The Letters, Treaties, and Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad

Dear Colleagues,

Religions (ISSN 2077-1444), published monthly online by MDPI, is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open access journal on religions and theology, and is now devoting a Special Issue to ‘The Letters, Treaties, and Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad’. We are seeking original scholarship that makes a meaningful contribution to this field of covenantal studies. Articles may address:

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet in the Monastery of St. Catherine’s Library in Sinai

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet in the metochia of St. Catherine’s Monastery

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet in Mount Athos

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet in St. George al-Humayrah Monastery in Syria

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet with the Assyrian Christians

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet and ‘Umar with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate in Turkey

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet with the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet and ‘Umar with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Turkey

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet with the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem

* Copy of the Prophet Muhammad with the Armenian Christians

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet in the Chronicle of Seert

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet studied by Georg Graff

* Copies of covenants of the Prophet in Persia (in Persian and Arabic)

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet reproduced by Gabriel Sionita

* Copies of the Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad at the Hill and Manuscript Museum

* Copy of the Covenant of the Prophet recorded by Mikhail Ghabril

* Copies of the Covenants of the Prophet and Ali in the Matenadaran in Armenia

* The Covenants of the Prophet and the Ottoman Firmans in the Balkans

* The Covenant of the Prophet recently discovered in the Monastery of Mar Behnam in Iraq by Father Columba Stewart, a Benedictine monk from Minnesota, and Father Najeeb Michaeel, a Dominican friar from Iraq

* The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Banu Zakan

* The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Samaritans

* The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Jews of Maqna and Khaybar

* The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Children of Israel

* Hebrew-Arabic covenants

* The Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Magians

* The Prophet’s letters to kings

* The Covenant of ‘Ali with the Armenians

* The Covenant of ‘Ali with the Magians

* The Covenant of ‘Umar from the Ottoman archives

* The Covenant of ‘Umar from Mar Gabriel of Mardin

* The Covenant of ‘Umar with the Christians of Jerusalem

* The Pacte de Mahomet, en faveur des Arméniens translated by M.J. Zohrab

* The Traité de Mahomet mentioned by Mr. Gregory

* The Charte de Mahomet en faveur des Chrétiens presented by M. Nallino

* The Prophet’s political documents (the letter to al-Alaa)

* Firmans and covenant-related material from Matenadaran, Armenia

* Covenant-related material from Sulaymania, Iraq

* The influence of the covenants on Imam ‘Ali’s Letter to Malik al-Ashtar

* Philological similarities between the covenants and the correspondence of ‘Ali and Mu‘awiyyah

* The corruption of the Covenant of ‘Umar over the centuries

* Others letters, treaties, and covenants of the Prophet

* Traditions prohibiting the oppresses of dhimmis

* ‘Umar’s Capitulation Treaty with the Christians of Jerusalem

* Caliph Muktafi’s Charter of Protection

* Echoes of the covenants in early Muslim encounters with monks related in historical chronicles

* The scribes of the covenants

* The legal authorities who authenticated copies of the covenants

* Feridun Bey and the Sinai Covenant

* Sultan Selim and the Sinai Covenant

* Scribal conventions of the covenants

* Father Pacifique Scaliger; Gabriel Sionita; Johann Georg Nissel; translations of the covenants into Latin, French, English, and German

* The history of the covenants

* The covenants of the Prophet in travel literature

* The Prophet Muhammad in the chronicles of the monks of Mount Sinai

* Comparative studies of the covenants

* Linguistic and stylistic analysis of the covenants

* Comparisons between the covenants of the Prophet and hadith literature

* Scribal errors in the covenants

* Women in the covenants

* Witnesses to the covenants 

* The covenants in ecclesiastical histories

* The fatwas concerning the Covenant of the Prophet found at the Monastery of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt

* The origin of Leon Arpee's Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of Persia;

* The origin of George David Malech’s Covenant of the Prophet Muhammad with the Assyrian Christians

* The covenants in light of the Ottoman ashtiname tradition

* Jurisprudential principles derived from the covenants

* Allusions and references to the covenants in classic works of tradition and history

* The implementation and practical application of the covenants throughout the course of Islamic history

* The application and violation of the covenants of the Prophet in current times in places like Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, Mindanao, France, the United States, and elsewhere

* Aasia Bibi, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and the covenants of the Prophet

* The Islamic “state” or ummah in light of the covenants

* Political Islam and the covenants

* The Hamas Covenant in light of the covenants

* The Houthi movement and the covenants

* The constitution of Iran, Iraq and other nations in light of the covenants

* The ‘Ibadis and the covenants

* The Isma‘ilis and the covenants

* The Moghuls and the covenants

* The covenants of the Prophet and radical Islamist terrorism

* The covenants of the Prophet and religious pluralism

* The covenants of the Prophet, blasphemy and apostasy

* Semantic shifts in early Islamic terminology

* The use of Qur’anic verses and citations in the covenants

* Constructive Christian-Muslim relations during the period of prophecy, caliphate, and imamate

* The Covenants in light of the Qur’an and the Qur’an in light of the Covenants

* Sufi themes in the covenants

* Shi‘ite themes in the covenants

* The covenants, the shari‘ah, and the jurisprudence of minorities

* The enduring validity of the covenants / the contemporary relevance of the covenants

* The covenants and diyarat or monastic literature

* Commentary, interpretation, and analysis of the covenants from various critical perspectives

* The evolution of the term ahl al-kitab and their treatment over time

* The covenants in early inscriptions

* Early Christian-Muslim relations: from mu’minin to mushrikin and kuffar

* Sharing sacred spaces

* Inclusion and later exclusion of Christian and Jewish sites in Muslim pilgrimage routes

