Communications with the
Quraysh
Some well
wishers of the Muslims met the Prophet (sws) in the leadership
of Badil ibn Warqa’, the leader of the Banu Khuza‘ah in
Hudaybiyyah in order to inform him of the
intentions of the Quraysh and obtain his views. The Prophet (sws)
said that they wished only to perform the ‘umrah and would
return to Madinah as soon as they completed all the necessary
rituals. Badil told him that the Quraysh were determined not
to let Muslims enter the Haram. For
this, they were willing to kill and be killed. The Prophet (sws)
answered that he was not planning to go to war; the Quraysh
had suffered greatly because of their desire for
confrontation. If they could settle upon a date by which they
would agree not to intervene between himself and Arabia, he
would be willing to compromise with them, for the sake of the
bond of love between them and himself. But if they forced
battle upon the Muslims, the latter would have no option but
to take out their swords and for this too, they would find
them to be ready.
Badil went to Makkah
to inform the leaders of the Quraysh about the situation. He
had just begun to relate his discussion when the former’s
emotional leaders, ‘Ikramah ibn Abi Jahal and Hakam
ibn al-‘As became angry and said that they had no need to
listen to the news which he had brought; rather, he should
just take their message back to the Muslims that they could
not enter Makkah for as long as even one person among the
Quraysh was alive. At this, a leader of the Thaqif, ‘Urwah ibn
Mas‘ud reprimanded them, saying that a nation that makes such
decisions based on emotions could never succeed. They should
listen to Badil first; if they liked it, they could accept it;
otherwise, they were free to reject it. The other leaders then
listened to what Badil had to say. ‘Urwah’s advice was that
Muhammad (sws) had given a sound suggestion and they should
accept it. The leaders of the Quraysh assumed that the offer
for a compromise was based on the weakness of the Muslims and
decided to adopt a policy to frighten them and put pressure
upon them to take advantage of this presumed weakness, as will
become obvious from subsequent events.
To assess the
situation clearly, Hali ibn
‘Alqamah, the leader of the most skilled tribe in
swordsmanship, Ahabish, decided to go to Hudaybiyyah.
He found all Muslims to be in a state of ahram. Sacrificial
animals, wearing collars around their necks to enable
recognition stood in rows upon rows. There was not even any
minor evidence of preparation for battle. Halis was convinced
of the intention of the Muslims to go to Makkah only for
‘umrah. His religiosity did not allow him to stop 1,500
individuals from the rituals and a large number of animals
from being sacrificed in the name of the House of God. When,
upon returning to Makkah, he informed the Quraysh leaders of
his perception, they thought he was being merely simple minded
and ridiculed him. At this, he was furious and told them that
he had not made an agreement with them to become a constraint
to those who wished to honour the House of God. They should
allow Muhammad (sws) to offer ‘umrah, otherwise he would leave
them along with everyone of his soldiers. The Quraysh became
worried at seeing such differences develop within their ranks,
calmed down Halis and promised him that they would try to find
a way to dialogue with Muhammad (sws) and make a comprise with
him on conditions which would be mutually acceptable.
‘Urwah ibn Mas‘ud
Thaqafi was selected to begin discussions with the Prophet (sws).
He started off with an attempt to intimidate and ridicule them
as per the agreed policy of the Quraysh. He mentioned the
battle preparations and the united front of all tribes of the
Quraysh. He mocked the Companions by saying that people from
such a medley of backgrounds would be likely to desert the
Prophet (sws) under difficult circumstances. ‘Urwah also made
reference of the national and filial relationship of the
Prophet (sws) with the Quraysh and suggested that he send his
representative to the Quraysh in order to convince them of the
peaceful nature of his proposed visit to Makkah.
The Companions were
irate at ‘Urwah’s attitude and responded with scorn. The
Prophet (sws) gave the same explanation to him as he had given
to Badil. ‘Urwah was highly impressed at the extraordinary
esteem and loyalty shown by the Companions to the Prophet (sws).
He advised the Prophet (sws) to send a representative to
Makkah to present his points of view to the Quraysh. Upon
return, he gave a detailed briefing to the Quraysh and asked
them not to take the matter lightly but to consider all pros
and cons before they decided to confront the Muslims. The
offer for truce from Muhammad (sws) was worth thinking about
and it would not be prudent to reject it.
