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The Quraysh again put their heads together and deliberated for two more
days in Dar-ul-Nadwah. Meanwhile those who sneaked out to check the Muslims reported on
their return that the Muslims had un-matchable devotion to Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). If he asked for a bowl
of water, scores of them rushed to fetch it and those who failed to fetch or give him
water considered themselves extremely unlucky. They said that there was something peculiar
about the Muslims. They prayed several times a day facing the Holy Kabah, and their
discipline was inexplicable. The loyalty of the Muslims for Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was so deep that they
would easily sacrifice their lives at his single gesture. When the elders of the Quraysh heard these statements, they were
disturbed. After long discussions of two days and two nights, they agreed to send in the
command of Sohail bin Umroah a delegation for Hudaybiyyah, who after having necessary
talks with the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) should compose "a non-aggression pact" between the Muslims and
the Makkans. When the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) saw Sohail bin Umroah coming towards them, he said to his
companions that their task had become "Sahl", i.e. easy. In Arabic Sohail is
derived from Sahl. After several rounds of talks between the two parties, the day came
when truce was to be enacted. The Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) called for his son-in-law, AliR.A
bin Abi Talib to prepare the document of the agreement. AliR.A took the pen and began writing,
"In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful". Here Sohail bin Umroah immediately interrupted and said, "I do not
know the Gracious and the Merciful". AliR.A should
write, "With the name of Allah", as since ages all our Arabian agreements begin
with this name. AliR.A asked the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), "O
Prophet of Allah, what should I do?" The Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) replied, "O Ali, write, "with the name of
Allah". The son-in-law of the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) started writing at his command, "This
agreement takes place between Muhammad (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace), the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) of Allah and Sohail bin Umroah". Sohail bin Umroah once again interrupted and forbade him to write it
and said, "We do not accept you as Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) of Allah and if we did, then why would we have
stopped you from entering Makkah? Thus initiate this agreement as, "This accord takes
place between Muhammad bin Abdullah and Sohail bin Umroah". AliR.A looked at the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) who said,
"O Ali, write the same as Sohail says, so that his consent remains". Sohail did
not raise any other objection, as the basic principles of the truce had already been
agreed upon. AliR.A who himself was a great scholar, a
decent calligrapher and among the eminent of Islam, began writing the truce in the
following words: "In the name of Allah. This Accord takes place between Muhammad
bin Abdullah and Sohail bin Umroah according to which the Quraysh acknowledge that war
will remain suspended among the Muslims and the Quraysh for ten years". "In these ten years, if anyone joins the Muslims, without
permission of the Quraysh, it is compulsory for the Muslims to return him to the Quraysh,
but if anyone leaves the Muslims to join the Quraysh, they will not return him to the
Muslims". "During these ten years, neither of the parties will attack nor
hurt the others life or property". "During this decade, the Quraysh will be permitted to form allies
at their free will with anyone they like, and establish open alliance. Similarly, the
Muslims will be allowed the same right of entering new relations with their free will for
alliances". "The Muslims will not be allowed to enter Makkah and offer
pilgrimage this year, but they can come the next year for this purpose. However, the
condition is that they will not stay in Makkah for more than three days and will not bring
with them any arsenal except swords". This truce that took place in the seventh Hijrah year between the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and the Quraysh has continued a subject of debate for the Islamic historians. The Muslims
of that time were greatly hurt by it. So much so that some of them considered this Truce
as their defeat and humiliation. The Muslims were wearing Ahram and had even marked the camels with
Saleeqah. They were waiting desperately to enter Makkah and circumambulate the Holy
Kabah. Some of the Muslims were the inhabitants of Makkah. They yearned to enter
their native city and kiss its soil. They were sure that their wishes would be
materialised, but one clause of this Truce ruined their hopes. All the Muslims, whether
Ansars or Mohajirs were enraged in their hearts. They held great devotion for their
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace),
therefore they did not dare utter anything. Umar bin Khatab was so straight forward and truthful that he could not
hide his feelings. Whatever came to his mind he would always bring to his tongue. He went
to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
and asked, "O Prophet of Allah! Had not you said that we would go to Makkah and
circumambulate the Holy Kabah?" the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "Certainly O UmarR.A! I said that, but when did I say that we would enter Makkah
this year?" "Then when will we go to Makkah and circumambulate the Holy
Kabah?" asked UmarR.A. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied,
"Allah willing, you shall visit Makkah the next year and be able to circumambulate
it". Sohail bin Umroah, who had led the Quraysh delegation to sign the Truce
from their side, had a son named Abu Jandal. He had become Muslim without letting his
father know about it. It was two days after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, that Abu Jandal ran
away from Makkah and joined the Muslims. He told them that he had become a Muslim and was
their religious brother. When he reached them, Sohail bin Umroah followed in his wake. He
addressed the Muslims, "According to the Pact between us, if anyone escapes the
Quraysh and seeks shelter with you, it is your obligation to hand him over to us,
therefore, my son, Abu Jandal should be handed over to me". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) could not
keep Abu Jandal with him and was bound by pact to return him. If they had not done so,
then the pact would stand annulled. They returned Abu Jandal to his father. The new
convert pleaded, "O Prophet of Allah! My father will kill me". Consoling him the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) said, "Abu Jandal, do not be afraid, Allah
will protect you". Abu Jandal escaped death and remained alive. After this incident,
a wave of rage spread amongst the Muslims. First they were deprived of the pilgrimage, now
their religious brother was refused help. If they had not alleged to obey their Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) whether
they understood him or not, then it was quite probable that they would have passionately
demolished the whole scheme. It was Bayt-e-Ridhwan that did not let them stray and thus
their restlessness could not exceed the limits of internal rage and grief. The common Muslims lacked the political foresight of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). They could
not understand the extent of benefits the ten-year Truce of Hudaybiyyah had brought them.
