Decree of the Prophet Muhammad concerning the Armenians

The decree of the Prophet Muhammad concerning the Armenian people. The source dates it to 626 and states that the Armenians are the non-Muslim people whose members may not be killed or robbed, nor deprived of their land and faith.

According to the source, the decree was brought to Jerusalem by Muhammad’s successor and close companion Omar (Umar ibn al-Khattab), and it is kept in the archive of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This command was also followed by the Egyptian sultan Salah ad-Din (Saladin), who captured Jerusalem; his decree orders that Christians not be urged to convert to Islam and that churches not be destroyed. The sworn charter was given to Abraham, the first patriarch of the Armenian Church of Jerusalem.

The picture shows two handwritten scrolls in Arabic script; at the top of the left one, three domes with crescents are drawn.