Following advice from
‘Urwah, the Prophet (sws) sent Khirash ibn Umayyah al-Khuza‘i
as his representative to the Quraysh. When he reached Makkah,
young men driven by their emotions cut off the legs of his
camel and also attacked him. The tribe of Ahabish intervened
to save him and he returned to his camp. The Prophet (sws)
decided that to calm the enraged Quraysh, it might be better
to give responsibility for ambassadorship to one of their own
people. According to the old and traditional distribution of
responsibilities, the Banu ‘Adi were usually selected for
roles of ambassadorship. Following this tradition, the Prophet
(sws) instructed ‘Umar (rta), who belonged to the Banu ‘Adi to
go to Makkah. He suggested that the Quraysh had many
complaints against him and hence they would be prejudiced
while speaking with him. Additionally, considering that the
Quraysh were in an excitable mood, a person whose tribe was
present in Makkah should be sent to negotiate with them. There
was no one strong enough from the Banu ‘Adi in Makkah who
could provide him with any protection. This advice was very
sound. Hence, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan (rta) was chosen for the
purpose. He belonged to the Banu Umayyah which was leading the
Quraysh. ‘Uthman (rta) left for Makkah. On the way, he met
Aban ibn Sa‘id ibn al-‘As who was one of his well wishers and
also from his tribe. He took him under his protection and
arranged meetings with the leaders of the Quraysh. The Quraysh
responded by saying that they would not allow the Muslims to
perform ‘umrah that year at any cost, but there was no barrier
for ‘Uthman (rta). He could proceed to offer ‘umrah. ‘Uthman (rta)
rejected this offer by saying that since the Prophet (sws) was
being stopped from ‘umrah, he would not do it without him.
The Pledge of Ridwan
To give an even more
serious visage to their threat to the Muslims which they had
initiated by cutting off the legs of Khirash’s she-camel and
attacking him, the Quraysh took advantage of ‘Uthman’s visit.
They delayed their negotiations with him unnecessarily and
spread the rumour within his camp that he had been killed in
Makkah. Biographers do not assign specific responsibility for
the spread of this rumour, but indications are that the
Quraysh were responsible. It is obvious that such a rumour
could not have spread among Muslims by itself. Firstly, they
were in a situation of siege themselves and were not even
allowed to move freely, let alone be aware of the situation of
the Quraysh. Also, the people of faith had been trained on
such lines that every person adopted a highly responsible
attitude and sought guidance from the Prophet (sws) in every
matter. Secondly, the hypocrites who were experts in rumour
mongering were not part of this journey; this group was
entirely made up of true Muslims. Thirdly, the Quraysh had
assigned people to hover around the Muslims to keep a watch,
jeer at them and make fun of them. It was very easy to spread
any rumors through them and considering the hostile attitude
of the Quraysh, such actions were expected. It seems
therefore, that conspirators within the Quraysh had spread
this rumour and as soon as the Muslims came to know of it,
they were sure of its authenticity.
The Quraysh had spread
this rumour so that the Muslims might become even more
frightened. But its impact was opposite to their expectations.
Instead of Muslims running away from the place which held
danger for them, every individual became livid with anger and
wanted to take revenge. To control the anger of the
Companions, the Prophet (sws) sat down under a cactus tree and
began to take an oath from every Muslim, that he would not
rest without avenging the murder of ‘Uthman (rta) and for
this, would not desist from sacrificing his own life. All
Companions took this oath with great passion and religious
fervour. This turn of situation caused the Quraysh to adopt a
more reasonable attitude. Instead of further delay in the
negotiations, they decided to send ‘Uthman (rta) back to his
camp and promised him that they would send their
representative to discuss and finalise an agreement with the
Prophet (sws).
When the oath-taking
process was over, and ‘Uthman (rta) returned to the camp of
the Muslims, everyone realized that the rumour was false.
Thus, it was no longer necessary to carry out any action
according to the oath. However, the success which the
Companions had achieved remained their hallmark forever.
The unique feature of
the oath taken by the Prophet (sws) in Hudaybiyyah was that it
had occurred under conditions of poverty and being away from
home, in the centre surrounded by enemies and when Muslims had
imposed the conditions of the ahram upon themselves. They
possessed only swords; they had neither shields, nor archery
equipment, nor spears. On the other hand, the enemy was giving
continuous signals that it would use every possible weapon of
oppression and cruelty. While taking the oath, the assets of
the faithful was the power they gained by submission to and
focus on God; faith and belief, pride in their religion and
belief in help from God. God Almighty accepted this fealty;
gave satisfaction and a sense of calm to the hearts of the
Companions; bestowed His blessings and gave tidings of
continuing success in the near future. The Qur’an mentions
this in the following words:
Allah’s Good Pleasure
was on the Believers when they swore Fealty to thee under the
Tree: He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down
Tranquillity to them; and He rewarded them with a speedy
Victory; And many gains will they acquire [besides]: and Allah
is Exalted in Power, Full of Wisdom. Allah has promised you
many gains that ye shall acquire, and He has given you these
beforehand; and He has restrained the hands of men from you;
that it may be a Sign for the Believers, and that He may guide
you to a Straight Path; And other gains [there are], which are
not within your power, but which Allah has compassed: and
Allah has power over all things. (48:18-21)
In the history of
Islam, this oath became known as the Pledge of Ridwan, and all
those Companions who took this oath and demonstrated an
exceptional example to sacrifice their lives in the way of
faith assumed a special status in Muslim society. The verse
says that God Almighty Himself motivated these Companions.
This motivation is the real strength that cannot be defeated
by the strongest of enemies. The faithful were rewarded with
many successes as a result of this oath; although these were
still hidden in the future but had been decided upon in the
divine Court. Success in the near future meant the victory of
Khyber which Muslims attained soon after return from
Hudaybiyyah and where they also gained war booty in plenty.