Through this accord the Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) relieved Madinah of its economic siege, and the Medinite
caravans could travel again. The Muslims also gained the opportunity of forming alliance
at their own free will with anyone whom they pleased. The greatest enemy of the Muslims
was the Quraysh, it provided a respite against them as well. The common Muslims were at a loss to understand the great political
benefits that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) had acquired without bloodshed or losing anything. Emotionally, they
were considering refusal from entering Makkah, their defeat and insult. In particular,
they were much hurt by the fact that they had to return Abu Jandal to the Quraysh whose
cruelty they had witnessed so often. It was their principle to help the refugee with their
life and property, irrespective of who he was. Abu Jandal had escaped, after the agreement
had been signed, therefore it was no insult for the Muslims to return him. Rather it
proved that the Muslims were true to their words under every condition. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) observed
that the Muslims were extremely aggrieved. He asked them to assemble once again at
Hudaybiyyah and addressed them, "This pact, which has taken place between us and the
Quraysh, is a Fath-e-Mubeen", a victory which is sudden and brilliant, so why do you
grieve". At the time of the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, a verse was revealed upon the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
which is included in the 48th Surah of the Holy Quran; 1. Some Islamic scholars argue that this verse was revealed at the
conquest of Makkah which occurred after the Truce of Hudaybiyyah, while others opine that
it is related to the conquest of Khaybar. However, according to some religious scholars it
is for all the Islamic victories and it includes the political victory of Hudaybiyyah. Before the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) had completed his statement, one of the Muslims said in an
aggrieved tone; "We have been deprived of the pilgrimage and now we cannot
circumambulate the Holy Kabah!" the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "If you offer your
pilgrimage from here, Allah will accept your pilgrimage. This deed will be as good as if
you have circumambulated the Holy Kabah. I shall also offer pilgrimage from here and
we shall sacrifice our camels here. I shall have my head shaven and come out of Ahram. You
also do the same. Have your heads shaven and come out of Ahram after me". Another person from the Muslims wanted further elaboration, "O
Prophet of Allah! Tell us about Abu Jandals return to the Quraysh and also tell us
what sort of agreement is this that we cannot claim our people who flee away from here,
but we are bound to return those who escape the Unbelievers?" The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) replied with great fortitude, "Abu Jandal has been
returned in accordance to the recent pact, therefore there lies no insult or humility in
it for the Muslims. Besides, I am sure no harm will come to Abu Jandal. It is Allahs
will that he will remain alive. If he is killed, he shall have eternal felicity because he
will be a "Shaheed" and a Shaheed after death goes straight to Paradise. He is
exalted to a great and magnanimous status. Why we have not stressed that Makkans should
return those who run away from us, is because a person who revokes Islam is not from us
and therefore we have no longer any relation with him. Such a person will not be
beneficent and helpful to us, rather he would be treacherous and an apostate. This accord
is a glorious victory, it will keep us safe from Qurayshs intrigues for the next ten
years. In these ten years, undaunted by the malice of the Quraysh, we can convert tribes
living in the territories of Madinah to Islam. We can also form alliances and friendship
with anyone we please. The immediate benefit of this Truce is that Madinah that was
hitherto under economic siege, will be freed again and we can make ourselves economically
strong". |
Another person from the Muslims asked with great respect, "O
Prophet of Allah, why have you dictated that this accord takes place between Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) bin
Abdullah and Sohail bin Umroah and not that this accord is being held by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) of
Allah?" The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) replied, "You say it right, I have dictated myself to be
written as Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) bin Abdullah but not because I am not the Apostle of Allah. We, the
Muslims have neither been degraded by this nor any harm has come to us. I have not caused
