Editing People of the Book (section)

==History==
=== Muhammad's era (610–632) ===
[[File:Icon Iakovos Moskos.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[Ashtiname of Muhammad]], a treaty between Muslims and Christians, was purportedly recorded between Muhammad and [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], which is depicted in this icon.]]
The [[Ashtiname of Muhammad]], a treaty purportedly made between [[Muhammad]] and the [[Christians]] of [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], stated that if a Muslim man wished to marry a Christian woman, marriage could only occur with her consent and she must be permitted to continue [[church service|attending church]] to pray and worship.<ref name="TimaniAshton2019">{{cite book |last1=Timani |first1=Hussam S. |last2=Ashton |first2=Loye Sekihata |title=Post-Christian Interreligious Liberation Theology |date=29 November 2019 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-27308-8 |page=196 |language=en}}</ref> The Ashtiname states that Christians cannot be forced to fight in wars and that Muslims should fight on their behalf; it also states that Christian churches are to be respected and forbids stealing from them.<ref name="TimaniAshton2019" /> The Ashtiname forbids Muslims to remove Christians from their jobs, including those who serve as judges or monks.<ref name="TimaniAshton2019" /> Muslims are bound until the [[Last Judgment]] to adhere to the treaty or "he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet."<ref name="TimaniAshton2019" /> The policy of the Ottoman Sultans abided by the Ashtiname.<ref name="TimaniAshton2019" />

=== Rashidun Caliphate (634–661) ===
During the second caliph [[Umar]]'s reign ({{Reign|634|642}}), the [[Christian community of Najran|Christian community]] of [[Najran]] and the [[History of the Jews in Khaybar|Jewish community]] of [[Khaybar]] were deported to the newly conquered regions of [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and [[Iraq]].{{Sfn|Madelung|1997|p=74}} Umar set aside the Christian ban on the Jews and allowed them to pray and reside in [[Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Dubnov|1980|p=326}} Umar signed a [[Pact of Umar|pact]] with the Christians of Jerusalem, which granted them safety in the region.{{sfn|Meri|2005|p=205}} He also awarded the status of the People of the Book to the Zoroastrians, although some practices contrary to Islam were prohibited.{{sfn|Gordon|2005|p=28}}

At the beginning of the [[Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia]] in {{circa|640}}, the leader of the [[Mandaeans]] (one of the religious groups who historically claimed to be the [[Sabians]] mentioned in the Quran), [[Anush bar Danqa]], is said to have traveled to [[Baghdad]] in order to appear before the Muslim authorities, showing them a copy of the ''[[Ginza Rabba]]'' (the Mandaean holy book), and proclaiming the chief Mandaean prophet to be [[John the Baptist]] (known to [[Muslims]] as [[John the Baptist in Islam|Yahya ibn Zakariyya]]). Consequently, the Muslim authorities afforded them the status of People of the Book.{{Sfn|Buckley|2002|p=5}} However, this account is likely apocryphal, and if it took place at all, it must have occurred after the founding of Baghdad in 762.<ref>{{harvnb|Van Bladel|2017|pp=14, cf. pp. 7–15}}.</ref> The earliest source to unambiguously apply the term 'Sabian' to the Mandaeans was [[Ḥasan bar Bahlul|al-Hasan ibn Bahlul]] ({{floruit|950–1000}}) citing the Abbasid vizier [[Ibn Muqla|Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muqla]] ({{circa|885}}–940).<ref>{{harvnb|Van Bladel|2017|p=47}}; on the identification of al-Hasan ibn Bahlul's source (named merely "Abu Ali") as Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Muqla, see p. 58.</ref> However, it is not clear whether the Mandaeans of this period already identified themselves as Sabians or whether the claim originated with Ibn Muqla.<ref>{{harvnb|Van Bladel|2017|p=54}}. On Ibn Muqla's possible motivations for applying the Quranic epithet to the Mandaeans rather than to the [[Harran]]ian pagans (who were more commonly identified as 'Sabians' in the Baghdad of his time), see p. 66.</ref>

===Later Islamic usage===
{{More citations needed|section|small=|date=December 2023}}
When the [[Umayyad]] general [[Muhammad ibn Qasim]] ({{circa|694}}–715) conquered [[Brahmanabad]], he is said to have granted [[Hindus]], [[Buddhists]], and [[Jains]] the status of People of the Book.<ref>{{harvnb|Kimball|2019|p=195}}.</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Kimball mentions that Muhammad ibn Qasim drew upon a Hanafi interpretation of Islamic law, but Abu Hanifa was still a young man when Muhammad ibn Qasim died.|date=June 2022}}

Islamic scholars differ on whether [[Hinduism|Hindus]] are People of the Book.<ref name="hinduism">{{harvnb|Nasr|1972|p=139}}.</ref> The [[Islamic conquest of India]] necessitated the definition be revised, as most India's inhabitants were followers of the [[Indian religions]]. Many of the Muslim clergy of India considered Hindus as people of the book,<ref name="hinduism"/> and from Muhammad bin Qasim in the Umayyad era to the Mughal ruler [[Aurangzeb]] in the 17th century, Muslim rulers were willing to consider Hindus as People of the Book.<ref name="hinduism2_127">{{cite book | title = Hinduism and Islam in India: Caste, Religion, and Society from Antiquity to Early Modern Times | first = S. V. | last = Desika Char |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-1-55876-151-3 | page = 127}}</ref>

