WERE CUSTOMS DUES LEVIED AT THE TIME OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD?

The levying of customs was common in pre-Islamic Arabia. They were usually levied in the annual fairs and in Mecca, where Muhammad's ancestor, Qusayy, repor(c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.es AQ. XXn, 2001 CUSTOM DUES AT THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD 43 tedly levied them from the non-Meccans entering Mecca. Muhammad continued this age-old practice, hence the phrase la yu 'sharüna wa-là yuhsharuna in his letters to certain parties. It exempted these parties from the payment of customs, while all the others

clear that kharàj meant rent paid for shops and temporary residences used by the merchants.^ The same is true of the Prophet's kharàj.In fact, it would not be farfetched to assume that the attribution of the prohibition to the Prophet was only meant as a post-factum criticism of Mu'awiya's practice, or even as a protest against Mu'àwiya during his very reign.(In any case, one must not rule out the possibility that the saying attributed to the Prophet reflected his practice with regard to the market of Medina.) Yet another Umayyad caHph connected to the market of Medina was the pious 'Umar II who reigned several decades after Mu'awiya's time and several years before Hisham's ascension to the throne.^As was often the case, his position (or alleged position) stood in sharp contrast to that of both his predecessors and his successors.Now 'Umar 11 is supposed to have written to the people of Medina that the market was a charitable endowment, and hence no rent (kirà') should be imposed on it.^^ He considered himself a rectifier of his predecessors' deviations from the Prophet's sunna; in the present context, i.e., with regard to Umayyad practice in the market of Medina, the unambiguous term kirà ' or rent is synonymous with the ambiguous term kharàj: the kirâ ' prohibited by 'Umar n was identical to the kharàj prohibited by Muhammad, whose conduct was to be followed by later rulers.Indeed caliph Hishàm is said to have levied kirà ' or rent from the merchants who used the shops and lodgings in the house which incorporated the market of Medina.^^ Further evidence that the kharàj prohibited by Muhanmiad meant rent is to be found in the attachment to it, probably as a gloss, of yet another synonymous term: the Prophet is said to have prohibited the levying of kharàj or ghalla.^^ As ^ Shops and residences are also mentioned with regard to the house later built in the market by Hishàm: wa-ja'ala li-dàri l-süq hawànïtfi asfalihà wa-'alàliyya tukrâ li-l-sakan; al-Samhudî, 752:-4.The singular form of 'alàVi is 'ulliyya, i.e., an upper chamber, or a chamber in the upper, or uppermost, story; Lane, E. V^., Arabic-English Lexicon, Cambridge, 1984 (reprinted in two vols.),s.v., 2147b.One expects to find there storerooms as well.Chalmeta, El «señor de zoco», 64 wonders whether the upper rooms were used as storehouses or as lodgings.
The term ghalla appears several times in the context of markets.The evidence quoted below happens to relate to 2nd/8th century Iraq, but this does not mean that the term was not used in this sense elsewhere; it merely reflects the state of the sources.Before turning to ghalla, let us examine another derivative of the same root, namely mustaghallàt: in the list of caliph al-Walîd b. ' Abd al-Malik's administrators we find his mawlà, Nufay' b.Dhu'ayb, who was in charge of the caliph's mustaghallàt in Damascus; i.e., he managed al-Walîd's income, probably in the form of rent from the caliph's private property.Indeed Nufay"s assignment was linked to at least one market: his name appeared in a plaque {lawh) found in the saddlers' market in Damascus.^^ The singular form of mustaghallàt is mustaghall: a resident of Damascus who belonged to the Qurashi clan Banü Jumah, 'Abdallah b. 'Amr b.Safwàn b.Umayya, received a grant from the Abbasids as a reward for disclosing the hiding places of certain Umayyads.*^ The details of this grant are to be found in another report: the Jumahï was given part of caliph Hisham b. 'Abd al-Malik's mustaghall.Again there is reference to a market, namely the market of pearl vendors.*^ Let us turn now to the term ghalla itself in the sense of rent.'Abdallah b. 'Awn (d.151/768), a rich mawlà ^'^ who was a merchant *^ and a prominent muhaddith, had a Christian agent {wakil) who used to levy the rent {ghalla) for him.'Abdallah Hved in the upper floor of the house, which was located in the market of Basra, while his tenants (sukkàn) lived in the ground floor.These tenants (one assumes that they were traders, just like their landlord) included ^^ Cf.Lane, E. W., Arabic-English Lexicon, s.v., 2278c. ^'^ Al-Jahshiyârî, Kitàb al-wuzarà' wa-l-kuttàb, éd. al-Saqqà, al-Abyàrî and Shalabî, Cairo, 1401/1980, 47. Duri, A. A., writes regarding the Umayyad period: «A diwàn al-mustaghallàt was established, apparently to administer government lands in cities, and buildings, especially shops rented to the people»; EP, s.v.Dîwàn.Cahen, C. L., defines the mustaghallàt as a «tax on real estate (other than agricultural land), such as baths, shops, water-mills, and caravanserais, etc.» (in early Qàjar times they were estimated at 20% of the annual profit); EP, s.v.Dariba.
