Beginning five years after the death of the prophet Muhammad, Muslims ruled Jerusalem and its surrounding areas for a total of 13 centuries, but after almost 500 years, in 1099, lost control of the city to the crusaders for 100 years[1].[2]

For the most part, from 638-1517 Jerusalem was ruled by Arabs including the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid dynasties. Between 1072 and 1092 the Seljuk Turks controlled the city but from 1099 to 1187 and from 1229 to 1239, the crusaders ruled.Following these eight centuries, Jerusalem came under the control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire.[3]

Many Trails to reach Jerusalem

Jerusalem is considered to be the third most sacred city for Muslims after Mecca and Medina.[4] The city of Prophets was mentioned in the chapter of the Quran titles al-Israa where the nocturnal journey of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and then his ascension from there to the heavens is recounted[5] The first verse of this chapter reads: “Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from the sacred mosque (in Mecca) to the al-Aqsa mosque, whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the seeing”.

Jerusalem was also the first qibla for Muslims, which they were required to face the direction of whenever they prayed.[6] For eighteen months, the Prophet and his companions prayed towards Jerusalem before the verses that ordered them to turn to Mecca were revealed.[7]

Because of the religious significance of Jerusalem, Muslims tried several times to reach and conquer Jerusalem during the time of the Prophet and after his death. The first Muslim battle with the Byzantines took place during the time of the Prophet in 629. The battle of Mu’ta under the leadership of Zaid bin Haritha ended with the withdrawal of the Muslims.[8] Muhammad leaded another battle against the Byzantines later in his life. The battle of Tabuk ended without a real fight due to the withdrawal of Byzantines,[9] And the prophet once again prepared an army to face the Byzantines under the leadership of Usamah Bin Zaid, but died before the army left the Medina.[10]

In 636, Muslims arrived in the area surrounding Jerusalem. At the time of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, the army of Muslims prepared by the Prophet left Medina and headed to where it defeated the Byzantine in the battle of Yarmuk.[11] The area fell under the Muslim control except for Jerusalem which stayed under Byzantines for another two years.[12]

Muslim reach Jerusalem

In 638, the Muslims laid siege to the city of Jerusalem.[13] Muslims, under the leadership of the companion Abu Ubaida Amir bin al-Jarrah[14] gave the inhabitants of Jerusalem three options: to convert to Islam, to surrender and pay a poll tax in exchange for guarantee of protection by the Muslims, or war.[15] The Christian inhabitants chose to fight. For four months, Jerusalem was under siege until its inhabitants vied for peace, but argued that they would only surrender to the caliph himself. [16].[17]

Umar in Jerusalem

Sophronius, Jerusalem orthodox patriarch, required the arrival of Umar before he hands over the city’s keys.[18] When Umar arrived to the city he was dressed simply, and was riding on a camel, and it was only upon his arrival that the patriarch agreed to open the city’s gates.[19]

Umar visited Jerusalem for the first time in 639 and handed its patriarch a formal written pact that secured the safety of Christian property, and their individual freedom and safety. This pledge was historically known as The Umari covenant or al-‘Uhdah al-Umariyya.[20]The Umari Covenant

In addition to the agreement to protect the property, safety, and freedom of the Christian inhabitants of the city, Umar also allowed the Jews to come back to the city and practice their religion freely.[21] The pact ensured the civil and religious rights of all inhabitants of the city[22] and read “From the servant of God and the Commander of the Faithful, Umar: The inhabitants of Jerusalem are granted security of life and property. Their churches and crosses shall be secure. This treaty applies to all people of the city. Their places of worship shall remain intact. These shall neither be taken over nor pulled down. People shall be quite free to follow their religion. They shall not be put to any trouble.”[23]

Umar visiting Jerusalem Churches

Upon his visit to the city, the patriarch shows Umar around and takes him to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.[24] When they were in the church, Sophornias invited Umar to pray in the church but Umar refused, citing his fear that his followers might take this as a justification to take over the church and turn it into a mosque. Umar prayed on a ground close to the church and Muslims later erected a mosque on that ground and called it the Umari mosque which still exists until this day.[25]

The first Mosque in Jerusalem

After visiting the church, Umar asked Sophornias to take him to the area where Muslims believe the stone from where the Prophet ascended to the sky during his night journey is.[26]He cleaned the stone that bore the footprint of Muhammad and Then prayed in the place and ordered the erection of a mosque around the stone.[27] The simple construction was later replaced with the glorious Dome of the Rock built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd- Al-Malik Bin Marwan.[28]

Others say that Umar prayed south of the stone and that this area is actually where the currentAl-Aqsa Mosque stands. Regardless these two mosques, Al-Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, and the enclosed area between them is also referred to al haram al-sharif, or the Noble Shrine, and is the most sacred sanctuary for Muslims in the area.

[1] Habib Ghanem, Jerusalem: a History and a Cause (Lebanon: Dar Al-Manhel, 2002), 30

[2] Abdul Aziz Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, Jerusalem in History (2000): 105

[3] Henry Cattan, Jerusalem (London: Saqi Books, 2000), 27

[4] Joseph Millis, Jerusalem: the Illustrated History of the Holy City (London: Andre Deutsch, 2012), 34 and Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, 105

[5] Millis, Jerusalem, 34 and Teddy Kollek and Moshe Pearlman, Jerusalem: a History of Forty Centuries (New York: Random House, 1968), 155 and Karen Armstrong, Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths (New York: Ballantine Books, 2005), Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 224-225

[6] Millis, Jerusalem, 34

[7] Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, 105

[8] Aref Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem (Jerusalem: Al Andalus Library, 1999 fifth edition), 84

[9] Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 85

[10] Riad Yassin and Amjad Al-Fa’ouri, the Political and Cultural History of Jerusalem (Jordan: Dar Wael, 2012), 23

[11] Riad Yassin and Amjad Al-Fa’ouri, the Political and Cultural History of Jerusalem (Jordan: Dar Wael, 2012),

Yaseen and Fa’ouri, the Political and Cultural History, 23 and Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 227 and Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 85

[12] Millis, Jerusalem, 34

[13] Cattan, Jerusalem, 26 and Millis, Jerusalem, 35 and Yaseen and Fa’ouri, the Political and Cultural History, 28

[14] Millis, Jerusalem, 34 and Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 87

[15] Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 88

[16] Cattan, Jerusalem, 26

[17] Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, 106

[18] Cattan, Jerusalem, 26 and Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 228 and Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 89

[19] Cattan, Jerusalem, 27

[20] Cattan, Jerusalem, 26

[21]Millis, Jerusalem, 35 and Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 231

[22] Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, 106-107

[24] Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 229 and Al-Aref, History of Jerusalem, 96-98

[25] Cattan, Jerusalem, 26-27

[26] Cattan, Jerusalem, 27 and Duri, “Jerusalem in the Early Islamic Period”, 108 and Armstrong, One City, Three Faiths, 229-230

[27] Cattan, Jerusalem, 27 and Kollek and Pearlman, a History of Forty Centuries, 155

[28] Cattan, Jerusalem, 27

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