THE TREATY OF HUDAYBIYYAH

The Prophet felt that war was not the solution. Therefore, he adopted another strategy. Guided by a dream, he left for Makkah to perform Umrah accompanied by 1,400 companions. He camped at Hudaybiyyah, a short way from Makkah. It was an entirely peaceful march. However, the Makkan leaders objected to it. They felt they were being made to look very small because the people they had forced out of Makkah were coming to the city again to perform the rites of Umrah openly and in such large numbers.

The Prophet halted at Hudaybiyyah and began peace talks with the Makkan leaders. The Quraysh finally agreed to sign a peace treaty. However, at the Prophet’s suggestion, a clause was included which said that, for the next ten years, no war would occur between the Muslims and the Makkans. By the terms of this treaty, the Muslims were to go back without visiting the Kabah. They were to return the following year and stay in Makkah for three days.

The treaty appeared to be a victory for the Quraysh, for the Prophet had accepted all their conditions without demur. However, it soon proved to be otherwise. There was no war danger; people could mix freely with any tribe they liked. This allowed the non-Muslims to have a closer look at Islam. During this period of free mixing, Islam became a subject for everyone to discuss. As a result, the call for Islam spread rapidly. The Arabs, impressed by the virtues of Islam, began to enter its fold in large numbers. Within the next two years, the number of Muslims increased significantly.