1687 - Issue: He [the author] said: "The jizya is not accepted except from a Jew, a Christian, or a Magian [Zoroastrian], provided they are abiding by what they were covenanted upon."
The general categorization is that those from whom the jizya is accepted are of two categories: the People of the Scripture, and those who have a resemblance to the People of the Scripture. The People of the Scripture are the Jews, the Christians, and those who profess their religion, such as the Samaritans (2), who profess the Torah and act according to the Shari'ah of Moses [peace be upon him] (3), even though they differed from them in the branches of their religion. Also, the sects of the Christians, such as the Jacobites (4), the Nestorians (5), the Melkites (6), the Franks (7), the Romans, the Armenians, and others who profess the Gospel and attribute themselves to Jesus [peace be upon him] (3) and to acting according to his Shari'ah; all of them are from the People of the Gospel. Anyone other than these from among the disbelievers is not of the People of the Scripture, based on the saying of Allah the Almighty: "Lest you say, 'The Scripture was only sent down to two groups before us'" (8). The scholars of knowledge differed regarding the Sabians (9). It is narrated from Ahmad that they are a type of Christian. In another position, he said: "It reached me that they observe the Sabbath; thus, if they observe the Sabbath (10), they are from the Jews." It is narrated from Umar that he...
(1) In (A): "for them". (2) The Samaritans: A people residing in the mountains of Jerusalem and villages under the administration of Egypt; they are more ascetic regarding ritual purity than the asceticism of other Jews. Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/514, 515. (3) Omitted from: The original, (A), (B). (4) The Jacobites: Followers of Ya'qub ibn 'Ali, who asserted the three hypostases [trinity], though they claimed: "The Word became flesh and blood; thus, the Divine became Christ, and He is the one who appeared in His body, rather, He is He." Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/541. (5) The Nestorians: Followers of Nestor the Sage, who appeared during the time of al-Ma'mun. He exercised his own opinion in interpreting the Gospels and said: "Allah the Almighty is One, possessing three hypostases: Existence, Knowledge, and Life." Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/535. (6) Thus in the manuscripts. In Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 1/529: "The Melkites: Followers of Melka, who appeared in the land of the Romans and took control of it. They said: 'The Word united with the body of Christ and clothed itself in His humanity.' They mean by 'the Word' the hypostasis of Knowledge, and by 'the Holy Spirit' the hypostasis of Life." (7) In (M): "And the Franks". (8) Surah al-An'am: 156. (9) Al-Shahrastani said: "The pivot of the Sabian doctrine is the devotion to spiritual beings. They claim that their doctrine is based on acquisition, while the Hanifs claim that their doctrine is based on natural disposition [fitrah]." Al-Milal wa al-Nihal 2/669, 670. (10) In (M): "observe the Sabbath [tasbitun]."
