The Peace Treaty and
the Spread of Islam
The Peace Treaty
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 1400 companions. He camped at Hudaybiyyah, a short way from Makkah. It was a completely peaceful march. But the Makkan leaders objected to it. They felt that their prestige was damaged by the fact that the very people who had been expelled by them from Makkah should come to the city again and perform the rights of Umrah openly and in such large numbers.
Now the Prophet halted at Hudaybiyyah and began negotiating for peace with the Makkan leaders. The Quraysh finally agreed to sign a peace treaty specifying that for the next ten years no war would take place 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 come again the following year and stay in Makkah for just three days.
The companions of the Prophet were very upset at the terms of the treaty, it seemed to them that the Makkans had been dominant and they were made out to be subservient. But God declared in the Quran that it was a ‘Clear Victory’ for the believers. The future events would show how the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah would pave the way for the spread of Islam across Arabia.
The peace treaty removed the danger of war and people were able to mix freely with any tribe they liked. This gave the non-Muslims an opportunity to have a closer look at Islam. During this period of free interaction, Islam became a subject of general discussion. The call of 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 greatly increased.
Dawah — The Mission of the Prophet
The Prophet Muhammad at first started to secretly communicate the message of Islam. Members of his immediate family were the first to accept Islam. Abu Bakr Siddiq was the first person outside the family to accept Islam. He in turn called his friends to God and Islam, and some of them, like Uthman and Abdur Rahman bin Auf, accepted Islam.
The Prophet Muhammad used to visit the homes of the Makkans, calling them towards Islam by reciting the verses of the Quran. Umar said that the Prophet came on many occasions to call him towards Islam. The Prophet Muhammad would also address people gathered at the Kabah. The Kabah was the place of pilgrimage and it would have people coming to it from Makkah as well various parts of Arabia. The Prophet would recite to them verses of the Quran, narrating to them the power of God and the powerlessness of the idols they worshipped. He had to face ridicule, anger and opposition. People said that he had become mentally unstable and was a magician. They even tried to bribe him to stop propagating Islam.
The opposition became relentless and even Abu Talib, his uncle, who was his guardian and protector, pleaded with him to abandon Islam. Prophet Muhammad replied that even if the people opposing Islam were to place the sun in his right hand and the moon in his left hand, he would not stop propagating Islam.
The Prophet’s Letters to the Kings
The Prophet Muhammad sent letters to neighbouring kings inviting them and their people to Islam. Among the rulers who were sent letters were Heracleus of the Byzantine Empire; Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia; Maquqas, the king of Egypt and Al Mudhir bin Sawa, the ruler of Bahrain. Some selected companions were entrusted with the delivery of these letters.
The Prophet Muhammad had a ring made of silver inscribed with the words “Muhammad the messenger of God.” He used to seal his letters with this ring.
These letters, short and simply written, gave the basic message of Islam. Here is the letter which the Prophet wrote to Khusru Parvez, the king of Persia:
“In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent. From Muhammad , God’s messenger, to Khusru, the leader of Persia. Peace be to him who follows right guidance, believes in God and His messenger, and declares that there is no deity save God, the only God, Who has no partners, and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. I wish to convey to you God’s call, for I am God’s messenger to all mankind, sent with the task of warning all those who are alive that doom will befall those who reject the truth. If you submit to God, you will be safe. If you refuse, you shall bear the responsibility for the Magians (i.e. your people).”
Some of the rulers, like Negus, the ruler of Abyssinia, accepted Islam, while others rejected it, but they accepted the letters graciously and sent presents to the Prophet. Only the Emperor of Iran, Khusru Parvez, tore the Prophet’s message apart in his arrogance. He considered it below his dignity to accept such a letter. When the Prophet received this news, he said: “The Emperor of Persia has himself torn his Kingdom to pieces.” This prediction was fulfilled during the rule of Caliph Umar, when Iran came under Muslim rule.
The king of Persia even ordered the governor of Yemen to arrest the Prophet. When his man arrived in Madinah the Prophet surprised him by saying that Khusru Parvez had been killed the previous night. The Prophet had been informed by God: Khusru Parvez had been assassinated by his son.
