
The Journey of the Covenants
A historical overview
The Prophet Muḥammadﷺ was setting a new precedent for the interactions between different religious communities.
The historical context which led to the issuance of the Covenants of the Prophet Muḥammadﷺ is as important as the Covenants themselves.
In the seventh century, the Arabian Peninsula was surrounded by the world’s foremost powers. To the north, both the Byzantine and Sasanian empires surrounded the Arabian Peninsula. It was a period of war, feuds, and hostility. A treaty of peace, coalition and protection was the oasis in a desert of insecurity most communities had to live in. Prophet Muḥammadﷺ set a new precedent for the interactions between different religious communities, so much so that the core principles laid out in the Covenants became part of the state policy of the Prophetﷺ and his successors.
Both the Covenants sent to the Christians of St. Catherine’s Monastery and to the Christians of Najran are considered some of the most revered surviving examples, but they are certainly not the only documents of their kind to be sent during the life of the Prophetﷺ and after his death.
Although we no longer have the originals with us, surviving copies of the Covenants exist in monasteries and libraries in Turkey, Syria, Greece, Egypt, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, the United States, the UK and France, among other places. The relationships formed by the Covenants extended beyond Christian communities to Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Samaritan communities.
The monastery at Mount Sinai
St. Catherine’s Monastery was as prominent in the ancient world as it is in our world today. Established in 565 CE, it is one of the world’s oldest working monasteries. Mount Sinai, where it is built, remains of the utmost importance to Christians and Jews, as it provides the setting for some of the most important events in the Bible.
It is claimed that the original Covenant that was sent to the monks of St. Catherine’s Monastery was written on leather skin by the cousin of the Prophetﷺ, Ali ibn Abi Talib (‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib), in 624 CE, two years after the migration of the Muslims to Medina. It was witnessed by over thirty Companions and stamped with the Prophet Muḥammad’sﷺ seal. Many of the copies which exist today also possess a drawn representation of the Prophet’sﷺ hand to symbolize the protection which he granted to the Christians until the end of time.
The significance of Najran
The Prophetﷺ’s relationship with the Christians of Najran led to the Prophetﷺ inviting them to pray in his mosque when they visited Medina in 631 CE.
Najran (a city in present-day Saudi Arabia), was an important seat of Christianity in the south of Arabia before and during the time of the Prophetﷺ. The importance of Najran was its connection to the great mother churches of late antiquity. The document sent to the Christians of Najran was dictated by the Prophetﷺ and scribed by Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan (Mu‘awiya ibn Abī Sufyān) who later became the first Umayyad Caliph (Khalīfah).
The documents of protection which the Prophetﷺ granted to the different religious communities of Najran was extended to all Jewish and Christian denominations in the Arabian Peninsula. The Prophetﷺ’s relationship with the Christians of Najran led to the Prophetﷺ inviting them to pray in his mosque when they visited Medina in 631 CE. This was a great testament to the value of the Covenants, and a profound example of the Christian-Muslim dialogue taking place.
A new dawn for interfaith relations
These key principles would form a new status-quo for interfaith relations as Islam spread across the world.
The copies of the Covenants made with Christian communities were faithfully preserved in monastic archives. It is unknown exactly how many Covenants the Prophetﷺ sent; however, all the manuscripts available today indicate he reiterated similar rights to different faith-based communities. The rights and duties granted by the Prophetﷺ to non-Muslim communities mainly alluded to freedom of belief and the protection of property, wealth, religious places of worship and in some cases, marriage. Together, these key principles would form a new status-quo for interfaith relations as Islam spread across the world.