THE PROPHETIC CHARGE

A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD TO THE CHRISTIANS

PRESERVED AT THE PATRIARCHAL MONASTERY OF
SAINT GEORGE AL-HUMAYRAH IN SYRIA

Translated by

Ibrahim Aboud

INTRODUCTION

The prophetic charge is preserved in the ancient patriarchal monastery of Saint George Al-Humayrah in Syria. It is purported to have been written by Muhammad himself to promise protection and put forth conditions which govern the relationship between the “people of the book” and their Muslim Arab conquerors. While many believed such documents to be authentic, modern scholars question their origin and circumstances. A similar document exists in the monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai; both belong to the same genre and period probably.

In the second volume of his History of the Church of the City of God Antioch the Great, Assad Rustum, the great Antiochian historian, claimed that western scholars who doubt the letters from Muhammad or early Muslim authorities to non-Muslims exaggerate in their debunking of these documents (p. 20). He relies in his support for their authenticity on the many similar models mentioned in later Islamic sources. In The Historical Encyclopedia of the Church of Antioch, Mitri Haji Athanasuis calls this document “Umar’s Edict,” which is its known name, but the document states Muawiya as the scribe and Muhammad as the author (Umar is listed as one of the many signatories to this pact), and it is dated in the year 4 Hijra, before the invasion of Syria took place. If one assumes that to be the case, why would the document dictate terms to a people that were not yet subdued? Also, did the document originate in the monastery mentioned above or did it come from somewhere else, perhaps further south where Christian towns were in fact attacked by Muhammad’s troops during his lifetime? Was Muhammad perhaps trying to appease discontented Christians at a time when Heraclius was still fighting the Persians, and long before Abu Bakr's reign and campaigns against Mesopotamia and Syria?

On the other hand, many scholars maintain that the early non-Muslim sources from that period describe very different conditions which such documents do not recognize. The sources of this period are scarce, and all non-Muslim ones speak of great persecutions, a great exodus, apostasies, hostility, and chaos (refer to Robert Hoyland’s monumental book Seeing Islam as Others Saw it: A Survey and Evaluation of Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian Writings on Early Islam). Umar’s Edict, which is similar to this one in content but less detailed, is recorded by Al-Tartushi in his Siraj al-Muluk, almost five centuries after its alleged date 1. The author relies on the testimony of Abdul Rahman ibn Ghanam Al-Ash’ari who died in 78 H., but whether that source is authentic or late is questionable. The same goes for the many treaties reported in Futuh al-Buldan by Al-Baladhuri, who writes two centuries after the events take place, and describes the treaties and sanctions, often extremely harsh ones, that resulted from the defeat of the inhabitants in each conquered city.

This document certainly envisages a relationship between the conqueror and the conquered that had not yet materialized at the time of its authorship nor was it warranted; the letter is dated years before the first Islamic armies invaded and pillaged the cities of Syria. Even if we take the position that it is unauthentic, this does not mean that it is necessarily late; such letters are dated as early as the eighth century, and they were presented to Islamic authorities to protect the inhabitants from further persecution, confiscation of property, and arbitrary taxation to force them into conversion, practices that were not uncommon in the Islamic world. Counterfeits were a common strategy to protect oneself and people, especially in times of war and tribulation, and in the case of this document, that remains a strong possibility in the absence of corroborative evidence to confirm its authenticity.

In the translation below, I tried to be as literal as possible, in the hope that none of the feel or tone of the original text is lost to the reader, although I am fully aware that this is an impossible task in any translation. Some difficulties arose in a few parts of the original text which does not make use of punctuation, and I thank those who assisted me from Syria to clear any such confusions. I owe Dr. Robert Hoyland many thanks for his feedback on the document and for raising my awareness with regard to issues of authenticity and contemorary literature. My task is mainly to present a good translation of the text, and I leave any further criticism of its history and content to more capable and qualified people. To view the original Arabic text click here.
 

THE PROPHETIC CHARGE

[ … ] The monks and bishops on its inscription on that date in the presence of all the followers and other attendees, whose names are concluded with here. Written in Medina at the date mentioned below.

