Jews and Christians living under early Muslim rule were considered dhimmis, a status that was later also extended to other non-Muslims like Hindus and Buddhists. They were allowed to "freely practice their religion, and to enjoy a large measure of communal autonomy" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim rule.Lewis (1984), pp. 10, 20. Islamic law and custom prohibited the enslavement of free dhimmis within lands under Islamic rule.Lewis (2002), p. 92 Taxation from the perspective of dhimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was "a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes"Cl. Cahen in Encyclopedia of Islam, Jizya article (but much lower under the Muslim ruleLewis 1984 p. 18). They were also exempted from the zakat tax paid by Muslims. The dhimmi communities living in Islamic states had their own laws independent from the Sharia law, such as the Jews who had their own Halakhic courts. The dhimmi communities had their own leaders, courts, personal and religious laws,Lewis (1984), p. 27 and "generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism in the 17th century".Bernard Lewis and Buntzie Ellis Churchill, Islam: The Religion and the People, Wharton School Publishing, 2008, p. 146. "Muslims guaranteed freedom of worship and livelihood, provided that they remained loyal to the Muslim state and paid a poll tax". "Muslim governments appointed Christian and Jewish professionals to their bureaucracies", and thus, Christians and Jews "contributed to the making of the Islamic civilization".
Jews and Christians living un.der early Muslim rule were considered dhimmis, a status that was later also extended to other non-Muslims like Hindus and Buddhists. They were allowed to "freely practice their religion, and to enjoy a large measure of communal au,tonomy" and guaranteed their personal safety and security of property, in return for paying tribute and acknowledging Muslim rule.Lewis (1984), pp. 10, 20. Islamic law and custom prohibited the enslavement of free dhimmis within lands under Islamic rule.Lewis (2002), p. 92 Taxation from the perspective of dhimmis who came under the Muslim rule, was "a concrete continuation of the taxes paid to earlier regimes"Cl. Cahen in Encyclopedia of Islam, Jizya article (but much lower under the Muslim ruleLewis 1984 p. 18). They were also exempted from the zakat tax paid by Muslims. The dhimmi communities living in Islamic states had their own laws independent from the Sharia law, such as the Jews who had their own Halakhic courts. The dhimmi communities had their own leaders, courts, personal and religious laws,Lewis (1984), p. 27 and "generally speaking, Muslim tolerance of unbelievers was far better than anything available in Christendom, until the rise of secularism in the 17th century".Bernard Lewis and Buntzie Ellis Churchill Islam: The Religion and the People, Wharton School Publishing, 2008, p. 146. "Muslims guaranteed freedom of worship and livelihood, provided that they remained loyal to the Muslim state and paid a poll tax" "Muslim governments appointed Christian and Jewish professionals to their bureaucracies", and thus, Christians and Jews "contributed to the making of the Islamic civilization".