'^ On the cooperation between 'Abdallah and Muhanmiad b.Smn in the former's hünüt see Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqàt, VU, 201.On the term hànut cf.Naji, A. J., and Ali, Y. N., «The suqs of Basrah: (c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.esboth Christians and Muslims.Ibn 'Awn used to say (perhaps apologetically, to justify his propinquity to Christians): «I would rather have Christians living under me than Muslims».*^ Elsewhere we find the precise location of the house in which he lived: it was not the one he owned in the market of perfumers ifi I-'atturïna) but the other one he owned, on sikkat al-mirbad or Market Street.^° Another example of ghalla in the sense of rent comes from Wasit where a ghalla was imposed on every shop.lyàs b.Mu'awiya ^* was in charge of the market of Wasit.Sa'îd al-Thaqafí used to sell names to the People of Sham (AM al-Shàm.i.e., the troops of the Syrian garrison stationed in Wasit; they are probably being mocked here).Whenever a baby was bom to one of them, he would come to Sa'id and the latter would ask: «A name of Arabs or a name of mawànl», then he would produce a sheet including names and sell a name to the Shàmî for two dirhams.This Sa'id had a shop in the market of socks sellers.A rent (ghalla) had to be paid for every shop in Wasit, ^^ so he asked lyas b.Mu'áwiya, who was in charge of the market of Wasit, for a reduction in his rent.However, the latter turned the request down, having gauged the shop's turnover.^^ The reports on the building of Baghdad in the early Abbasid period provide us with yet another case of ghalla in the sense of rent.Having built the new markets outside his Round City, caliph al-Mansùr imposed a ghalla or rent on the merchants according to their dhar\ i.e., power or ability, in other words, according to their means.When the population grew, some people built more shops at their own expense.Their rent was smaller than the one paid by those who used the government's buildings.^^ In sum, the kharàj prohibited by Muhammad in connection with his market in Medina was not Hnked to customs.Rather, being synonymous with kirà ' and ghalla, it meant rent.commercial organization and activity in a medieval Islamic city», JESHO 24 (1981), 298-309, at 301. ^^ Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqüt, Vn, 263-64: wa-kàna Baghdad, 1387/1967, 92-93 = reprint Beirut, 1406/1986, 84.For an entry on a Sa'îd's son, Mustalim, see al-Mizzî, Tahdhïb alkamàl, XXVn, 429-32.Obviously, the reduction was within the powers of the official put in charge of the market.
With the exception of 'Ukaz, ^^ customs were levied at the annual fairs which took place in different parts of Arabia.^^ In declaring his new market kharàj-froe, Muhammad was not following the practice in the fair of 'Ukaz, ^^ because as we have seen kharàj in this context meant rent, whereas 'Ukaz was tax-free in the sense that no customs were imposed in it.
Before discussing the fairs, let us start with the scantly evidence regarding Mecca before Islam and during the first Islamic century.Customs were probably levied from pilgrims carrying merchandise upon their entrance to the topography of Baghdad in the Middle Ages, Detroit, 1970, 185: «...subsequent to the development of al-KarWi, a special tax (ghallah and ujrah) was fixed, reportedly according to the size of the establishment».For the concept of taxation according to the taxpayer's ability, cf., the term tàqa in Kister, M. J., «The social and political implications of three traditions in the îQtab al-Kharádj of Yahya b.Adam», JESHO 3 (1960), 326-34, at 326-31;also idem, «'An yadin (Qur'in, 0(729): An attempt at interpretation», in Ara¿?íCfl 11 (1964), 272-78, at 278.On the markets of Baghdad see also Morony, M., «Commerce in early Islamic Iraq», Asien Afrika Lateinamerika 20 (1993), 699-720, at 707.
2^ See below, n. 54.^^ See already, Hussein, R, Das Steuersystem in Agypten von der arabischen Eroberung bis zur Machtergreifung der Tülüniden 19-254/639-868 mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Papyrusurkunden, Frankfurt and Bern 1982, 81.Hence there is no need to assume that the levying of customs in Islam was of foreign origin; cf Mitter, U., Das frUhislamische Patronat.Eine Untersuchung zur Rolle von fremden Elementen bei der Entwicklung des islamischen Rechts, unpublished PhD thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, 1999, 65.Becker, Papyri Schott-Reinhardt, I, 53 thought that the Muslims only adopted the customs duty after the conquests, but as we shall see customs dues were conmion in pre-Islamic Arabia.
