The "Constitution of Medina" Muḥammad's First Legal Document

The ‘Constitution of Medina’ is probably the first legal document of Muḥammad and dates back to the first year after his hijra (622 CE), or “emigration”, which brought him from his hometown Mecca to the cluster of towns known as Yathrib or Medina in the Hijāz (northern Arabia) and marked the beginning of the Islamic era.

Muslim historians and jurists have been familiar with this important document for centuries, and aware of its legal and theological implications for Islamic law. It was first brought to the attention of scholars in the West at the end of the 19th century by Wellhausen, who accepted it as an authentic document from the time of the Prophet. Since then, such leading orientalists as Goldziher, Gil, Serjeant, Goto, U. Rubin and J. B. Simonsen have studied various aspects of it.

This monograph offers an edited translation and interpretation of the earliest and most important document from the time of Muḥammad. Lecker’s focus is on the Jewish tribes, the Treaty of the Mu’minun and the Treaty of the Jews.

„Lecker has written a very good and useful book. Not that it is an easy read; you have to invest time and energy. But you are rewarded by precise and reflective philology; it is the last word on the subject for the time being.“ (Josef van Ess)