People of the Book

People of the Book, or Ahl al-Kitāb (Arabic: أهل الكتاب), is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The classification chiefly refers to pre-Islamic Abrahamic religions.^[1] In the Quran, they are identified as the Jews, the Christians, the Sabians, and—according to some interpretations—the Zoroastrians.^[2] Beginning in the 8th century, this recognition was extended to other groups, such as the Samaritans (who are closely related to the Jews),^[3] and, controversially, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, among others.^[4] In most applications, "People of the Book" is simply used by Muslims to refer to the followers of Judaism and Christianity, with which Islam shares many values, guidelines, and principles.

Historically, in countries and regions following Islamic law, the religious communities that were recognized by Muslims as People of the Book were subject to a legal status known as dhimmi, meaning that they had the option to pay a special head tax called jizya in exchange for being granted the privilege to practice their faith and govern their community according to the rules and norms of their own religion.^[5] Jizya was levied on all mentally and physically capable adult males from these recognized non-Muslim communities. Practitioners of non-recognized religions were not always granted this privilege, although many later Islamic states, particularly those in the Indian subcontinent, amended their laws to extend the application of dhimmi status beyond the originally designated Jewish and Christian communities.

In the Quran, the term is used in a variety of contexts, from religious polemics to passages emphasizing the community of faith among those who possess scriptures espousing monotheism, as opposed to polytheism or any other form of belief.^[6]

The designation of People of the Book is also relevant to Islamic marriages: a Muslim man is only permitted to marry a non-Muslim woman if she is Jewish or Christian, and he must additionally ensure that any children produced with his Jewish or Christian wife/wives are raised in the Muslim faith. Muslim women are not permitted to marry non-Muslim men, even if they are Jewish or Christian.^[7] In the case of a Muslim–Christian marriage, which is to be contracted only after permission from the Christian party, the Ashtiname of Muhammad dictates that the Muslim husband is not allowed to prevent his Christian wife from attending church for prayer and worship.^[8][9]

More recently, the term has been reappropriated by Jews and by certain Christian denominations as a means of self-identification vis-à-vis Muslims.^[10]