Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time

Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time is a departure from what we usually publish at Angelico Press, but we thought it of vital importance in pointing to a new way for Christians to understand the ethos of early Islam, and for Muslims to conceive of Christian/Muslim relations, based on covenants established by the founder of Islam. Muhammad’s treaties with the Christians of his time, which John Andrew Morrow has rediscovered in obscure collections and often newly translated, uniformly state that Muslims are not to attack peaceful Christian communities, but defend them “until the End of the World.” It is a direct appeal to all Muslims to condemn the violence against Christians in the Middle East in the name of Muhammad himself, as these covenants constitute possibly the third foundational pillar for Islam (along with the Qur’an and hadith). The “Covenants Initiative” within the book represents a movement by Muslims, both prominent and unknown, in support of Christians under attack. These treaties and the Covenants Initiative desperately need to be better known among Christians, Muslims, and the general public. Renewed by caliphs and sultans, supported by scores of fatwas, and accepted as law for nearly 1400 years, these documents were common knowledge to educated Muslims and Christians until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, after which they virtually disappeared from collective consciousness. Their rediscovery will certainly open a new field in both Islamic Studies and interfaith relations. As the written words of Muhammad himself, and a central part of the Sunnah, they should sit side by side with the Qur’an in both mosque and home. If Muslims are ever to recover the reality of Islam and undergo a collective awakening, these covenants of hope will play a major part in that restoration. Those wishing to familiarize themselves with Dr. Morrow’s exhaustive arguments supporting the authenticity of these Covenants should refer to The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (Angelico, 2013).