lease,
rental, revenue or product (ghallah) : the Arabs
refer to products of land, house or slaves as
kharāj in the sense of income. In a hadith this was
referred to as income that is accompanied by
responsibility.

31. • Current Practise – Quit Rent
- Section 5 NLC-Definition of land revenue-every
sum now due , or which shall thereafter become
due , to the State authority on account of any
premium or rent payable in respect of alienated
land, or under any licence or permit relating to
land, and fees of any kind…………chargeable
under this Act or any previous land law

32. • Rent includes :
– Any annual sum payable to the State authority by
way of rent;
– Any other annual pay payment due to the State
authority which by any written law is to be
collected as if it were rent or land revenue;
– Any fee due to State authority in respect of arrears
of rent by virtue of rules under section 14.

33. • 10th schedule of Federal Constitution-tax is
one of the state financial source
• Section 14 NLC-general provision on tax
• Tax differs according to types, category and
area
• Paid annually-due very June