what is jizya tax

Jizya tax is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law. It is a tax paid by non-Muslim populations to their Muslim rulers. Historically, the jizya tax has been understood in Islam as a fee for protection provided by the Muslim ruler to non-Muslims, for the exemption from military service for non-Muslims, for the permission to practice a non-Muslim faith with some communal autonomy in a Muslim state, and as material proof of the non-Muslims submission to the Muslim state and its laws. The jizya tax was imposed on non-Muslims who lived under Muslim rule according to the Quran and hadith. The tax was mandatory, and failure to pay it could result in imprisonment, loss of property, or death. The payer of the tax must do it in person before a Muslim official, and they must be physically humiliated during the act.