The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c11.41

c11.41

Land revenue. The main source of income, indeed the backbone of Indian finance, has always been the land revenue. In Muslim states all cultivated land was legally classified for the purposes of assessment of land revenue. The main classifications were (i) 'ushrī, (ii) kharājī, and (iii) ṣulḥī; other classifications have not received such universal recognition. 'Ushrī lands were (i) the land of Jazīrat-u'l-'arab; (ii) all lands whose owners accepted Islam of their own accord and were left in possession of their estates; (iii) all lands conquered by force and distributed among Muslim soldiers; (iv) habitations of Muslims converted into gardens, provided they are irrigated with tithe water or alternately with 'ushrī and kharājī water; (v) waste lands developed by Muslims with the imām's permission, provided they are, according to Abū Yūsuf, in an 'ushrī district or, according to Muḥammad ibn-u'l-Ḥasan, if they have been fertilised with tithe water. There is difference of opinion regarding a kharājī estate bought by a Muslim : Abū Ḥanīfah thinks it remains kharājī, whereas Mālik thinks it becomes *ushrī*.¹ If a *dhimmi* buys *ushrī* land, it becomes *kharājī*, and, according to Abū Yūsuf, the *kharāj* is twice the amount of *ushr*, that is, a fifth of the produce.² In instances of nīm *ushrī* land, the new owner would pay a tenth.³ This classification requires a definition of *ushrī* water. Rivers, lakes, springs, and wells sunk in the first three categories of *ushrī* lands, also any water which has not come under the jurisdiction of authority are *ushrī*. *Kharājī* water is that situated in *kharājī* lands; also that of wells, canals or reservoirs constructed by non-Muslim kings or at the expense of the public exchequer, and that of rivers controlled by human agency.⁴ The rate charged on *ushrī* lands is uniform; for produce irrigated by rain or flood water and for wild fruit, the growing of which does not require exceptional labour, it is a tenth; where the crops have to be irrigated with buckets or wheels, thus requiring extra hard work, the rate is one-twentieth of the produce.⁵ There is some difference of opinion whether a *niṣāb* is necessary before *ushr* can be charged. Abū Ḥanīfah thinks that cultivated crops and wild fruit should pay the *ushr* irrespective of their quantity, but the other *imāms* as well as his own disciples say that a minimum forming a *niṣāb* is necessary.⁶ All the jurists agree that *ushr* should be charged on honey.⁷