THE SUCCOUR OF GOD

In the sixth year of Hijrah, a 10-year peace treaty was concluded at al-Hudaybiyyah, one article of which specified that anyone emigrating to Muhammad’s camp without the permission of his guardian would have to be returned to Makkah. In contrast, any Muslim emigrating from Muhammad’s camp to Makkah would not have to be returned. (Ibn Kathir, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyah, 3/321) This was adhered to in the case of men; one notable instance was that of Suhayl ibn ‘Amr’s son, Abu Jandal, who, despite having walked 13 miles from Makkah to al-Hudaybiyyah, in a badly injured condition with his feet in shackles, was promptly returned to his persecutors. Similarly, other Muslims, having managed to free themselves from Quraysh, were returned one after another. (Ibn Kathir, As-Sirah an-Nabawiyah, Vol. 3, pp. 321-335) This pact, however, was not regarded as covering the case of Muslim women. This verse of the Quran was revealed on this occasion:

“Believers! When believing women come to you as refugees, submit them to a test. Their faith is best known to God. Then, if you find them to be true believers, do not send them back to those who deny the truth.” (60:10)

Many incidents have been recorded of women managing to free themselves from the clutches of the Quraysh, coming to Madinah, and then not being returned to the Quraysh despite the latter invoking the terms of the peace treaty. For example, when Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah ibn Abu Mu’ayt escaped to Madinah, she was not returned even when two of her brothers came to take her back. (Sirat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 362) The Quraysh considered this refusal a pact violation and quickly seized this opportunity to defame the Prophet. It is remarkable, however, that they soon ceased to protest on this score, and considering that they were the Prophet’s direst enemies, it is not easy to understand how this came about. No satisfactory answer is to be found in the books of Sirah and Commentaries on the Quran. Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-'Arabi writes that the Quraysh ceased to protest because God had miraculously silenced their tongues. (Ahkam al-Quran, Edited by ‘Ali Muhammad al-Bajawi [Beirut, 1987], Vol. 4, p. 1786). 

There can be no doubt about it: it was one of God’s miracles, although not in the usual sense of the word.

It is perhaps easier to arrive at the truth by examining the wording of this particular condition of the pact. Here we quote Bukhari’s version, which may be taken as the most authentic:

“You will have to return any of our men who come to you, even if they have accepted your faith.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 2731-2732)

The expression “any of our men” (rajul) gave Muslims a loophole by which to exclude women from the application of this condition. The Muslims had not put forward this condition of the pact, but the delegates of the Quraysh had dictated the Makkans and the actual wording. It seems that when one of them, called Suhayl ibn ‘Amr, was dictating, he was thinking of both men and women, but the actual word he chose to convey “any person” (inclusive of both men and women) was rajul, which in Arabic is used only for men. Most probably, this was why the Prophet could legitimately refuse—according to Imam Zuhri—to hand over Umm Kulthum bint ‘Uqbah to her brothers when they came to him to demand her return. Razi is another person who records the Prophet on this occasion as having explained that “the condition applied to men and not to women.” (Ibn Hajar al-‘Athqalani, Fath al-Bari, Vol. 9, pp. 345)

This was a divine succour for Muslim women.