Excerpts from the
Series of Talks on Seerat e
Rasool by Moulana Sadiq Hassan
English
Transcript by SAYED
TAHIR BILGRAMI
SYNOPSIS
The relevance of and the lessons
for the posterity from the Truce of Hudaibiya are:
1.
The
Prophet (s.a) never fought a battle of aggression. At Hudaibiya
the situation was such the majority of the contingent, excepting
the Prophet (s.a) and Hazrat Ali (a.s) were raring to attack the
infidels in Makkah. But the Prophet (s.a) manifested the great
spirit of patience and forbearance despite the fact that he was
facing the infidels from a position of strength.
2.
In
Islam there is no relevance of Shura or 'consensus' on many
occassions.
This has been proved by the Truce of Hudaibiya that
the majority was opposed to it and the Prophet (s.a), Ali (a.s)
and a few others were for it.
3.
The
Jews were spreading their tentacles in Madina and other places
and instigating the Meccans to weaken the Muslims by repeated
attacks. With this end the Jews had entrenched themselves in the
forts at the oasis of Khaibar. If the Muslims invted Khaibar,
the infidels of Makkah would certainly have attacked while the
fighting men were away from Medina.
The Treaty of Hudaibiya did away with any such contingency and
the campaign of Khaibar was carried out successfully.
4.
The
Truce of Hudaibiya was the first agreement made by the Muslims
with their sworn adversaries. The wordings of the Truce played a
significant role in the success of the Muslims that was realized
in the future. The Treaty provided protection to the Muslim
women and also to those Muslims who remained back in Makkah to
practice their Faith without any hindrance. This is a
pointer to the people in the future to exercise maximum care in
selecting proper wording when they entered into covenants with
others.
Although
every aspect of the Prophet (s.a)’s Seerat is a
beacon of light for the Muslims, it is deemed
necessary that the present generation understands
the event of the Truce of Hudaibiya. This is more so
that the adversaries are upbraiding different groups
of Muslims to create schisms among them and weaken
them through internecine disputes.
The best
example of this machination of the adversaries was
the Gulf War which was instigated by them and in the
end they put the blame squarely on the disputants.
The adversaries derived full benefit at the cost of
the warring groups! Therefore one must study in
depth the terms of the Truce of Hudaibiya and the
circumstances that led to the truce and those which
followed thereafter!
The
Battle of the Trench (Qandaq) was won decisively by
the Muslims. Then followed several events that the
Jews, who were spread all over the Arabian Peninsula
, and particularly in the environs of Madina,
withdrew backwards and entrenched themselves in the
Fort of Khaybar. The events took such a turn that
they had perforce to do this. They first went to the
outskirts of Madina and in quick stages they
concentrated themselves in the fortified Khaybar.
The Truce of Hudaibiya gave to the Prophet (s.a) the
much needed respite from the infidels of Makka that
he could deal with the intrigue of the Jews who were
fortifying and entrenching themselves in Khaybar. If
the Truce of Hudaibiya wasn’t concluded, it wouldn’t
have been possible to undertake the campaign of
Khaybar as the hordes of the Infidels of Makka would
certainly have taken advantage of the absence of the
fighting men from Madina.
It was
evident that the small, insignificant tribes would
join hands with the enemies and would be a regular
source of trouble for the Islamic Army. Therefore
minor campaigns (Sariyas) were conducted against
many of such tribal settlements. There is no doubt
that these tribes were insignificant when compared
with the hordes of the Infidels of Makka. But they
did have the capability of creating a lot of trouble
for the Muslims through hit-and-run tactics. To
subdue these tribes, each consisting of 200 to 300
fighting men, the Prophet (s.a) sent Abd ar Rehman
ibn e Auf to the
Domat al Jundal region which lies
between Madina and Syria . Abd ar Rehman ibn e Auf
carried a letter form the Prophet (s.a). The opening
part of the missive was:
In the name of Allah and the Prophet participate in
the Ghazwa, DO Jehad! Beware of deceptive acts,
don’t usurp the trusts and keep your promises.
Abstain from slaying any minors….
In these
few words the Prophet (s.a) highlighted the essence
of the Islamic Jihad. The tribes against whom the
campaign was sent were certainly insignificant and
could be subdued with the least effort. But the
commander of the contingent was exhorted to be fair
in his dealings and to abstain from any deception or
stealth. He also asked his men not to harm the
minors and the weak. The Sariya of Abd ar Rehman ibn
e Auf is prominent in the annals of the history
because of this exhortation that the Prophet (s.a)
made to him. The Prophet (s.a) also advised Ibn e
Auf not to commence the fight immediately on
reaching Domat al Jundal. He was asked first to
invite the people to embrace Islam. In the event of
the people accepting Islam, he asked him to deal
with them affectionately and kindly. The Prophet
(s.a) also gave the good tiding to Ibn e Auf that he
would enter into matrimony with the daughter of the
chief of the Tribe!
With the
Prophet (s.a)’s document in his hand, Abd ar Rehman
ibn e Auf reached the territory of Daumat al Jundal
. He extended invitation to the chief of the tribe,
who was a Christian, to embrace the Faith of Islam.
The person made some inquiries about the Faith and
not only willingly accepted to adopt it but also
offered his daughter in marriage to Abd ar Rehman to
strengthen the bond of love and friendship between
the two groups. It is recorded in the history that
the lady, Tamama, mothered Abd ar Rehman’s son, Abu
Salama, who was recognized as one of the top seven
Fuqaha (Jurists) during the time of the Fourth Imam
Zainal Abedin (a.s).
The
norms laid down by the Prophet (s.a) in his document
of instructions mandated that all the rights of
tribes in the area were preserved and no hardship
was inflicted on them by the men in the Army of
Islam. If any penalty was to be imposed on any
individual, it was to be restricted to the
punishment prescribed for the particular offence.
Thus the
Prophet (s.a) sent advance messages in a very
logical manner that those who extended a hand of
love and affection, he would reciprocate to them in
a similar manner. The representatives of one of the
tribes, out of fear of reprisal, went voluntarily to
the Prophet (s.a) to express their allegiance. The
Prophet (s.a) gave them gifts to dispel their fears.
The tribes that had taken part in conspiracy against
the Muslims were suitably reprimanded and punished.
Thus all the small tribes were subdued and calm was
established in the area. Now there remained only two
big groups of adversaries. The infidels of Mecca had
no strength left to invest Madina again after they
were vanquished in the battle of the Trench. But if
the Muslims left Madina unprotected for a campaign
to Khaibar, the infidels were quite capable of
attacking from the rear. Therefore it was imperative
to totally subdue the infidels of Mecca before
organizing a campaign to Khaibar.
The
sequence of the events was as follows:
The
Prophet (s.a) first controlled rebellion and the
intrigues in the area. Then arrived the month of
Shawal 6 H. This was the most important year in the
annals of the Islamic history that, according to
some Ulama, the mandate for performance of the Haj
too came in the same year. About this mandate we
shall discuss later on.
One
morning the Prophet (s.a) entered the Mosque when he
gathered the Muslims and told them that he had seen
a dream the previous night. There is a mention about
this dream in Surat al Fath (the 48th
Verse of the Holy Quran) that was revealed
immediately after the event of Hudaibiya. This verse
says:
“laqad sadaq Allah ar Rasoola al rooya bil-haq -
Certainly Allah has fulfilled His Apostle’s vision
in all truth
La tadkhulnal Masjid al Haram
-You will certainly enter the Sacred Mosque,
Insha Allah aameneen -
God willing , in safety
Mohlaqeen raoosakum wa muqassareen
-With your heads shaven or hair cropped,
Laa taqaafoon -Without any fear.”
The
Muslims asked the Prophet (s.a) to relate the
details of the dream. The Prophet (s.a).said, “I saw
in the dream that I was entering the precincts of
Mecca with my friends and companions! Then I saw
that we were getting our heads tonsured of the
hairs.” The Prophet (s.a) later on said that it was
a message and a mandate from Allah for all the
Muslims---for those migrants who had left their
homes and hearths in Mecca and had migrated to
Madina six years back and the Ansars, the Helpers,
who were the local inhabitants of Madina who had
extended wholehearted help to the migrants. The
migrants were particularly pining to set their eyes
on their home-town where the Kaaba and the hills of
Safa and Marwa were beckoning them. They were
getting nostalgic about their visits to the Kaaba.
