Question

The text below from the Pact of Umar was offered by the Caliph Umar to a group of people in the territory he commanded in the seventh century. Use this text to answer the following question:
In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate. This is a letter to the servant of God Umar [ibn al-Khattab], Commander of the Faithful, from the Christians of such-and-such a city. When you came against us, we asked you for safe-conduct (aman) for ourselves, our descendants, our property, and the people of our community, and we undertook the following obligations toward you:

We shall not build, in our cities or in their neighborhood, new monasteries, Churches, convents, or monks' cells, nor shall we repair, by day or by night, such of them as fall in ruins or are situated in the quarters of the Muslims.

We shall keep our gates wide open for passersby and travelers. We shall give board and lodging to all Muslims who pass our way for three days.

We shall not give shelter in our churches or in our dwellings to any spy, nor bide him from the Muslims.

We shall not teach the Qur'an to our children…

We accept these conditions for ourselves and for the people of our community, and in return we receive safe-conduct. If we in any way violate these undertakings for which we ourselves stand surety, we forfeit our covenant [dhimma], and we become liable to the penalties for contumacy and sedition.

Public Domain

Which of these groups most likely authored this text?

Slaves
Muslim Arabs
Muslim non-Arabs
People of the Book

Answer 1

The answer is D) People of the Book


In Islamic law, people of the book are those people who followed Abrahamic religious and received holy books. Hence, the people who follow the books of Gospel, Torah, Palms, and the Quran are called people of the Book.

In this context it could mean either the Christians, Jews or even Sabians