Pact of Umar

Not to be confused with Umar's Assurance of safety to the people of Aelia, known as al-Uhda al-ʿUmariyya.

The Pact of Umar (also known as the Covenant of Umar, Treaty of Umar or Laws of Umar; Arabic: شروط عمر or عهد عمر or عقد عمر) is a treaty between the Muslims and non-Muslims who were conquered by Umar during his conquest of the Levant (Syria and Lebanon) in the year 637 CE that later gained a canonical status in Islamic jurisprudence.[1] It specifies rights and restrictions for dhimmis, or "protected persons," a type of protected class of non-Muslim peoples recognized by Islam which includes Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and several other recognized faiths[2] living under Islamic rule. There are several versions of the pact, differing both in structure and stipulations.[3] While the pact is traditionally attributed to the second Rashidun Caliph Umar ibn Khattab,[4] other jurists and orientalists have questioned this attribution[3] with the treaty being instead attributed to 9th century Mujtahids (Islamic scholars) or the Umayyad Caliph Umar II. This treaty should not be confused with Umar's Assurance of safety to the people of Aelia (known as al-ʿUhda al-ʿUmariyya, Arabic: العهدة العمرية).

In general, the pact contains a list of restrictions on non-Muslims (dhimmis).[5]

  1. ^ "Islam and the Jews: The Pact of Umar, 9th Century CE". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ Cohen, Mark (1994). Under Crescent and Cross: the Jews in the Middle Ages. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 52.
  3. ^ a b Abu-Munshar 2007, p. 63.
  4. ^ Thomas & Roggema 2009, p. 360.
  5. ^ Ipgrave, Michael (2009). Justice and Rights: Christian and Muslim Perspectives. Georgetown University Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-1589017221.