The Conquest of Makkah
Two years after the signing of the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the treaty was violated by the Quraysh. The Prophet then announced that the peace agreement had been revoked. Subsequently, on the 10th of Ramadan, he left for Makkah accompanied by 10,000 companions. This march was conducted in complete secrecy. Only when they encamped a few miles from the city did the Makkans come to know of their arrival. The Makkans were completely taken by surprise. Faced with this numerical strength, the Makkans found themselves helpless. Therefore, they conceded their defeat without any resistance. Makkah was thus conquered without any armed encounter. The Muslims had strict orders to shed no blood. The Makkans were told that they would be safe if they kept indoors or took refuge in the Kabah or in Abu Sufyan’s house.
After the conquest of Makkah, the Kabah was purified of all the idols which had been placed in it. Then Bilal, the Negro Companion of the Prophet, went up on to the roof of the Kabah and gave the call to prayer (adhan). Then the companions said the thanksgiving prayer, led by the Prophet.
Pardon for All
After the conquest of Makkah, the Makkan leaders were gathered in the compound of the Kabah. They were, without exception, the worst type of criminals. Therefore, even if all of them had been put to death, the punishment would have been fully justified. But the Prophet, being of a noble character, did not take any action against them. He unilaterally declared a general amnesty, saying: “Go, you are all free.”
The Makkans could hardly believe their ears. This generous treatment meted out to the fallen foe won all hearts, including those of the most bitter enemies of Islam. After the conquest of their hearts, they had no choice but to embrace Islam. All the insolent Makkans surrendered and joined the Prophet in his mission as his companions. All opposition just completely vanished.
The acceptance of Islam by the Makkans paved the way for all the tribes of Arab to accept Islam. Representatives of various Arabian tribes came to Madinah to accept Islam at the hand of the Prophet Muhammad .
The Farewell Pilgrimage
After having consolidated the power of Islam in Arabia, the Prophet set out to perform Hajjatul wada‘, his Farewell Pilgrimage. It was the last year of his life. He left Madinah for Makkah accompanied by Madinan Muslims. When the news spread that the Prophet was going to perform the pilgrimage, various tribes living in Arabia began pouring into Makkah.
Therefore when the Prophet of Islam performed his first as well as his last pilgrimage, he was joined by nearly 125,000 Muslims. During this pilgrimage the revelations about the rules of the hajj were given to him. These are followed by all Muslims to this day.
When the Prophet arrived at Mount Arafat, he imparted some teachings to the people present on that occasion. These are preserved in the form of the “Final Sermon.”
During the Sermon of Arafat the last passage of the Quran was revealed:
“Today I have completed your religion for you, and completed My blessings upon you. I have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (Al Ma’idah, 5:3)
This proved to be his last visit, that is why it came to be called the “Farewell Pilgrimage”. Only three months after his return to Madinah, The Prophet
Muhammad fell ill and, with the consent of all of his wives, stayed in the house of Aishah. He had fever and headache. He remained ill for about two weeks and breathed his last on 12 Rabiul Awwal, 632 A.D. He continued leading prayers till he became too weak to go to the mosque. But before his death, he said his last prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque and made Abu Bakr, his closest companion, the Imam of this prayer.
The Prophet died in the room attached to the Prophet’s Mosque. He was buried in the same place. Later when Abu Bakr and Umar died, they were also buried to the right and left side of the Prophet.
The Spread of Islam after the Death of the Prophet
At the time of the Prophet’s demise, his companions numbered nearly a lakh and twenty five thousand. However, it is worth noting that if you go to Makkah and Madinah you will find only a small number of graves there. The reason for this is that these companions left Arabia and spread to various countries. The majority of them breathed their last in various Asian and African countries, where their graves still exist.
For example: Umm Haram bint Milhan, a sahabiya, (a Companion of the Prophet) who was married to Ubadah ibn al-Samit Ansari, undertook several trips to foreign countries along with her husband. Her grave is in Cyprus, and is called the grave of the pious woman. The grave of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who was born in Makkah, is in Hims (Syria).
The same is true of the majority of the Companions of the Prophet. Why did this happen? In his sermon on the occasion of the farewell pilgrimage, the Prophet Muhammad instructed the people present to spread Islam to other lands.
The Prophet Muhammad said:
“…..All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O God, that I have conveyed Your message to Your people.”
It was this injunction of the Prophet that led to the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) settling in foreign lands. In those countries, they either did business or earned their living by hard work, all the while communicating to their non-Muslim compatriots the message of monotheism which they had received from the Prophet. Every one of them thus became a virtual ambassador of Islam. This resulted in Islam spreading across the globe. Its evidence can still be seen in the inhabited world of that time.
