A rayah or reaya (from Arabic ????? ra`aya, a plural of ????? ra`iya "flock, subject", also spelled raya, raja, raiah, re'aya; Ottoman Turkish ????? ; Modern Turkish raya or reaya) was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society, in contrast to the askeri and kul. In Muslim world, Rayyah literally subject of a government or sovereign.