a fetwa on the appointment of dhimmis to office
TRANSCRIPT
203
A Fetwa on the Appointment of Dhimmis to office.
By Richard Gottheil.
In the Rcvtic des Etudes Juives, vol. XXVIII, p. 75
Goldziher has discussed the employment by Mohammedan
rulers of Jews and Christians in high offices of state, and
has given the text of a short ruling on the subject by a
Shafi'ite theologian of tlie thirteenth century, Yahyä al-Na-
wawT. The extensive fetwa of Ibn Nakkäsh published by
Belin in 185 1,') also deals with this subject. As it is one
of interest, showing the relation of Mohammedanism to it's
sister faiths, I venture to return to it in the following pages.
During the winter of 1909—10, while cataloguing the
Arabic manuscripts in the Kutainah Library at Jerusalem,
I came across a fetwa on the same subject, the text of which
I give below. It is found on p. 45 a of Ms. 268, a small
quarto volume that contains in addition the (»'yJ' i—jLäJ'
|.ikXJI \J^XjCi^_ Uaj by Abü 'Ali 'Umar ibn Muham¬
mad ibn Khalil al-Ishbili. The fetwa itself bears the title:
ijHS--^' 4X4^^ ijsd^S (J^l JU*Xwl "The Employ¬
ment of Dhimmis, by Ahmad ibn al-Husain al-Mäliki."
I have not been able to find the author mentioned in any
of the biographies or histories at my command. It is, conse¬
quently, impossible to fix the time at which the event oc¬
curred which called forth the decision. The latest authority
i) jfournal Asiatique 1851, p. 431.
204 R. Gottheil
tncntioncd is al-Turtüshi, who died in 520 AH (1126 AD). ')
That it is not all too modern, I should like to infer from
the mention of the old Persian gentry, the Dihkäns.")
The passages froin the Koran, which served as a basis
for the later Hadith are mentioned in the accompanj'ing
Fetwa. The idea underlying the gathering and the invention
of such sayings was the unwillingness to see a non-believer
in a position of authority over the; believers. Al-Shafi'i is
said to have laid down the strict rule: "Neither cadi nor
wall should appoint a Dhimmi as scribe." 3) But, as is usual
in such cases, necessity got the better of theor}^ This was
true, not only during the earlier days — tlie formative
period — of the Mohammedan state, but even in later times
and under the 'Abbasid Caliphs, when the influence of the
theologians was particularl}^ strong. Ibn al-Furat, the vizier
of the Caliph al-Muktadir (295—320 AH), defends himself,
when charged with having appointed non-Mohammedans to
office, by citing the instances of al-Näsir li-din Alläh who
placed a Christian, Isrä'il, over the army, and of al-Mu tadid
Billäh who had a Christian as secretary, *) Malik ibn al-Walid.
According so some authorities, one of the viziers of al-
Mutamid and al-Muwaffak (ca. 256 AH) was 'Abdün ibn
Sa'id, also a Christian. 5)
1) The author of the Siräj al-Multik, Ibn Khiillikfin, Wafayat (Büläk
1310), I, 479; Ibn Bashkuwäl, Kitäb al-Sillah (Madrid 1883), p. 518.
2) NÖLDEKE, Geschichte der Sassaniden p. 440; ZDMG LX, 32.
3) Ljyöii Loli' tXiVj Jl^ uöLäJ (^äaäj y
(J^Xj i^^-k+i-ktk+JI Ja yuy LtXuMC L*^^ t5*'^'''
Cited fiom the Kit."ib al-Umni by al-KalkashandT, Subh al-/{shä ]). 40, where
otlier o])inions will be found.
4) H. F. Amedroz, The Historical Remains of Hiläl al-Säbi (Leyden1904), p. 95.
5) Yäküt, Irshäd al-Arib (Ed. Margoliouth) II, 259; but the text is
not plam, the Vizier may be Sa'id (ihn Makhlad), who is said to have been
A Fetwa on the A))pointnient of Dhimmis to office. 205
It was especially in Egypt and under the Fatimides
that the rule was honoured in the breach. Al-Kalkashandi
saj^s expressly: "Under their rule, many most excellent and
efficient secretaries had charge of the Diwän al-Inshä, both
Mohammedans and Dhimmis." ') Al-Aziz Billäh had a Chri¬
stian as governor of one of the provinces, Isä ibn Nestor;
one of his deputies in Syria was a Jew named Menasseh;
but he was coinpelled afterwards to put both of them to
death.") Under al-Hafiz, there was a Christian Vizier, Bah-
räm the Armenian 3) (529 AH); and the chief factor of the
Vizier al-Afdal was a Jew. When al-Afdal was forced to
dismiss him, his place was taken by a Christian.*) A little
later, a Jew named Abul-Munajjah ibn Sha'yali was at the
head of the Department of Agriculture, a canal that he had
constructed being named after him. 5)
Some excuse was necessary for these contraventions.
