When Prophet Muhammad migrated from Makkah to Madinah, the Makkah leaders, still not content, launched an all-out offensive against him. Several military engagements ensued without their being a decisive victory in sight. Ultimately, the Prophet entered into a pact with the Makkans at Hudaybiyyah. This, in effect, was a ten-year peace treaty which permitted the Prophet to change the arena of action and to look forward to a long and undisturbed period of missionary activity. Till then, the meeting ground between Muslims and non-Muslims had been on the battlefield. Now the area of conflict was at the level of ideological debate. Very soon after this agreement was signed, the one-time enemies began interacting with each other on a large scale. During this period of interaction, the ideological superiority of the Muslims so asserted itself that large numbers of their former enemies began to enter the fold of Islam. In this way the number of Muslims continuously increased, with a corresponding decrease in the numbers of non-Muslims. Ultimately the Muslims came to occupy a dominating position—without engaging in battle—solely on the strength of their greater numbers.

The success, in this instance, of the Prophet's methods lends conviction to the view that if believers are repeatedly thwarted in bringing their missionary struggle to fruition, it is only proper that their efforts should be re-deployed in some other field of action where more positive results may be expected.

Source: The True Face of Islam