18 December 2011

Hudaibiyah Envoys

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

The Treaty of Hudaibiyah: part 2: The Envoys
Budayl ibn Warqa' of Khuza’ah
Two Bedouin chiefs approached, whose tribe, the Bani Khuza'ah, one-time guardians of the Sanctuary, included the clans of Aslam, Ka'b and Mustaliq, to a man, these were now all well disposed towards the Prophet. For such of them as had not yet entered Islam, there was a political advantage in this alliance, which was needed to counterbalance the pact that their great enemies, the Bani Bakr, had long had with Quraish. One of their leading men, Budayl ibn Warqa', was in Mecca when news came that the pilgrims were encamped at Hudaybiyah. He now went with some of his clansmen to the Prophet* to inform him of the attitude of Quraish. "They swear by God," he said, "that they will not leave the way open between thee and the House until the last of their fighting men hath perished." The Prophet* said: "We came not here for battle; we came only to make our pilgrimal rounds about the House. He that stands in our way, him we shall fight; but I will grant them time, if they so desire it, to take their precautions and to leave the way clear for us."
Budayl and his fellows returned to Mecca, and Quraish received them in sullen silence. When they offered to tell them what Muhammad had said to them, 'Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl, said they did not wish to hear it, whereupon Urwah, one of their allies of Thaqif -his mother was a Meccan -protested that this attitude was absurd. So Safwan said to Budayl: "Tell us what ye have seen and what ye have heard." And he told them of the peaceful intent of the pilgrims, and also that the Prophet* had said he was ready to give Quraish time to prepare for their coming. Then Urwah said: "Budayl hath brought you a goodly concession such as no man can refuse except to his own hurt. So accept his hearsay of it, but send me to bring confirmation direct from Muhammad; and I will look on those who are with him, and I will be for you a scout, to bring you tidings of him."
Hulays of the Bani l-Harith (Ahabish)
Quraish accepted his offer, but they had already sent, as scout and possible envoy, the man who commanded all their allies of the Bedouin tribes, known collectively as the Ahabish. This was Hulays of the Bani l-Harith, one of the clans of Kinanah, It was he who had rebuked Abu Sufyan for the mutilations at Uhud. When the Prophet* saw him coming, he knew -either from his gait and demeanour or from what he had heard of him -that he was a man of piety, with a great reverence for sacred things, so he gave orders that the animals they intended to sacrifice should be sent to meet him; and when the seventy camels solemnly filed past Hulays with their marks of consecration and their festive ornaments he was so impressed that without going to speak to the Prophet* he went straight back to Quraish and assured them that the pilgrims intentions were entirely peaceful.
Exasperated, the Meccans told him that he was merely a man of the desert and that he had no knowledge of the situation. This was a great tactical error, as they soon realised, but too late. "Men of Quraish," he said sternly, "not for this, by God, did we consent to be your allies, and not for this pledged we our pact with you. Shall one who cometh to honour the House of God be banned from it? By Him in whose hand is my soul, either ye let Muhammad do what he hath come to do, or I lead away the Ahabish, every man of them." "Bear with us, Hulays," they said, "until we reach terms that we can accept."
Mikraz bin Hafs
The Quraish sent another one called Mikraz bin Hafs. On seeing him, the Prophet* said that that he was a treacherous man. He was given the same message to communicate to his people.
Urwah bin Masud of Taif
Meantime Urwah of Thaqif had arrived at the pilgrim's camp, and was already in converse with the Prophet. Seated in front of him, he began by treating him as an equal and took him by the beard when he addressed him; but Mughirah, one of the Emigrants who was standing by, rapped his hand with the flat of his sword, and he took it away. A few moments later, when he ventured to take the Prophet's beard again, Mughirah gave him a harder rap, saying: "From the beard of God's Messenger take thy hand while it is yet thine to take." Al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah forbade him from touching the Prophet’s beard. Here, Quraish’s envoy remarked indignantly and alluded to the latter’s treacherous act of killing his companions and looting them before he embraced Islam.
In the course of discussion he said to the Prophet*: “Muhammad! Have you gathered around yourself mixed people and then brought them against your kith and kin in order to destroy them. By Allah I think I see you deserted by these people tomorrow.” At this point Abu Bakr stood up and expressed his resentment at this imputation.
Meanwhile, Urwah, during his stay in the Muslim camp, had been closely watching the unfathomable love and profound respect that the followers of Muhammad* showed him. Urwah refrained from any further familiarities with the Prophet; but after talking with him at some length, he stayed in the camp for several hours. He had promised Quraish to be their scout as well as their envoy, and he was bent on taking note of everything. But what impressed him most were things which he had not come to see, things of which he had never seen the like; and when he returned to Mecca he said to Quraish: "O people, I have been sent as envoy unto kings -unto Caesar and Chosroes and the Negus -and I have not seen a king whose men so honour him as the companions of Muhammad honour Muhammad, If he cornmandeth aught, they almost outstrip his word in fulfilling it; when he performeth his ablution, they wellnigh fight for the water thereof; when he speaketh, their voices are hushed in his presence; nor will they look him full in the face, but lower their eyes in reverence for him. He hath offered you a goodly concession; therefore accept it from him.'"
The Prophtet* sends Uthman to Mecca
While Urwah was still in the camp, the Prophet* had mounted a man of Ka'b named Khirash on one of his camels and sent him as envoy to Quraish. When he arrived, 'Ikrimah hamstrung the camel; but Hulays and his men intervened and saved the envoy's life, compelling Quraish to let him go back to the Prophet. "O Messenger of God," he said on his return, "send a man who is better protected than I am." The Prophet* called Umer to him, but Umer said that Quraish knew well of his great hostility to them, and that none of his own clan, the Bani 'Adl, were strong enough to defend him. "But I will show you," he said, "a man who is more powerful in Mecca than I am, richer in kinsmen and better protected -Uthman ibn 'Affan." So the Prophet* sent Uthman and he was well received by his kinsmen of'Abdu Shams and by others; and though they reiterated to him their refusal to allow any of those now in Hudaybiyah to approach the Ka'bah, they invited him personally to make his pilgrimal rounds, which he refused to do.
Uthman went to Abu Sufyan and other chiefs and told them that the Muslims had come only to visit and pay their homage to the Sacred House, to do worship there, and that they had no intention to fight. He was also asked to call them to Islam, and give glad tidings to the believers in Mecca, women and men, that the conquest was approaching and Islam was surely to prevail because Allah would verily establish His religion in Mecca. Uthman also assured them that after the performance of ceremonies they would soon depart peacefully, but the Quraishites were adamant and not prepared to grant them the permission to visit Al-Ka‘bah. They, however, offered Uthman the permission to perform the pilgrimage, if he so desired in his individual capacity, but Uthman declined the offer saying: “How is it possible that I avail myself of this opportunity, when the Prophet* is denied of it?”
War averted
Seeing an overwhelming tendency towards reconciliation among their chiefs, some reckless, fight-prone youngsters of Quraish devised a wicked plan that could hinder the peace treaty. They decided to infiltrate into the camp of the Muslims and produce intentional skirmishes that might trigger the fuse of war. Muhammad bin Maslamah, chief of the Muslim guards, took them captives, but in view of the far-reaching imminent results about to be achieved, the Prophet* set them free. In this context Allah says: “And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of Mecca, after He had made you victors over them.” [48:24]

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