The great authority on the theorj^ of Mohammedan institu¬
tions, al-Mawardi (5"' cent. AH) makes a fine distinction in
order partially to overcome this difference between theory
a Christian before he took office (ibn KlialUkän, ed. Bülrdj I, 505). Neither
TaliarT (HI, 1930 etc.) nor Ibn al-AthIr (VII, 293, 294) say anything of hishaving lieen a Cliristian. The latter mentions 'Alxlün as his brother. Yäküt
(loc. laud. \i. 247) mentions a certain al-Muhadhdhab ibn Abil-MalTh, a Chri¬stian, as tlie head of the "Bureau of Fiefs".
i) k_jUX3t J..0UI iicL+i. [V^ÄÄ j>L-ijbil (j'^Ji^ lij^
Cited from the /)a7i al-Subh of .al-Kalkashandi by 'All Bahgat in his Edition
of al-Sairafi's Känün Diwän al-Inshä (Cairo 1905) p. 13. Even under the
TiUunid Khumärawaih ibn Ahmad (270—280 AH), a Christian scribe Ishäk ibn
2) Abul-Mahasin, al-NuJutn al-Zahirah (ed. Poi'per) II 2, p. 4; Cari.yi.e,
Maured Allatafet p. 4; Ibn lyäs, Ta'rikh Mi^r I 48.
3) Khital (Cairo 1324) II 172. Under the s,ame al-Häfiz (524—544) we
hear of a scribe "Ibn abil-Dam the Jew"; al-Sairafi, loc. laud. p. 13.
4) JQR IX 29; X 430; ZDMG IJ 444.
5) Jewish Encyclopedia V 62.
Nasr ,al-'riiadi is mentioned; al-Kalkashandi, Szibh al-Ashä I 59.
2o6 R. Gottheil
and practice. Not only the viziership, but other high offices
also, carry with them full powers or special powers. In the
first case, none but a Moslem can be appointed; in the se¬
cond, tlie holder may be a Dhimmi.') The extremists, how¬
ever, have gone further and have foisted upon the Caliph
Omar ibn al-Khattäb a tradition tending to explain their
own more intolerant view: "Do not give office to either a
Jew or a Christian, because they are accustomed to accept
bribes, and bribes are unlawful in Islam."") The historical
works of the Mohammedans themselves offer a strange com¬
mentary to this statement.
The question put to Ahmad ibn Husain covers a pretty
wide field: Can Christians and Jews be appointed as official
scribes, tax-gatherers and as executive officers in general?
What is one to think of a Moslem who appoints a Dhimmi
to gatter the poll-tax, or to take charge of an inheritance
and the like? His duties might lead him into a mosque;
he might have to imprison a Moslem or use violence against
him; even behave in a lordly fashion in the Mosque itself. 3)
And, finally, is one who occupies such a position and is not
a Moslem to be allowed to dress and comport himself as
if he were?
Ahmad ibn al-Husain is in no uncertainty as regards
his answer. To place an infidel in authority over a Moslem
would never enter the mind of one who had "a sound heart".
He who does so must be either a godless fellow or be ig¬
norant of Moslem law and practice. He attempts to prove
1) Maverdti Conslituliones Politicae, ed. Enoer, pp. 33, 17 et seq., 43, 12,
and the two passages (351, 12; 361,4) mentioned by Goi.d/.iher, loc. laud.
In regaid to the wildyah, see ibid. p. 53, last line.
2) 1*4-1^0 ^j Liyi (j^AÄj |V.g.jU i^^L^^JI^ ^^y^ ^
L^yi äJJI (j Jk2^ ilj Al-Tmtüshl, Siräj al-Mulük p. Ii8; al-Absliihi, Kitäb al-Mustafraf I 93, 10.
3) Cfr. the stoiy about the Christian scribe of Aim Müsa al-Ash'ail,
SirZij al-MulTik p. 1 18.
