Anas ibn Malik sent me to the tithes (ushur), and I said: "You are sending me to the tithes from among all your agents?" He said: "Are you not content that I should place you in the same position that Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, placed me? He commanded me to take from the Muslims a quarter of the tithe, and from the People of the Dhimma half of the tithe (6)." This was in Iraq. Abu Ubayd recorded in the book "al-Amwal" (7), with his chain of narration from Lahiq ibn Humayd, that Umar sent Uthman ibn Hunayf to Kufa, and he imposed upon the People of the Dhimma on their wealth with which they conduct trade, one dirham for every twenty dirhams. We have previously mentioned the hadith of Ziyad ibn Hudayr (8), that Umar commanded him to take from the Christians of Banu Taghlib the tithe, and from the Christians of the People of the Scripture half of the tithe. This was in Iraq, and these stories became famous and were not denied, so they constituted consensus (ijma'), and the Caliphs after him acted upon it. No specification of the Hijaz for the half-tithe has come down in any of the hadiths that we are aware of, neither from Umar nor from (9) anyone else among the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Rather, the apparent meaning of their hadiths is that this applies outside of the Hijaz. Whatever wealth is obligated in the Hijaz is also obligated elsewhere, such as debts and alms (sadaqat).

Section: Nothing is to be taken from them (9) in the year except once. Ahmad stated this textually in the narration of a group of his companions. He said: It was narrated from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, from Umar, when he wrote that he should not take in the year except once, that he should take from the Dhimmi half of the tithe. This is the opinion of al-Shafi'i regarding those who enter the land of the Hijaz. Imam Ahmad recorded with his chain of narration: A Christian elder (10) came to Umar and said: "Your agent has levied the tithe on me twice in the year." He said: "Who are you?" He said: "I am the Christian elder." Umar said: "And I am the Hanif (monotheistic) elder." Then he wrote to his agent: "Do not levy the tithe (11) in the year except once (12)."