Seerah
of Muhammed*
*: May
the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ:
Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Context of the Treaty ~ The Prophet's struggle to date
The Prophet was born to a noble family and
grew up in Mecca and became trusted by the people. He then received revelation (Wahy)
from Allah via Angel Gabriel at the age of 40. He then started inviting close
friend to Islam. Then, started preaching publicly and face a fierce backlash –
with him and his supporters being subject to abuse, ridicule and then torture
& persecution. They elders of society tried to buy him off but he refused.
They then boycotted him and his followers – leading to a harsh time for the
Muslims. After the boycott ended, he soon lost his uncle and beloved wife. Then
he started asking other tribes for support to establish the Islamic State and
found support from a small group of people from Yathrib (Medina), who came back the
following year to give a pledge (bayah) of allegiance, followed by a larger
group of more influential leaders giving a pledge to set up a State with him as
the leader. By this stage the leaders in Mecca decided to finally
kill him but he escaped to the cave with his best friend Abu Bakr. Thereafter,
they entered Medina under armed guard and overthrew the existing leadership – instituting a
revolution / coup, albeit peaceful.
Then the hard work of gelling the society
started but they were constantly threatened internally (people in Medina) and externally
through their old enemies the Quraish of Mecca. The Muslims won their first
encounter at Badr, but lost the nest one in Uhud, with the polytheists not turning
up for the decider back at Badr. However, they mustered up a colossal army with
the Jewish tribes of Arabia to finally end the Prophet’s aspirations but this was thwarted again.
The Prophet dealt with most of the Jewish tribes and then had a dream that he
was to visit his home in Mecca and do Tawwaf around the Kaaba. Hence he invited the Muslims to
accompany him on a peaceful journey purely to observe his duties – even though
tey were I an active state of war with the enemies in Mecca. A very brave move
and he took 1400 followers with him. This out-maneuvered the Quraish who
panicked and tried to halt the advance of the pilgrims and stop them fro
entering Mecca – a task that had never been done before and something that went
against their core principles of looking after all pilgrims. Some Quraish tried
to start a war by provocation but the Muslims did not fall into the trap.
Frantic negotiations then ensued whilst the Prophet sent his envoy Uthman with
a message of peace for the people of Mecca and support for the
Muslims there. This was a tense time and things could turn nasty, but the hope
and expectation of the Muslims were that they would visit the Sacred House…
The story of Hudaibiyah should be seen in this
context – not an isolated event:
The Pledge of Ridwan
Truth is the first casualty in War – is an
oft-repeated slogan. So a time for rumours and mistrust… Time passed. Negotiations went
on but with no results. Then the Prophet* desired Umer to see the nobles of
Quraish on his behalf. Umer excused himself on account of the personal enmity
of Quraish; he had, moreover, no influential relatives in the city who could
shield him from danger; and he pointed to ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan, who belonged to
one of the most powerful families in Mecca, as the suitable envoy. ‘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-Kaaba. 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?” The Muslims anxiously waited for the
arrival of ‘Uthman with mingled feelings of fear and anxiety. But his arrival
was considerably delayed and a foul play was suspected on the part of Quraish.
