On Historicity of the Najran Treatise on Jizya: Dating and Alternative Versions

Abstract

This publication is the fourth in a series of articles devoted to the dominant thesis in traditional Islamic political and legal theology about Jizya as a tribute from Non-Muslims, established by the Prophet Muhammad. The focus of these four articles is the main paradigmatic precedent – the deputation of Najran Christians to Medina and the agreement concluded with the Prophet on the payment of jizya. The formal Hadith analysis (i. e. in the aspect of the reliability of the isnad — the chain of transmitters) of the relevant traditions, given in the first article, is followed by their substantive analysis. The historicity of the aforementioned embassy, discussed in the previous two parts in terms of the composition of the deputation and the text of the treaty, is disputed here in the light of chronological inconsistencies and the presence of other versions that do not include the condition of paying tribute. The study is conducted in line with the reformist-modernist discourse, orientated on the disclosure of the tolerant-pluralistic intention of prophetic Islam.