While they used to set their eyes on the holy
structure, in the past, several times in a day, they
had to remain away from it for six long years! When
they heard the Prophet (s.a) narrate his dream,
their desire to reach Mecca redoubled! This was more
so when the Prophet (s.a) said that it was a mandate
from Allah that they must proceed to Mecca . All the
Muslims expeditiously prepared for the journey. Here
we would like to mention one fact that at every step
several messages and indications were manifesting
themselves about the Treaty of Hudaibiya. Leaving
aside all the battles won by the Muslims, the Holy
Quran says
Inna fathana laka fathan mubeenan—Indeed we have
inaugurated for you a clear victory!
It doesn’t say this about the battles of Badr,
Khandaq, Khaibar, Hunain etc when the Muslims had
completely vanquished their enemies! The Holy Quran
deems the Treaty of Hudaibiya as Fath e Mubeen—a
clear victory--- when not a single sword was
unsheathed! There is a manifest reason about this
statement which, Insha Allah, we shall elucidate
later on!!
The
treaty of Hudaibiya also manifests that in Islam
there isn’t any place for democracy and the process
of voting. No historian has contested the fact that
on that day 99% of the Islamic army was opposing the
treaty and the Prophet (s.a) and Ali (a.s) strongly
upheld the conclusion of the Truce. On that fateful
day there wasn’t any voting,
Shura,
consultation or any attempt to ascertain the public
opinion!! The Treaty was wholly what the Prophet
(s.a) dictated and Ali (a.s) rendered on the paper.
You must
have noticed that generally the people of faith act
on their own understanding of things and don’t go to
the nitty-gritty of the words. The terms of the
Treaty will be discussed in detail at the
appropriate place, but here I would like to briefly
mention about the Clause No.2 of the Treaty. It says
that if any Momin from Mecca came to Madina during
the operative period of the Treaty, he would have to
be returned back. A Muslim man from Mecca did reach
the Prophet (s.a)’s camp at Hudaibiya after the
signing of the Treaty and he was instantly returned
back in accord with the terms of the truce. Around
the same time a Momina (Muslim woman), the daughter
of Uqba ibn e Moeeth, too got an opportunity to
reach the presence of the Prophet (s.a). She said,
“O Prophet of Allah (s.a)! I was forced into
matrimony with an infidel. Since I was in Mecca I
had no opportunity for escape. But now that I knew
that the army was near at hand, I managed to escape
from Mecca and have reached your presence. I plead
with you to give me succor!” Around that moment her
husband too reached the presence of the Prophet
(s.a) and said that the woman was his wife and had
run away from home and must be handed over to him.
The Prophet (s.a) rejected the claim of the man and
asked his men to give shelter and protection to the
woman.
The
Meccans said that this action was in contravention
of the terms of the Treaty. The Prophet (s.a) said,
“No! If I was contravening the terms of the Truce I
wouldn’t have returned back the man who approached
us for refuge.” He was then asked why he was giving
refuge to the woman? The Prophet (s.a) said that the
clause of the truce was specifically for Momins
(Believer Men) and not for Mominas (Believer Women).
It was binding, in terms of the Truce, to return
back to Mecca any Momin who escaped from there and
reached the Prophet (s.a)’s camp for refuge but the
terms of the truce were silent about the Mominas. At
that juncture the
Surat al Mumtahanah
was revealed. The verse No. 10 of this
Surat says:
Ya ayyuhal lazeena aamanu -
O you who have faith!
Iza ja-aa kum al Mominaatu muhajiraatin -When faithful women come to you as immigrants
Fa am te hu hunna -Test them
Fala tarjeoo hunna ilalkuffaar -Do not send them back to the faithless
Laa hunna hillun lahum -
They (the believer women) are not lawful for them
(The unbelieving men)
Wa laa hum yahilloona lahunna -Nor are they (the unbelieving men) lawful for them.
This
Revelation of the Holy Quran doubly confirmed the
verdict of the Prophet (s.a), particularly when some
of the Companions expressed doubts as to why
different yard-sticks for handling of men and women
seeking refuge? The timely Revelation of the Surat
dispelled the doubts and confusion of those Muslims!
The
Prophet (s.a) asked the woman a question why she
decided to abandon her husband and cross over to the
camp of the Muslims? He also asked her if she wished
to seek the pleasure of Allah or just to change the
spouse? He further asked her if she intended to gain
sympathy and monetary help by forsaking her infidel
husband?
After
this little digression let us come back to the main
topic of discussion. In the initial stage the
Prophet (s.a) informed the Muslims that he had
dreamed that he was entering the Haram al Kaaba and
that he was getting his hair tonsured. The veracity
of the Prophet (s.a)’s dream cannot be questioned.
But in reality when the Muslims traveled to Mecca ,
along with the Prophet(s.a), they had perforce to
terminate their journey from Hudaibiya and return
back to Madina. But this doesn’t mean that the
Prophet(s.a)’s dream wasn’t answered. It was Allah’s
wish that the dream must be answered at a later
date! The Holy Quran confirms about the fulfillment
of the dream in the following words:
Laqad sadaq Allah ar Rasool ar-rooya bil haq
-Certainly Allah has fulfilled His Apostle’s vision
in all truth
Four
things are manifesting themselves. The historians
say that the dream remained unfulfilled, the Muslims
had journeyed to circumambulate the Kaaba but they
were unable even to enter the ramparts of the Haram.
The Prophet (s.a) dreams that he entered the Masjid
al Haram but was turned back from Hudaibiya, the
outer limits of Mecca . The dream did come to
fruition after the lapse of one year when the
Muslims were able to perform all the rites of Umra,
the minor pilgrimage. This Umra is termed as the
Umrat al Qaza
or the missed-Umra. The Muslims who wore the
mandatory apparel for the Umra in one year were able
to perform it during the same period in the next
year in accord with the terms of the Truce of
Hudaibiya. The Muslims were rightly under the
impression that since the Prophet (s.a) had said
that they must accompany him to Mecca for the minor
pilgrimage, his dream must be fulfilled during the
same trip.
One fact
has come to light that any tradition of the Prophet
(s.a), or the Imams (a.s), certainly comes to
fruition. But if they hadn’t indicated the time of
the event happening, it would certainly come about
any time in the future. Another important fact must
be borne in mind that all other mandates were
communicated by Allah to the Prophet (s.a) through
the Archangel , Jibraeel, and the mandate about
Hudaibiya was through the medium of the dream.
After
the announcement by the Prophet (s.a), the Muslims
left Madina. At a distance of about six miles from
Madina there is a place, Dual Halifa, which is now
known as Diyar Ali, where a mosque, Masjid e Shajra,
is located. This is the place where the Muslims
adopt the Ihram or the apparel for the pilgrimage.
Since the city of Madina has expanded, Diyar Ali is
now hardly a mile from the outskirts of the city.
The Prophet (s.a) stopped his caravan there,
everyone took a bath and attired in the Ihram for
the pilgrimage. Then the group, in unison, recited
the Talbiya—the supplication that is recited by the
pilgrims while they are proceeding towards the Kaaba
in the state of Ihram. They were also having the
sacrificial animals with them. It is recorded in the
history that there were 63 or 70 heads of such
animals with the group.
Since
the purpose of the journey was only to perform the
pilgrimage at the Kaaba, and not to combat with the
infidels, the Prophet (s.a) had directed the Muslims
to abstain from fighting even if the infidels of
Makka tempted them to the maximum extent. This
statement of the Prophet (s.a) emboldened the
infidels to attempt coaxing the Muslims the more.