It was
during 'Uthman's absence in Mecca that there came over the Prophet a state
which was comparable to that of receiving a Revelation but which left him in
full possession of his faculties. He gave instructions to one of his
Companions, who thereupon went through the camp proclaiming: "The Holy
Spirit hath descended upon the Messenger and commandeth allegiance. So go ye
forth in the Name of God to make your pledge.'" Meantime the Prophet had
seated himself beneath an acacia tree that was green with its spring foliage
breaking into leaf; and one by one the Companions came and pledged allegiance
to him. This pledge goes by the name of Bay‘at Ar-Ridwan (a covenant of
fealty). The first man to reach him was Sinan, who was of the same tribe as the
jahsh family, that is the Bani Asad ibn Khuzaymah. The crier had specified
nothing about the nature of the pledge, so Sinan said "O Messenger of God,
I pledge thee mine allegiance unto that which is in thy soul," and the
others pledged themselves accordingly. Then the Prophet said "I pledge the
allegiance of 'Uthman," whereupon he put out his left hand, as the hand of
his son-in-law, and grasping it with his right hand, pledged the pact. Only one
man present failed to respond to the crier, and that was the hypocrite Jadd ibn
Qays who tried to hide behind his camel but was none the less seen. This fealty
was sworn under a tree, with Umer holding the Prophet’s hand and Ma‘qil bin
Yasar holding a branch of the tree up. The Noble Qur’an has referred to this
pledge in the following words:
“Indeed,
Allah was pleased with the believers when they gave their Bai‘a (pledge) to you
[O Muhammad*] under the tree.” [48:18]
Sohail bin Amr
The Quraish had now heard about the pledge and
fully realized that things were extremely delicate and dangerous – and that the
Muslims would not be fobbed off so easily. When Quraish saw the firm determination of
the Muslims to shed the last drop of blood for the defence of their Faith, they
came to their senses and realized that Muhammad’s followers could not be cowed
down by these tactics. After some further interchange of messages they agreed
to conclude a treaty of reconciliation and peace with the Muslims. Hence they now
sent Suhayl to conclude a treaty, and with him were his two clansmen Mikraz and
Huwaytib. They conferred with the Prophet, and the Companions heard their
voices rise and fall according to whether the point in question was hard to
agree upon or easy.
Writing the Treaty
Some
dispute arose with regard to the preamble. For example, when the agreement was
to be committed to writing, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, who acted as a scribe began
with the words: Bismillah ir- Rahman ir-Raheem, i.e., “In the Name of Allah,
the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful” but the Makkan plenipotentiary, Suhail
bin ‘Amr declared that he knew nothing about Ar-Rahman and insisted upon the
customary formula Bi-ismika Allahumma, i.e., “In Your Name, O Allah!” The
Muslims grumbled with uneasiness but the Prophet* agreed. He then went on to
dictate, “This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah has agreed to with
Suhail bin ‘Amr.” Upon this Suhail again protested: “Had we acknowledged you as
Prophet, we would not have debarred you from the Sacred House, nor fought
against you. Write your own name and the name of your father.” The Muslims
grumbled as before and refused to consent to the change. The Prophet*, however,
in the larger interest of Islam, attached no importance to such an
insignificant detail, erased the words himself, and dictated instead:
“Muhammad, the son of ‘Abdullah.” Soon after this treaty, Khuza‘a clan, a
former ally of Banu Hashim, joined the ranks of Muhammad*, and Banu Bakr sided
with Quraish. The clauses of the said treaty go as follows:
- The
Muslims shall return this time and come back next year, but they shall not stay
in Mecca for more than three days.
- They
shall not come back armed but can bring with them swords only sheathed in
scabbards and these shall be kept in bags.
- War
activities shall be suspended for ten years, during which both parties will
live in full security and neither will raise sword against the other.
- If
anyone from Quraish goes over to Muhammad* without his guardian’s permission,
he should be sent back to Quraish, but should any of Muhammad’s followers
return to Quraish, he shall not be sent back.
- Whosoever to join Muhammad*, or enter into treaty with him, should have the
liberty to do so; and likewise whosoever wishes to join Quraish, or enter into
treaty with them, should be allowed to do so.
Abu Jandal arrives
In
virtue of the Prophet's vision, the Companions had been certain of the success
of their expedition; and when they heard the terms of the treaty and realised
that having reached the very edge of the sacred precinct they must now return
home with nothing accomplished, it was almost more than they could endure. But
worse was to come: as they sat there in sullen and explosive silence, the clank
of chains was heard and a youth staggered into the camp with his feet in
fetters. It was Abu jandal, one of the younger sons of Suhayl. His father had
imprisoned him on account of his Islam, fearing that he would escape to Medina. His elder brother 'Abd Allah
was among the pilgrims and was about to welcome him when Suhayl caught hold of
the chain that was round his prisoner's neck and struck him violently in the
face. Then he turned to the Prophet and said: "Our agreement was concluded
before this man came to thee." "That is true," said the Prophet.
