This chapter will try and tackle the question of the date and circumstances in which the element of the ghiyār (lit. ‘distinguishing signs’), that is, the restrictions regarding the distinctive appearance and behaviour of non-Muslims, which form the central component of Shurūt ʿUmar, was developed. I should like to emphasize that I refer here to the dating of a structured code or set of rules rather than this or that particular regulation, which may in some cases have existed from the beginning of Muslim rule. There is no doubt that initially we are looking at a process rather than at a moment in history. Still, there must have been a point in time at which such a code of dress and appearance was first issued.

In this chapter I will attempt to demonstrate that, despite the inclination to cast doubt on their veracity, the Muslim sources are correct in attributing the first code regarding the attire and behaviour of non-Muslims in Muslim society, to the caliph ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzıīz, and that this code was indeed part of a planned and deliberate policy which was a result of his ideology regarding the ascendancy of Islam over the other religions.