Written by Muhammad the messenger of Allah to all people, a bringer of good news and warning over that which is committed to the trust of Allah in His truth so that it may become the justification of Allah for [ … ] Christianity in the earth’s east and west, its literate and foreign, its near and distant, its known and unknown, a letter He made for them a regarded promise, a public deed, a commandment from Him to establish in it His justice, and a reserved pledge. Therefore, whosoever kept it was committed to peace and was worthy of what was in it, but whosoever misplaced it and denied the promise which is in it and contradicted it to those who are not of the believers, and disobeyed in it what I have ordered, was a denier of Allah’s promise, a contradicter of His deed, and a disregarder of His faith, whether he were a ruler or anyone else of the faithful and the Muslims. Therefore I exchanged giving them [the Christians] my own promises and the promise which they ask of me and of all those who are perfect among the Muslims by granting them the promise of Allah, His covenant, the honor of His prophets, His apostles, and His anointed, and His chosen from among the faithful and the Muslims, among the first, the last, my honor, and my covenant, greater in deed than Allah has ever required of any prophet or king devoted to the right of obedience and conveying virtue and keeping Allah’s promise: to protect those who are most distant of them within my dominion, with my horses, men, aides, and followers from the faithful in every area and in every hostile land, whether they were far or near, free or slave, and to guard and defend them and their churches, temples, shrines, settlements of the monks among them, and sites of pilgrimage whenever and wherever they were, in a mountain, a valley, an oasis, a town, a meadow, a desert, or a building, and to protect their faith and possessions whether on land or sea, in the east or the west, as much as I protect myself, my seal, and the people of my sect of both the faithful and the Muslims, and to grant them my security from all harm, evil deed, death, or compulsion, and to defend their backs from every enemy that comes to me and to them with my soul, followers, the people of my sect, and I am given authority over them, therefore I have to care for them and preserve them from every harm, and may it not reach them until it reaches my friends who safeguard this issue, and I shall shelter them from harm in the matters which the people of the covenant are encumbered with, from tax and tribute with only what they please themselves, and let there be no obligation or force in this, and no bishop shall be exiled from his archdiocese, and no Christian from Christianity, and no monk from his monastic order, and no pilgrim from his pilgrimage, and no hermit from his cell, and let no house of their worship houses be ruined, and nothing may go into the building of mosques or in the houses of Muslims, for he who does that has violated the promise of Allah and disobeyed the prophet of Allah, and betrayed the honor of Allah, and let the monks, bishops, or anyone who cannot commit to paying it, be burdened only with what is pleasing to themselves, and let the tax on great merchants of the seas, the depths, mining of precious-stone, gold, silver, those who possess enormous wealth and power, whose faith is Christian, not exceed twelve drachmas every year, if those are residing and settling in the area [ … ] to a passer by, not a resident of the land and not a benefactor, he whose tax and tribute are not known but possess an inheritance of land from which he owes money justly to the ruler, thus pays that which is similar to his kin and he shall not be charged what is beyond his capability and strength, and he who has a right to the land and its building [ … ] shall not be overcharged and shall not be penalized above the limit of those who pay the land tax among his peers, and no protected people shall be assigned to go out with the Muslims to meet their enemy, fight in war, or contend in single combat, for protected peoples are not required to march in wars, but were given protection so they may not be assigned and so Muslims can be their protectors, sufficient without them, and so they may not be forced to go out with Muslims to war where they would meet their enemy, nor with force of weapons or horses except what they may contribute to them, and he who contributes may carry forth that issue and shall be recognized for it and burdened with nothing else. And no one belonging to the Christian faith ought to be compelled with harm and debated save for what is most pleasing, and the wing of mercy shall be preserved for them, protected from harm and evil wherever they may be and whenever they may be, and if any of the Christians was faulted for an offence or committed a crime, Muslims ought to support him, defend him, shelter him, show restraint for his offence, and enter into reconciliation between him and those afflicted among us by him, by compensating with reparations, and they [the Muslims] shall not be dismayed, reject, or leave the issue unresolved for I have granted them the promise of Allah that they may have rights equal to those of the Muslims, and they shall be burdened with what Muslims are burdened with, and Muslims shall have the same and be burdened with their burden in the covenant which I require, the right of shelter and defense of their honor which is required from them, to defend them from every harm and visit them in every abode so they may be partners to Muslims in what they have and what they are subject to and what is their right. And let there be no unwanted injustice from those wanting marriage, and they shall not force the parents of the girl to marry Muslims, and they may not keep a grudge against them if they denied them an engagement or refused to offer marriage, for this may not be except with their souls’ consent and the appeal of their desires whether they love and accept him. And if a Christian woman became a slave to a Muslim he must fulfill her desire in her faith, of following her leaders and practicing the decrees of her religion, and he may not deny her that, force her to abandon it, or intimidate her to reject her religion. If he so does and he forced her thus, he has violated the promise of Allah and contradicted His prophet’s charter, and he is considered in the eyes of Allah as one of the liars. And if they [the Christians] so needed aid or assistance in labor from the Muslims to restore their churches, cells, or any of their religious facilities they shall then aid in that and help, and that should not be a debt but an assistance to them for the benefit of their religion and a fulfillment of the promise of the prophet of Allah to them, a gift and an offering to them, the guarantee of Allah and the guarantee of the prophet of Allah over them and for them. And none of them shall be forced to be among Muslims when confronting an enemy, by saying to him: be a messenger, a guide, or a servant in anything that constitutes war, and he who does so with any one was an oppressor and a disobeyer of Allah’s prophet and a violator of his commandment, opposing these conditions which were made by Muhammad the prophet of Allah to those of the Christian faith, who had set upon them conditions in their faith and in their honor that they must hold to and fulfill, the things he had them agree on, that none of them shall aid anyone at war with Muslims in secret or openly, and that no enemy of the Muslims shall be given safe haven in their homes or residence in their lands and nothing of their houses of worship and nothing else from the subjects of the denomination. And they shall not aid anyone at war with Muslims with force of arms, horses, men, and they may not provide them with any money, communicate with them, or take them in unless they are remnants of a house seeking protection for their soul and blood, and harbor for their faith. And they shall not deprive any of the Muslims sustenance for three days and nights, for themselves and their animals, wherever they were or wished to be, and trade them for the sustenance from which they eat, and they shall not stop doing so to carry mischief against them and harm. And if any of the Muslims needed shelter in their homes or towns, they shall show kindness to them and aid them and comfort them for the distress that befell them as long as in hiding if they had concealed them and the enemy did not emerge in their lands and they had done all that is required of them in that regard. Therefore he who violates them in any of those conditions and teaches others to do so has violated the pledge of Allah and the pledge of His prophet to them in these promises and guarantees which are taken on the bishops, monks, and Christians among the people of the Book, and he [the prophet] commits his nation to faith and the fulfillment of that, wherever they were and anywhere they were. And the prophet of Allah is obliged to keep what he has taken upon himself for them, and Muslims ought to preserve that for them and keep to it until the hour comes and the world ends, and those witnesses over this letter which is written by Muhammad the prophet of Allah among the Christians, has made this provision for them and written them this pledge.