The Prophet (s.a) exhorted the Muslims to move in
such a manner that even from a distance they must
give an indication that it was a group of people
traveling in peace and proceeding on a journey of
pilgrimage. They were ordered not to carry any arms
other than their swords which, in those days, were a
part of the peace-time apparel of the Arab men. They
were also ordered to wear the
Ihram during the journey that
required them, traditionally, not to commit any act
of aggression. He also asked them to put
identification marks on the animals to indicate that
they were sacrificial animals for the pilgrimage to
Mecca . There are two ways of putting identification
marks on the animals. The first method was that the
hump of the camel was to be slit with a dagger and
the blood that came out was to be rubbed on the back
of the animal. From a distance this mark would be
visible and convince the observers that it wasn’t
for use in combat. The other identification mark was
that the animal would be adorned with garlands of
flowers. Even in our times
Aghai Qooee
has given a
Fatwa (Edict) that the sacrificial
animals for Haj
and Umra be given either of the two
identification marks described above.
Now this
caravan of 1400
Muslims started their journey from
Madina,
wearing their
Ihrams and the accompanying animals
with identification marks manifesting their intent
for peaceable travel.
The
people of Mecca
got wind that the Prophet (s.a) had made
a public announcement of his intent for the
pilgrimage to the
Kaaba and
that the caravan was on the move. The Prophet (s.a)
had first related his dream to the
Muslims,
some days were spent in getting together the
retinue, then they moved to
Masjid e Shajra,
halted there for a day. The infidels of
Mecca
received their intelligence of the movement of the
contingent of
1400 men advancing towards them. They
started worrying. Memories came back to them of
their abject defeat at the hands of the
Muslims
at Badr, Uhad
and
Khandaq. They felt that even if the
Muslims
performed their pilgrimage at the
Kaaba and
returned peacefully, it would go as an insult for
the residents of
Mecca, the keepers of the
Holy Site,
in the view of the
Arab
tribes that they were unable to resist the move!
They felt that the
Arabs
might even remove them from the honor of the
keepership of the
Kaaba.
They were also scared of abject defeat if a fight
became inevitable. They were thinking of a
subterfuge of sending back the
Muslims
from the ramparts of
Mecca
without gaining entrance to the
Holy Site.
Khalid ibn e Walid
hadn’t
joined the ranks of
Muslims
till that time. He was deputed with
200
cavaliers to make a preemptive attack on the
Muslims,
who were advancing towards
Mecca,
and kill all of them.
The
Infidels of Mecca had received intelligence that the
contingent of the Prophet (s.a) was heading for
their city without combat paraphernalia,
particularly arrows, that become very handy for
attacking the adversary from a distance; nor did
they have any animals essential for the purpose.
They felt that it would be very easy to launch a
preemptive attack on the Islamic caravan.
I have
mentioned in many of my talks that the Prophet (s.a)
had devised a very effective system of gathering
intelligence of the movements of the enemy groups.
He also had the Divine support in this respect. Once
Khalid ibn e Walid started with a 200 strong column,
the Prophet (s.a) got the intelligence about the
movement. The Tribe of Junia, who hadn’t embraced
Islam till that time, was however sympathetic to the
cause of the Muslims. A person from the tribe went
to the presence of the Prophet (s.a) and gave the
first information about the movement of Khalid and
his men. Khalid was conscious of the fact that he
had only 200 men and the Muslim contingent was 1400
strong. He was aware that at Badr the Muslims were
only 313 against 1000 infidels and were victorious,
at Ohod the Muslims were 700 who forced the 10,000
infidels to flee in defeat. These thoughts forced
Khalid to refrain from making any preemptive attack
on the Muslim caravan. He had the realization that
the Muslims were moving with a peaceful intent and
would be interested in a truce.
One fact
came to the mind of Khalid bin Walid at that moment.
He thought that this caravan of the Muslims was
proceeding under the leadership of the Prophet
(s.a). He observed from a vantage point from a hill
that the Muslims were forming columns to offer their
prayers. He knew that they never missed their
prayers. He regretted that he had missed the chance
of attacking them with arrows. But he resolved that
at the next prayer he would have his 200 archers
ready to send a barrage of arrows. He told his men
to be ready for the action at the next opportunity
to annihilate all the Muslims in the midst of their
congregational prayer.
Here I
would like to draw your attention to the fact that
during the early days of Islam the Prophet (s.a)
used to offer prayers in the precincts of the Haram
of Mecca. It had become the pastime of some
mischievous Arabs to cause disturbance to his
prayers.
The
verse of Surat al Alaq says:
Ara-yatal lazi yanhaa -Hast thou seen him who dissuadeth
Abadan
izaa sallaa?-A slave when he prayeth?
This is
in the middle of the Surat al Alaq and prostration
is mandatory when one recites the last verse of this
Surat :
Kalla laa nutmehoo -No indeed! Do not obey him,
Wa asjudu wa aqtarib -But prostrate and draw near (to Allah)!
Khalid
Ibn e Walid was waiting for the next prayer to
ambush the Muslims with a barrage of arrows. Here we
would take another digression to prove a point. This
event proves the fact that the Prophet (s.a) did
combine the two noon prayers on several occasions
that he went for the
Asr
prayer immediately after the
Zuhr
prayer. The Prophet (s.a) was about to commence the
Asr
prayer when Jibraeel came to him. This event took
place in the 6th year of Hijri. For 13
years the Muslims lived in Mecca and for 6 years
they were in Madina. This makes a total of 19 years.
During the past 19 years history records no occasion
when the community offered the
Namaz e Khauf ( The
Prayer on occasion of Fear. The Prophet
(s.a) announced that Jibraeel had visited him and
communicated the mandate from Allah that half the
congregation must offer the prayer and the other
half stand guarding the group. After the first group
completed the prayer, the second half must stand up
for the prayer.
When
Khalid bin Walid witnessed this scene, he felt that
his scheme of attacking the Muslims by surprise was
defeated. He wondered how the Muslims got wind of
his carefully camouflaged scheme! There was no
possibility of any sleuth warning the Muslims at
such short notice. He asked himself a question, “Who
has taught the Muslims the strategy that they
fulfilled their obligation of uninterrupted prayer
and the contingent remained safe from an attack by
the enemy?”
At this
stage the Prophet (s.a.) changed his route feeling
that the infidels were planning to obstruct the
progress of the journey of the caravan. The new
route presented many problems that supplies of
provisions for the maintenance of men and animals
weren’t available on the way.
Now the
Muslims started showing signs of fear. They started
wondering that if such a contingency was to present
itself they would have come fully equipped to face
the adversaries. The caravan was now nearing
Hudaibiya. Before reaching Hudaibiya the caravan
came across a hillock. The Muslims didn’t know what
was there on the other side of the hill. They feared
that perhaps the enemy was sitting in ambush on the
other side of the hill. They had no paraphernalia of
war and thought that if the enemy took them
unawares, they would all be decimated. They thought
that generally men at higher elevation have an upper
hand if they are fully equipped for combat. But in
their case the enemy would score over them because
they had ventured out absolutely unprepared for
combat!
At this
juncture the Prophet (s.a) made a very unusual
statement. Sensing the fear of the Muslims of the
unknown danger which might be lurking on the other
side of the hill he said, “O Muslims! Keep climbing
the hill and remember that scaling it is like
entering
Baab e Hitta (the Threshold of Hitta)!”
Hitta
was the test to which
Bani Israel
were put. The Holy Quran said that following the
drowning of the
Pharoh the people of
Bani Israel
were stranded in the wilderness for 40 years as
a punishment for their disobedience. They reached
their destination when they repented their fault
that they were ungrateful in not acknowledging and
accepting Allah’s Bounties. When Allah accepted
their repentance it was announced that while
entering the thresholds of the city that they
reached they must prostrate and keep chanting “Hitta”.
Hitta is a word of the Syriac language that means
repentance. Bani
Israel had loitered for full 40 years in
the wilderness. They had ungratefully rejected
Mann wa salva (Manna and Quails)
saying that they wanted variety in their food and
didn’t want to eat the same thing meal after meal.
The result of their ungrateful rejection was that
they didn’t get anything to eat. They then received
the aforesaid message and saw the gate of the city
and the sprawling habitation within. They now forgot
the thought of repentance and to prostrate and utter
the word Hitta!