^"^ Cf.Kister, «The market of the Prophet», 276, who said that «the principle to establish a new market without taxes may imply that the Prophet intended to adopt the practice of the market at 'Ukaz where taxes were not levied»; see also Chalmeta, El «señor de zoco», 64.2^ For Ibn Khaldùn, the levying of taxes (maghârim) from the pilgrims is among the phenomena heralding the decline of states; see his Muqaddima, ch.37, entitled: fi darbi l-mukus awàkhira î-dawla, «In the later (years) of dynasties, customs duties are levied»; Ibn Khaldün, The Muqaddimah^, tr. Rosenthal, R, Princeton, 1967, H, 91-92 (92: «Much of this sort happened in the Eastern cities during the later days of the 'Abbisid and 'Ubaydid(-Fàtimid) dynasties.Taxes were levied even upon pilgrims making the pilgrimage».Cf., Bosworth, C. E., «Abu 'AbdaUàh al-Khawârazmî on the technical terms of the secretary's art: a contribution to the administrative history of mediaeval Islam», JESHO 12 (1969), 113-64, at 132;reprinted in idem. Medieval Arabic Culture and Administration, London, 1982 (Variorum Reprints), n.° XV.
For the legal issue involved in the passage from Ibn Zanjawayh quoted above, namely the legitimacy of paying the zakàt to the central government, cf., Kister, M. J., «Social and religious concepts of authority in Islam», JSAI 18 (1994), 84-127, at 104-105; reprinted in idem.Concepts and Ideas at the Dawn of Islam, Aldershot 1997 (Variorum Collected Studies Series), n.° V; for a Hebrew translation see idem, Mehqarim be-hithawut ha-islam, 154-78, at 165.See also below, n. 90.
The editor of Ibn Zanjawayh significantly remarks that he could not find a parallel of this report.He also criticizes the isnàd which indicates his displeasure with the contents.3^ Al-Balàdhurî, Ansâb al-ashràf, IVi, 456: Muhammad made him the governor of al-Tà'if too.'Attab's taxation of its agricultural produce is specifically referred to: the Prophet instructed him that upon the appraisal of the produce of vines (i.e., in computing its quantity by conjecture), he should apply the same rules as those applied regarding the produce of the palm trees: ...an yakhrusa a 'nàb Thaqifka-kharsi l-nakhl.For other letters of 'Umar n to 'Abd al-'Azîz, see al-Fâkihî, Akhbàr Makka, ffl, 115-16, n> 1870;249, n.° 2062.38 Al-Fàsî (Taqî al-Dîn), al-'Iqdal-thamin, V, 133; al-Fâsî (Taqî al-Dïn), Shifà' al-gharàm biakhbàr al-balad al-haràm, Cairo, 1956, H, 165, 167;op. cit., éd. 'Umar 'Abd al-Salàm Tadmun, Beirut, 1405/1985, H, 257, 260.At some time (no doubt together with the governorship of Mecca) 'Abdallah b.KháMd was also the governor of al-Tà'if; see al-Balàdhurî, Ansàb al-ashràf MS Süleymanie Kütüphanesi (Reisülküttap Mustafa Efendi), 597/598, 1216a: in the entry on al-Hajjàj it is reported that he flogged and dragged on the ground a son of 'Abdallah b.Khâlid in retaliation for ' Abdallâh's flogging and dragging of an unspecified member of the Thaqîf when the former had been the governor of al-Tà'if.A passage from 'Umar b.Shabba's Kitàb Makka in Ibn Hajar, Isàba, IV, 72 shows 'Abdallah b.Khâlid interceding with caliph 'Uthmân for the release of owners of courts adjacent to the Ka'ba which were demolished in order to enlarge the mosque; they protested loudly and were arrested.
