{ And they are abased } [Al-tawba 29]: that is, humiliated, miserable, and scorned. For this reason it is not permissible to esteem those who are under safeguard [dhimma], nor elevate them above the Muslims; rather, they are shamed, abased, and wretched, as reported in Sahih Muslim from Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (SAW) said: Do not initiate greetings with Jews or Christians, and whenever you meet one of them on a road, force him to its narrowest part. This is why the Leader of the Faithful ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) imposed these well-known conditions on them – to shame them, abase them, and make them miserable. This is what the leading scholars of hadith preservation narrated from ‘Abd Al-Rahman ibn Ghanm Al-Ash’ari, who said: I wrote down the following for ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) when he made a truce with the Christians of Sham:

In the name of Allah the Merciful the Compassionate. This is a document to the servant of Allah ‘Umar, Leader of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such city. Indeed when you [the Muslims] came to us, we requested safeguarding from you for ourselves, our children, our property, and followers of our religion. And we have imposed upon ourselves to you the condition that we will not renovate any monastery, church, bishop’s residence, or hermitage for monks in our city, nor in the surrounding area; neither will we restore any of these that has been damaged, or set them up for anything that could be used to plot against the Muslims. And we will not prevent any Muslim from staying in our churches, night or day, and we will open their doors to anyone passing through or journeying. And we will host any Muslims who come by us, for three days, and we will provide their meals. And we will not give lodging in our churches or homes to any spies, nor will we conceal from the Muslims any deception or betrayal. We will not teach our children the Qur’an, we will not manifest any shirk or call anyone to it, nor will we prevent any of our kinsfolk from entering into Islam, if they desire it. We will treat the Muslims with great respect, and we will get up from where we are sitting if they wish to sit. And we will not imitate them in any of their clothing, headpieces, turbans, sandals, or the way they part their hair. We will not speak as they speak, and we will not use their kunya. We will not ride on saddles, and we will not wear swords nor will we take hold of any kind of weapon or carry one with us. We will not engrave our seals in Arabic, and we will not sell alcoholic drinks. We will shave the front of our heads, stick to our own adornments wherever we are, and keep belts around our waists. We will not display the cross on our churches, and we will not display our crosses or our books on absolutely any of the Muslim paths or their marketplaces. We will not ring our bells in our churches except a gentle ring, and we will not raise our voices during recitation in our churches if there are at all any Muslims around. And we will not bring out palm branches or Easter litany, nor will we raise our voices for our dead or display fires for them on absolutely any of the Muslim paths or their marketplaces, and we will not put our dead in their vicinity. And we will not take any slaves upon whom have fallen Muslim arrows [i.e. captured by Muslims]. We will guide the Muslims and we will not intrude on them in their homes.

He [Al-Ash’ari] said: When I had brought the document to ‘Umar, he added the following: We will not beat any of the Muslims. We have imposed for you these conditions upon ourselves and the followers of our religion, and we have accepted safety in return for it. And if we fail to keep anything of what we have imposed and designated for ourselves to you, then we are no longer under safeguarding [dhimma], and you are permitted to do to us what is permitted for people who are obstinate and rebellious.