A B'ctwa on Uic Ap])ointmcnt of Dhimmis to offico. 207
that a Dhimmi is not even to be used as a scribe, a money¬
changer or a butcher etc.; citing passages from the Koran,
from traditions emanating from the ''companions" and the
"followers", as well as from learned men in preceding
generations. The verses cited from the Koran are IV 143,
140; V 56, 62. From the Iladith a story is told how Mo¬
hammed refused the aid of an unbeliever until he had con¬
fessed his belief in the new faith. A further Hadith is cited :
"Do not obtain light from the fire of idolaters", with the
usual explanation "Do not consult them on any point", ci¬
ting in support of this Koran III, 11 4. The story is told
of Aba Bakr, how be ordered his followers not to have
dealings with idolaters who had become Moslems but had
returned to their idolatr}^ He cites the command of Omar
to his Viceroys not to employ a non-Moslem Kätib, in view
of the fact that the prophet had neither commanded nor
allowed such an appointment to be made ; as well as a simi¬
lar command of the same Caliph to Abu Hurairah "Remove
the idolaters, disavow their deeds, and do not ask help from
any idolater in an affair of a Moslem".') No non-Moslem
was employed in the time of the prophet, nor in that of the
Caliphs. In the time of 'Abd al-Malik the Diwän of 'Irak
was put in charge of a Moslem, the Christians were dis¬
carded, dinars and dirhams were minted in Arabic. Ahmad
ibn al-Husain carries his historical survey down to the time
of al-Muktadir (295 AH). The Dhimmis are bound by their
pact; therefore, it is the dut}' of a Moslem to remove all
unbelievers from service in the Diwäns; especially, if they
oppress believers in any manner. In a general way, he cites
the old rule that it is proper to put the best man in any
office which is to be filled. He who does not do this,
"betrays Allah, his messenger and the Moslems". Lastl}^
if the Dhimmi in question has betrayed his trust and has
taken anything from the Moslems unlawfully, it is to be
returned to its owner or to his heirs. If the owner is un¬
known, it is to go to the Bait al-Mal.
l) Cfr. Snblf al-A'shä, p. 35.
208 R. Gottheil
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A Fetwa on the A]>pointnient of Dlihnmis to offiee. 209
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l) Ms. ^jjO. 2) ATira« IV, 143. 3) ib. IV, 140. 4) ib. V, 56.
5) ib. V, 62.
Zeitschrift f. Assyrioloj^in, XXVI. I4
2 IO R. GotUicil
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2) &'/-ä/' ^jl. 3) ib. ^iKj. 4) i^'l^^j-
5) Prob.-ibly .il-Has.in al-Basrl, i. c. al-Hasan ibn Abil-ljasan Yasär, died
IIO AH. .See references in Yälait, Mii'jani VI, 379.
6) Ms. LjkJW.
7) Koran III, 114.
A Kolwa on llic A]ipoinlnienl of Dliinimis to office. 2 I 1
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1) Abu Sa'Jd Sa'd ibn Mälik ibn .Sinän al-KliudiT; see Dahslia, Tnhfah
p. 153; al-Khazrajl, Khuläsah p. 115.
2) The Ms. in not clear here. After Lxi^ there are the letters |fbl|jS*i!
H"
212 R. Ciottheil
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1) .il-MakrizI, al-Niiküd al-lslämiyyah (Const. 1298) p. 6.2) So Ms.! 3) Ms. unrcad.-ible !
4) Cfr. the writings cited by Goldziher, loc. land. |i. 93, note 0.
5) I. c. the so-called "Pact of Oni.ir".
A Fetwa on the Ap|iciintnient of f)hiniinis to office. -1.1
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2) Cfr. Aa«a al-Ummal HI, 203 (No. 3110): ikjoLc (_LjliLwl
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alläh Muhammad ibn 'Abdallah, called al-IJakim al-Nlsäbürl; Ibn Khallikän,
Wafayat (Ed. Büläk) 1, 484; KhäjT Khallfah V, 521; Goldziher, Muham¬
medanische Studien II, 273; BROCKELMANN, Geschichte I, 166.
4) Cfr. Kanz al-Ummäl III, 196 (No. 2877): ^je bL*-^ Jl^JiXauI jJ,X>
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215
Ibrähim b. Adham.
By Reynold A. Nicholson.
Ibrähim b. Adham (Abü Ishäq) b. Mansür') b. Yazid b.
Jäbir al-Tamimi al-Ijh belonged to a noble famil)' of Balkh
in Khuräsän. Adham, who is described as a rich and pious
man, made the pilgrimage to Mecca with his wife, and Ibra¬
him was born in the holy city.') His father, it is said, took
him up in his arms and followed the devotees and ascetics
who were circumambulating the Ka'ba, and asked them to
pray for the child. "Evidently", adds the biographer, "some
of these prayers were granted". The story bears a legendary
stamp, and we may doubt whether Mecca was really Ibrahim's
birthplace. It seems more probable that he first saw the
light in the far east of Irän, in the province of Balkh, the
ancient Bactria (Ibn al-Athir VI 38, 1 6). His sister was the
mother of the poet Muhammad b. Kunäsa of Küfa, who
died in 207 AH {Aghänf XII 111,7; lb" al-Athir VI 272, 20).
In what 3^ear Ibrähim himself died is uncertain: the dates
given range from 160 to 166 AH. His nephew, Muhammad
b. Kunäsa, composed the following verses on this occasion :'3)
"I see thou art not content with what exceeds sufficiency.
But Ibn Adham was content with less than enough.
He regarded the much of this world as little,
For he held in awe the command of God concerning it
1) According to Nafalyäl al-Uns, "li. Sul.iyniän 1). Mansür".
2) IJilyat al-Awliyd, l.eidcn MS., 1 183.
3) Aghini XII 113.