# The Oath of the Prophet Mohammed to the Followers of the Nazarene (Haddad)

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THE OATH
——————OF THE——————
PROPHET MOHAMMED
——————TO THE——————
FOLLOWERS OF THE NAZARENE
——————:o:——————
TRANSLATED BY
ANTON F. HADDAD
1902
——————:o:——————
PUBLISHED BY
THE BOARD OF COUNSEL
NEW YORK
This oath, entrusted by Mohammed to his Caliphs, is an expression of his authoritative command to them as to their attitude toward the followers of Christ throughout the whole world. The oath referred to was issued by the prophet Mohammed to the Christian Monks of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai. A copy of it was translated into Turkish, while the original is still preserved in the treasury of the ​Sultan in Constantinople. This same Turkish copy was translated into Arabic by Naufal Effendi Naufal, a Christian of Tripoli, Syria; which translation is recorded in a book written by him and known as Sunnajat-ut-tarab. The oath is as follows:
“This is a letter which was issued by Mohammed, Ibn Abdullah, the Messenger, the Prophet, the Faithful, who is sent to all the people as a trust on the part of God to all His creatures, that they may have no plea against God hereafter—Verily God is the Mighty, the Wise. This letter is directed to the embracers of Islam, as a Covenant given to the followers of Nazerene in the East and West, the far and the near, the Arabs and foreigners, the known and the unknown.
​"Whenever monks, devotees and pilgrims gather together, whether in a mountain or valley, or den, or frequented place, or plain, or church, or in houses of worship, Verily we are back of them and shall protect them, and their properties and their morals, by Myself, by My friends and by My assistants, for they are of My subjects and under My protection.
"I shall exempt them from that which may disturb them; of the burdens which are paid by others as an oath of allegiance. They must not give anything of their income but that which pleases them—they must not be offended, or disturbed, or coerced or compelled. Their judges should not be changed or prevented from accomplishing their offices, nor the monks disturbed in exercising their religious order, or the people of seclusion be stopped from dwelling in their cells.
​"Poll-taxes should not be put upon their judges, monks, and those whose occupation is the worship of God; nor is any other thing to be taken from them, whether it be a fine, a tax or any unjust right. Verily I shall keep their compact, wherever they may be, in the sea or on the land, in the East or West, in the North or South, for they are under My protection and the testament of My safety, against all things which they abhor.
"No taxes or tithes should be received from those who devote themselves to the worship of God in the mountains, or from those who cultivate the Holy Lands. No one has the right to interfere with their affairs, or bring any action against them—Verily this is for aught else and not for them; rather, in the seasons of crops, they should be given a Kadah for each Ardab of wheat (about five bushels and a half) as provision for them, and no one has the right to say to them this is too much, or ask them to pay any tax.
"As to those who possess properties, the wealthy and merchants, the poll-tax to be taken from them must not exceed twelve Dirhams a head per year (i. e. about 45 cents).
​"They shall not be imposed upon by any one to undertake a journey, or to be forced to go to wars or to carry arms; for the Islams have to fight for them. Do not dispute or argue with them, but deal according to the verse recorded in the Koran, to wit: 'Do not dispute or argue with the people of the Book but in that which is best.' Thus they will live favored and protected from everything which may offend them by the Callers to religion (Islam), wherever they may be and in any place they may dwell.
"Should any Christian woman be married to a Musluman, such marriage must not take place except after her consent, and she must not be prevented from going to her church for prayer. Their churches must be honored and they must not be withheld from building churches or repairing convents.
"They must not be forced to carry arms or stones; but the Islams must protect them and defend them against others. It is positively incumbent upon every one of the Islam nation not to contradict or disobey this oath until the Day of Resurrection and the end of the world."
This is the oath which Mohd. Ibn Abdullah gave to the Christian nation, the fulfill​ment and promulgation of which has been agreed upon by all the witnesses who have hitherto attached their names. It was signed by the great Assistants of Mohammed, as follows:
Ali Ibn Abi Talib
Abou Bekr Ibn Kahafat
Omar Ibn El-Khattab
Ottman Ibn Affan
Aboul Darda
Abou Harirat
Abdullah Ibn Masood
Abbas Ibn Abdoul Mottaleb
El-Fadhl Ibn Abbas
Ezzobier Ibn El-Awam
Talhat Ibn Abdullah
Said Ibn Maath
Said Ibn Abada
Thabit Ibn Nafees
Zied Ibn Thabit
Abou Hanifa Ibn Attaba
Hashim Ibn Obied
Maazam Ibn Kariesh
El-Harith Ibn Thabit
Abdoul Azim Ibn Haasan
Abdullah Ibn Omar Ibn El-Aas
Aamir Ibn Yasir
This oath was written by the hand of Ali Ibn Abi Talib in the worship place of the Prophet on the third day of Moharram in the second year of El-Hajrih."
This work was published before January 1, 1930, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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