It is recorded in the histories that they
entered the town proudly. Instead of prostrating,
most of them held their heads high in conceit.
Instead of saying
Hitta (Repentence)
the people started uttering the word
Hinta that means the grain of wheat!
The
Prophet (s.a) said, “Remember! Climbing the hill of
Hudaibiya
is like entering the city chanting
Hitta!” This was a test of the
strength of the faith of the Muslims. The youth of
the
Medinite tribes of Aus and Khazraj
raised slogans of
“Allaho Akbar” and speedily scaled
the hill. When they reached the peak they saw a
stretch of greenery and a well on the other side.
Now the contingent of Islam moved to the other side
of the hill. They noticed a woman giving water to
her child near the well. When she saw the group of
men moving towards her, she caught hold of the child
and started to run away. She was scared that if the
men were enemies they would kill and destroy
everything. But when she realized that the new
arrivals were Muslims, she stopped running and told
her son that they wouldn’t cause them any harm. By
that time it was established in every nook and
corner of Arabia that the Muslims, even if they
invaded any place, they wouldn’t harm women,
children, old and weak persons. The Prophet (s.a)
now reached near the well and asked the women to
draw some water from the well for him to quench his
thirst. The woman said that the well yielded hardly
any water. She said that she had to wait for hours
to get some for her little child.
The
Prophet (s.a) then went near the well, peeped into
it and put some of his saliva into the well.
Miraculously the level of water came up so much that
it was nearly touching the parapet of the well. The
woman tasted the water and exclaimed, “There wasn’t
so much water in the well and never so sweet!”
Immediately after the Well of Hudaibiya the
precincts of the
Haram start. In this area hunting of any
animals or picking of even the leaves of any plants
is taboo.
The
infidels of Mecca got news that the Prophet (s.a)’s
contingent had halted at Hudaibiya. The cause of the
halt was that the Prophet (s.a)’s she-camel,
Qusvi, sat down and refused to budge
a little from the spot. The Prophet (s.a) remained
quiet and the other Muslims in the contingent tried
their best to make the camel rise to commence the
journey. The Prophet (s.a) asked them to leave it
alone. The Prophet (s.a0 said that when
Abraha
came to attack the Kaaba, his elephant,
Mehmood, sat down and refused to
move. Abraha
beat the animal so much that it died. The
Prophet (s.a) said that the elephant was refusing to
move with Allah’s will and similarly the camel too
was under His command not to budge from its place.
Hearing this, all the men in the contingent
dismounted from their steeds and started pegging
their tents. This was the time when Allah had put
the Muslims to two tests. They had started from
Madina with provisions for 8 days. But since they
had taken a circuitous route, they took 10 days to
reach Hudaibiya. In this time they had exhausted all
their provisions and found themselves in a
wilderness where nothing was available. They were
now on the verge of starvation.
Our
Sixth Imam, Jafar e Sadiq (a.s), making a commentary
on the following verse of
Surat al Maidah
(Verse 94) :
Ya ayyuhal lazeena aamanu-O you who have faith!
Layabluwannakum Allaho be-shaiyyin min al sayd -Allah wll surely test you with some of the game
Tanalahu aidiyakum wa rimahakum -
Within the reach of your hands and spears,
Says:
“Do you know what test is alluded to in this Verse?”
The narrator said that he wasn’t aware. The Imam
(a.s) said, “Listen! This refers to the event of
Hudaibiya. When the contingent of Islam halted at
Hudaibiya, and it had no provisions whatever for
sustenance, the men were reduced to the state of
starvation, they received a message from Mecca that
even if one person entered the precincts of the
Haram, he will be instantly killed! The Prophet
(s.a) did send his messenger. The messenger’s steed
was butchered and the person was rescued by some of
his friends there.”
The Imam (a.s) then added, “Listen! All the men of
the contingent were in Ihram! While one is in the
Ihram
about 23
or 24 things are taboo for him. Of these 24 things
hunting of animals is one.” The Imam (a.s) says, “At
the time of the treaty of Hudaibiya Allah had tested
the Muslims as He tested
Bani Israel
on the
Sabbath (Saturday) prohibiting catching
fish on that day. The fishes knew that on the
Sabbath
none would catch them. They came in huge schools
from the sea into the rivers. Those of the
Bani Israel
who acted against the mandate were transformed
into monkeys!”
Although
the Muslims hadn’t as yet entered the precincts of
the Haram
they were prohibited from hunting because they
were in
Ihram. Inside the
Haram,
even those not in
Ihram are
prohibited from killing any animal or even the
insects.
The Imam
(a.s) said that the animals in the wilderness got a
message from Allah that the Muslims, although
famished with hunger, cannot touch any animal being
in Ihram.
The
narrator says, “The Muslims who were at Hudaibiya
informed their children, later on, that a time came
when the animals fearlessly entered their tents and
they could touch their bodies. In normal times the
animals would run away from human beings!
Allah
tested the Muslims at
Hudaibiya
in this manner. They were hungry, bordering on
starvation, and the wild animals were literally
brushing their bodies with their bodies. But they
were in Ihram
and prohibited from butchering the
animals.
Almost
the entire contingent of Islam, comprising of about
1,500 men, appeared unanimous complaining on one
thing that the events that took place at
Hudaibiya
culminated in the signing of the truce despite their
being in a position of strength. There were two or
three persons in the contingent who were absolutely
convinced of the veracity of the truce. The majority
felt that Muslims have been ridiculed and belittled
because of the signing of the treaty. But Allah said
emphatically about the truce in
Surat al Fath: Inna fatha na laka fathan mubinan
-Indeed We have inaugurated for you a clear victory
Imam Jafar e Sadiq (a.s)
has said
about the Truce
of Hudaibiya that it was the most
felicitous and great event in the life of the
Prophet (s.a).
Therefore one must read the entire
Surat al fath with great attention
and care to realize that the Muslims at that time
were getting absolutely disheartened and Allah
decided to reveal the Verse to the
Prophet (s.a)
as a balm for the disturbed thoughts of the
Muslims. The
Prophet (s.a) had been victorious in many
a battle prior to
Hudaibiya,
but Allah had deemed this treaty as
Fath e Mubin (Clear or Manifest Victory).
We shall deal with the
Surat al Fath
at greater length later on, but it must suffice
now to say that all the Muslims are assured that the
greatest success was near at hand! The Verse 27,
Surat al Fath
says—Laqad sadaq Allah Rasoolahu ar-rooya bilhaqCertainly Allah has fulfilled His Apostle’s vision
in all truth
And
Allah had rendered true the Prophet (s.a)’s dream:
La tudkhul nal Masjid al harama Insha Allah aameneen
-You will surely enter the Sacred Mosque Insha Allah
in peace
Mohalleqeen raoosakum wa muqassareen laa taqafoona -
With your head shaven or hair cropped, without any
fear
In this
Surat also is the Verse 25 that highlights the
imperative need of the
Truce of Hudaibiya.
It says:
Wa lau laa rijaalun Mominoon was nisaaun Mominaat -
And were it not for (certain) faithful men and
faithful women,
Lam taalamoohum -
Whom you did not know
An tatoohum
-lest you should trample them,
Fa tuseebakum minhum ma-arratum -
And thus blame for (killing) them should fall on you
Beghair e ilmin -Unaware (He held you back)
t
further says:
La-azzabnal lazeena kafaru minhum -We would have surely punished the faithless among
them.
In this
Verse Allah has very lucidly highlighted the need
for the Truce that a combat would have become the
cause of the death of innocent Muslims resident in
Mecca at that time.
It was
now known why Allah mandated compromise through the
Truce of Hudaibiya. The fact also came to our
knowledge that a group of Muslims tried to ridicule
and belittle the events of the treaty. We must bear
in mind that the Infallibles wield their swords with
utmost care and discretion with the assurance that
the person they struck dead wouldn’t have Momin (s)
in his progeny! Allah says in the
Surat al Fath
that the infidels of Mecca were deserving of
retribution, but He will Himself wreak retribution
on them and wanted the Muslims to refrain from
initiating any fight to ensure the safety of the
innocent Muslims residing in the city of Mecca .
