170 chapter five
comprehensive treatise on the collection of tax. Abù-Yùsuf, the Œanafì,
wrote the book “al-Kharàj” which is the first extensive book on the
subject.
Yahya ibn-Adam’s “Kitàb al-Kharàj”. Yahya ibn Adam al-Qurashi
(757–818) compiled a book on al-Kharàj with a view to providing
a collection of the Prophet’s sayings and deeds. The book also con-
tains references to the opinions of other scholars, including Yahya’s
contemporaries. Occasionally, however, Yahya gives his opinion, but
by contrast to Abù-Yùsuf, this is very limited. In terms of size it is
about half the size of Abù-Yùsuf ’s kitàb al-Kharàj, or less, and is
not as comprehensive or as diversified. However, the book contains
some fundamental legal principles with regard to landed property,
which are still in operation in some Muslims countries in modern
times (Ben Shemesh, 1967).
It is interesting to note that in the middle of his compiled Aœadìth
in taxation and the like, Yahya has devoted a section, very short
nevertheless, on the merits of trade, agriculture and palm tree cul-
tivation as professions. He quoted the Qur"àn and cited the Sunnah
to encourage pursuing the three different economic activities with-
out emphasising any particular preference between them. The rele-
vance of this point becomes clear if we know that some Muslims,
relying on a certain œadìth, held the view that trade was superior to
other activities and that agriculture was the most inferior of all. But
the citation of the Qur"ànic verses and the Prophet’s ahadìth by Yahya
is an indication of the plausibility of these activities. The book is the
second extant book on the subject.
Qudama ibn-Ja"afer’s “Kitàb al-Kharàj”. Abù al-Faraj Qudama
ibn Ja"far al-Katib (864–932) wrote his Kitàb al-Kharàj, which is
the third surviving book on al-Kharàj from that era. Although the
topics treated in his book are not beyond that covered by his pre-
decessors, Qudama’s book should be viewed with three things in
mind: (a) at the time of his writing, all juridical schools of thought
were well established and maturely formed, which was not the case
for those before him, (b) the six books of œadìthwere complete and
well authenticated, (c) it was almost one hundred and fifty years since
Abù-Yùsuf ’s well known treatise on al-Kharàj appeared, which might
have merited a new contribution, and (d) Qudamah lived at a period
when the rise of the Islamic state began to be reversed, starting from
the beginning of the decline of al-Muktaficaliphate (902–908). These
circumstances could have urged the writing of his book.