3^ Hussein, Das Steuersystem in Agypten, 82 remarks correctly: «Ob Umar H. diesen 'Usür bzw.Mukûs abgeschafít hat, ist zweifelhaft, denn es wird sogar berichtet, dap er emen Brief an seinen ZoUner in Agypten, namlich Zuraiq Ibn Ha5^àn, geschrieben haben soil, in dem er ihm befahl, wie er diese Abgabe eintreiben soil: Zuraiq soUte danach auch diese Steuer nur von den AM ad-Dinmia in Hohe von 5% ihrer Handelsgiiter eintreiben.Hierzu musse eine Quittung Barà'a ausgestellt werden».Morony, «Commerce in early Islamic Iraq», 708-709 believes that 'Umar II's abolition of tolls and market taxes was only temporary.Mecca and not at a seaport such as Ayla, or at a crossing point between Islamic regions such as Rafah, ^ it was collected on behalf of the central government."** It is worthy of note that the Umayyad family in question, at least three members of which were governors of Mecca during the first century of Islam, owned land at one of the boundaries of the Haram: the Shi 'b (road, water-course or pass between two mountains) called after the Banü 'Abdallah b.Khàlid b.Asid (scil.'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abdallah and his brothers), was located on the old Mecca-al-Ji'ràna (or al-Ji'rràna) road, on the boundary of the Haram.^^ One is tempted to assume that a customs post was located on their land, but there is no evidence to support this assumption."^^ While evidence on pre-Islamic (and early Islamic) Mecca is rare, we have relatively abundant evidence regarding the levying of customs dues in the fairs of pre-Islamic Arabia which were for the local potentates a major source of income.As one can expect, the following evidence mainly refers to the period immediately preceding the advent of Islam."^ Let us start with the fair of Dümat al-Jandal (or Duma) in the north.The recipient of the customs levied there varied according to the prevailing poHtical and mihtary conditions.The control of Duma was contested between the Sassanians and the Byzantines; the Arabian interests of the former were often connected to trade, "^^ and the same must have been true of the latter, although the evidence regarding them is relatively small.On the eve of Islam the two empires were competing -through their proxies-over the control of Duma's fair.Now the king of Duma, al-Ukaydir, ^ was of a subdivision of the Kinda called al-Sakün, When the former ruled over it, Ukaydir held sway, and when the latter did, it was Qunáfa al-Kalbï who held sway.^'^ It seems that Duma's fair took place within the town, which made it possible to collect the customs in a toll-house located at the town gate.It is reported that no merchant from Syria or Iraq could sell his merchandise at Duma without the king's permission, and no open trade took place before the king had sold his own goods, namely, everything he wanted to sell.In addition, the king had the right to the market's customs Çushûr)."^^ So on the one hand, the king's monopoly enabled him to sell his own merchandise at a high price and dictate the price to the others.On the other hand, he had the right to levy customs from the goods sold in the fair.
Customs were also levied at three of the other Arabian fairs.Being located along the western shores of the Persian Gulf, the three fairs were clearly within the Sassanian sphere of influence and were controlled by tribesmen loyal to the Sassanians.The fairs were no doubt protected by Sassanian garrisons, in addition to Arab auxiharies.Ibn Habib reports that the kings (or lords ' ^^) in the fair of al-Mushaqqar in Hajar were the Banü 'Abdallah b.Zayd of the Tamîm who were appointed by the kings of the Persians, on a par with the Banü Nasr (i.e., the Lakhmids) in al-ffira and the Banü al-Mustakbir in 'Uman.Their practice in this fair, Ibn Habib says, was similar to that of the kings of Duma and they would levy customs from the merchants.^^ In the fairs of Suhar and Dabâ further south along the coast customs were levied by al-Julanda b. al-Mustakbir.^^ In the fair of al-Shihr in Hadramawt no customs were levied since it did not belong to a kingdom.^^ In 'Adan there was direct Sassanian control: customs were levied there by the Abnâ', i.e., the descendants of the Sassanian troops who conquered the Yemen at the time of '^'^ Ibn Habib, Muhabbar, 263-64.Elsewhere Ukaydir is specifically said to have been in allegiance to Heraclius ifi ta'at Hiraql); al-Mas'üdí, al-Tanbïh wa-l-ishràf, éd.de Goeje, Leiden, 1894, 248.One assumes that in the turbulent decades preceding the advent of Islam Ukaydir's loyalty fluctuated between the rival empires.
'^^ Ibn Habib, Muhabbar, 64: wa-lam yabV bihà ahad [al-Marzûqî, Azmina, H, 161 adds: mina l-Shàm wa-là ahlu l-'Iràq] shay'an illa bi-idhnihi [al-Marzûqï adds: wa-lam yashtarifihà wa-lam yabi'] hattà yabVa l-malik kulla nia arada bay'ahu, ma'a ma yasilu ilayhi min 'ushûrihà n,   Khusro I Anûshirwân.However, the Abnà' «did not trade in their fairs» (/z aswàqihim).This formulation seems to indicate that the Abnà' refrained from trading in the fairs of the Arabs in general, not only in that of ' Adan.The customs of the fair of San'a' were also levied by the Abnà'.^^ As already mentioned, in the fair of 'Ukàz there were no customs.^^ In sum, customs were common in pre-Islamic Arabia.Among other places they were levied in the fairs along the Persian Gulf and in ' Adan (and of course in the seaports close to these fairs), in addition to San'à'.Customs dues were one aspect of the Sassanian involvement in Arabian trade on the eve of Islam.

CUSTOMS AT THE TIME OF MUHAMMAD
There is no need to assume that the levying of customs ceased upon the advent of Islam.As is well known, the Muslims took over the state apparatus of the two empires they had vanquished.The takeover actually began at the time of Muhammad: in Bahrayn, al-Mundhir b.Sàwà of the Banü 'Abdallah b.Zayd (who have just been mentioned in connection with the fair of al-Mushaqqar) embraced Islam and was made by the Prophet governor of Bahrayn, whereas under the Sassanians he had only been in charge of the Arab tribes of that region.^^ (There was also continuity with regard to the Sassanian governor in the Yemen, Bàdhàn/m, who belonged to the above-mentioned Abnà' ^^ and whose seat was naturally in San'à').The levying of customs at the seaports of Bahrayn Zayd who was nicknamed al-Asbadhî.The latter were «the allies» (al-ahlàf).
