"التحكيم المتعلق بالبريمي والحدود المشتركة بين أبو ظبي والمملكة العربية السعودية" [مع خرائط] [ظ‎‎٤‎٢] (٥٤١/٨٩)

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• , J J- oc to i-inw he shall act in certain circumstances,
gives a straightforward directio nt Ru i er 0 f Dubai is similar in subject
to 0 'Le,r« N^2 'afjo'sLCSa, .he Ruler of Dubai regarded, the
matter to Letter ino. z , ‘ Ahma d bin Muhammad—/.c., as subjects
Awamir as su ^^ o the jurisdiction^ A js written by the Ruler of
fu the r.u L l! eT t °^il b ;nn L Ha 7 za and his nephew, Muhammad bin Khalifah,
Abu Dhabi to ‘Ahmad, Kin shows clearly that adminis^
who owns considerable property in the Liasis. & n is ; , nf i a i so that those
trative functions were being exercised by Ahmad in the Oasi^ and h? s ®
functionswereexercised onbehalf of the Ruler of A u These letters coverinp
to give positive instructions regarding the stolen prop y. ? g
as they do a period of a quarter of a century, were written at a time when there was
no Sahrdi influence of any kind in the Oasis, and show that, in the administration
of the day-to-day affairs of the inhabitants, the local Rulers dealt with the repre
sentatives of the Ruler of Abu Dhabi.
20. To-day the Ruler’s representative in Buraimi is not a Wali, but his brother,
Shaikh Za‘Id who lives permanently in his fort in Muwaiqih, and conducts himself
like the feudal overlord of all the tribes in the Oasis. In the Ruler s absence from
the Shaikhdom, Shaikh Za‘!d is given sovereign powers in Buraimi (1) In the winter,
he spends much of his time in the Khutum, wheie he settles the disputes ot the
Badawin tribes who frequent it. They submit absolutely to his jurisdiction, and
his decisions are accepted without question. In addition, there are in the Oasis
a Qadi, Thani bin ‘Ahmad, whose authority also extends to the Khatam, a tax-
collector (Muzakki), Muhammad bin Khalifah, and collectors of the water-taxes
(‘Arifs). The Muzakki has an assistant, named Muhammad bin Sultan.
21. Collection o/Zakat in Buraimi ,—Shaikh Za‘Id collects zakat in the villages
of al-‘Ain, Muhiridh, Hill, Jlml and Qatarah, at the same rate as in Llwa—z.e., 1
jarrab for every 10 on crops of 10 jarrabs or more. In Buraimi, however, the
jarrab is 70-80 lbs., as opposed to 180 in Llwa, so that the “ tax-free allowance'’
is smaller in Buraimi. No zakdt is collected from the palms of Muwaiqih, because
they all belong to members of the ruling family. In 1954, the zakdt collected
amounted to about 1200 jarrabs. No zakdt is levied on camels or any other
livestock.
22. Water Dues and Taxes. —Originally, the water-channels {‘afldj) were
owned by partners, who were allowed to take water in proportion to their share. If
any partner wanted more water than that to which his share entitled him, or if a
person who was not a partner wanted water, he could obtain it on payment of so
many rupees an hour. This system still obtains, the payments being called masha\
Theoretically, the money collected goes to maintain the channel and the line of
wells supplying it. There is also a tax called naub, which is payable to the Ruler
by all users of water, including the owner of water-channels, but excluding, of
course, members of the Ruler’s family. The position at present obtaining is as
follows:—
al-'Ain
Mu’tiridh.
Qatara.
Jiml.
Hill
Masudi.
Muwaiqih.
Formerly both masha' and naub were paid as described above.
In 1954, however, the system was simplified, and the fees
consolidated and reduced. Now, a single tax of one rupee
for 3 hours water is paid by all except the Ruler’s family.
Naub is no longer paid because the channels are now owned
by members of the Ruler’s family. Masha’’ is paid at the
rate of 2 rupees for 3 hours in summer, and 1 rupee for 3
hours m winter.
Neither masha nor naub is paid. There is no falai in Masudi;
an , m Muwaiqi, all the gardens belong to members of the
Ruler s family.
Some of the Dhawahlr and others in various settlements—particular]v in a1-‘Ain-
^ This
15.
naub is in the banlf of nffi i ^r-channels and the collection of masha' a
Jlmi Hi and Oatara ( - ^)- There are ‘Arifs in al-‘A
J i, htili, and Qatara. In Mu tindh, Sultan bin Surur, head of the al-‘Ali t
(1) See Annex F, No. 4.