myself to be written as Rasool-Allah in lieu of the Quraysh desire. Their wish was a
childish demand and if we had not accepted it, we also would have committed a childish
act. I therefore accepted what they wanted and by this acceptance, we did not lose
anything, instead we were successful in achieving our aim, which was to put aside the
danger of the Quraysh. We can now preach Islam without hesitation. We should try to make
ourselves strong and firm". UmarR.A was still struggling with his
feelings. He could not resist saying, "O Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) of Allah! Is not our religion righteous
and that of the unbelievers false? If so then why should a truthful religion adopt a
lenient attitude before a false one and accept its every statement?" After some
period, UmarR.A bin Khatab himself came to realise the
benefits of the truce of Hudaybiyyah and understood the great political victory the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
had won for the Muslims. Under the peaceful shadow derived from this truce, the Muslims
swiftly propagated their religion and led many tribes to enter Islam. When they were heading north, i.e. towards Madinah, another Muslim met
them in the way who had run away from Makkah, He joined them and sought refuge. At first,
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
did not give any reply, as he thought it might be a trick and the Quraysh might have
deliberately sent him to them to judge their sincerity. On investigation, it was found,
that this person was really a Muslim and his name was Abu Baseer. Distressed by the
Quraysh atrocities he had joined the Muslims. He had not yet breathed a sigh of relief
that two men of Quraysh also came there and said, "O Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), according to the recent
accord, Abu Baseer should be handed over to us". This time UmarR.A stepped ahead and
said, "O Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) of Allah! This time does not send this person back. He has come to seek
refuge from us. We will not let him fall in the hands of the Quraysh, even if it costs us
our lives!". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) replied decisively that they were bound by the pact and
therefore he could not violate it. At this reply, the two persons from Makkah, tied Abu
Baseer on a camel and gradually disappeared before their eyes. Abu Baseer was a strong and a brave man. On the way he broke away the
ropes and freed himself. He climbed down his camel and killed one of his captives, whereas
the other ran away. Abu Baseer joined the Muslims again and asked for portage. This time
not only he had escaped from the Quraysh, but had murdered one of them, and now he could
be inquired for blood-money for the deceased. The next day, the person who had escaped alive, reached the Muslim
caravan and demanded Abu Baseer to be handed over. Again the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) ordered Abu Baseer to go
with him, but before the Quraysh representative could take him, Abu Baseer escaped from
him again. Instead of returning to Makkah, he decided to take refuge in the vast
desert. He had now committed a murder and going to Makkah would have jeopardised his life.
He could also not join with the Muslims to go to Madinah. Muslims had become bound by the
treaty of Hudaybiyyah and would have to return him if the Quraysh asked them for him. An
Arab poet Sanfara, puts Abu Baseers thoughts in the following words: "O brothers! Follow me not, As I am out in wilderness, And as I
seek new friends there!" "O Friends! Look for me, as loneliness is my fate. I will seek my
way in the Dark Night, and from today my friends shall be leopards of the desert, cunning
wolves and long-haired badgers! With whom I will have to live!" However, after escaping from the Quraysh, Abu Baseer reached a region
called "Zulmarrwah". He decided to stay and live at this place. After a few
days, Abu Jandal also managed to escape from Makkah and joined Abu Baseer at Zulmarrwah.
Another Muslim, Utbah bin Saad, also escaped from Makkah and reached there.
Gradually there started arriving Muslims from Makkah to this place. These men formed a
separate Islamic group. The activities of these men did not fall in the jurisdiction of
the recent pact as Zulmarrwah was neither part of Makkah nor was under Islamic
sovereignty, therefore their liability did not rest with the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). A year had not passed
that the Muslims increased to a considerable number at Zulmarrwah. They formed a permanent
army of their own and started to recover booty by intercepting Makkan caravans to meet
their needs. Gradually these Muslims teased the Quraysh so much that they surrendered.
