The Prophet of Islam fully adopted the way of pacifism or non-violence all his life. All his successes were achieved by non-violent methods. There were many issues in Makkah at that time which could have been the subject of clash and confrontation. But the Prophet avoided all such issues, strictly limiting his sphere to the peaceful propagation of his message.

1. The first thirteen-year period of the prophethood is called the Makkah period. The method of non-violence, or pacifism, was adopted in the full sense in this phase. Many issues which presented themselves in Makkah could easily have led to confrontations. But the Prophet of Islam, avoiding all such issues, confined himself totally to the sphere of the peaceful propagation of ‘the word of God’. It was as a result of this policy that dawah work in this period could be effectively performed. One of the many benefits of this 13-year dawah work was that in this age all the best individuals who influenced Islamic history were brought into the fold of Islam, for instance, Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman, Ali, etc.
2. When the Makkan leaders wanted to wage war against him, the Prophet, declining to retaliate, quietly migrated to Madinah.

Hijrah, in its nature, is, without doubt, an example of non-violent activism. This peaceful strategy enabled the Prophet and his migrant companions, about 200 in number, to build a powerful center of Islam in Madinah. If the Prophet had opted for the way of armed confrontation instead of peaceful migration, perhaps the history of Islam would have begun and ended in Makkah.

3. After the emigration, the Prophet’s antagonists waged war unilaterally. The outcome was the bloody pitched battles at Badr and Uhud. At that moment, the Prophet again negotiated a 10-year peace treaty by accepting all the conditions of the enemy. This pact is known in the history of Islam as the Hudaybiyyah peace treaty. This event is called a ‘clear victory’ in the Quran (The Quran, 48:1). It was this peace pact, which paved the way for that peaceful constructive activity that finally made possible the conquest not only of Makkah but the whole of Arabia.

All great successes or victories in the first phase of Islam and in the succeeding period were achieved by the peaceful method.

Source: The Prophet Muhammad: A Simple Guide to His Life