They made an alliance against their brother 'Udus, who in his turn joined forces with all his paternal uncles, i.e., the descendants of 'Abdallah b.Dárim.Tribal prestige and leadership were not evenly divided between the two divisions: 'Udus was the father of Zurara, whose descendants were the leading family of the Tamim (wa-fihi l-bayt).Zurara begot many famous descendants, including his renowned son, Hájib.^^ This division of the clan was expressed figuratively: 'Udus b.Zayd was «the house» (i.e., the leading family), and the ahlàf were «the angles of the house upon which it rested» (zawàfir, plural of zafira).^^ Al-Mundhir b.Sàwâ who belonged to the less prestigious division was in the service of the Sassanians and must have been a sedentary.Yet one assumes that he could rely on the military backing of his illustrious nomadic relatives.Before Islam, the levying of customs was not limited to the fairs but was also carried out on the main roads and in the markets which were located between the desert and the sown.Several such markets are mentioned with regard to the false prophet Musaylima.Before the beginning of his prophetic career, he learned various tricks and occult lore at markets located between the territories of the Arabs and those of the Persians (dur al-'arab wa-l-'ajam) such as Ubulla, Baqqa, al-Anbir and al-Hira.^^ Of some interest in the present context is the place called al-Fârisï which is now within the modem state of Kuwait.^^ It was a thamad or a water-place which dries up during the summer, belonging to the Banù 1-Hirmâz of the Tamïm.The following verse is said to relate to al-Fârisï or to another water-place (i.e., in the same area): of mounted warriors», i.e., of the Persian mailed cavalrymen, while other poets refer to the Persians settled in eastern Arabia as Asbadhis; The History of al-Tabañ, V, trans. Bosworth, C. E., New York, 1999, 291, n. 685  Near it there are people from the Banû l-Hirmâz who inherited from the time of Dhù 1-Qamayn the ignobleness of the taxes ' ^° The verse seems to relate to the pre-Islamic period.^^ The placename al-Fàrisî («the Persian») should possibly be linked to the levying of taxes by Hirmâzïs who were in the service of the Sassanians.In any case, the «taxes» {àarà'ïb, sing, dariha) mentioned in the verse are customs.

là yu'sharuna wa4à yuhsharüna
Several letters of Muhammad to representatives of certain towns and tribes ^^ include the clause là yu'sharuna wa-là yuhsharüna.^^ One assumes that this clause had the same meaning whenever it appeared in one of the Prophet's letters, regardless of whether the party involved was nomadic or settled.
The clause received little attention in the secondary literature.In his 1920 thesis D. C. Baneth suggested that it meant exemption from military service (là yuhsharüna) and from the payment of tithes (là yu 'sharüna).^"^ But it is doubful ^"^ «Sie sollen weder zu Kriegsdiensten noch zum Zehnt herangezogen werden»; similarly, Sperber, J., «Die Schreiben Muhanmiads an die Stamme Arabiens», in Mitteilungen des Seminars fiir orientalische Sprachen (Berlin) 2. Abt. 19 (1916), 1-93, at 91, n. 2, renders wa-là yuhsharüna wa-là yu'sharuna wa-là yata'u ardahum jaysh, which according to Balàdhurî (Futüh, 65) was one of the clauses of the Najran treaty, as follows: «sie sollen nicht zum Kriegsdienst ausgehoben werden, brauchen nicht den Zehnten zu bezahlen und kein Heer soil ihr Land zerstampfen».Sperber followed de Goeje's interpretation of the phrase; see the Glossarium to the Futüh, 27-28, where other interpretations are quoted; also Sperber, loc.cit., who assumes that in other cases involving nomads another sense of hashr, namely the gathering of livestock from the water-places for the purpose of taxation, may be appropriate.See also Wellhausen's translation in the preceding note.
(c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.esthat la yuhsharüna was related to miUtary service, and an interpretation relating to a specific tax is preferable.^^ First, several derivatives of the root h.sh.r. are related to various taxes.'^^ Second, the other half of the clause, là yu 'shamna, no doubt deals with taxation.
~'^ Lyall's translation reads is follows: A day, too, I mind when one, delaying to pay his due, was buffeted, torn his clothes, misused at the taxer's door.In all of 'Iraq's marts some new tax is imposed to-day and everything sold therein pays somewhat to sink the price.However, the itàwa and maks of the second verse are specific taxes and not «some new tax» and «somewhat to sink the price», respectively.Cf below, n. 81.
