the dynastic caliphates: the umayyads and the reforms 145the suftaja as harmful to the debtor. On the other hand, it might
be for the interest of the debtor to pay the loan back in another
place or another country. Muslim jurists, therefore, conditioned the
use of suftaja: first, if it benefited the creditor and harmed the debtor
it is prohibited; second, if it benefited the debtor without any benefit
to the creditor and the condition of the payment in another coun-
try is established by the creditor, it is allowed; and third, if it benefited
both debtor and creditor, it is allowed (Al-Misri, 1984).
“Al-Œawàlah” was another form of suftaja, where the debtor would
transfer the debt to his own debtor, or to another person able to
pay, to pay the debt to the original creditor. It involved three per-
sons, or more, instead of two, which resembled the modern bill of
exchange and from which the French word “aval”, endorsement on
bill of exchange, was originated. Also,suftajawere issued “payable
to bearer”. The use of suftaja was fairly well developed, especially
inside Egypt itself, between Egypt and its immediate eastern neigh-
bours, and between international centres such as Cairo and Baghdad
(Goitein, 1967).
State FinanceThe structure of state finance during the dynastic caliphates resem-
bled that of the Rightly Guided Caliphate, though the magnitude
of finance varied depending upon the political power of the state,
its ability to keep law and order, the eruption of the separatist move-
ments, and the state of economic prosperity. Minor changes were
however noticed in the type of taxes imposed and the application
of existing taxes. The Umayyad caliphs were more concerned with
the reorganization of finances in various regions than introducing
new taxes. Caliph Umar II (717–720) proposed a major revision of
the rules and principles of taxation in order to achieve uniformity
and equity to the taxation system. The caliph Hishàm (724–743) fol-
lowed the policies of his predecessor and tried to apply Umar II’s
taxation reforms to Khurasàn, Egypt and Mesopotamia (Lapidus,
2002). During the Abbasìd caliphate, more types of taxes, such as
market tax, were introduced, though these were of a minor magni-
tude. In addition, the application of some taxes witnessed some
variations during the two dynastic caliphates. Non-Muslim clergy-