* Shared religious festivals among the People of the Book

* Early Christian/Muslim military alliances

* The covenants of the Prophet and interfaith, intrafaith, and interreligious dialogue

* The Founding Fathers of the United States and the covenants of the Prophet

* Thomas Jefferson and the covenants of the Prophet

* The covenants of the Prophet and international diplomacy

* The covenants of the Prophet and human rights

* The covenants of the Prophet and socio-political principles

* Ibn Taymiyyah versus the covenants of the Prophet

* The Chronicle of Seert and the covenant of Najran

* The art of the covenants

* The covenants of the Prophet in eastern and western art

* The artistic depiction of the Prophet Muhammad delivering his covenant to the monks of Mount Sinai found in Hamadani’s Jami‘ al-Tawarikh or Compendium of Chronicles

* The covenants and futuwwah or Sufi chilvalry

* Imran Khan and the covenants of the Prophet

* Saint John Climacus: the monk who met Muhammad?

* Sergius Bahira, the Monk, and the covenant of the Prophet

* A Prophet like Moses: The covenants of the Prophet as eighteen commandments revealed to him at Mount Sinai

* Translations and commentaries of the firmans in favor of the Covenant of the Prophet found at St. Catherine’s Monastery and available through the Library of Congress

* The Sinai Covenant as the Final Testament

* Sultan Malik al-Kamil and the covenant of the Prophet

* The chronological classification of the entirety of the surviving copies of the covenants of the Prophet

* The systematic re-examination of the objective boundaries regarding the authenticity and historicity of the covenants of the Prophet

* Skepticism of the Sinai Covenant: technical shortcomings and historical oversights

* New philological examination of the covenants

* Uncovering the mystery of the extent to which the covenants were implemented/upheld and when, and under what circumstances, the covenants were replaced with alternate standards for relations with non-Muslims. In regard to the latter, this will include the adoption of the forged Covenant of ‘Umar, which deprives Christians of their rights, as opposed to its original, which reiterated the protection of the covenants of the Prophet

* The extent the covenants influenced the Ottoman firmans which use similar phrases that are found in the covenants

* Identifying historical references to the covenants in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sources

* Political documents written before Islam and the manner in which they were written

* Did the Prophet Muhammad base his Charter of Privileges with the Monks of Mount Sinai on the Charter of Privileges that Justinian provided to the very same monastic community?

* The pre-Islamic, South Arabian habl or binding covenant as political theology and the possible Sabaic influence on the covenants of the Prophet. Was the Prophet’s concept of an ummah bound by a covenant influenced by the Sabaean concept of the muqarrrib, the unifier, who creates and leads a confederation or commonwealth by means of divine covenant, treaty, and alliance?  

* The chronological classification and systematic accumulation of the historic archival evidence which directly or indirectly owes its competence or even existence to the Sinai Covenant

* The recording of the actual implementation of the commandments of the Sinai Covenant, such as those to which the Sinai Fathers and the Sinai Bedouin tribes both adhere, and by extent the appointed representatives of the administration and leadership of the modern Egyptian state

* The systematic re-examination of the objective adequacy and comprehensiveness of the hypotheses on which the new, in comparison to the rest of the historical tradition, skeptical scholarly and academic tradition of the previous two centuries

* The Sinai Covenant and the Orthodox Christian, the Orthodox Sunni Islamic, and the modern Secular State

* The Sinai Covenant as a promise of protection initially offered to the Monk Fathers of the God-Trodden Mount Sinai Monastery and by extension to all Christians

* Fourteen centuries of a Concordat of peaceful coexistence of Christians within the Islamic world as proof of the authenticity and validity of the Sinai Covenant

* The implications of the scholarly refutation of the Sinai Covenant: the nullification of fourteen centuries of protections provided to Christians in the Islamic world

* The thousands of archival texts of Sunni administrative jurisprudence based on the individual rules or the entirety of the eighteen commandments of the Sinai Covenant

* Fourteen centuries of archival evidence, primarily of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence and bureaucracy, which confirms the obligation of Muslims related to the Christian privileges established via the Sinai Covenant

* Direct and indirect citations of the Sinai Covenant or parts of its content in Sunni and Shi‘ite sources

* Reconsideration of the entire historical and academic scholarly tradition on the Sinai Covenant

* The covenants of the Prophet and A Common Word, the Covenants Initiative, the Marrakesh Declaration, and the Declaration on Fraternity for Knowledge and Cooperation

* The influence of the covenants of the Prophet on anti-extremist and anti-radicalization efforts

* The covenants of the Prophet and the protection of world heritage sites

* The covenants of the Prophet and foreign policy

* The covenants of the Prophet to non-Muslim communities and their relevance to religious co-existence and good governance

* The covenants of the Prophet and Qur’anist, modernist, progressive, and reformist Islam

* Reconstructing the biography of the Prophet Muhammad based on the covenants

*  The Prophet’s covenants and the administration of early Muslim polity

* The Prophet’s covenants as the inspiration of the treaties issued by the Companions to non-Muslim communities of their time

* The philological influence of the Prophet’s covenants in the political writings and letter exchanges of the Companions

* The economic policy of the covenants of the Prophet

* Abdul-Baha and the covenants of the Prophet

* The covenants of the Prophet in light of political science, economics, sociology, ethics, leadership studies, and other fields

* Other topics related to the letters, treaties, and covenants of the Prophet

Dr. John Andrew Morrow
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.