146 chapter four
men were no longer exempt from Jizyah tax, though the poor and
the old were still exempt, a change which was necessary after the
increase of the wealth of the clergy (Al-Maqrizi, Hiti, 1963). Al-
Kharàj, which was the main type of tax, occupied the attention of
both the Umayyads and the Abbàsids. More surveys of the Egyptian
land and a population census were carried out between the years
726 and 728 in order to exercise more control over the Kharàj rev-
enue (ibid.). Other Sources were also developed during the Umayyad
and the Abbasìd reign, such as revenue from publicly owned busi-
ness enterprises.
Given the importance of state finance, as the topic that attracted
the attention of writers in their first specialised work on Islamic eco-
nomics in the late eighth century, it is worthwhile to shed more light
on it. The framework of state revenue would show the state revenue
divided into two main types: non-tax revenue and tax revenue, with
each type divided further as shown below.
First: Non-Tax Revenue
Fai"
As mentioned earlier in chapter two, historically Fai"referred to the
spoils of war, which were gained from the enemy when the enemy
surrendered without any actual military combat. All the spoils of war
in that case would go to the state with no share to the warrior. The
definition of Fai", as above, does not necessarily imply that in order
for the spoils to be classified as Fai" the surrender would have to
take place without any initial military action undertaken by the
Muslim army. What was required to satisfy the conditions of Fai"
was that the surrender would take place prior to any actual military
engagement even if the enemy contemplated a battle. Surrender after
a siege for example would still be regarded as submission without
actual combat and accordingly the spoils would be categorised as
Fai". The importance of the definition lay in that it qualified the
magnitude of the share of the state in the spoils. In case of surren-
der without fight the state had the right to all the spoils with no
share for the warriors, but in circumstances of surrender after engage-
ment, or defeat, the state had the right to only one-fifth of the spoils.
Further discussion of the Fai", the difference between Fai"and spoils