The
events took place in the following manner:
- The
Prophet (s.a), and his contingent, reached
Hudaibiya, about 16 miles from Mecca , during the
month of Zilqiddah, 6th Year of Hijri.
- The
people of Mecca had received intelligence about the
arrival of the contingent much earlier. They were
getting information, from every stage, as the
journey of the contingent progressed. They had
confirmed intelligence that the Prophet (s.a) wasn’t
headed for Mecca to initiate a fight with them.
- It is
the trait of mean persons that when they get assured
of the good intentions of the contending party, they
become bolder in creating unnecessary impediments.
The Qureish of Mecca adopted the same attitude. They
started deputing emissary after emissary who raised
unnecessary, and untenable, objections. One emissary
was the chief of the Tribe of Bani Khaza-aa, who
were traditionally the friends of Bani Hashem.
Hudaibiya, in fact, was in the territory of this
tribe. Then came the chief of the Habishi Tribe,
Owais, to talk on behalf of the infidels of Mecca .
This tribe lives in the hilly tract in the vicinity
of Mecca and has nothing to do with Abbyisinia in
Africa . The Prophet (s.a) didn’t have any
discussions with him and sent him back with gift of
camels. In the end came
Urwa bin Masood
Thaqafi, the grand-father of
Hazrat Umm e Laila.
In fact he was visiting Mecca at that
time to resolve some matters. He was sent as the
third emissary of the Meccans. While he was about to
return after the discussion, the Prophet (s.a)
ordered his contingent to do the ablutions for
congregational prayer. The entire contingent offered
the prayer in an organized column.
Urwa, who
was a respected person in
Arabia,
was much impressed with the organized activity of
the Muslims. If
Abu Sufian, and others were chiefs of
Mecca, he
was equally important chief of
Taif.
Although the ablution and the prayer is expressly
for Allah, the Prophet (s.a) ordered the Muslims to
do the ablutions and offer prayer immediately after
concluding his talk with
Urwa. At
that moment Urwa
had nothing to do with the ablution or
with the congregational prayer, but the scene left a
lasting impression on his mind. When he reported
back in Mecca ,
Urwa warned the chief not to commit the
blunder of fighting with the Muslims. He said that
he had seen the monarchs of
Rome and
Persia,
the King of Egypt and the Najashi but the
contingent of
Mohammed (s.a) was exemplarily
disciplined and their activities most organized.
Now the
Prophet (s.a)
felt that the Meccans were playing
delaying tactics. He wanted to break the dead-lock.
He now sent his own emissary to Mecca . He sent
Khiraj ibn e Umayya
bani Khaza-aa. The well of
Hudaibiya
fell in the territory of this tribe. The
Prophet (s.a)
sent him with the task of finding out why the
Qureish
were so quiet. To prove that
Khiraj
was going as his personal emissary, the
Prophet (s.a)
gave to him his personal camel for use during
the mission. When he reached near the
Haram of Kaaba,
the men, women and children there
recognized that the person was riding the camel
owned by the
Prophet (s.a). The
Arabs
those days had a special skill of recognizing the
pedigree, and thus the ownership of animals, by
having a look at them. Before the emissary could
open his mouth a group of the youth of
Qureish
attacked and killed the camel at the same spot. Then
they turned towards
Khiraj.
At this moment the men of the
Habshi Tribe
went forward and said that they had agreed to
side with the
Qureish but they wouldn’t tolerate their
attacking an emissary. They said that even if they
touched Khiraj,
the
Habashi tribe would call off their
agreement of support to the
Qureish.
The chief of the
Habashi Tribe took away
Khiraj to
a place of safety.
Khiraj
somehow reached back
Hudaibiya
and the
Prophet (s.a) learned about what happened
to him.
The
Prophet (s.a)
was now looking for an emissary who had immunity
that the Qureish
wouldn’t attack him. But in the meantime
the youth of
Qureish planned to ambush the contingent
of the Prophet
(s.a) in the early hours of the morning
when generally people are fast asleep. There are
several versions that they were 30 or 40 or 50 or 80
men. With this purpose the group climbed the
Hill of Tan-eem
in the dead of the night.
Tan-eem
is the place where presently the
Masjid e Aisha
or
Masjid e Shajra is located. Before dawn
the group stealthily moved towards
Hudaibiya.
They were all excellent marksmen with bows and
arrows ready with them. That was the time when the
Prophet (s.a)
encouraged the people to offer the
Namaz e Shab (the
Late Night Prayer). This group of the 50
archers never thought that they would find the
Muslims fully awake and alert. The result was they
were all apprehended and arrested.
Allama Majlisi
quotes on the authority of
Jabir bin Abd Allah
Ansari that the group consisted of
archers, and not swordsmen, and they had no need to
come close to attack. They could have used their
arrows even if they found the Muslims awake.
Jabir
said, “ The Prophet (s.a) was offering his
Namaz e Shab
at that time. After the prayer he would
generally supplicate for the honor and dignity of
the Muslims and the destruction of infidelity! As a
felicity of this prayer the archers were momentarily
blinded and it appeared as if they were unable to
see our group. We were therefore able to apprehend
and arrest them with ease.”
In
Surat al Fath
this event is recorded in the
Verse 24
as follows:
Wa huwal lazi kaffa aidiyahum ankum-
It is He who withheld their hands from you,
Wa aidiyakum anhum -
And your hands from them,
Ba batan e Mekka
-In the valley of Mekka
Mim baade an azfarakum alaihim-After He had given you victory over them,
Wa kaan Allahho bema taalamoona baseera.-And Allah sees best what you do.
The
Prophet (s.a), however, didn’t want to initiate a
battle at that time. It was certainly within the
rights of the contingent of Islam to execute or
punish the intruders. But the Prophet (s.a) released
them without levying any penalty on them or
punishing them in any manner. But the
Qureish
in Mecca
didn’t mend their ways. They were not advancing
the negotiations and, to the contrary, had
ill-treated the two emissaries sent by the Prophet
(s.a). Now the Prophet (s.a), after due
consideration, asked
Hazrat Omer
to proceed to
Mecca and
give impetus to the negotiations. He excused himself
saying that none of the members of his clan was in
Mecca
at that time. If any untoward event happened there,
he wouldn’t have any support or protection. He
suggested that the people of the clan of
Hazrat Othman
were still resident in
Mecca and
they would certainly protect him. The Prophet (s.a)
agreed and deputed
Hazrat Othman
for the task. When he reached the ramparts of
Mecca,
one of the chiefs of the city,
Aban bin Said, who was returning from
some errand, met him and asked
Hazrat Othman
where he was going? He informed Ibn e
Said that
he had been deputed by the Prophet (s.a) to find out
the conditions in
Mecca. Aban
took Hazrat
Othman along with him offering him his
protection and hospitality. He took
Othman to
the Haram
and announced that the emissary of the Prophet
(s.a) was under his protection. If anyone harmed
him, it would be tantamount to harming his
protector. Because of the arrival of
Hazrat Othman,
the infidels of
Mecca
gave some indication of interest in the
negotiations. The Muslims were thinking that
Hazrat Othman
would return back from
Mecca the
same evening. But three days went by and there was
no news of him. Rumors spread that perhaps the
infidels of Mecca
had assassinated him as an act of
vengeance against the Muslims. At that juncture
the Prophet (s.a)
assembled all the Muslims under a tree
and took a
Baiath (Oath of Allegiance). The
Ulema and
scholars say that the Oath was taken only on one
sentence that
they would not desert even if death stared in their
eyes. At that moment the following verse
of the Holy Quran was revealed:
Laqad razi Allaho an il mominnena -Allah was certainly pleased with the faithful
Iz yuba yaoonaka that al shajara-When they swore allegiance to you under the tree.
This
oath of allegiance is popularly known as the
Baiath e Ridwan. Through the above
quoted Verse, Allah has expressed His support to
those of the group who were men of strong faith.
