Ashtiname of Muhammad

File:Al ahd wa l surut allati sarrataha Muham.pdf

According to the monks' tradition, Muhammad frequented the monastery and had great relationships and discussions with the Sinai fathers.{{cite web |url=http://www.sinaimonastery.com/en/index.php?lid=68 |title=Mohammed and the Holy Monastery of Sinai |access-date=2013-09-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113095907/http://www.sinaimonastery.com/en/index.php?lid=68 |archive-date=2013-11-13 }}

Several certified historical copies are displayed in the library of St Catherine, some of which are witnessed by the judges of Islam to affirm historical authenticity. The monks claim that during the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17), the original document was seized from the monastery by Ottoman soldiers and taken to Sultan Selim I's palace in Istanbul for safekeeping.Lafontaine-Dosogne, "Le Monastère du Sinaï: creuset de culture chrétiene (Xe-XIIIe siècle)", p. 105. A copy was then made to compensate for its loss at the monastery. It also seems that the charter was renewed under the new rulers, as other documents in the archive suggest.Atiya, "The Monastery of St. Catherine and the Mount Sinai Expedition". p. 578. Traditions about the tolerance shown towards the monastery were reported in governmental documents issued in Cairo and during the period of Ottoman rule (1517–1798), the Pasha of Egypt annually reaffirmed its protections.

In 1916, Na'um Shuqayr published the Arabic text of the Ashtiname in his Tarikh Sina al-qadim or History of Ancient Sinai. The Arabic text, along with its German translation, was published for a second time in 1918 in Bernhard Moritz's Beiträge zur Geschichte des Sinai-Klosters.

The Testamentum et pactiones inter Mohammedem et Christianae fidei cultores, which was published in Arabic and Latin by Gabriel Sionita in 1630 represents a covenant concluded between Muhammad and the Christians of the World. It is not a copy of the Ashtiname.

The origins of the Ashtiname has been the subject of a number of different traditions, best known through the accounts of European travellers who visited the monastery. These authors include the French knight Greffin Affagart (d. c. 1557), the French traveller Jean de Thévenot (d. 1667) and the English prelate Richard Peacocke, who included an English translation of the text.

{{Sister|project=Wikisource|text=An English translation of the full text is available at Wikisource.|position=right}}

This is a letter which was issued by Mohammed, Ibn Abdullah, the Messenger, the Prophet, the Faithful, who is sent to all the people as a trust on the part of God to all His creatures, that they may have no plea against God hereafter—Verily God is the Mighty, the Wise. This letter is directed to the embracers of Islam, as a Covenant given to the followers of Nazerene in the East and West, the far and the near, the Arabs and foreigners, the known and the unknown.

This letter contains the oath given unto them, and he who disobeys that which is therein, will be considered a disobeyor and a transgressor to that whereunto he is commanded. He will be regarded as one who has corrupted the oath of God, disbelieved His Testament, rejected His Authority, despised His Religion, and made himself deserving of His Curse, whether he is a Sultan or any other believer of Islam.

Whenever monks, devotees and pilgrims gather together, whether in a mountain or valley, or den, or frequented place, or plain, or church, or in houses of worship, Verily we are back of them and shall protect them, and their properties and their morals, by Myself, by My friends and by My assistants, for they are of My subjects and under My protection.

I shall exempt them from that which may disturb them; of the burdens which are paid by others as an oath of allegiance. They must not give anything of their income but that which pleases them—they must not be offended, or disturbed, or coerced or compelled. Their judges should not be changed or prevented from accomplishing their offices, nor the monks disturbed in exercising their religious order, or the people of seclusion be stopped from dwelling in their cells.

No one is allowed to plunder their pilgrims, or destroy or spoil any of their churches, or houses of worship, or take any of the things contained within these houses and bring it to the houses of Islam. And he who takes away anything therefrom, will be one who has corrupted the oath of God, and, in truth, disobeyed His messenger.