"Return him then unto us," said Suhayl. "O Muslims,"
shouted Abu Jandal at the top of his voice, "am I to be returned unto the
idolaters, for them to persecute me on account of my religion?" The
Prophet took Suhayl aside and asked him as a favour to let his son go free, but
Suhayl implacably refused. His fellow envoys, Mikraz and Huwaytib, had been so
far silent; but now, feeling that this incident was an inauspicious start for
the truce, they intervened. "O Muhammad," they said, "we give
him our protection on thy behalf." This meant that they would lodge him
with them, away from his father, and they held to their promise. "Be
patient, Abu Jandal," said the Prophet. "God will surely give thee
and those with thee relief and a way out. We have agreed on the terms of a truce
with these people, and have given them our solemn pledge, even as they have
done to us, and we will not now break our word."
Umer is upset with the treaty terms
At this
point Umer could no longer contain himself. Rising to his feet, he went to the
Prophet and said "Art thou not God's Prophet?" and he answered
"Yea." "Are we not in the right and our enemies in the
wrong?" he said, and again the Prophet assented. "Then why yield we
in such lowly wise against the honour of our religion?" said Umer, whereupon
the Prophet replied: "I am God's Messenger and I will not disobey Him. He
will give me the victory." "But didst thou not tell us,"
persisted Umer, "that we should go unto the House and make our rounds
about it?" "Even so," said the Prophet, "but did I tell
thee we should go to it this year?" Umer conceded that he had not.
"Verily thou shalt go unto the House," said the Prophet, "and
shalt make thy rounds about it." But Umer was still seething with
indignation, and went to Abu Bakr to work off his feelings still further. He
put to him exactly the same questions he had put to the Prophet; but though Abu
Bakr had not heard the answers, he gave him the same answer to each question in
almost exactly the same words; and at the end he added: "So cleave unto
his stirrup, for by God he is right." This impressed Umer, and though his
feelings had not yet subsided, he gave no further vent to them, and when the
Prophet summoned him to put his name to the treaty he signed it in silence. The
Prophet also told Suhayl's son 'Abd Allah to put his name to it. Others of the
Muslims who signed it were 'Ali, Abu Bakr, 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn 'Awf and Mahrnud
ibn Maslamah.
Shaving the head / sacrificing the animals
Some of
the general bitterness seemed to have been smoothed over; but when Suhayl and
the others left the camp, taking with them the tearful Abu Jandal, men's souls
were stirred up again. The Prophet was standing apart, with those who had
signed the document. He now left them, and went towards the main body of the
pilgrims. "Rise and sacrifice your animals," he said, "and shave
your heads." Not a man moved, and he repeated it a second and a third
time, but they simply looked at him in dazed and bewildered silence. It was not
a rebellion on their part, but having had their expectations shattered by the
turn of events they were now genuinely perplexed by the command to do something
which they knew to be ritually incorrect; for according to the tradition of
Abraham the sacrifices had to be performed within the sacred territory, and the
same applied to the rite of shaving the head. None the less, their apparent
disobedience dismayed the Prophet, who withdrew to his tent and told Umm
Salamah what had happened. "Go forth," she said, "and say no
word to any man until thou hast performed thy sacrifice." So the Prophet
went to the camel which he himself had consecrated and sacrificed it, saying in
a loud voice, so that the men could hear: Bismillah, AllahuAkbar. At these
words the men leaped to their feet and raced to make their sacrifices, falling
over each other in their eagerness to obey; and when the Prophet called for
Khirash -the man of Khuza'ah he had sent to Mecca before 'Uthman -to shave his
head, many of the Companions set about shaving each other's heads so vigorously
that Umm Salamah was afraid, as she afterwards remarked, that mortal wounds
might be inflicted. But some of them merely cut locks of their hair, knowing
that this was traditionally acceptable as a substitute. Meantime the Prophet
had retired to his tent with Khirash; and when the rite had been accomplished
he stood at the entrance with shaven scalp and said: "God have Mercy on
the shavers of their heads!" The Prophet* prayed three times for those who
shaved their heads and once for those who cut their hair. Returning to his
tent, the Prophet gathered up his luxuriant black hair from the ground and
threw it over a nearby mimosa tree, whereupon the men crowded round, each bent
on taking what he could for its blessing. Nor was Nusaybah to be outdone by the
men, and she also made her way to the tree, and was able to snatch some locks,
which she treasured until her dying day.
