If one talks about one of the more important policy documents of the Islamic era, The Pact of Umar stands out as something that goes to show the overall ideology of the Muslim rules during that early time period of Islam. The pact sort of established the blueprint that needed to be followed by all the non-Muslims and the people who were involved in the early confrontation with Islam. The other reason behind the pact was to make sure that the establishment of protocols to make sure that there was no further bad blood between Muslim and non-Muslim communities. In this paper, we will see some of the underlying objectives of the document and what it sets to achieve in the long run. The document would be organized into categories so that a clear purpose behind its inception can be formulated.
To Show the Superiority of the Arab Muslims
One of the key purposes of the document was to make sure that some sort of superiority of the Muslims, especially Arab Muslims, could be developed. To make sure it happened, one of the key provisions in the document was how non-Muslims were supposed to stand up and vacate their seats if any of the Muslims were passing by. At the same time, to establish differences between Arabs and people of another ancestry, it was said to be very important to make sure that non-Arabs do not adopt any cultural practices that are specially referenced to Arabs. For example, they cannot adopt the same Kunyas or nicknames or should adopt the same dress codes as Muslims. Furthermore, they are also stopped from engraving any signets with Arabic nicknames on them.
Setting up the Distance between the Rules and One Being Rules
Another defining feature of the object is how it sets out very clearly the differences that exist between the people who rule and the people who are being ruled. For instance, non-Muslims are clearly instructed to make sure that they should not make their homes higher as compared to that of the rules so that the sense of superiority stays. Not only that but they are also being instructed to wear a belt that goes with the name Zunnar to ensure that they can be marked. Non-Muslims are also supposed to ensure that they are not riding on saddles, and they are supposed to clip forelocks from their head.
Giving Protections to Christians for their Loyalty
The pact, most of the time, is designed in a manner that Christians, who were one of the most fierce rivals of Muslims at that point in time, are being asked about their loyalty. The pact implies that if the Christians are able to abide by these guidelines, not only are they given a certain degree of freedom as far as the way they can follow their religion, but Muslims have assured them about their loyalty. The idea was to make sure that some sort of regulation was being set up regarding the way Christians can be taken care of and their loyalty can be asked for.
Conclusion
There are instances when it might seem that the pact is set up in a manner that is restrictive to the Non-Muslims. The key consideration, though, is the context and the era in which it was being formulated. The pact allows a certain degree of rights and privileges to the Christians and also makes Muslims dutiful towards making sure that complete security is being provided to them. Thus, in the era which was very formative, to say the least, the document comes across as a decent bargain for Non-Muslims.
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