Q. In terms of medieval administration, the term ‘abwab’ refers to which of the following?
Answer: A number of Cesses
Notes: Abwabs were a number of cesses that were not sanctioned by the Sharia and were hence considered illegal. Under Sharia, only four types of taxes were sanction-Zakat, Kharaj, Khams and Jizyah. The abwabs were a bit similar to the Zawabit- the regulations that were not sanctioned under the Sharia. Ghari and Charai, imposed by Allauddin Khilji and Haq-i-Sharb imposed by Feroz Shah can be considered types of Abwabs. Aurangzeb, by abolishing all sorts of Abwabs, had to forgo a great deal of revenue.