Poll-taxes should not be put upon their judges, monks, and those whose occupation is the worship of God; nor is any other thing to be taken from them, whether it be a fine, a tax or any unjust right. Verily I shall keep their compact, wherever they may be, in the sea or on the land, in the East or West, in the North or South, for they are under My protection and the testament of My safety, against all things which they abhor.

No taxes or tithes should be received from those who devote themselves to the worship of God in the mountains, or from those who cultivate the Holy Lands. No one has the right to interfere with their affairs, or bring any action against them—Verily this is for aught else and not for them; rather, in the seasons of crops, they should be given a Kadah for each Ardab of wheat (about five bushels and a half) as provision for them, and no one has the right to say to them this is too much, or ask them to pay any tax.

As to those who possess properties, the wealthy and merchants, the poll-tax to be taken from them must not exceed twelve Dirhams a head per year. {{Efn|A current price of {{Inflation|index=US|value=.45|start_year=1902|r=2}} USD per year.}}

They shall not be imposed upon by any one to undertake a journey, or to be forced to go to wars or to carry arms; for the Islams have to fight for them. Do not dispute or argue with them, but deal according to the verse recorded in the Koran, to wit: 'Do not dispute or argue with the people of the Book but in that which is best.' Thus they will live favored and protected from everything which may offend them by the Callers to religion (Islam), wherever they may be and in any place they may dwell.

Should any Christian woman be married to a Musluman, such marriage must not take place except after her consent, and she must not be prevented from going to her church for prayer. Their churches must be honored and they must not be withheld from building churches or repairing convents.

They must not be forced to carry arms or stones; but the Islams must protect them and defend them against others. It is positively incumbent upon every one of the Islam nation not to contradict or disobey this oath until the Day of Resurrection and the end of the world.

{{Cite wikisource|title=The Oath of the Prophet Mohammed to the Followers of the Nazarene (Haddad)}}

Many early modern scholars accepted the authenticity of the work, including Franciscus Quaresmius, Balthasar de Monconys, and Kara Mustafa Pasha.{{cite book | last=Morrow | first=John Andrew | title=The Islamic Interfaith Initiative: no fear shall be upon them | publication-place=Newcastle-upon-Tyne | date=2021 | isbn=978-1-5275-7482-3 | oclc=1277138744 | page=335 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnNjEAAAQBAJ&dq=Ashtiname+of+Muhammad+authenticity&pg=PA335}}{{cite web | title=Dr. John Andrew Morrow | website=Muhammad (pbuh) - Prophet of Islam | date=2015-01-27 | url=http://www.lastprophet.info/covenant-of-the-prophet-muhammad-with-the-monks-of-mt-sinai | access-date=2022-10-09 | archive-date=2022-10-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013023439/https://www.lastprophet.info/covenant-of-the-prophet-muhammad-with-the-monks-of-mt-sinai | url-status=dead }} The modern Muslim scholar John Andrew Morrow also believes in the authenticity of the document, pointing out that the document is replicated verbatim across numerous Islamic sources, including more than a thousand years of Caliphs and Sultans.{{Cite web |last=Morrow |first=John Andrew |date=2019-10-16 |title=The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad Continue to Cause Controversy |url=https://themaydan.com/2019/10/the-covenants-of-the-prophet-muhammad-continue-to-cause-controversy/ |access-date=2023-09-04 |website=Maydan |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |title=Islām and the People of the Book Volumes 1-3: Critical Studies on the Covenants of The Prophet |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-5275-9876-8 |editor-last=Andrew Morror |editor-first=John |location=Cambridge |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Andrew Morrow |first=John |title=The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World |publisher=Angelico Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1597314657 |location=New York |language=en}} However, since the 19th century several aspects of the Ashtiname, notably the list of witnesses, have been questioned by some scholars,Ratliff, "The monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai and the Christian communities of the Caliphate", note 9. Ratliff refers to Mouton, "Les musulmans à Sainte-Catherine au Moyen Âge", p. 177. with several noting the lack of any reference to such documents in classical Islamic texts.Sanni, Amidu Olalekan. (2015). The Covenants of the Prophet Muḥammad with the Christians of the World. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 35(4), 589–592. doi:10.1080/13602004.2015.1112122  There are similarities to other documents granted to other religious communities in the Near East. One example is Muhammad's alleged letter to the Christians of Najran, which first came to light in 878 in a monastery in Iraq and whose text is preserved in the Chronicle of Seert.

