Basic HTML Version
155
above all other considerations. The Prophet’s heart welled up with sympathy, but he wanted to
honour his word at all costs. He consoled Abu Jandal and said, “Be patient, resign yourself to the
Will of Allâh. Allâh is going to provide for you and your helpless companions relief and means of
escape. We have concluded a treaty of peace with them and w e have taken the pledge in the Name
of Allâh. We are, therefore, under no circumstances prepared to break it.” ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab
could not help giving vent to the deep-seated agony of his heart. He rose to his feet uttering words
implying deep hatred and extreme indignation and requested Abu Jandal to take his sword and kill
Suhail, but the son spared his father. However, in silent resignation was therefore, Abu Jandal borne
away with his chains.
When the peace treaty had been concluded, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) ordered his
Companions to slaughter their sacrificial animals, but they were too depressed to do that. The
Prophet (Peace be upon him) gave instructions in this regard three times but with negative
response. He told his wife Umm Salamah about this attitude of his Companions. She advised that he
himself take the initiative, slaughter his animal and have his head shaved. Seeing that, the Muslims,
with rended hearts, started to slaughter their animals and shave their heads. They even almost
killed one another because of their distress. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) prayed three times
for those who shaved their heads and once for those who cut their hair. A camel was sacrificed on
behalf of seven men and a cow on behalf of the same number of people. The Prophet (Peace be
upon him) sacrificed a camel which once belonged to Abu Jahl and which the Muslims had seized as
booty at Badr, thus enraging the polytheists. During Al-Hudaibiyah campaign, the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) permitted Ka‘b bin ‘Ujrah, who was in a state of
Ihram
(state of ritual consecration of the
pilgrim) for
‘Umrah
(lesser pilgrimage) to shave his head due to illness, on the condition that he will
pay compensation by sacrificing a sheep, fasting for three days or feeding six needy persons.
Concerning this, the following verse was revealed:
·
“And whosoever of you is ill or has an ailment in his scalp (necessitating shaving), he
must pay a
Fidyah
(ransom) of either fasting (three days) or giving
Sadaqa
(feeding six poor
persons) or offering sacrifice (one sheep).” [2:196]
Meanwhile some believing women emigrated to Madinah and asked the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) for refuge which they were granted. When their families demanded their return, he would not
hand them back because the following verse was revealed:
·
“O you who believe! When believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them,
Allâh knows best as to their Faith, then if you know them for true believers, send them not
back to the disbelievers, they are not lawful (wives) for the disbelievers nor are the
disbelievers lawful (husbands) for them. But give the disbelievers that (amount of money)
which they have spent [as their
Mahr
] to them. And there will be no sin on you to marry
them if you have paid their
Mahr
to them. Likewise hold not the disbelieving women as
wives …” [60:10]
The reason why the believing women were not handed back was either because they were not
originally included in the terms of the treaty, which mentioned only men, or because the Qur’ân
abrogated any terms dealing with women in the verse:
·
“O Prophet! When believing women come to you to give you the
Bai‘a
(Pledge), that they
will not associate anything in worship with Allâh …” [60:12]
This is the verse which forbade Muslim women from marrying disbelieving men. Likewise, Muslim
men were commanded to terminate their marriages to disbelieving women. In compliance with this
injunction, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab divorced two wives he had married before he embraced Islam;
Mu‘awiyah married the first woman, and Safwan bin Omaiyah married the second.
ALHUDAIBIYAH TREATY: SOCIO-POLITICAL IMPACT:
A series of events confirmed the profound wisdom and splendid results of the peace treaty which
Allâh called “a manifest victory”. How could it be otherwise when Quraish had recognized the
legitimate Muslims’ existence on the scene of political life in Arabia, and began to deal with the
believers on equal terms. Quraish in the light of the articles of the treaty, had indirectly relinquished
its claim to religious leadership, and admitted that they were no longer interested in people other
than Quraish, and washed their hands of any sort of intervention in the religious future of the
Arabian Peninsula. The Muslims did not have in mind to seize people’s property or kill them through
bloody wars, nor did they ever think of pursuing any coercive approaches in their endeavours to
propagate Islam, on the contrary, their sole target was to provide an atmosphere of freedom as
regards ideology or religion:
·
“Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.” [18:29]
The Muslims, on the other hand, had the opportunity to spread Islam over areas not then explored.
When there was armistice, war was abolished, and men met and consulted together, none talked
about Islam intelligently without entering it; within the two years following the conclusion of the
treaty double as many entered Islam as ever before. This is supported by the fact that the Prophet
Click on View to read this book online under free books www.islamicbulletin.com