Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to his governor in Damascus about zakat saying, "Zakat is paid on the produce of ploughed land, on gold and silver, and on livestock." Malik said, "Zakat is only paid on three things:the produce of ploughed land, gold and silver, and livestock

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ayyub ibn Abi Tamima as- Sakhtayani that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, when writing about wealth that one of his governors had collected unjustly, ordered it to be returned to its owner and zakat to be taken from it for the years that had passed. Then shortly afterwards he revised his order with a message that zakat should only be taken from it once, since it was not wealth in hand

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that one of the administrators of Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz wrote to him mentioning that a man had refused to pay zakat on his property. Umar wrote to the administrator and told him to leave the man alone and not to take any zakat from him when he took it from the other muslims. The man heard about this and the situation became unbearable for him, and after that he paid the zakat on his property. The administrator wrote to Umar and mentioned that to him, and Umar wrote back telling him to take the zakat from him

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz wrote to one of his governors, "It has been passed down to us that when the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sent out a raiding party, he would say to them, 'Make your raids in the name of Allah in the way of Allah. Fight whoever denies Allah. Do not steal from the booty, and do not act treacherously. Do not mutilate and do not kill children.' Say the same to your armies and raiding parties, Allah willing. Peace be upon you

Yahya related to me that Malik said that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz used to say, "The man on horse-back has two shares, and the man on foot has one." Malik added, "I continue to hear the same." Malik, when asked whether a man who was present with several horses took a share for all of them, said, "I have never heard that. I think that there is only a share for the horse on which he fought." Malik said, "I think that foreign horses and half-breeds are considered as horses because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, 'All horses, and mules, and asses, for you to ride, and as an adornment.' (Sura16 ayat 8). He said, the Mighty, the Majestic, 'Make ready for them whatever force and strings of horses you can, to terrify thereby the enemy of Allah and your enemy.' (Sura 8 ayat 60). I think that foreign breeds and half-breeds are considered as horses if the governor accepts them." Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked about working horses, and whether there was zakat on them. He said, "Is there any zakat on horses.?

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz during his khalifate, wrote to one of his governors, "Whatever a father, or guardian, who gives someone in marriage, makes a condition in the way of unreturnable gift or of favour, belongs to the woman if she wants it." Malik spoke about a woman whose father gave her in marriage and made an unreturnable gift a condition of the bride-price which was to be given. He said, "Whatever is given as a condition by which marriage occurs belongs to the woman if she wants it. If the husband parts from her before the marriage is consummated, the husband has half of the unreturnable gift by which the marriage occurred." Malik said about a man who married off his young son and the son had no wealth at all, that the bride- price was obliged of the father if the young man had no property on the day of marriage. If the young man did have property the bride- price was taken from his property unless the father stipulated that he would pay the bride-price. The marriage was affirmed for the son if he was a minor only if he was under the guardianship of his father. Malik said that if a man divorced his wife before he had consummated the marriage and she was a virgin, her father returned half of the bride-price to him. That half was permitted to the husband from the father to compensate him for his expenses. Malik said that that was because Allah, the Blessed, the Exalted, said in His Book, "Unless they (women with whom he had not consummated marriage) make remission or he makes remission to him in whose hand is the knot of marriage." (Sura 2 ayat 237). (He being the father of a virgin daughter or the master of a female slave.) Malik said, "That is what I have heard about the matter, and that is how things are done among us." Malik said that a jewish or christian woman who was married to a jew or christian and then became muslim before the marriage had been consummated, did not keep anything from the bride-price. Malik said, "I do not think that women should be married for less than a quarter of a dinar. That is the lowest amount for which cutting off the hand is obliged

Yahya related to me from Malik that he had heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz decided in a case to make a reduction for crop damage. Malik said, "That is what we do in the situation." Malik added, "Crop damage is whatever causes loss of a third or more for the purchaser. Anything less is not counted as crop damage

Yahya related to me from Malik that he heard that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz gave a decision that when a jew or christian was killed, his blood-money was half the blood-money of a free muslim. Malik said, "What is done in our community, is that a muslim is not killed for a kafir unless the muslim kills him by deceit. Then he is killed for it

Yahya related to me from Malik from Ismail ibn Abi Hakim that he heard Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "One of the last things that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said was, 'May Allah fight the jews and the christians. They took the graves of their Prophets as places of prostration . Two deens shall not co-exist in the land of the Arabs

Malik related to me that Ismail ibn Abi Hakim heard Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz say, "Some say that Allah the Blessed, the Exalted, will not punish the many for the wrong action of the few. However, when the objectionable action is committed openly, then they all deserve to be punished