Maktaba Tameer e
Adab has published an excellent book “Baiath
e Ridwan” in
Urdu.
Those who are interested in the subject may make
access to the good book. After the
Baiath the Muslims were bubbling with
high spirit and enthusiasm when the group noticed
Hazrat Othman
arriving from
Mecca. He
reported to the
Prophet (s.a) that the infidels of
Mecca had
agreed for a negotiated settlement. But he said that
they have two issues to be resolved. The first was
that they were bound with an oath that they wouldn’t
allow the Muslims to enter
Mecca.
The second issue was that if they did allow the
Muslims to enter
Mecca,
they, the infidels, would be the targets of
ridicule in the consideration of the entire
Arab
world that their enemy entered the city, worshipped
at the Holy Site and went away unopposed.
Hazrat Othman
said that these two issues were troubling the
Qureish.
However, he added, that they were sending an
emissary to discuss and find a way out of the
problem. While this discussion was in progress, the
representative of the
Qureish
arrived at the scene. This representative was
Sohail bin Omer, who was also known
as
Khatib al Arab—the orator of Arabia .
This person was of very tough and adamant
nature. He never accepted the other point of view in
any debate. He would go to the extent of sacrificing
himself and his children to uphold his point of
view. When the event of
Hudaibiya
took place
Sohail’s own son,
Abu Jundal,
had embraced
Islam and was facing torture and
incarceration at the hands of his own father,
Sohail,
as punishment for the act. The
Qureish
did want to send a tough negotiator and thus their
eyes fell on
Sohail. They said that
Mohammed (s.a)
was a magician and a milder person would
come under his spell and yield to him! The
Muslims
saw him coming from a distance and immediately
recognized him. They felt that even if there was
some chance of any progress in the negotiations, it
would be nullified by him.
Sohail
was bitterly inimical against the
Muslims.
He had bitter memories of being incarcerated by the
Muslims
after the
battle of Badr. Contrary to the thoughts
of the majority of
Muslims there, when the
Prophet (s.a)
set eyes on
Sohail, he made an augury saying, “Sahal
amarna—With sohail here our task has been eased!”
The
Prophet (s.a)
was that day negotiating the very difficult
matter with the enemy when most of the
Muslims
there had the least hope of any success. The
negotiation wasn’t done in-camera in closed-door
environment. Everything was done in the presence and
the hearing of all the
Muslims. Sohail bin
Omer went on making objection after
objection and the
Prophet (s.a)
kept acceding to his objections. In the end the
Muslims
felt that two of the six clauses of the truce were
such that they were absolutely against the interests
of the Muslims.
The
first clause was that the
Muslims
would immediately return to
Madina
and visit Makka
after the lapse of one year only for
three days. During their visit they wouldn’t carry
any arms other than those necessary for safety
during the journey. These arms, too, they would have
to keep away while in
Mecca.
The second clause
was that if any Muslim went from Medina to Mecca ,
the people of Mecca would detain him there and
wouldn’t return him. But if some Muslim from Mecca
went to Medina , it would be binding on the Medinans
to send the person back. There was a lacuna in the
use of the words that gave advantage to the Muslims
over the infidels. The words used were that the
Medinans would “send back the persons” and not “hand
over the persons”. Then they used the word “Muslim”
in the document. In Arabic “Muslim” is masculine
gender and the feminine gender would be “Muslima”.
The document of the treaty was therefore silent on
the method of handling the females if they escaped
from Mecca and crossed over to the other side. About
this clause some interesting event took place that
we shall discuss later on.
The third clause
was that
the Arab Tribes
were free to align with any of the two
parties at their discretion. The third party would
not raise any objection to such treaties.
The fourth clause
was that
the truce would be valid for a period of
10 years.
During the validity of the truce there will not
be any hostility or battles between the two parties.
All the
four clauses of the
truce of Hudaibiya
have not been mentioned uniformly in the
books of history. Some mention two, some three and
others four.
The fifth clause
was that
the assets and wealth of the infidels and the
Muslims was to be immune from attack and
appropriation by the opposite party.
The sixth clause,
which
was very important, and was of great advantage to
the Muslims of Mecca, was that they would be free to
practice their religion without any hindrance from
the infidels from the day of the signing of the
Truce. The Muslims of Mecca who were observing
Taqayya (Dissimulation) till that
time were free to practice their religion openly.
Their lives and properties too were to be given
protection. This clause too hasn’t been mentioned by
most of the Ulama. But our Ulama viz:
Sheik Mufeed, Allama Tabrisi, Allama Majlisi
have taken care to mention this very
important clause in their works.
The
terms of the Truce had been agreed and were just to
be reduced to writing and signing by the parties.
The Prophet (s.a) asked
Hazrat Ali (a.s)
to reduce the terms of the Truce to
writing, in duplicate, to be signed by the Prophet
(s.a) on behalf of the Muslims and
Sohail bin Omer
as the representative of the infidels of
Mecca.
All other Muslims were standing dumb-struck
thinking that the terms of the treaty were one-sided
and giving all the advantage to the infidels. Some
of them were even expressing their disagreement in
very clear terms! One person objected that why he
was agreeing to send back a Muslim if he escaped
from Mecca and sought refuge in Medina . The Prophet
(s.a) replied that he had trust in Allah that He
would protect such persons! He said that there was
no guarantee of a person living on if he migrated to
Medina . If Allah wished, the person would die
anywhere, at any moment. He also said that if any
person, on his own, went to Mecca , the Muslims
needn’t go after him to give him protection! This
reply of the Prophet (s.a) was certainly very terse!
Contrary to the natures of the other prominent
Muslims, Ali (a.s)’s nature was different. In the
field of battle he was a valorous warrior and on the
negotiation table he exercised maximum equanimity
and patience. This was the reason that the Prophet
(s.a) kept him near during the negotiations and had
asked him to reduce the treaty to writing. What he
wrote in the document were implicitly the words of
the Prophet (s.a) . The Prophet (s.a) dictated to
him thus:
“Bismillah
hir Rehman ir Rahim. This is a truce agreement
between the Prophet of Allah and the Qureish”
At this point
Sohail ibn e Omer
asked, “What
is Bismillah hir Rehman ir Rahim? We do know Allah
but we don’t know who is Rehman and Rahim? You must
write only what we know.” The Prophet
(s.a) asked
Hazrat Ali (a.s) to delete the two words.
The Muslims around the table were getting worked up
about this. But one thing must be remembered that if
Sohail
had asked starting the document in the names of
“Laat”
and “Manaat”
the Prophet (s.a) would have strongly rejected the
suggestion.
Sohail raised another objection. He said,
“You have said
that it is a truce agreement between the Prophet of
Allah and the Qureish, O son of Abd Allah! What is
the Prophet of Allah? If we accept you as the
Prophet of Allah, then there remains no dispute
between us! What objection you have over writing
your name and your father’s name on the document?”
The Prophet (s.a) asked
Ali (a.s)
to delete the words
“Prophet of Allah”
and insert
“Mohammed ibn e Abd
Allah” in their place.
Hazrat Ali (a.s)
refused to do this. The Prophet (s.a)
himself took the pen from the hands of Hazrat Ali
(a.s) struck off the words “Prophet
of Allah” and inserted the words
“Mohammed Ibn e Abd
Allah”. This event also proves that the
Prophet (s.a) wasn’t an utter
Ummi and
he knew his reading and writing!