Some have argued that the Ashtiname is a resource for building bridges between Muslims and Christians. For example, in 2009, in the pages of The Washington Post, Muqtedar Khan

name=khan09>{{Citation

| last=Khan |first =Muqtedar |author-link=M. A. Muqtedar Khan

| title=Muhammad's promise to Christians

| newspaper=The Washington Post

|date=December 30, 2009

| url=http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/12/prophet_muhammads_promise_to_christians.html

| archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20100118074850/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/12/prophet_muhammads_promise_to_christians.html

| url-status=dead

| archive-date=January 18, 2010

|access-date=1 December 2012}} translated the document in full, arguing:

{{quote|

Those who seek to foster discord among Muslims and Christians focus on issues that divide and emphasize areas of conflict. But when resources such as Muhammad's promise to Christians is invoked and highlighted it builds bridges. It inspires Muslims to rise above communal intolerance and engenders goodwill in Christians who might be nursing fear of Islam or Muslims.

}}

The Ashtiname is the inspiration for The Covenants Initiative which urges all Muslims to abide by the treaties and covenants that Muhammad concluded with the Christian communities of his time.{{Cite web |title=covenantsoftheprophet.org |url=https://covenantsoftheprophet.org |access-date=2018-02-26 |website=covenantsoftheprophet.org}}

Muhammad's Ashtiname refers to the relation and marriage of Christian and Muslim beliefs and the assured protection of Christian churches in Islamic regions. However, modern interpretation has extended this tolerance to other faiths, such as Judaism and Hinduism:

{{quote|Quran (2:256) "There is no compulsion and coercion in regard to religion..."[https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/exclusive-ashtiname-of-muhammad-pbuh.584606/ Exclusive: Ashtiname of Muhammad (PBUH)]. defence.pk. Accessed 14 April 2023.}}

In 2018, the final legal judgement in the Pakistani Asia Bibi blasphemy case cited the covenant. It said that one of Noreen's accusers violated the Ashtiname of Muhammad, a "covenant made by Muhammad with Christians in the seventh century but still valid today".{{cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2018/october/asia-bibi-free-pakistan-blasphemy-death-supreme-court.html|title=Pakistan Frees Asia Bibi from Blasphemy Death Sentence|date=31 October 2018|publisher=Christianity Today|language=en|access-date=31 October 2018|author=Asif Aqeel}} In 2019, Imran Khan, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, cited the covenant in a speech delivered at the World Government Summit.{{cite web|url=http://insaf.pk/public/insafpk/news/prime-minister-pakistan-imran-khan-speech-punjab-government-100-days-achievement-ceremony|title=PM Imran Khan Speech at 100 Days Performance of Punjab government|author=Insaf.pk|date=22 December 2018|language=ur|access-date=23 December 2018|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224023730/http://insaf.pk/public/insafpk/news/prime-minister-pakistan-imran-khan-speech-punjab-government-100-days-achievement-ceremony|url-status=dead}}

