Ruling regarding Muslims taking a tithe or tax on wine or pigs belonging to Dhimmis (non-Muslim citizens)?
General Chapter
Al-Mughni
Book of Jizya
Primary text
There is a difference of narration from Ahmad regarding whether a Muslim should take anything from a Dhimmi who passes by with wine or pigs. One narration from Ahmad supports the view, attributed to Umar, that Muslims should let the Dhimmis sell these items, and the Muslims should take from the price obtained. This view is held by Masruq, Al-Nakha'i, and Abu Hanifa. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan agrees specifically concerning wine. The evidence for this permission stems from the report via Suwayd ibn Ghaflah, where Bilal informed Umar that his agents were taking wine and pigs as part of the Jizyah or land tax (Kharaj). Umar commanded them: 'Do not take them from them, but let them sell them, and you take from the price.'
Supporting text
A conflicting narration from Ahmad states that nothing should be taken from them at all. This view is held by 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, Abu 'Ubayd, and Abu Thur. 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz explicitly stated that a Muslim does not levy a tithe on wine. Furthermore, evidence against taking it is found in the report that when 'Umar ibn al-Khattab received 40,000 dirhams as the charity (Sadaqah) derived from wine, he wrote back to the sender that he was more deserving of it than the Muhajirun, subsequently dismissing him from his post. Abu 'Ubayd interpreted Umar's statement 'Let them sell them, and you take from the price' to mean that Muslims previously took wine and pigs at their value from the Jizyah/Kharaj, which Umar then disallowed, permitting only taking from the proceeds of their sale if the Dhimmis managed the sale.