[W]hen they came to Medina they came into the Messenger’s mosque as he prayed the afternoon prayer clad in Yamani garments, cloaks, and mantles, with the elegance of men of B. al-Harith b. Ka’b. The Prophet’s Companions who saw them that day said that they never saw their like in any deputation that came afterwards. The time of their prayers having come they stood and prayed in the Messenger’s mosques; and he said that they were to be left to do so. They prayed towards the east ([27], p. 271.)
After several rounds of negotiation over whether the Najrans should pay the jizya, or poll tax for non-Muslims, the Christians Najrans eventually sent a delegation to meet with Prophet Muhammad in Medina. Resulting from this meeting was the Treaty of Najran, which, according to Abu Bakr, conferred on the non-Muslims, living in the Islamic State, autonomy, both religious and administrative [28]. Evidently, the Christians of Najran “had been accorded special terms and privileges by the Prophet, which were maintained by Abu Bakr and Umar” ([17], p. 113). Based on the various meetings and treaties between Prophet Muhammad and the Christians of Najran, the messages in the Covenant with the Christian Najrans appear at the least feasible, if not authentic.
Far fewer scholars are familiar with “The Covenant of the Prophet with the Christians of Persia” than they are with the previous two Covenants ([17], p. 99). The Covenant with the Christians of Persia was first discussed in detail by the historian Arpee, who wrote that the document “was preserved in the archives of the Armenian Biship of New Julfa” and presented to the Armenian Bishop of New Julfa in the 17th century by Shah Abbas I of Persia ([29], p. 355; [17], p. 99). According to Arpee, “Ja’far, sixth Shi’ite Imam (8th century), testifies to its authenticity after compaing the text with the original in his own hand” ([29], p. 355). In the opinion of Dadoyan, however, Arpee’s argument is “highly dubious yet intriguing” ([30], p. 60). Dadoyan argues that “[n]o such document exists … and no record exists of any such document in the archives of the Prelacy of New Julfa” ([30], p. 64). Arguing alongside Arpee and opposing Dadyoyan, Morrow posits that Arpee had insufficient linguistic proficiency as to replicate a 17th-century Persian edict, nor did he have enough knowledge of Shi’ism to produce a convincing product. Furthermore, Arpee “had nothing to gain by perpertraing a historical fraud … ” ([17], p. 103). According to Morrow, Shah ‘Abbas obtained the document through several potential avenues including: (1) from another Christian community, likely the Armenian Christians of Julfa; (2) the Safavid Persians obtained a copy from Christian monks, likely from Egypt; and (3) “the Safavids obtained a copy of the covenant from Arab Shi’ite scholars from the Levant who moved to Persian in masse during the rule of Shah Abbas” ([17], p. 100). The most likely scenario, as argued by Morrow, is that Abbas obtained the Covenant from Safavid state archives ([17], p. 101). Nevertheless, the message of the Covenant itself reflects the treatment of Christians under the rule of Shah Abbas. The Safavid Empire during his reign was noted for its tolerance of Christians. Abbas was regarded as a liberator by Christians, who joined in Shi’ite-Christian solidarity under Persian rule [31].
The fourth and final Covenant examined in this paper is “The Covenant of the Prophet with the Christians of the World”. According to Fortescue, this document originates from Yeshu’yab II, who was said to have visited Muhammad and to have obtained from him a legal document granting certain rights to Nestorians ([32], p. 92). Father Pacifique Scaliger (1588–1648 CE), a Capuchin monk, is said to have been the first Christian to bring the document to Europe sometime in the 16th or 17th century ([33], p. 291; [34], p. 255). According to Sir Paul Ricaut (1629–1700 CE), the document was allegedly found in the Monastery at Mount Carmel:
The Treaty … was found in a convent belonging to the monks of Mount Carmel, close to Mount Lebanon and at one day’s journey from Mecca, where Muslim pilgrims perform their Qurban, or sacrifice, prior to entering the City. It is said that the original was brought to the Library of the King of France ([35], p. 320).
However, as Morrow points out, Ricaut likely made a mistake. The discovery of the Covenant with the Christians of the World was probably discovered in Arabia as opposed to Palestine ([17], p. 140). After all, “it takes approximately forty days to go from the Hijaz to Syria or Iraq by caravan” ([17], p. 140).
