Question

The jizya was ____.
A) a customs duty tax
B) Tax on silk products
C) Tax on non-muslims
D) Tax on salt

Answer 1

Hint: Jizya, also known as jizyah, is yearly taxation imposed in the form of a financial fee on permanent non-Muslim subjects of an Islamic state. Single, free, sane males in the dhimma community were required to pay the jizya, while women, infants, the elderly, handicapped, the sick, the mad, monks, hermits, slaves, and sustains—non-Muslim foreigners who only temporarily reside in Muslim lands—were excluded.

Complete answer:
The jizya tax has traditionally been interpreted in Islam as a charge for the Muslim ruler's defence of non-Muslims, for non-Muslims' exemption from military service, for the permission to exercise a non-Muslim faith with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state, and as material proof of non-Muslims' obedience to the Muslim state and its laws.

Now, let us look at the given options:
A) a customs duty tax: This option is incorrect because jizyah was not a customs duty tax, rather it was a tax imposed on non-Muslims under Islamic law.
B) Tax on silk products: This option is incorrect because jizyah was not the tax on silk products. This tax was charged by Islamic law by the Non-Muslims.
C) Tax on non-Muslims: This is the correct option. Jizya is a kind of tax imposed by Muslim rulers on certain permanent non-Muslim residents of Muslim territory for their security under Islamic law. And the tax was set by determining the people's ability to pay. The poor would not pay the same tax as the wealthy.
D) Tax on salt: This option is incorrect because jizyah was a tax imposed on Hindus and Non-Muslims. Also, the tax on salt was imposed by the British government under the India Salt Act 1882.

Thus, the correct answer is Option C.

Note:
- The jizya was abolished in 1579 by Akbar, the third Mughal emperor.
- Many Hindu rulers and Mughal court officials were outraged when Aurangzeb decided to re-impose jizya on non-Muslim subjects in lieu of military service in 1679.