Hashshàr is glossed in the source just quoted as hàshir; a variant reading in one of the MSS has: al-jassàr wa-huwa sàhibu l-jisr.The editor, Lyall, suggests that it may be a misreading of alhashshàr sàhibu l-hashr found in a MS of another source which includes this poem.The same source has a scholion which reads: al-itàwatu l-kharj wa-1-makkàsu l-'ashshàr, yaqülu: fa-fi kulli dhà maks, là budda an yu 'khadha minhu dirham.Al-Jàhiz similarly states that the Jâhilï itàwa The kings of the Arabs used to levy customs (maks) from the traders on land and sea, and in their markets.This is a tax (darîba) that was taken from them, and upon doing this they used to treat them unjustly.^^ Al-Jahiz associates the verse which mentions itàwa and maks with other references to collectors of customs.However, we are concerned here with the hashshñr of the first verse (not quoted by al-Jàhiz).This verse includes a complaint about the brutal methods of the hated hashshàr, while the one following it protests against the actual tax or taxes exacted by him (or by his assistants), namely the itàwa which was levied in every market (probably at the gate), and the maks of one dirham levied on every item sold.^^ The hashshàr may have been in charge of both taxes.In any case, this derivative of the root tskr. is no doubt connected to taxation.
Another derivative of the same root which similarly relates to taxation appears in the treaty of Adharbîjin concluded during the early Islamic conquests.One of its clauses assured the people of Adharbïjàn that hashr leads to an exemption from the jizà ' of the same year: wa-man hushira minhum fi sana wudi'a 'anhujizà' tilka l-sana.^^ The obvious interpretation of the clause would link it to poll-tax which was to be exacted once a year only.But perhaps both the hashr and Ûxtjizà' refer to the payment of customs dues which were to be levied once a year.In fact, this very concept can be traced in the legal literature with regard to the Ahl al-Dhimma.^^ became known under Islam as kharàj: taraka l-nàs mimmü kàna musía 'malan fi l-jàhiliyya umüran kathira, fa-min dhàlika tasmiyatuhum li-l-kharàj itàwa; Jâhiz, al-Hayawàn, I, 327.See a smoother text in al-Maqiîzî, Khitat, U, 121:24: ...fa-min dhàlika tasmiyatuhum li-1-itàwa bi-1-kharàj.
«o Jâhiz, al-Hayawàn, VI, 148.^^ The latter tax could have been a kind of sales tax.This is exactly how Ibn Sida understood the verse; see the quotation from his Kitàb al-muhkam in al-Maqnzî, Khitat, U, 121:17: wa-l-maks daràhim kànat tu'khadhu min bà'i'i l-sila'fi l-aswàqfi l-jàhiliyya ...wa-l-maksu ntiqàsu l-thaman fi l-biyà'a ...wa-maks dirham ayy naqs dirham fi bay' wa-nahwihi.Perhaps the maks mentioned here was one levied when a transaction, such as the sale of a slave, was registered by the official in charge of the market.
^2 Tabarî, IV, 155 [I, 2662]; in The History ofal-Taban, XIV, trans. Rex Smith, G., New York, 1994,33, this is rendered: «Those who are recruited for military service in any one year are exempt the tribute of that year».In a footnote the translator remarks: «It might also be rendered: "Those who suffer distress"; that is, drought, crop failure, etc.».The third derivative deals with poll-tax.In medieval Egypt, a hàshir, plural hushshar, was a collector of poll-tax.^ More precisely, a hàshir, «raUier», was one who «summoned the non-MusHms to the offices where they had to pay their taxes».The hushskàr «were not concerned with the actual collection of the taxes, but formed a kind of auxiliary force whose task it was to let no one escape from fulfilling his duty».^^ The association of these derivatives of the root h.sh,r.with specific taxes supports an interpretation of the expression la yuhsharuna within the sphere of taxation.^^ Let us leave it at that for the time being and discuss the other part of the clause, i.e., la yu'sharüna.
Most valuable evidence on this matter is found in the chapter on customs in Abu 'Ubayd al-Qàsim b.Sallàm's (d.224/839) Kitàb al-amwàl.Abu 'Ubayd is apologetic: customs were levied, he says, by all the Arab and non-Arab kings customs whenever he passed through the customs-post and not just once a year; see e.g.al-Maqrîzï, Khitat, n, 121-22.
FoTJizya (=jizà') in the sense of customs see also Ibn Abî Shayba, Musannaf, HI, 199 who records a question directed by Ibn Abï Dhi'b to al-Zuhn about thejizya of the Christians of the Kalb and Taghlib tribes.The latter replied: «It became known to us that half a tithe is taken from them, or more precisely, from their flocks».
^^ Goitein, S. D., A Mediterranean Society, Berkeley, 1967Berkeley, -1993, H, 370, H, 370; see also 379, where Goitein observes that the hàshir and other members of the police force «assisted the authorities in the collection of taxes and customs dues», which indicates that «the surveillance of minority groups was facilitated by employing for these tasks persons from their own midst».See also Diem, W., and Radenberg, Hans-Peter, A Dictionary of the Arabic Material of S. D. Goitein's A Mediterranean Society, Wiesbaden, 1994, 42.^^ Exemption from the «collecting togetheD> of the livestock for the purpose of taxation (above nn.73, 74 and the next following note), while being well within this sphere, would be meaningless in the case of the settled Thaqïf, and hence unacceptable with regard to the other parties as well.
