Sufyan ibn Uyayna

سفيان بن عيينة

Sufyan ibn Uyayna of Mecca, jurist and hadith-master of second-century Hijaz; in al-Baladhuri: Abd al-Malik ibn Salih wrote consulting him on the people of Cyprus, and he answered 'we know of no people God covenanted with who broke the covenant without their blood becoming lawful, save the people of Mecca whom He pardoned' — their breach having been aiding their allies against the Messenger's own allies of Khuza'a — adding the case of Tajran's people, bound not to consume usury, whom Umar ruled to exile when they did; the consensus being that whoever breaks a covenant has no dhimma.

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Dhimma (the covenant of protection)

Dhimma in al-Baladhuri is the written covenant of security granted to treaty peoples of the Book: its formula in the Prophet's letter to Najran runs 'they have God's protection and the protection of His messenger over their persons, religion, lands, wealth, absent and present', and its stipulated terms in the Najran peace include that they not be seduced from their religion or its ranks, nor levied nor tithed, and in the letter's text that no bishop be removed from his bishopric, no monk from his monasticism, no right of theirs or their images — crucifixes and icons — be altered, and no army tread their land, while whoever of them took usury the Prophet's protection was quit of him; the letter of the people of Maqna grants 'God's protection and His messenger's' with security and pardon for every blood; and the dhimma was renewed under the caliphs — Abu Bakr wrote to the people of Najran on the model of the Prophet's letter, and Uthman called them 'a people who have a dhimma' when he remitted two hundred of their hullas.

Sufyan ibn Uyayna

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Dhimma (the covenant of protection)