They requested the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant
him peace) to call the Muslims of Zulmarrwah to Madinah. They would not require
them to return to Makkah under the pact. The Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked the Quraysh to request him in
writing as a proof. Thus the clause of the accord of Hudaybiyyah, which the Muslims
considered humiliating to them, automatically stood nullified. By their own hands, the Quraysh provided a written proof that if a
person escaped Makkah to join the Muslims, he was not to be returned to them. It was only
then that the common Muslims realised they had been in the wrong. The "Truce of
Hudaybiyyah" was indeed a great victory. When the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) returned to Madinah after the treaty of Hudaybiyyah,
severe drought engulfed Makkah. In Arabia, there was a tribe whose dominions were
considered a store-house of eatables. This tribe was "Yamamah". All people of
this tribe had entered Faith. For the same reason, the Chief of the tribe imposed a
restriction on selling eatables to Makkah. With the coming of drought, the Makkans looked
forward to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) and requested him to intercede and tell the tribes Chief to allow
eatables to be sold to them. The Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) accepted their request and instructed the chieftain of
Yamamah to remove restriction on selling goods to the Makkans. Besides, this gesture, the
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
himself sent five hundred gold coins to Makkah to be distributed among the poor and the
needy. When Abu Sufyan heard that the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) had sent gold coins to Makkah, he
felt that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him
peace) intended to win the hearts of Makkans and poor by so doing. In addition
to the five hundred coins, the Prophet (may Allah bless him
and grant him peace) had also sent an ample supply of dates to Abu Sufyan with
the message that for the price of these dates, he could sell them leather or hides. Abu
Sufyan had some leather for sale. In famine struck city of Makkah, where everyone, was
searching for a piece of bread or dates to satisfy his hunger, no one was interested in
buying leather from Abu Sufyan. Abu Sufyan tried to return the dates back, but he could
not do so, as the Makkans had come to know about that. They were dying from hunger, so
they did not let Abu Sufyan return the dates. Abu Sufyan had to accept the dates and sell
leather in exchange. Affection for the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) surged in the hearts of the Makkans when they
knew that the dates had been sent by the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace). The Quraysh, who were among the elite of Makkah
and had contrived their malice against the Prophet (may
Allah bless him and grant him peace) - were not moved by this gesture. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) knew the Quraysh were his enemies, still he endeavoured to
maintain healthy mutual ties with them. He considered such relations essential for the
propagation of Islam. A prophet loves Allah so much that he is always ready to bequeath
everything for Him. In the Jewish "Talmud" is written that Allah expects His
prophet to hold Him dear by heart and soul and to sacrifice everything that is his in His
way, from his name to his life". The Prophet (may Allah bless him and
grant him peace) had received the news that Abu Sufyans daughter, the
wife of Abdullah bin Hajjash, Umm-e-Habibah, had become a widow. Abdullah bin Hajjash was
a Hanif, who, along with his wife had migrated to Abyssinia (Habsha). He revoked Islam
while he was in Abyssinia. When he died leaving Umm-e-Habibah as widow, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) decided to
ask her hand in marriage. He knew that by this marriage, he would become son-in-law to Abu
Sufyan. Once this relationship with the Prophet (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) was established, then all the people of Banu
Umayyah would become his near relations. They would thus not be able to express their
malice against him. She was in Abyssinia and the Prophet
(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in Madinah. He was thinking that
after her return, Abu Sufyan and the people of Banu Umayyah would not let her marry him
thus he sent a person to Abyssinia as his advocate for this matrimony. It was also likely that on her entering the lands of Arabia, the
Quraysh might intercept and stop her from going to Madinah to become the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wife. The
Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
of Allah dictated a letter that was to be presented to Najashi - the ruler of Abyssinia.
The instructions were that the emissary was to contact Umm-e-Habibah and ask her consent
for the marriage. If the answer was affirmative, then the letter was to be given to
Najashi. In the said letter, the Prophet (may Allah bless
him and grant him peace) had asked the king of Abyssinia to read the
matrimonial rites of Umm-e-Habibah, who lived in the Kings domains. Umm-e-Habibah gave her consent. Najashi while observing the
Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
instructions read out the matrimonial rites for her in the name of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in
absentia. After a few days, Abu Sufyans daughter, now the Prophets (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wife left
Abyssinia for Madinah. The Quraysh had come to know of this relationship but they were
helpless in stopping Umm-e-Habibah from reaching Madinah. She had now become the wife of
the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
All the Arabs knew that a wife could not be stopped from going to her husband. This relationship played a key role in converting Quraysh to Islam. As
Umm-e-Habibah was Abu Sufyans daughter she had links with all the eminent Quraysh
families. Whenever Abu Sufyan opened his mouth against Islam, he was forced to recall that
he was going to oppose a person related to his own family and thus had to remain quiet. On the other hand, the accord of Hudaybiyyah offered great opportunity
to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
to counteract the Jewish intrigues against the Muslims. The Makkans were now compelled to
stay neutral in any Muslim friendship or strife so the Muslims could take the Jews to task
without fear from the Makkans. That was another benefit derived from the accord of
Hudaybiyyah. |