{{portal|Islam}}

• Constitution of Medina
• Marrakesh Declaration
• Seal of Muhammad

{{notelist}} {{reflist}}

• Ratliff, Brandie. "The monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai and the Christian communities of the Caliphate." [https://web.archive.org/web/20150213034339/http://www.saintcatherinefoundation.org/files/8013/2983/0724/Sinaiticus_2008-email.pdf Sinaiticus. The bulletin of the Saint Catherine Foundation (2008)] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150213034339/http://www.saintcatherinefoundation.org/files/8013/2983/0724/Sinaiticus_2008-email.pdf archived]).
• Haddad, Anton F., trans. [https://bahai-library.com/muhammad_ali_oath_nazarenes The Oath of the Prophet Mohammed to the Followers of the Nazarene]. New York: Board of Counsel, 1902; H-Bahai: Lansing, MI: 2004.
• Atiya, Aziz Suryal. "The Monastery of St. Catherine and the Mount Sinai Expedition." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 96.5 (1952). pp. 578–86.
• Lafontaine-Dosogne, Jacqueline. "Le Monastère du Sinaï: creuset de culture chrétiene (Xe-XIIIe siècle)." In East and West in the Crusader states. Context – Contacts – Confrontations. Acta of the congress held at Hernen Castle in May 1993, ed. Krijnie Ciggaar, Adelbert Davids, Herman Teule. Vol 1. Louvain: Peeters, 1996. pp. 103–129.

;Arabic Editions of the Achtiname

• Morrow, John Andrew. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World. Kettering, OH: Angelico Press / Sophia Perennis, 2013.
• Amarah, Muhammad. al-Islam wa al-akhar. Maktabah al-Sharq al-Dawliyyah, 2002.
• Moritz, Bernhard. [https://archive.org/stream/beitrgezurgesc00moriuoft#page/n0/mode/1up Beiträge zur Geschichte des Sinai-Klosters im Mittelalter nach arabischen Quellen. Berlin, Verlag der königl. Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 1918.] (archive.org)
• Shuqayr, Na‘um. Tarikh Sina al-qadim wa al-hadith was jughrafiyatuha, ma‘a khulasat tarikh Misr wa al-Sham wa al-‘Iraq wa Jazirat al-‘Arab wa ma kana baynaha min al-‘ala’iq al-tijariyyah wa al-harbiyyah wa ghayriha ‘an tariq Sina’ min awwal ‘ahd al-tarikh il al-yawm. [al-Qahirah]: n.p., 1916.

;English, French, and German Translations of the Achtiname

• Thévenot, Jean de. Relation d’un voyage fait au Levant. Paris, L. Billaine, 1665.
• Pococke, Richard. 'Chapter XIV: The Patent of Mahomet, which he granted to the Monks of Mount Sinai; and to Christians in General.' Description of the East. Vol. 1. London, 1743. pp. 268–70.
• Arundale, Francis. Illustrations of Jerusalem and Mount Sinai. London: Henry Colburn, 1837.28–29
• Davenport, John. An Apology for Mohammed and the Koran. London: J. Davy and Sons, 1869. 147–151.
• Naufal, Naufal Effendi. [Translation from Turkish into Arabic completed prior to 1902].
• Moritz, Bernhard. [https://archive.org/stream/beitrgezurgesc00moriuoft#page/n0/mode/1up Beiträge zur Geschichte des Sinai-Klosters im Mittelalter nach arabischen Quellen. Berlin, Verlag der königl. Akademie Der Wissenschaften, 1918.] (archive.org)
• Affagart, Greffin. [https://archive.org/details/relationdeterres00affauoft Relation de Terre Sainte, ed. J. Chavanon. Paris: V. Lecoffre, 1902.] (archive.org)
• Haddad, Anton F., trans. [https://bahai-library.com/muhammad_ali_oath_nazarenes The Oath of the Prophet Mohammed to the Followers of the Nazarene]. New York: Board of Counsel, 1902; H-Bahai: Lansing, MI: 2004.
• Skrobucha, Heinz. Sinai. London: Oxford University Press, 1966.58.
• Hobbs, Joseph J. Mount Sinai. Austin: University of Austin Press, 1995. 158–61.
• Morrow, John Andrew. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World. Tacoma, WA: Angelico Press / Sophia Perennis, 2013.

