The Use of Islamic Materials by Non-Muslim Writers r 97A Jewish historical legend claims that the Jews dwelling in the Khaybar
Oasis in the early seventh century were from the House of Rachabites.^56
The victorious Muslim forces evicted them from this location and com-
pelled them to emigrate, yet negotiations between the quarreling parties
resulted in exempting the Jews of Khyabar from paying the poll tax (ji-
zya). An Arabic petition sent from Tiberias to the Fatimid court in Cairo
clearly states this claim.^57 This reconstruction of the past was prevalent
among the Jews of the Lands of Islam and can also be found in a late He-
brew account on the arrangements agreed upon between the Muslims and
the Jews of Khaybar. Moreover, the text states that the authenticity of this
tradition was approved by Muslim jurists.^58
It has been mentioned above that Islamic sources maintained that the
indigenous population of the Fertile Crescent cooperated with the ad-
vancing Islamic armies. Taking up this narrative, Jewish sources write that
the military successes did not put an end to the cordial relations between
Jews and the emerging Islamic polity. A case in point is a Geniza docu-
ment that contains a report on the meeting between the Jews and Muslims
in Jerusalem. The Jews are said to have helped ̔Umar b. al-Khattab in
cleaning the holy city (quds) and exposing the ruins of the Temple. They
pointed out to the caliph the location of the Rock, and he ordered them to
build the Dome, which covered it. Then ̔Umar issued a decree permitting
seventy Jewish families to relocate from the Galilee to Jerusalem.^59 Hence
they built a synagogue on the Temple Mount and visited the site.^60
Another example of this line of argumentation can be detected in a
Jewish adaptation of the story of ̔Amru b. al- ̔As, the Muslim conqueror
of Egypt.^61 In this version of the history, the Islamic leadership of the Nile
Valley demonstrates friendship toward the conquered population, and the
Jewish and Muslim parties sign a peace pact.^62 This reconstruction of the
past served the Jews of Islam. They could argue that the kings of Ishmael
respected them and showed goodwill.
Several accounts of later events also indicate that the symbiotic rapport
between the caliphate and the protected people did not break off even
with the profound changes that the Fertile Crescent witnessed during the
disintegration of the ̔Abbasid Empire.
The first example is an account by a Jewish chronicler of the caliph
al-Mu ̔tadid (279–289/892–902), who awoke from a nightmare in which
Elias appeared in front of him and warned him of the danger that would
ensue if he accomplished his evil device: “I will punish you severely if