Female Emigrants
Meanwhile
some believing women emigrated to Medina and asked the Prophet* 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, Allah
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’an 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 Allah …” [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, Umer 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.
No Hadith
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Last week’s
Homework:
Also, Umer (ra) later cut down the tree under which the pledge was made
- why was this?
Partly to stop people treating the tree as a particularly holy place and
to stop superstition around the tree – as some people would specifically pray
under the tree as it was mentioned in the Qur’an. This was how shirk started in
the times of yore.
Furthermore, we talked about how the Quraish prevented pilgrims from
visiting the Kaaba - something unheard of until then. Name some ways in which
modern Western Countries are doing things that go against their stated
fundamental values when it comes to Muslims or Islam.
We talked about many of the hypocrisies we see in Western countries.
Some of these are outlined in brief below:
- Freedom of Speech – People are allowed to criticize Islam, and the
Muslims in the West or ridicule the Prophet*. In fact this is often encouraged!
When Muslims speak against Western values they are labeled extremists or are
prosecuted for having materials (books) that support terrorism!
- Freedom of Wealth – It is okay for Western countries to own the
resources of other nations, but when Muslim nations want to buy some western
institutions – they are prevented (like Dubai wanting to buy
American Port Authorities). Also, Western countries impose unfair taxes on
imported goods to protect their own markets but want poor countries to open
their markets completely.
- Freedom of Religion / Belief – Believing in religion is fine so long as
it stays out of political affairs! If Muslims criticize the killing of Muslims
– based on their faith then that is criticised. Muslims are increasingly being
persecuted in Europe for their dress – e.g., the hijab, niqab,
whilst nuns & monks are okay!
- Personal Freedom – You can wear as much or little as you like so long as
you don’t look like a Muslim!
- Rule of Law – Western nations pride themselves of being peoples that
adhere to the rule of law. But it is increasingly one rule for them another for
Muslims. Even their own rules they don not follow! Torture in Abu Ghraib,
Assassination policies, invading other counties (Iraq), innocent until proven
guilty, the right to a (fair) trial (Guantanamo), habeus corpus to name but a
few
- Democracy – should be ‘rule of the people for the people by the people’
but turns out to be ruling of the people by the few for the rich. If Western
countries were committed to principles of democracy they would refuse to
support brutal dictators in the world – but still supply them with arms and
weapons to control their people
- Transparency – Whilst claiming to be open & transparent they have
greater secrets and try to suppress any contradictory opinions. See their collective
response to Wikileaks and Freedom of Information requests
- Tolerant Society – The Muslims were tolerant 1000 years ago with
pluralistic society. Living in the West we are being increasingly told what we
can wear, believe, read and who to mix with. If we do not fir it we are accused
of marginalizing ourselves and living separate lives. Just like Westerners do
when they settle in Dubai or Spain!
- Nations of Peace – Such an Orwellian lie with Western countries
launching war after war over the last 200 years. Military societies that try to
enforce their view and opinions on others by brute force. The USA has over a 1000
military bases in foreign countries and is actively fighting wars in many
counties to protect its empire. War is good business so why would they promote
PEACE !! Check out this link: All Bases Covered?
