glossary 413Istisna": an order to manufacture. A purchase order contract of assets whereby a
buyer places an order to purchase an asset that will be manufactured and deliv-
ered in the future. In other words a buyer will require a seller or a contractor
to deliver or construct the asset that will be completed in the future according
to the specifications given in the sale and purchase contract. Both parties to the
contract will decide on the sale and purchase prices as they wish and the set-
tlement can be delayed or arranged based on the schedule of the work com-
pleted. See Bai"al-Salam.
Ittifaq Dhimni: an implicit agreement. This is an agreement, which must be
reached before the contract can be concluded to allow for the bidding process
(Bai"al-Muzayadah) to take place.
Jahiliyyah:the age of ignorance. The pre-Islamic period of the Arabian Peninsula.
Ji"alah: commission. Contract of reward; a unilateral contract promising a reward
for a specific act or accomplishment.
Jizyah:the poll tax which non-Muslims were required to pay in return for mili-
tary protection.
Kafalah: surety. It has the same meaning as Dhaman, security.
al-Khilafah:theologically refers to the concept of vice-regency of human beings
on earth, as God’s deputies. Politically refers to the succession of the state lead-
ership after the pass away of the Prophet. The Qur"àn states, “When your Lord
said to the angels: ‘I am placing on the earth one that shall rule as My deputy,
khlìfah’ ”, “It is He who has made you vice-gerents on earth, khulafa” ’, and “Have
faith in God and His apostle and give in alms of that on which He has made
you vice-gerents”, (Qur"àn, 2:30, 35:39 and 57:7 respectively).
Kharàj:land tax. Kharàj tax was introduced by Caliph Umar to replace the sys-
tem of distributing conquered land among Muslim warriors, and became the first
tax to be introduced to the Islamic tax system outside those stipulated in the
Qur"àn and the Sunnah. The tax was imposed on land, not individuals, with the
tax base being the cultivable land and a proportional tax rate.
Khiyanah: betrayal. Refers to deception by not disclosing the truth or breaching
an agreement in a hidden way. This is prohibited according to Sharì"ah.
Kindites: they were of South Arabian origin. The Kindite kingdom lasted from
480 to 529 A.C. At its zenith the Kindite kingdom extended to the Euphrates
and after the death of the Persian Emperor the Kindite king stretched his influence
to the capital of the Lakhmìds. The end of the Kindites came at the hand of
the Lakhmìd king in 529 A.C. when the latter defeated them and put their king
to death along with many others from the royal family. After embracing Islam
the Kindites showed a great zeal in the Islamic conquests in Syria and Iraq and
some of them were rewarded by being appointed provincial governors. Also some
of the Kindites became great Islamic thinkers such as Ya"qup ibn-Ishaq al-Kinidi
who earned the title “the philosopher of the Arabs”.
Lakhmìds: they were the mirror image of the Ghassànìds in the east. They orig-
inated from Yemenite tribes, called Tanukh, who emigrated to north Arabia
around the beginning of the third century A.C. and settled in the west of Euphrates.
The Lakhmìds became allies and clients to the Persian Empire and, similar to
the Ghassànìds, served as a buffer area between the Persians and the attacks of
the Bedouins on the Empires frontiers. The Lakhmìds who spoke Arabic but
used Syriac in writing were mostly pagans, with a Christian minority. The influence
of Christianity increased during the reign of the last king, al-Nu"man III (580– 602
A.C.), when he became Christian.