^"^ Kister, M. J., «Some reports concerning al-Ta'if», JSAI, 1 (1979), 1-18; at 11; see also op.cit., 2-3 (sadaqa/pooT tax, sadaqa/tithQ, 'ushr); 5, 6, 7 (tithe, tithes); reprinted in idem.Studies in Jàhiliyya and early Islam, n.° XI.The same expression appears in the letter of the Ju'ayl, a (c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.eswho took one tenth from the goods carried by the merchants.He adds that this accounts for the la yuhsharüna wa-là yu 'sharüna clause in the Prophet's letters to inhabitants of major towns {ahl al-amsàr), such as the Thaqîf (who Hved in al-Tâ'if), the inhabitants of Bahrayn and those of Dùmat al-Jandal, and others who converted to Islam.^^ According to Abu 'Ubayd, this is one of the many indications that the practice existed in the JihiHyya.God aboHshed it and it was replaced by a zakàt of 2.5%.One who levies this amount is not an 'àshir (a collector of «tithes», i.e., customs) because he only takes one fourth of an 'ushr.^^ Abu 'Ubayd's passage reveals that the continuation of the Jâhilï practice into Islamic times gave rise to casuistry, and that in a certain context zakàt meant customs.^° However, this apologetic statement could not of course change the nature of the tax: customs were customs whatever the terms used and the rates applied.
In addition to the Prophet's letters to town dwellers mentioned by Abu 'Ubayd, the clause in question is also found in letters to bedouin tribes such as the 'Uqayl (a tribe of the Qays 'Aylan group) ^^ and the Ghâmid (a tribe of the Azd).^^ In the bedouin context the clause reflects the Arabian ecology in which subdivision of the Bali; Ibn Sa'd, Tabaqàt, 1,270.The expression is interpreted by Ibn Sa'd himself as follows (271): they will not be driven from one watering-place to another for the purpose of taxation, and the tenth will only be taken from them once a year {là yuhsharüna min ma' ilà ma'fi l-sadaqa, wa-là yu'shamna, yaqülu, fi l-sana illà marratan).In Lecker, M., The Banü Sulaym, 187, the clause is rendered: «They will be exempt from military expeditions and from paying the sadaqa».This translation should be revised now.With regard to the same Ju'ayl, Kister says that «the Prophet granted to them the privileges of being taxed no more than once a year and of not having to bring their livestock and gather at the tax-collection centres {là yuhsharün wa-là yu'sharun).This explanation, given by Ibn Sa'd seems, however, to be uncertain.There are interpretations which comment that hashr and 'ushr refer to the Banü ju'ayl being exempted from taxation»; Ef, s.v., Kuda'a, at V, 318a.I follow here the slightly modified version in idem.
Concepts and Ideas at the Dawn of Islam, n.° m, at 8. ^^ Abu 'Ubayd's association of là yuhsharüna with là yu 'sharüna seems to indicate that he considered them synonymous.
The exemption given to the settled Thaqîf is of special interest.Before he concluded his treaty with them, Muhammad had gained control of the nomadic Hawazin under Malik b. 'Awf al-Nasrî who were blockading al-Ta'if.Hence he was in a position to levy customs from the Thaqîf both upon their departure from al-Ta'if and their arrival at Mecca which was no doubt Thaqîf's main market for agricultural products.However, other items with which the Thaqîf were trading were more expensive and hence subject to higher customs rates.Exemption gave the Thaqîf an advantage over their non-Meccan competitors.
