Declaration of al-Uhda al-Umariyyah: Umar bin Khattab's commitment to protect Jerusalem's Christians

 

Declaration of al-Uhda al-Umariyyah: Umar bin Khattab's commitment to protect Jerusalem's Christians

In al-Uhda al-Umariyyah, Umar bin Khattab's commitment to protect the Christians of Jerusalem.

One day, in the year 637 AD / 16 H, Umar bin Khattab smiled happily. His aura radiated calm as he and his army marched neatly into the city of Jerusalem. At that time, his troops managed to control the land of Aelia which for six centuries was under the rule of the Byzantine emperor. Aelia is a predominantly Orthodox Christian area. Most of the population converted to Christianity after Emperor Constantine recognized his Christian faith in 312 C.E. Constantine then spread Christianity throughout the empire and made it the official religion in 324 C.E.

The conquest was marked by the hoisting of the white flag by the Christians in a polite manner. The conquest took place fairly . The war that rages only between grown men. No children or women were killed. The city of Jerusalem was subject to no significant destruction. This also confirms the wisdom of Umar as a caliph in running his government.

After Aelia's submission to the Islamic caliphate, Patriarch Sophronious, an Orthodox Christian leader of Jerusalem at that time, was willing to give the keys to the city to Caliph Umar bin Khattab. The handover of the keys was carried out as a diplomatic effort, which meant that there was no coercion at all. Umar received the key with such high respect.

However, it seems that the Patriarch wanted Caliph Umar who came personally to receive Aelia's keys. First , because of Aelia's holiness to Christians, the Patriarch preferred the surrender to be carried out in the presence of a Muslim head of state rather than a local commander. Second , he may have other issues he wants to negotiate with Umar as the new head of state in Aelia including guarantees for the safety of Christian houses of worship and Christian life there in general.

However, Caliph Umar seemed to be offering a peace treaty. This peace pact was manifested in a declaration called al-Uhda al-Umariyyah or the Caliph's guarantee of security for the citizens of Aelia. Aelia is the name given by the Orthodox Christians to the area of ​​Jerusalem at that time which was ruled by them. Umar ordered them to respect the rights of every civilian they met there.

Maher Abu Munshar in his book, Islamic Jerusalem and Its Christians , explains that the Qiyamah Church witnessed the meeting of Caliph Umar and Patriarch Sophronious to mutually agree on al-Uhda al-Umariyyah . As the conquering party, Umar could actually act like a ruler, but the Caliph preferred to still respect and respect the Orthodox Christian religious leader as an equal party.

One of the points of the agreement, as narrated by Ibn al-Jauzi, reads;

“Umar wrote to the residents of Bayt al-Maqdis (Aelia): I guarantee you the safety of your individual, your property, your family, your cross and your church. You will not be taxed beyond your means, and whoever decides to follow his people (Christians) will have his safety guaranteed and you pay kharaj like any other city in Palestine.”

The agreement was completed simultaneously with the entry of prayer times. The Caliph then asked Patriarch Sophronious, where he could pray. Patriarch Sophronious invited Umar to pray in the church. However, Umar refused the offer. The Caliph then left the Church and prayed on the steps.

Qiyamah Church is a holy place in Jerusalem for Orthodox Christians. According to Umar, symbolically, if the prayer is carried out in it, the Muslim troops can interpret it that the Qiyamah Church can be conquered so that it is turned into a mosque. This explanation resulted in a respectful nod from the Patriarch.

A small mosque was then built at the point where Caliph Umar prayed. As a form of respect, the Caliph recommended that the call to prayer not be sounded in the small mosque. Because, it is feared that it will disrupt the worship activities of Orthodox Christians at the Qiyamah Church, which is not far from it.

One more thing to note is that Umar did not sign an agreement between the two parties, but gave Aelia's people security guarantees. This is important because guaranteeing and asking for an agreement are two different things. Under normal circumstances, a peace treaty emerges as a result of negotiations between two parties. In this case, only one party, namely the Muslims, signed the Umar Guarantee. The Christians, led by the Patriarch, do not appear to have signed this document.

This shows that the guarantee was given to them as a peace commitment and not as a treaty. This commitment is a manifestation of rahmatan lil alamin that we can take for life today. We do not need to wait for requests from or persecution of non-Muslims. However, we are the ones who must initiate the commitment that Islam is a religion that brings peace and protects all creatures.