The letter stated:

“Do not correspond with the people under treaty (ahl al-dhimmah), lest affection spring up between you and them. Do not address them with kunyas. Humble them, but do not wrong them.

Command the women of the ahl al-dhimmah to fasten their girdles, to let their forelocks hang loose, and to raise their skirts above the shins so that their attire is distinguishable from that of Muslim women. If they refuse, then let them enter Islam, willingly or unwillingly.”

Abū Shaykh also reports—through his own chain—from Muḥammad ibn Qays and Saʿd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥibbān, who said:

“A group of Banū Taghlib once visited ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wearing turbans in the Arab fashion. They said, ‘Commander of the Faithful, include us among the Arabs.’

He asked, ‘Who are you?’

They replied, ‘We are Banū Taghlib.’

He said, ‘Are you not among the foremost of the Arabs?’

They answered, ‘We are Christians.’

He ordered, ‘Bring me the shears.’ He clipped their forelocks, removed their turbans, and slit each man’s cloak by a span so that it became a sash. Then he said, ‘Do not ride on saddles; ride only on pads, and let your legs hang down on one side.’”