This book traces the emergence of regulations applicable to non-Muslims (Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and others) in the early Islamic empire, from the first post-conquest treaties of submission in the seventh century to the formation of the canonical document called the "Pact of 'Umar" during the early Abbasid period in the first half of the ninth century.
This study reveals the important insight that the conquered peoples themselves played a major role in shaping these policies, and that these regulations were based on long-standing traditions, customs, and institutions from earlier pre-Islamic cultures, both those of the conquering and the conquered worlds.