Jerusalem · a Light

Umar prayed outside the church so it would stay a church

In 637 CE, some sources say 638, Jerusalem's Patriarch Sophronius handed the city over to the caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, who came in plain clothes and on foot for part of the way. The written terms, known as the Umariyya covenant, guaranteed the safety of the inhabitants, their churches and their crosses, and stated that no church would be seized or destroyed. Later chroniclers report that when the hour of prayer came while Umar was inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he stepped outside to pray, saying that if he prayed there Muslims after him would claim the spot. A small mosque stands opposite the church door to this day.

Jerusalem · 637 CE