Contrary to Abu 'Ubayd's words, the clause was not only included in treaties with those who converted to Islam, but can also be found in the Prophet's letter to the people of Najran who remained Christians.^^ The fact that Abu 'Ubayd is apologetic regarding the levying of customs by Muhammad renders his testimony even more reliable.Muhammad's exemption of certain parties from customs dues indicates that he generally imposed customs

( c )
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.es and in the fair of al-Mushaqqar must have been transferred to the new regime.The evidence regarding al-Mushaqqar is admittedly circumstantial: being a member of the Tamïmî Banü 'Abdallah b.Zayd b. 'Abdallah b.Dàrim, a subdivision of the Dárim, ^^ al-Mundhir b.Sàwà belonged to the «kings» who before Islam levied customs in the fair of al-Mushaqqar.This practice presumably continued under Muhammad.A comment about the tribal group to which al-Mundhir belonged would be in place here.It included two divisions: on the one hand, 'Udus b.Zayd, and on the other, 'Udus's brothers, i.e., the other children of Zayd, including 'Abdallah b. ^^ Loc.cit., Marzûqî's information is somewhat more detailed regarding the customs of 'Adan.They were levied by the kings of Himyar, then by those who ruled the Yemen after them, and finally by the Abnà'; Marzûqï, Azmina, H, 164.5^ Ibn Habib, Muhabbar, 161.55 See ¿/2, s.v.al-Mun^ir b.Sàwà, VU, 570a-572b (Kister, M. J.). 56 Ibn Hajar, Isàba, I, 338.5"^ £7^, S.V., Tamïm, at 173b, bottom right.(c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.esM. LECKER Ag.XXn, 2001 As we have seen, 'Abdallah b.Zayd b. 'Abdallah b.Dârim, the eponym of the group to which al-Mundhir belonged, was nicknamed al-Asbadhî.The presumed levying of customs by al-Mundhir should no doubt be linked to the following definition of the Asabidh ^^ which specifically relates to their mihtary role in the service of the Sassanians: The Asabidh were Persians (nàs mina l-furs) ^^ who were the garrison (maslaha) of al-Mushaqqar.Al-Mundhir b.Sàwà from the Banü 'Abdallah b.Dârim ^^ was one of them, as well as 'Isa al-Khatp and Sa'îd b.Da'laj.^^ Before discussing further evidence on the levying of customs at the time of Muhammad, let us look at a pecuUar report which, while relating to the ridda, reflects conditions which prevailed at the time of Muhammad.^^ Ibn al-Kalbî, Jamharat al-nasab, 197-201; 276 (a list of his ten children); Ibn Hazm, Jamharat ansàb al-'arab, ed.'Abd al-Salàm Hirùn, Cairo, 1382/1962, 232.Hájib died in the twenties of the 7th century; Ef, s.v.Hàdjib b.Zurara (Kister, M. J.). ^^ Ibn al-Kalbî, Jamharat al-nasab, 276.^ In Ef, S.V., al-Mundhir b.Sàwà, at 570a, the Asabidh or al-Ispadhiyyün are identified with the 'Abdallah b.Zayd tribal group.But this contradicts the definition of the Asabidh asjummà' or «a group of scattered tribal factions joined together and united» (loc.cit.), which suits them better.On the term jummà' in the Medinan context see Lecker, M., «Muhammad at Medina: a geographical approach», JSAI6 (1985), 29-62, at 41-43; reprinted in idem, Jews and Arabs in Preand Early Islamic Arabia, n.VIII.^^ Wa-l-'arab, «and Arabs» appears to be missing here.It is less likely that al-furs here means «Persian-speaking Arabs».^^ More precisely, the 'Abdallah b.Zayd b. 'Abdallah b.Dirim.63 Al-Harbî, Gharîb al-hadith, ed.Sulaymán b.Ibrahim al-'Ayid, Mecca, 1405/1985, 655.Cf.Lisàn al-'arab, s.v.s.b.dh.: kànu maslahatan li-hisni l-Mushaqqar, the singular is Asbadhî and the plural is Asàbidha.Tafara called the Arabs of Bahrayn 'abidAsbadh or «slaves of the commander (c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.esThis report (which goes back to Sayf b. 'Umar) tells of a joint proposition which two leaders from the Tamïm, al-Aqra' b.Habis ^ and al-Zibriqan b.Badr, ^^ made to Abu Bakr during the ñdda\ in return for the kharàj of Bahrayn they would guarantee that no one from their tribe will apostatise.^^ The mediator was Talha b. 'Ubaydallah, and Abu Bakr consented.However, 'Umar objected to this and destroyed the document written between the caliph and the Tamïmîs.^^ What was the kharàj demanded by the two bedouin leaders?One cannot rule out the possibility that they wanted the poll-tax of Bahrayn, or its land-tax, or both.But it is more likely that they demanded the customs of al-Mushaqqar known to have been levied before Islam by the 'Abdallah b.Zayd, and assumed to have been levied after the advent of Islam by al-Mundhir b.Sàwâ who was one of them.We probably have here an internal Tamîmî affair.While al-Zibriqan was of the Bahdala b. 'Awf b.Ka'b b.Sa'd b.Zayd Manât, al-Aqra' was -as was al-Mundhir-of the Dárim (more precisely, al-Aqra' was of the Mujashi' b.Dirim).

( c )
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.esM.LEGKER AQ.XXn, 2001 ^^ 'Umar b. al-Khattáb and 'Umar b. 'Abd al-'Azîz are said to have prohibited the levying of customs from the Ahl al-Dhimma more than once a year; see Abu Yüsuf, Kharàj, 135-36 and 136-37, respectively.Malik objected to the liberal ruling ascribed to 'Umar n with regard to the Ahl al-Dhimma.Unlike 'Umar II, Malik did not allow the exemption from customs of Dhimmï merchandise which was below a certain value; and according to Malik, the Dhinamï had to pay (c) Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Licencia Creative Commons 3.0 España (by-nc) http://al-qantara.revistas.csic.es VE, 268.For the location of Market Street see Naji and Ali, «The suqs of Basrah», 303, 306.