The blessing of Allah be on them all

Inscribed by Muawiya Ben Sufian with the dictation of the prophet of Allah on Monday, just four months of the fourth year from the migration of Medina. And Allah is sufficient to be a witness for what is in this letter. Praise be to Allah the Lord of all creation, in Him is aid and on Him is reliance.

Amen
It is complete.
 

Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanam said it was written to Umar ibn al-Khattab after he had accorded a treaty to the Christians of Syria: "In the name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of Allah Umar (Ibn al-Khattab), Prince of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you invaded us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our money, and the people of our community, and we undertook as obligations toward you that we shall not build, in our cities or in their surroundings, a new monastery, a church, a convent, or a monk’s cell, nor shall we repair, by day or by night, those of them that have fallen into ruin or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims. We shall keep our gates wide open for passers by and travelers; we shall give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way for three nights. We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our homes to any spy, nor conspire secretly against the Muslims. We shall not teach the Quran to our children or manifest our religion publicly nor call anyone to it, and we shall not prevent any of our kin from entering the religion of Islam if he/she wished to. We shall show respect toward the Muslims, and we shall rise from our seats if they wish to sit. We shall not seek to resemble the Muslims by imitating any of their garments, head-cover, turban, or footwear. We shall not use their surnames. We shall not mount saddles, and we shall not carry swords, bear any kind of arms or carry them on us. We shall not engrave our seals in Arabic. We shall not sell fermented drinks. We shall clip the fronts of our heads and always dress in the same way wherever we may be, and we shall bind our belts around our waists. We shall not display our crosses or our books in the roads or markets of the Muslims. We shall use our bells in our churches very softly. We shall not raise our voices in our churches in the presence of Muslims. We shall not go out with palms or during the resurrection, and we shall not raise our voices when accompanying our dead. We shall not show lights on any of the roads of the Muslims or in their markets. We shall not bury our dead near them. We shall not take slaves who have been allotted to Muslims. We shall not build houses overtopping their houses." When I brought the letter to Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, he added to it, "and we shall not strike a Muslim. These conditions are placed upon us and upon the people of our community, and in return we accept safe-conduct.  If we violate these conditions and guarantees taken upon ourselves in any way, we forfeit our covenant (dhimma), and we become liable to the penalties accorded those who show rejection and sedition." Umar Ibn al-Khattab replied, “Sign what they ask, but add two clauses and impose them in addition to those they have undertaken: "They shall not buy anyone made prisoner by the Muslims, and whoever strikes a Muslim with deliberate intent shall be deprived from the protection of this covenant."

Umar Ibn Al-Khattab used to say: “Do not use the Jews or Christians for they take bribes in their religions and bribes are unlawful. When Umar brought Abu Mousa Al-Ashari from Busra, and he was working for the treasury, he entered to see Umar while he was in the Mosque, and he asked permission for his scribe who was Christian, so Umar said to him, “May Allah fight you” and he struck his thigh, “you have made a dhimmi to lord over the Muslims; have you not heard the Almighty say, ‘O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other, and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them’? Why didn’t you take a Muslim (Hanif)? So he replied, “O Prince of the Believers, my interest is in his writing and his religion is his.” Then [Umar] retorted, “I shall not show generosity to them when Allah has disgraced them, and I shall not honor them when Allah has demeaned them, and I shall not draw near to them when Allah has expelled them.”