===Dhimmi===

{{Main|Dhimmi}}

''Dhimmi'' is a historical<ref name=Campo/> term referring to the status accorded to People of the Book living in an [[Islamic state]]{{failed verification|date=February 2025}}.<ref name=Campo>{{cite encyclopedia |title=dhimmi |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |editor=Juan Eduardo Campo |pages=194–195 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |date=2010-05-12 |quote= "Dhimmis are non-Muslims who live within Islamdom and have a regulated and protected status. ... In the modern period, this term has generally has occasionally been resuscitated, but it is generally obsolete."}}</ref> The word literally means "protected person."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dhimmi|title=Definition of DHIMMI|website=merriam-webster.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518075744/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dhimmi|archive-date=18 May 2015}}</ref> According to scholars, dhimmis had their rights fully protected in their communities, but as citizens in the Islamic state, had certain restrictions,<ref name=Bennett>{{Cite book|title=Muslims and Modernity: An Introduction to the Issues and Debates|author=Clinton Bennett|author-link=Clinton Bennett|publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]]|year=2005|isbn=978-0826454812|page=163|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D0vYYovH7OQC|access-date=2012-07-07}}</ref> and it was obligatory for them to pay the [[jizya]] tax, which complemented the [[zakat]], or alms, paid by the Muslim subjects.<ref>{{cite book |last=Glenn |first= H. Patrick |author-link=H. Patrick Glenn |year=2007 |title=Legal Traditions of the World |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=218–219 |quote=A Dhimmi is a non-Muslim subject of a state governed in accordance to sharia law. The term connotes an obligation of the state to protect the individual, including the individual's life, property, and freedom of religion and worship, and required loyalty to the empire, and a poll tax known as the jizya, which complemented the Islamic tax paid by the Muslim subjects, called Zakat.}}</ref> Dhimmis were excluded from specific duties assigned to Muslims, and did not enjoy certain political rights reserved for Muslims, but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation.<ref>H. Patrick Glenn, ''Legal Traditions of the World''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2007, p. 219.</ref><ref>The French scholar Gustave Le Bon (the author of ''La civilisation des Arabes'') writes "that despite the fact that the incidence of taxation fell more heavily on a Muslim than a non-Muslim, the non-Muslim was free to enjoy equally well with every Muslim all the privileges afforded to the citizens of the state. The only privilege that was reserved for the Muslims was the seat of the caliphate, and this, because of certain religious functions attached to it, which could not naturally be discharged y a non-Muslim." Mun'im Sirry (2014), ''Scriptural Polemics: The Qur'an and Other Religions'', p.179. [[Oxford University Press]]. {{ISBN|978-0199359363}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl|first1=Khaled|author-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl|title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|date=2007|publisher=[[HarperOne]]|isbn=978-0061189036|page=204|quote = According to the dhimma status system, non-Muslims must pay a poll tax in return for Muslim protection and the privilege of living in Muslim territory. Per this system, non-Muslims are exempt from military service, but they are excluded from occupying high positions that involve dealing with high state interests, like being the president or prime minister of the country. In Islamic history, non-Muslims did occupy high positions, especially in matters that related to fiscal policies or tax collection.}}</ref>

Under [[sharia]], the dhimmi communities were usually subjected to their own special laws, rather than some of the laws which were applicable only to the Muslim community. For example, the [[Jews|Jewish]] community in Medina was allowed to have its own [[beit din|Halakhic courts]],<ref name="Cohen">{{cite book|title=Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages|author=Cohen, Mark R.|author-link=Mark R. Cohen|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|year=1995|isbn=978-0-691-01082-3 |page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgbib5exskUC&q=cohen+Under+Crescent+and+Cross|access-date=10 April 2010 }}</ref> and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet system]] allowed its various dhimmi communities to rule themselves under separate legal courts. These courts did not cover cases that involved religious groups outside of their own community, or capital offences. Dhimmi communities were also allowed to engage in certain practices that were usually forbidden for the Muslim community, such as the [[Islamic dietary laws|consumption of alcohol and pork]].<ref>Al-Misri, ''Reliance of the Traveler'' (edited and translated by [[Nuh Ha Mim Keller]]), p. 608. Amana Publications, 1994.</ref><ref>Al-Misri, ''Reliance of the Traveler'' (ed. and trans. Nuh Ha Mim Keller), pp. 977, 986. Amana Publications, 1994.</ref>{{sfn|Ghazi|Kalin|Kamali|2013|pp=240–1}}

Historically, dhimmi status was originally applied to [[Jews]], [[Christians]], and [[Sabians]]. This status later also came to be applied to [[Zoroastrianism|Zoroastrians]], [[Hindu]]s, [[Jainism|Jains]] and [[Buddhism|Buddhists]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Wael B. Hallaq|author-link = Wael Hallaq|title=Sharī'a: Theory, Practice, Transformations|year=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press (Kindle edition)|page=327 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Annemarie Schimmel|author-link=Annemarie Schimmel|year=2004|page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/107 107]|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1861891853|quote=The conqueror [[Muhammad bin Qasim|Muhammad Ibn Al Qasem]] gave both Hindus and Buddhists the same status as the Christians, Jews and Sabaeans the Middle East. They were all "dhimmi" ('protected people')|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne/page/107}}</ref><ref name=bonner>{{cite book|author=Michael Bonner|title=Jihad in Islamic History|publisher=Princeton University Press (Kindle edition)|year=2008|page= 89}}</ref> Moderate Muslims generally reject the dhimma system as inappropriate for the age of nation-states and democracies.<ref name="El Fadl">"[…] the overwhelming majority of moderate Muslims reject the dhimma system as ahistorical, in the sense that it is inappropriate for the age of nation-states and democracies." {{cite book|last1=Abou El Fadl|first1=Khaled|title=The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists|date=23 January 2007|publisher=HarperOne|isbn=978-0061189036|page=214|author1-link=Khaled Abou El Fadl}}</ref>