Question

The text below from the Pact of Umar was offered by the Caliph Umar to a group of people in the territory he commanded in the seventh century. Use this text to answer the following question:

In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of God Umar [ibn al-Khattab], Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations toward you:

We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks' cells, nor shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.

We shall keep our gates wide open for passersby and travelers. We shall give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way for three days.

We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our dwellings to any spy, nor bide him from the Muslims.

We shall not teach the Qur'an to our children…

We accept these conditions for ourselves and for the people of our community, and in return we receive safe-conduct. If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves stand surety, we forfeit our covenant [dhimma], and we become liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition.

Public Domain

Which of these groups most likely authored this text?

Slaves
Muslim Arabs
Muslim non-Arabs
People of the Book

Answer 1

The text from the Pact of Umar is most likely authored by the People of the Book, specifically Christians, who sought safe conduct from Caliph Umar in exchange for certain obligations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The group most likely to have authored this text from the Pact of Umar is the People of the Book, which refers to Christians and Jews. The text outlines a series of obligations that the Christians agreed to when seeking safe conduct from Caliph Umar, such as not building or repairing religious structures, not teaching the Quran to their children, and showing respect towards Muslims. These conditions reflect the status of Christians living under early Islamic rule and their acceptance of certain restrictions in exchange for protection.

Answer 2

The answer is D) People of the Book


In Islamic law, people of the book are those people who followed Abrahamic religious and received holy books. Hence, the people who follow the books of Gospel, Torah, Palms, and the Quran are called people of the Book.

In this context it could mean either the Christians, Jews or even Sabians