Musta'min
Mustaʾmīn or Musta'man (
Types of safe-conducts
The short-term safe-conduct can be personal or general:[3]
- Personal aman (khass) can be granted by any sane and mature Muslim to one or a group of non-Muslim foreigners (harbis).[4]
- General aman ('amm) can be granted only by the caliphor his deputy to an unspecified number of harbis.
The term is valid up to one year for the musta'min, along with his minor children and all the women related to him.[3] Many Hanbalite jurists allowed the period of aman to one lunar year. Others argued for an indefinite aman.[2]
Legal rights
Once given aman, the musta'mins are free to engage in trade and travel. They are allowed to bring their family and children. They have permission to visit any city in Muslim territory except the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. A musta'min man is allowed to marry a dhimmi woman and take her back to his homeland; however, musta'min women do not have the same right.[5] The musta'min are subject to civil and criminal law in the territory[4] and may not do or say anything that could be construed as harming the interests of Islam.[6] If caught doing so, the musta'min could be expelled or executed and the amaan grantor could also be penalized.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Khadduri p. 163
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-86147-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-9089640451.
- ^ a b Yakoob, Mir p. 109
- ^ Yakoob, Mir p. 166
- ^ a b Khadduri p. 168
Sources
- Khadduri, Majid (1955). "Foreigners in Muslim Territory: Ḥarbīs and Mustaʼmīns". War and Peace in the Law of Islam. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 1-58477-695-1.
- Yakoob, Nadia; Aimen Mir (2004). "A Contextual Approach to Improving Asylum Law and Practices in the Middle East". In Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, Barbara Freyer Stowasser (ed.). Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. ISBN 0-7591-0671-1.