Islam
and the Jews: The Pact of Umar, 9th Century CE
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THE
Pact of Umar is the body of limitations and privileges entered into by treaty
between conquering Muslims and conquered non-Muslims. We have no special treaty
of this sort with the Jews, but we must assume that all conquered peoples,
including the Jews, had to subscribe to it. Thus the laws cited below and
directed against churches apply to synagogues too. The Pact was probably originated
about 637 by Umar I after the conquest of Christian Syria and Palestine. By
accretions from established practices and precedents, the Pact was extended;
yet despite these additions the whole Pact was ascribed to Umar. There are many
variants of the text and scholars deny that the text as it now stands could
have come from the pen of Umar I; it is generally assumed that its present form
dates from about the ninth century.
The
Pact of Umar has served to govern the relations between the Muslims and
"the people of the book," such as Jews, Christians, and the like,
down to the present day.
In
addition to the conditions of the Pact listed below, the Jews, like the
Christians, paid a head-tax in return for protection, and for exemption from
military service. Jews and Christians were also forbidden to hold government
office. This Pact, like much medieval legislation, was honored more in the
breach than in the observance. In general, though, the Pact increased in
stringency with the centuries and was still in force in the 20th century in
lands such as Yemen. The Pact is in Arabic.
In
the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!
This
is a writing to Umar from the Christians of such and such a city. When You
[Muslims] marched against us [Christians],: we asked of you protection for
ourselves, our posterity, our possessions, and our co-religionists; and we made
this stipulation with you, that we will not erect in our city or the suburbs
any new monastery, church, cell or hermitage; that we will not repair any of
such buildings that may fall into ruins, or renew those that may be situated in
the Muslim quarters of the town; that we will not refuse the Muslims entry into
our churches either by night or by day; that we will open the gates wide to
passengers and travellers; that we will receive any Muslim traveller into our
houses and give him food and lodging for three nights; that we will not harbor
any spy in our churches or houses, or conceal any enemy of the Muslims. [At
least six of these laws were taken over from earlier Christian laws against
infidels.]
That
we will not teach our children the Qu'ran [some nationalist Arabs feared the
infidels would ridicule the Qu'ran; others did not want infidels even to learn
the language]; that we will not make a show of the Christian religion nor
invite any one to embrace it; that we will not prevent any of our kinsmen from
embracing Islam, if they so desire. That we will honor the Muslims and rise up
in our assemblies when they wish to take their seats; that we will not imitate
them in our dress, either in the cap, turban, sandals, or parting of the hair;
that we will not make use of their expressions of speech, nor adopt their
surnames [infidels must not use greetings and special phrases employed only by
Muslims]; that we will not ride on saddles, or gird on swords, or take to
ourselves arms or wear them, or engrave Arabic inscriptions on our rings; that
we will not sell wine [forbidden to Muslims]; that we will shave the front of
our heads; that we will keep to our own style of dress, wherever we may be;
that we will wear girdles round our waists [infidels wore leather or cord
girdles; Muslims, cloth and silk].
That
we will not display the cross upon our churches or display our crosses or our
sacred books in the streets of the Muslims, or in their market-places; that we
will strike the clappers in our churches lightly [wooden rattles or bells
summoned the people to church or synagogue]; that we will not recite our
services in a loud voice when a Muslim is present; that we will not carry Palm
branches [on Palm Sunday] or our images in procession in the streets; that at
the burial of our dead we will not chant loudly or carry lighted candles in the
streets of the Muslims or their market places; that we will not take any slaves
that have already been in the possession of Muslims, nor spy into their houses;
and that we will not strike any Muslim.
All
this we promise to observe, on behalf of ourselves and our co-religionists, and
receive protection from you in exchange; and if we violate any of the
conditions of this agreement, then we forfeit your protection and you are at
liberty to treat us as enemies and rebels.
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Source
Jacob
Marcus, The Jew in the Medieval World: A Sourcebook, 315-1791, (New York: JPS, 1938),
13-15
Later
printings of this text (e.g. by Atheneum, 1969, 1972, 1978) do not indicate
that the copyright was renewed)