Why did Muhammad bin Tughlaq tax Hindu farmers at 50%, and killed them when they couldn't pay it?

 

Pay attention to this passage from "Ch. 35 Rana Hammir Singh" in Saffron Swords by Manoshi Sinha Rawal.

"...Muhammed Bin Tughlaq imposed heavy taxes on Hindus, 10 to 20 times more than those levied earlier. Farmers were forced to give half of the crop yields in addition to taxes. Many farmers left farming, left their lands and started living in the forests. Tughlaq’s men pursued them and executed them. They also executed those who could not pay taxes or paid lower than the decided amount..."

"Farmers were forced to give half of the crop yields in addition to taxes."

Now where on earth did Muhammad bin Tughlaq get the idea to take away HALF of what Hindu farmers produced?

That's what Muhammad, his prophet, did. We read in Sahih al-Bukhari 2338:

Narrated Ibn `Umar:

`Umar expelled the Jews and the Christians from Hijaz. When Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) had conquered Khaibar, he wanted to expel the Jews from it as its land became the property of Allah, His Apostle, and the Muslims. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) intended to expel the Jews but they requested him to let them stay there on the condition that they would do the labor and get half of the fruits. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) told them, "We will let you stay on thus condition, as long as we wish." So, they (i.e. Jews) kept on living there until `Umar forced them to go towards Taima' and Ariha'.

"Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) intended to expel the Jews but they requested him to let them stay there on the condition that they would do the labor and get half of the fruits."

In case you ask "But why did Muhammad bin Tughlaq have to do what his prophet did?" That's what Muslims are supposed to do. In the Qur'an, chapter 33 verse 21 we read:

Al-Ahzab 33:21

There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often.

So, those who believe in Allah and the last day ie Muslims should follow Muhammad as the pattern of conduct.

That's why Muhammad bin Tughlaq extorted half of what Hindu farmers grew, just like Muhammad extorted half of what Jewish farmers of Khaybar grew.

But this excerpt doesn't just say that Hindu farmers were taxed heavily. It also says what happened to the farmers who in one way or another refused to pay this unfair tax.

"Many farmers left farming, left their lands and started living in the forests. Tughlaq’s men pursued them and executed them. They also executed those who could not pay taxes or paid lower than the decided amount."

Why was that? We find the answer in Tafsir ibn Kathir. Here I'm using the Darussalam edition of the Tafsir, where there are added comments by the translators. Let's see some excerpts from that edition.

First, we have Hilali's footnote, explaining what jizyah is.

"c) Jizyah: a tax levied upon the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians, etc.), who are under the protection of a Muslim government."

As we saw from the earlier hadith, the protection they're referring to is the protection from the muslim government itself.

We have an interesting hadith quoted here.

"(A) Narrated Ibn 'Umar [radhi-yAllahu 'anhumaa]: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people till they testify that La ilaha illallah wa Anna Muhammmad-ur-Rasul Allah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah [Subhanahu wa Ta'ala] and that Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Messenger of Allah), and perform As-Salat (the prayers) and give Zakat (obligatory charity), so if they perform all that, then they save their lives and properties from me except for Islamic laws, and their reckoning (accounts) will be with (done by) Allah." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, 1/25 (O.P.24)]"

What is Muhammad saying here? He'd been commanded to fight against people till they start attacking Muslims? No, he's saying he'd been commanded to fight against people till they become Muslims.

There are lots of ways to bring people to Islam through force ie to fight them till they become Muslims, and one way is to levy heavy taxes on them, and releasing them of the taxes only after they become Muslims, like Muhammad bin Tughlaq did to his Hindu subjects.

Ibn Kathir says:

"Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr and Disgrace."

So, as we see here, Muhammad bin Tughlaq levied jizyah on Hindus to disgrace them for their disbelief in Islam.

"disgraced, humiliated and belittled. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, for they are miserable, disgraced and humiliated."

Ibn Kathir then quotes a part of a report from imam Muslim. Btw, imam Muslim was who wrote Sahih Muslim.

"Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,

Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, force them to its narrowest alley."

Now, here's the important part. The following is an explanation of the situation of some Christians that submitted to the early Muslim community, led by Caliph Umar. Btw, caliph means "successor" and contextually, the leader of the muslim community that gets elected after Muhammad's death.

"This is why the Leader of the faithful Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, these conditions that ensured their continued humiliation, degradation and disgrace.

The scholars of Hadith narrated from Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ashari that he said,

"I recorded for Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham:

`In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

This is a document to the servant of Allah Umar, the Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. 

When you (Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and followers of our religion. 

We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose of enmity against Muslims. 

We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors (of our houses of worship) for the wayfarer and passerby. 

Those Muslims who come as guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days. 

We will not allow a spy against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit (or betrayal) against Muslims. 

We will not teach our children the Qur'an, publicize practices of Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing Islam, if they choose to do so. 

We will respect Muslims, move from the places we sit in if they choose to sit in them. 

We will not imitate their clothing, caps, turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names, or ride on saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry these weapons. 

We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic, or sell liquor. 

We will have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear belts around our waist, refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and markets. 

We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices (with prayer) at our funerals, or light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their markets. 

We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were captured by Muslims. 

We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching their privacy in their homes.' 

When I gave this document to Umar, he added to it, 

We will not beat any Muslim. 

These are the conditions that we set against ourselves and followers of our religion in return for safety and protection. If we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves, then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion."' "

What did Muhammad bin Tughlaq do? Causing disgrace and humiliation upon Hindus through jizyah and other means.

What did Muhammad bin Tughlaq's army did to the Hindus Who didn't pay the jizyah properly? They executed them.

Turns out that how Muhammad and his companions treated Jews and Christians, is how Muhammad bin Tughlaq treated Hindus.

So, did this oppression have nothing to do with Islam?

Think again.