• {{Cite book |last=Atiya |first=Aziz Suryal |title=The Arabic Manuscripts of Mount Sinai: A Handlist of the Arabic Manuscripts and Scrolls Microfilmed at the Library of the Monastery of St. Catherine, Mount Sinai |location=Baltimore |publisher=Johns Hopkins Press |year=1955 }}
• Atiya, Aziz Suryal. "The Monastery of St. Catherine and the Mount Sinai Expedition." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 96.5 (1952). pp. 578–86.
• {{Cite book |last=Hobbs |first=J. |title=Mount Sinai |url=https://archive.org/details/mountsinai00hobb |url-access=registration |location=Austin |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=1995 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/mountsinai00hobb/page/158 158]–61 |isbn=9780292730915 }}
• Lafontaine-Dosogne, Jacqueline. "Le Monastère du Sinaï: creuset de culture chrétiene (Xe-XIIIe siècle)." In East and West in the Crusader states. Context – Contacts – Confrontations. Acta of the congress held at Hernen Castle in May 1993, ed. Krijnie Ciggaar, Adelbert Davids, Herman Teule. Vol 1. Louvain: Peeters, 1996. pp. 103–129.
• {{Cite book |editor=Manaphis, K.A. |title=Sinai: Treasures of the Monastery of Saint Catherine |location=Athens |year=1990 |pages=14, 360–1, 374 }}
• {{Cite journal |last=Moritz |first=B. |title=Beitrage zur Geschichte des Sinai-Klosters im Mittelalter nach arabischen Quellen |journal=Abhandlungen der Berliner Akademie |year=1918 |url=https://archive.org/stream/beitrgezurgesc00moriuoft#page/n0/mode/1up}}
• {{Cite journal |last=Moritz |title=none |journal=Abhandlungen der Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften |year= 1928 |volume=4 |pages=6–8 }}
• {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Mouton |first=Jean-Michel |title=Les musulmans à Sainte-Catherine au Moyen Âge |encyclopedia=Le Sinai durant l'antiquité et le moyen âge. 4000 ans d'histoire pour un desert |location=Paris |publisher=Editions Errance |year=1998 |pages=177–82 }}
• {{Cite book |title=The Treasures of Mount Athos [Series A]: Illuminated manuscripts |year=1974–1975 |location=Athens |author1=Pelekanidis, S. M. |author2=Christou, P. C. |author3=Tsioumis, Ch. |author4=Kadas, S. N. }} A copy in the Simonopetra monastery, p. 546.
• Ratliff, Brandie. "The monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai and the Christian communities of the Caliphate." [https://web.archive.org/web/20150213034339/http://www.saintcatherinefoundation.org/files/8013/2983/0724/Sinaiticus_2008-email.pdf Sinaiticus. The bulletin of the Saint Catherine Foundation (2008)] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150213034339/http://www.saintcatherinefoundation.org/files/8013/2983/0724/Sinaiticus_2008-email.pdf archived]).
• {{Cite book |author=Sotiriou, G. and M. |title=Icones du Mont Sinaï |series=2 vols (plates and texts). Collection de L'Institut francais d'Athènes 100 and 102 |location=Athens |year=1956–58 |pages=227–8 }}
• {{Cite journal |last=Vryonis |first=S. |title=The History of the Greek Patriarchate of Jerusalem as Reflected in Codex Patriarchus No. 428, 1517–1805 |journal=Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies |volume= 7 |year=1981 |pages=29–53|doi=10.1179/030701381806931532 |s2cid=161924458 }}

{{Sister|project=Wikisource|text=An English translation of the full text is available at Wikisource.}}

• [https://books.google.com/books?id=sOlMAAAAcAAJ&q=testamentum+pactiones Downloadable PDF of the 1630 Arabic and Latin edition at Google Books.]
• [https://archive.org/details/six-covenants-of-the-prophet-persian/mode/2up Ashtiname of Muhammad (Persian)]
• [https://archive.org/details/six-covenants-of-the-prophet-urdu/mode/2up Ashtiname of Muhammad (Urdu)]

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