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Is it permissible to impose a tax or a tithe on intoxicants, swine, and carrion that are utilized by the People of the Book, or should their trade be prohibited for them?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The meaning of 'ushur (tithes) is what is taken from infidel merchants when they enter Muslim lands. There are no 'ushur on Muslims; rather, zakat is taken from them, which is one-quarter of a tenth. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he imposed one-quarter of a tenth on the people of Islam, what he meant was zakat. If a dhimmi enters with wine or pork, one-tenth of their price is taken from them after they sell them among themselves, according to some jurists, and this is a narration from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Wine and pork are among the possessions of the dhimmis that they trade among themselves, and one-tenth of their price is taken from them, in addition to kharaj (land tax) and jizya (tribute). 'Ushur are taken from the people of war, and half a tenth is taken from the dhimmi. The tenth is taken when a merchant moves from one country to another.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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