Through Force or Faith? — Page 179
Chapter 3 — Holy Prophet and Wars 179 of the practice of the Holy Prophet s as , and this is admitted even by Christians. Thus, ‘Umar ra entered Jerusalem, after a peaceful treaty, without any bloodshed. According to this treaty, he had vouchsafed the sanctity of the temples and they were to remain with Christians. History has recorded it as: … the simplicity of his journey is more illustrious than the royal pageants of vanity and oppression. The conqueror of Persia and Syria was mounted on a red camel, which carried, besides his person, a bag of corn, a bag of dates, a wooden dish, and a leathern bottle of water. Wherever he halted, the company, without distinction, was invited to partake of his homely fare, and the repast was conse- crated by the prayer and exhortation of the commander of the faithful. . . . After signing the capitulation, he entered the city without fear or precaution; and courteously dis- coursed with the patriarch concerning its religious antiq- uities… At the hour of prayer they stood together in the church of the Resurrection; but the caliph refused to per- form his devotions, and contented himself with praying on the steps of the church of Constantine. To the patriarch he disclosed his prudent and honourable motive. ‘Had I yielded,’ said Omar, ‘to your request, the Moslems of a future age would have infringed the treaty under colour of imitating my example. (Edward Gibbon: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edited by JB Bury, 1906, New York, vol. 9, Frank De Fau & Company, Chapter 51)