The word · Law & life
ذِمَّة
Dhimmah
The historic covenant under which non Muslims in a Muslim state kept their religion and protection.
Also written · Dhimma · Zimmah · Zimmi · Dhimmi · Ahl al-dhimma · Ahl adh-dhimmah · Zimmet · protected people · protected minorities · covenant of protection · non Muslim subjects
The meaning
What Dhimmah means in Islam
The word means liability or covenant, and ahl al-dhimmah are the people it covered. In exchange for jizyah they were exempt from military service and from zakat, kept their own courts in matters of personal law, and had their lives, property and places of worship protected; the Prophet warned that whoever wrongs a covenanted person will find the Prophet himself his opponent on the Day of Judgement. It was a premodern arrangement of defined but unequal status, and most contemporary scholars treat it as superseded by common citizenship.
Evidence · Editorial · Our own summary, drawn from the sources named
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- JizyahA tax historically paid by non Muslim men under Muslim rule, in place of military service.جِزْية
- Shari'ahThe whole of what God revealed as guidance: belief, worship, character and law together.الشَّريعة
- Bay'ahA pledge of allegiance, given to a ruler, or in Sufi orders to a spiritual guide.بَيْعة
- FiqhThe human effort to work out Islamic law from its sources, and the rulings that result.الفِقْه
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