The
document was ready and was about to be signed by the
parties when Abu
Jundal arrived at the scene. He fell on
the feet of the Prophet (s.a) and pleaded that he
had managed to escape from the incarceration of his
tyrannical father and wanted refuge. Sohail ibn e
Omer recognized that it was his own son whom he had
tortured and confined, chained, to a room since he
had embraced Islam. Sohail was about to put his
signature on the document of the Truce, but he
withdrew his hand. The Prophet (s.a) said that Abu
Jundal was a Muslim and it was the duty of every
Muslim to give refuge and help to a Muslim. Sohail
ibn e Omer said, “O Muhammed! This is the time to
test how sincere you are about the terms of the
Truce! Just now the terms of the Treaty have been
finalized that you will not give refuge to anyone
crossing from our side to Medina .” The Prophet
(s.a) replied, “You are absolutely right. But since
the document is not yet ratified with signatures, we
may still give refuge to Abu Jundal!” Sohail bin
Omer said, “ If such is the case, keep the document
of the Truce with you . We are not willing to make
any agreement!” Sohail bin Omer was making such a
strong statement being fully aware that the Qureish
wouldn’t be able to bear the onslaught of 1,400
strong contingent of the Muslims. He had made such a
drastic statement because he had guessed that the
Prophet (s.a) wished to ratify the Truce at any
cost. Sohail bin Omer had two other Qureishites with
him in the delegation. They took pity on Abu Jundal,
caught hold of his hand and guided him to the group
of Muslims asking them to take care of him. Sohail
bin Omer got angry on the two persons and said that
he was the chief negotiator and wouldn’t tolerate
any interference from them. He insisted that the
treaty wouldn’t be finalized if his son wasn’t sent
back to Mecca with him. The Prophet (s.a) made all
the efforts to get the custody of Abu Jundal but had
to yield to the adamant insistence of Sohail ibn e
Omer. Then he looked at the father and the son and
said, “O Abu Jundal! Do as your father says and go
back to Mecca !” Abu Jundal bared the wounds that he
had suffered at the hands of his father. The Muslims
were becoming angrier with the passage of every
moment. The Prophet (s.a) was aware of this, but he
said, “O Abu Jundal! Do go away! Allah will protect
you and devise some way of your escape from the
torture!” Abu Jundal now moved towards his father.
Some historians have recorded that a couple of
Muslims came closer to him and tempted him to pick
up a sword and kill his father. Abu Jundal told
them, “The Prophet (s.a) has given his verdict. I
should rather go into incarceration and bear the
torture! I cannot act against the decision of the
Prophet (s.a)!” He now surrendered himself to his
father. Sohail ibn e Omer realized now the feelings
of brotherhood the Muslims had for Abu Jundal. He
then started beating Abu Jundal and his wounds
started bleeding again. The Prophet (s.a) quietly
observed the torture inflicted by a father on his
son. He was thus giving a lesson that sometimes one
has to quietly observe the acts of tyranny for the
sake of Islam. Now Sohail bin Omer handed over the
son to his slaves and put his signature on both the
copies of the document of Truce. He took one copy of
the document and departed with his entourage for
Mecca . The other copy of the document was with the
Prophet (s.a).
After
sending away Sohail ibn e Omer the Prophet (s.a)
gave his attention to the Muslims. They were very
angry and upset with the events of the day. He
addressed them thus, “O Muslims! We will not be able
to perform the
Umra now. Therefore get your hair
tonsured and come out of the
Ihram.” The somber group remained
quiet. They were shell shocked as if they were in
delirium. It seemed as if their eyes were wide open
but their minds were unable to comprehend anything.
. The Prophet (s.a) once again asked them to change
into ordinary apparel from the
Ihram. Now the Prophet (s.a) entered
his personal tent with a sad countenance. It was his
practice that whenever he traveled, he took one of
his spouses along. On this journey Hazrat Umm e
Salama was with him. Umm e Salama noticed the
unhappiness reflected on the face of the Prophet
(s.a). She asked him the reason of his moroseness.
He informed her of the attitude of the Muslims. Umm
e Salama advised him that although the Muslims were
in a state of shock and were unable to understand
anything he needn’t tell them anything. He may just
set the example before them by getting his hair
tonsured, sacrifice the animal and change from the
Ihram to ordinary apparel. They will
certainly then follow suit! Seeing the Prophet (s.a)
going through the rituals, there were signs of
activity in the 1500 strong contingent. They started
emulating the Prophet (s.a)’s action. For
Umrah it
is prescribed that the men must either get their
hair completely tonsured or are permitted even to
clip some of the hair from the head. At Hudaibiya
those Muslims who were highly dedicated to the
Prophet (s.a) got their hair tonsured in his
emulation and there were also some who got their
hair clipped just to fulfill the ritual! For women
tonsuring of the head is taboo and they just have to
get their hairs clipped as a ritual. When the
Prophet (s.a) got his hair tonsured at Hudaibiya or
at Hujjat al Wida, the Muslims took small quantities
to keep as holy relic. People have preserved these
relics for centuries. It is very difficult to
provide proof of the authenticity of the relics, but
it is certain that in many families people have
preserved the hairs and keep them on view on special
occasions!
When the
Prophet (s.a) saw that some persons had tonsured
their hair and the others only got some hair
clipped, he said, “Rahem
Allah alal mohallaqeen—May Allah bless those who got
their hair tonsured!” from one corner
someone raised his voice, “What do you say about
those who have just clipped some of their hairs?”
The Prophet (s.a) repeated his words, “Rahem
Allah alal mohallaqeen.” At this
juncture those who had just clipped their hairs
moved forward in a group. Now the Prophet said, “May
Allah Bless them as well!” Another person asked, “O
Prophet of Allah! Why you have talked so strongly of
those who tonsured their heads and lightly of those
who just got their hairs clipped?” The Prophet (s.a)
now replied, “Those who have tonsured their heads
have total faith and belief in my prophet-hood and
the others are not firm in their faith!” The Prophet
(s.a) now said that the contingent was to return
back to Medina . One person asked, “O Prophet of
Allah! Didn’t you say when we started our journey
from Medina that we shall circumambulate the Kaaba
and do the
Sa-ee between the hills of
Safa and
Marwa!”
The Prophet (s.a) replied, “Yes! I did say all
that!” The man said, “The Prophet (s.a)’s word
hasn’t come true!” The Prophet (s.a) said, “I didn’t
say that we shall perform the rituals in this year
only. Remember! Allah will fulfill His promise!” The
contingent moved a little distance on its journey
when Jibraeel
came and revealed
Surat al Fath
(Chapter 48 of the Holy Quran). The very
first verse of the
Surat is
Bismillahir Rehman
ir Rahim Inna fathana laka fathan mubeenan, MEANING,
we have given you a manifest victory or a victory
which is very obvious! This
word wasn’t used after any of the earlier battles
viz: Badr, Ohod,
Khandaq or even
Khaibar immediately
thereafter! But Allah chose to use this
adjective specifically after the conclusion of the
Truce of Hudaibiya! Imam Jafar e Sadiq (a.s)
says, “ In Islam no event is more felicitous
than the
Truce of Hudaibiya!” In this truce
there are many blessings. We shall talk about them
bye and by.
But
before mentioning about the blessings, we would like
to mention, as recorded by
Sheik Toosi, Allama Tabrisi, Sayed Qutb al Din
Rawandi, Ibn e Sahr Ashoob and many
other Shia and
Sunni historians that after returning to
Medina
after signing the Treaty, the Prophet (s.a)
abided there only for
20 days.
On the 21st
day the contingent moved towards the
Oasis of Khaibar. The
Truce of Hudaibiya has a great
relevance to the campaign of
Khaibar.
I have
mentioned earlier, and am reiterating again, that
the words used in agreements have a great bearing in
regard to their implementation. As the contingent of
Islam reached
Medina, the daughter of
Uqba bin abi Moeed,Umm Kulthum, went
to the presence of the Prophet (s.a) and sought
refuge.
Uqba, a
Meccan,
was a sworn enemy of Islam and his daughter faced
torture from him because she had embraced the new
Creed. The Prophet (s.a) gave her refuge. At that
time her two brothers,
Walid and Ammar, arrived in her
pursuit and said, “O son of
Abd Allah!
