Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma

Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma (Rulings Pertaining to Protected Non-Muslim Subjects) is a comprehensive legal treatise on the jurisprudence governing non-Muslim citizens residing under Islamic rule, authored by the Hanbali scholar Ibn al-Qayyim (691–751 AH / 1292–1350 CE) Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.

Background and Title

The treatise originated as a detailed legal response to an inquiry addressed to Ibn al-Qayyim concerning the poll tax (jizya), including the reason for its establishment, its modality, and its exact rates Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma. In answering the query, Ibn al-Qayyim expanded the scope to cover the full spectrum of legal, social, and commercial rulings concerning non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis) Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.

In his work Shifa' al-'Alil, Ibn al-Qayyim referred to the text as Ahkam Ahl al-Milal (Rulings Pertaining to the People of Religious Communities), a title that reflects its discussions on non-Muslim communities generally, such as the fate of their deceased children in the hereafter Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma. Ibn Rajab similarly recorded it in his biographical notices as a two-volume work under a slightly corrupted title, Kitab Ikhtilaf Ahl al-Milal Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma. However, it became widely known among later scholars by the specific title Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.

Contents and Structure

The book opens with an extensive examination of the jizya, analyzing who is subject to it, exemptions (such as for women, the destitute, the insane, and chronically ill), and its collection Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1. Ibn al-Qayyim then addresses related legal issues:

• Etiquette and social interactions, including greeting non-Muslims, visiting their sick, attending their funerals, and offering condolences or congratulations Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• The prohibition of appointing non-Muslims to governmental and administrative positions over Muslims Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• Commercial dealings, slaughtered meat, endowments (awqaf), marital laws, dower, valid and invalid contracts, and inheritance Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• The legal status of non-Muslim children both in this life and the hereafter Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.

The latter part of the work is dedicated to an extensive commentary on the Pact of Umar (al-Shurut al-'Umariyya), divided into six principal sections:

1. Houses of worship, categorizing lands into newly founded Muslim cities (such as Basra, Kufa, and Cairo), lands conquered by force, and lands conquered by peaceful treaty Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.
2. The prohibition of public displays of forbidden actions and symbols Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
3. Dress codes, distinctions in clothing, and modes of transport (al-ghiyar) Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
4. Business partnerships and trade relations with Muslims Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
5. The obligation to host traveling Muslims passing through their localities Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
6. Actions that harm Muslims, actions that nullify the covenant of protection, and legal rulings on blasphemy against the Prophet ﷺ Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.

Sources and Methodology

Ibn al-Qayyim relied on extensive primary legal and traditionist literature across the four Sunni legal schools. Key sources include:

• Abu Bakr al-Khallal's Kitab Ahl al-Milal wa-l-Ridda from his encyclopedic collection al-Jami' for reports and narrations from Ahmad ibn Hanbal Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• Ibn Qudama's al-Mughni, alongside works by al-Qadi Abu Ya'la and Ibn Hamdan for Hanbali juristic opinions Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• Legal texts of other schools, such as al-Muzani's al-Mukhtasar, al-Juwayni's Nihayat al-Matlab, and al-Nawawi's Rawdat al-Talibin for Shafi'i jurisprudence, and Ibn Shas's 'Iqd al-Jawahir al-Thamina for Maliki jurisprudence Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.
• Hadith commentaries and legal Hadith compendia by Ibn Abd al-Barr (al-Istidhkar and al-Tamhid), al-Lalaka'i (Sharh Kitab 'Umar ibn al-Khattab), and Abu al-Shaykh al-Asbahani (Shurut 'Umar) Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.
• The treatises of his teacher Ibn Taymiyya, incorporating arguments from al-Sarim al-Maslul, Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim, and Dar' Ta'arud al-'Aql wa-l-Naql while expanding upon them Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.
• Non-legal treatises, such as al-Shahrastani's al-Milal wa-l-Nihal for information on the Sabians Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.

Reception and Editions

The treatise was heavily drawn upon by contemporary and subsequent jurists. Shams al-Din Ibn al-Naqqash (d. 763 AH) incorporated substantial sections from it into his treatise al-Madhimma fi Isti'mal Ahl al-Dhimma Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1. Later Hanbali scholars frequently cited it in standard reference manuals, including al-Jurra'i in Tuhfat al-Raki' wa-l-Sajid, al-Mardawi in al-Insaf, al-Hijjawi in al-Iqna', al-Buhuti in Kashshaf al-Qina', and Mustafa al-Ruhaybani in Matalib Uli al-Nuha Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma+1.

The book has been published in several modern scholarly editions:

• An edition prepared by Subhi al-Salih, published by Damascus University Press in two volumes (1381 AH / 1961 CE) and later reprinted by Dar al-Ilm lil-Malayin in Beirut (1401 AH / 1981 CE) Kashf al-Niqab an Muallaf…+1. Subhi al-Salih also published an abridged extract entitled Sharh al-Shurut al-'Umariyya in 1391 AH Takmilat Mujam al-Muallif….
• An edition edited by Yusuf Ali Badiwi, published by Dar Ibn Kathir in Damascus (1414 AH / 1993 CE) Daf Dawwa al-Muarid al-Aq….
• An edition edited by Yusuf Ahmad al-Bakri and Shakir Tawfiq al-Arouri (Ramadi lil-Nashr / Dar Ibn Hazm, 1418 AH / 1997 CE) Mawsuat Bayt al-Maqdis wa….
• An edition prepared by Muhammad Ajmal al-Islahi and Sulayman ibn Abd Allah al-'Umayr under the supervision of Bakr Abu Zayd, published by Dar 'Ata'at al-Ilm and Dar Ibn Hazm Ahkam Ahl al-Dhimma.