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 of a church from his office, whether what is under the control of each is great or little. They shall not be held responsible for any wrong deed or blood shed in pre-Islamic time. They shall neither be called to military service nor compelled to pay the tithe. No army shall tread on their land. If some one demands of them some right, then the case is decided with equity without giving the people of Najrân the advantage over the other party, or giving the other party the advantage over them. But whosoever of them has up till now received usury, I am clear of the responsibility of his protection. None of them, however, shall be held responsible for the guilt of the other. And as a guarantee to what is recorded in this document, they are entitled to the right of protection from Allah, and to the security of Muhammad the Prophet, until Allah's order is issued, and so long as they give the right counsel [to Moslems] and render whatever dues are bound on them, provided they are not asked to do anything unjust. Witnessed by abu-Sufyân ibn-Ḥarb, Ghailân ibn-ʿAmr, Mâlik ibn-ʿAuf of banu-Naṣr, al-Aḳraʿ ibn-Ḥâbis al-Ḥanẓali and al-Mughîrah. Written by—'"

Yaḥa ibn-Âdam adds, "I have seen in the hands of the people of Najrân another statement whose reading is similar to that of this copy, but at the close of it the following words occur: Written by ʿAli ibn-abu-Ṭâlib.' Concerning this I am at a loss to know what to say."

. When abu-Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddîḳ became caliph he enforced the terms agreed upon and issued another statement similar to that given by the Prophet. When