We do know that you never breach the trust and
infringe the terms of the agreements! This is the
reason that the people of Makka call you
Sadiq, the truthful,
and Amin, the trustworthy! Our sister has
escaped from
Makka and is under your refuge. There is
an agreement between you and us that if any of our
persons comes to you, you will forthright return the
person to us.” The Prophet (s.a) replied, “The truce
agreement does say that if a
Momin corsses over from your
territory to us for refuge he shall have to be
returned back to you. But
Momin means a man and the agreement
is silent about
Mominat or the women!” At that time
some of the Muslims around the Prophet (s.a) meekly
protested that the statement was rather playing with
the words. The Prophet (s.a) said that the agreement
mentions about
Muslim (the masculine gender) and not
Muslima (the
feminine gender) He stressed that they
had not made any agreement for repatriating the
women who sought refuge with the Muslims! Some of
the Muslims became doubtful that the clause of the
agreement was for Muslims seeking refuge in
Medina,
whether men or women! At this juncture the
Surat al Mumtahana was revealed. The
Verse 10 of the Surat says:
Ya ayyuhal lazeena aamanu-O you who have faith!
Iza jaa aa kum al mominaatu muhajiraatin -When faithful women come to you as immigrants,
Fa amtheuhunna -Test them
Later in
the same Verse the Holy Quran says: Fala tarjeoo hunna ilal kuffaar
-Do not send them back to the faithless.
The Holy
Quran thus confirmed the decision of the Prophet
(s.a) with regard to the refuge granted to
Umm Kulthm bint e Uqba ibn e abi Moeed.
Now the
Prophet (s.a) started from Medina on the Campaign of
Khaibar.
Eminent scholars and historians have written
volumes on the cause and effects of the
Truce of Hudaibiya. I am enumerating here
the main advantages that accrued to the Muslims as a
result of this treaty:
The first advantage
was that
as a result of the signing of the treaty, the
Muslims in Mecca
could freely and openly start practicing
the Creed. Hitherto they were observing
Taqayya, or
dissimulation, to safeguard themselves
against the persecution from the infidels. This
Truce came as a blessing for them. Even the
Holy Koran,
in the
Surat al Fath ( Verse 25) ordains
restraint in attacking
Mecca
because there were faithful men and faithful women
in the city, unknown to the contingent of the
Muslims, who could have been trampled in the event
of a battle fought in the Holy City . The Treaty
brought out these faithful persons from their hiding
and they started freely practicing the tenets of
Islam.
The second advantage
accruing
from the Truce was there was a sort of
Iron Curtain
separating the people of
Mecca
from the people of
Medina.
Even the smaller tribes, who were inclined to be
friendly with the Muslims were shy to establish any
contacts with them as a safety measure. With the
signing of the Treaty they started freely
interacting with the Muslims. The tribe that
inhabited the area of
Hudaibiya, Bani
Khaza-aa, who had strong links with the
Bani Hashim
since the times of the Prophet (s.a)’s
grand-father kept discreetly away from the Muslims
fearing reprisals from the
Khoreish
in their neighborhood. As soon as the Treaty was
signed, they declared that they would side with the
Muslims!
The third advantage
was that
those Muslims who had migrated to
Medina
were separated from their kith and kin in
Mecca.
With the signing of the Treaty, the Muslims from
Mecca
were enabled to visit their relatives in
Medina
and exchange gifts. The infidels of Mecca too
started interacting with the Muslims. Hitherto they
used to consider the Muslims as sorcerers and were
shy of interacting with them. When they experienced
the exemplary manners and behavior of the Muslims,
they realized their mistake.
The fourth big advantage
was that
the Prophet (s.a)
got the breathing time to propagate the
Mission of Islam.
Hitherto the Muslims were attacked by the
Koreish
at regular intervals that kept the community at
high alert not leaving sufficient time for
propagating the Creed in the other areas. After the
signing of the Treaty the
Prophet (s.a)
started corresponding with the rulers in
Egypt, Abbysinia,
Iran Rome etc.
The fifth advantage
was that
after the
Koreish, the
Jews were
the biggest challenge to the fledgling Community. So
far the Koriesh
and the
Jews were
hand in glove against the Muslims. With the
Truce of Hudaibiya
the
Prophet (s.a) disrupted the cooperation
between these adversaries of Islam. This enabled the
Prophet (s.a)
to undertake the successful campaign to
Khaibar,
where the
Jews had entrenched themselves in large
numbers, within 20 days of returning to
Medina
after signing the
Truce of Hudaibiya.
The sixth advantage
to the
Muslims was the clause that initially upset the
majority of the Community that it said that any
Muslim who crossed over to
Medina
from Mecca because of the persecution from the
infidels would be expelled and asked to return back.
This very clause became a bone in the necks of the
infidels. In terms of this clause,
Abu Jundal
was handed over to his infidel father
Sohail ibn e Omer
who put him in a torture chamber.
Abu Jundal
propagated the
Creed of Islam
to his warders and as many of
70 of
them embraced
Islam. Abu Jundal heard that on the coast
there was a settlement of
Muslims
who were exiled by the infidels and were not
acceptable in
Medina in terms of the Treaty of
Hudaibiya.
He escaped from the incarceration, along with
the 70 brethren of his, to the new sea-side
settlement started by
Utbah ibn e Usaid, popularly known as
Abu Basir.
He had sought refuge in
Medina
immediately after the signing of the Truce of
Hudaibiya.
Two men from
Mecca, who were shadowing him also went
to the presence of the Prophet (s.a) said that it
would be an infringement of the Truce if he was
given refuge and wanted to take
Abu Basir
with them to
Mecca. Abu Basir pleaded that if he went
to Mecca
he would be tortured to no end. The
Prophet (s.a)
however advised him to go away from
Medina.
On the way to
Mecca, near
Dual Halifa, Abu
Basir praised the sword of the leader of
his two captors and asked him to give it to him for
inspection. The man gave him the sword and he,
unsheathing it, gave such a blow that the person’s
head was decapitated. The other captive of
Abu Basir
ran back fast to
Medina
and reported the incident to the Prophet (s.a) and
expressed fear that
Abu Basir
might slay him as well. At that juncture
Abu Basir
too arrived there and told to the Prophet (s.a)
he was handed over to the
Meccans
in terms of the Treaty but he had earned his freedom
himself and should be allowed to stay in
Medina.
The Prophet (s.a) expressed his inability to give
him refuge. When he was finally turned out of
Medina he
started the sea-side settlement which was growing by
the day. There were many Muslims resident in
Mecca.
When they heard about the new habitation established
by Abu Basir,
they started moving down to settle with
him. Naturally only men were moving to the new
settlement because they weren’t acceptable as
refugees in
Medina. The old men were unable to take
the adventure of facing the harsh environment of the
new settlement.
Only young and able bodied persons joined
the group of Abu
Basir. Abu Jundal, with his
70
companions, too headed towards the sea-side
settlement. They started way-laying the trading
caravans that passed that way to arrange sustenance
for themselves. It was a tradition that the trading
caravans of the
Koreish were not plundered by the Arabs
because they were the keepers of the Kaaba. Since
the times of
Hazrat Ismail (a.s), the
Koreish
hadn’t faced any plunder of their caravans during
their journeys. They thought it would be better that
the Muslims who had moved to the settlement were
admitted to Medina . When the infidels moved the
matter with the Prophet (s.a), he said that he
didn’t give refuge to those persons in terms of the
Truce. If they now wanted action contrary to the
Clause, a letter would be sent to the leader of the
settlement to move to
Medina.
When the Prophet (s.a)’s letters reached the
settlement, it was like the day of
Eid for
the people there. The leader of the group,
Abu Basir,
was seriously ill at that moment.
Abu Jundal
was his deputy. He took the letter to
Abu Basir
and congratulated him saying that the
Prophet (s.a)
has himself sent a letter asking all of them to
move over to
Medina. Abu Basir opened his eyes and
said, “Alhamd u Lillah! All my efforts are bearing
fruit today! Keep the letter on my chest that when I
breathe my last it is with me! I don’t have
sufficient strength to reach the presence of the
Prophet (s.a)!”
Abu Jundal bent down and gingerly put the
letter on the chest of
Abu Basir.
As the letter was put on the chest of
Abu Basir,
his spirit departed from his body!
Abu Jundal
interred the mortal remains of
Abu Basir
at the same place and constructed a small mosque
there. Abu Jundal
moved with his group of 300 Muslims to
Medina,
went to the presence of the Prophet (s.a) and
recounted to him what transpired at the sea-side
settlement!