The victory which was to be defined by God Almighty refers to
the victory of Makkah which was gained after two years.
Agreement for Peace
Before the oath, the
Quraysh were satisfied that they had forced the Muslims to
stop advancing towards Makkah by threatening them and that
their policy had been successful as per their expectations.
Hence, the signals and messages they sent out became harder
and more non flexible. Suddenly, they saw their plan go awry
as the environment for revenge became stronger within the
Muslim camp and unforeseen circumstances arose due to the
latter’s passion to sacrifice their lives. At this stage, any
counter revenge actions could have been disastrous for the
Quraysh themselves. It may have produced the danger of a
battle within the boundaries of the Haram in which one party
would have been those who had come to offer the ‘umrah and who
wished to abide by the sanctity of the Haram, and the other
party would have been the custodians of the Haram and their
allies. The blame for such a battle would have lain solely
upon the Quraysh because the leaders of the three powerful
tribes: Ahabish, the Banu Khuda‘ah and the Banu Thaqif had
observed with their own eyes that the Muslims had no intention
of starting a war and that they had come only with the passion
to pay tribute and perform the actions as prescribed by God.
They had gone to the extent of offering a compromise in order
to convince the Quraysh to adopt an attitude of reason, but
the Quraysh were adamant not to do so. If such a war had been
fought, it would have been a clear proof of their egotism,
rigidity and unfair use of their status, which would have
greatly harmed their reputation and they would not have been
able to compensate for it ever. In this completely changed
situation, the Quraysh had no option but to extend their hand
to calm the enraged Muslims, so that the danger of a war could
be averted and they did not lose face. This was the same
solution which had been suggested by the Prophet (sws)
earlier. The Quraysh accepted it now, but only after
considerable loss. They sent one of their leaders, Suhayl ibn
‘Amr to the Muslim camp for negotiations on a compromise. On
seeing him coming, the Prophet (sws) said that God had made
matters easy for them. This was a signal to the fact that the
Quraysh had given up their insistence and adopted the advice
which he had been giving to them and that an opportunity for a
compromise was evident.
A question arises here
that, when the Quraysh were denying the Prophet (sws) and that
the confrontation with them till then was due to the fact that
it was not possible to arrive at a peaceful agreement with
them because they were deniers of the Prophet (sws), why was
there a change in the approach adopted by the Muslims? In our
view, the answer is that in spite of condemning the leadership
of Quraysh and declaring them to be liable to divine
punishment, the Quran had never, at any stage, announced that
their people would not be given time to correct themselves. In
Surah Anfal, after commenting upon the Battle of Badr, while
very strong and strict language has been used against the
Quraysh, more time was given to them to reform themselves and
the following instruction was given:
But if the enemy
incline towards peace, do thou (also) incline towards peace,
and trust in Allah. For He is One that heareth and knoweth
[all things]. (8:61)
In the light of this
guidance, the Prophet (sws) brought the possibility of a truce
to their attention, but the Quraysh gave this a wrong meaning
altogether, and thought that this change in the attitude of
Muslims was due to their weakness. They insisted upon
confrontation, but the Pledge of Ridwan was enough to open
their eyes. In order to escape from this predicament, it
became necessary for them to accept the offer of a truce. When
they expressed their agreement for this, the Prophet (sws) had
already been assigned to agree to such an agreement according
to God’s above instruction. He, therefore, welcomed Suhayl ibn
‘Amr and began negotiations.
The Quraysh created
unnecessary problems in agreeing to the terms of the agreement
and tried to gain the upper hand on every point. Although they
satisfied their ego through this approach, they were unable to
obtain any political benefit in the future.
Biography books and
narratives and Ahadith tell us that the wording of this
agreement was somewhat as follows:
“These are the points
on which Mohammed bin Abdullah has agreed with Suhayl ibn
‘Amr.
· That the two have agreed to
remove the danger of war from people for a period of 10 years.
During this period, the people will live in peace and both
parties will refrain from attacking each other.
· That any person from the Quraysh who goes to Muhammad (sws) without permission from his
guardian will be returned and any person from the Companions
of Muhammad (sws) who goes to the Quraysh will not be
returned.
· That between us, all kinds of
hostile activities will remain suspended. Neither will go
against the other either openly or in secret.
· That anyone else who wishes to
side with Muhammad (sws) and to enter into this agreement can
do so, and anyone who wishes to side with the Quraysh and to
enter the agreement can do so.
· That you (the Prophet) shall
return this year and shall not enter Makkah, but next year, we
(Quraysh) will retire and you will be able to enter Makkah
with your Companions. You will stay there for three days and
you will possess the arms of the soldier (swords in their
sheaths). You will not carry any other arms into the city.
The witnesses to this agreement were Abu
Bakr (rta), ‘Umar (rta), ‘Uthman (rta), Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas (rta)
and Muhammad ibn Maslamah (rta) from the side of Muslims and
Huwaytab ibn ‘Abd al-‘Uzza and Makraz ibn Hafs from the side
of the Quraysh.
(Translated by Nikhat
Sattar)
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