THE GHAZWAH OF HUDAYBIYYAH
The battle occurred in Dhul-Qa‘dah of the sixth year, by consensus. Al-Bukhari and Muslim related from Qatadah that Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, informed him that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, performed four ‘Umrahs all of them in Dhul-Qa‘dah with the exception of the one he performed along with his Hajj. One ‘Umrah from Hudaibiyyah in the following year and yet another from Ji‘ranah both of which occurred in Dhul-Qa‘dah. Also in Dhul-Qa‘dah he distributed the booty of the Battle of Hunayn; and then, an ‘Umrah along with his Hajj.” This is Al-Bukhari’s wording.
Ibn Ishaq related through ‘Urwah Ibn Az-Zubair that Al-Miswar Ibn Makhramah and Marwan Ibn Al-Hakam both related that: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, marched out, in the year of Al-Hudaibiyyah, with the intention of visiting the House (Ka‘bah) and did not intend any fighting. He took with him forty camels garlanded for sacrifice. The people who went with him numbered seven hundred. One sacrificial camel was meant for every ten people. It has also reached me that Jabir used to say, “We, the Companions of Hudaibiyah numbered fourteen hundred.”
Az-Zuhri said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, marched forth till he got to Usfan where Bishr bin Sufyan AlKa‘bi met him and said, “O Messenger of Allah, the Quraish have become aware of your movement and they have marched forth even with nursing camels. They are right now encamped at Dhu Tuwa decked in tiger skin (traditional war regalia). They have pledged by Allah never to allow you entrance. Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed is commanding their cavalry and has gone ahead to set up camp at Kura’al-Gameem, a place situated between Makkah and Madinah.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, said: “Woe to the Quraish, their hostility is undoing them. Why do they object to letting me settle this affair with the Arab tribes without intervention? If the Arab tribes destroy me, that will be a realization of their objective. If, on the other hand, Allah grants me victory, then they can enter into Islam with dignity; and if they resist, they can then fight with good cause. What do the Quraish think? By Allah, I shall never cease to strive to further the mission for which Allah has sent me till Allah causes it to prevail or I lose my neck in the process.”
Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “Is there any man who can direct us to another route different from the ones the Quraish have occupied?” Ibn Ishaq added, Abdullah Ibn Abu Bakr narrated to me that a man from Aslam stood and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I can.” So he took them through a desolate rocky valley route. By the time they passed through the valley, the journey had been extremely hard upon the Muslims.
Soon after crossing the hard terrain, they departed and scattered into a plain land. Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to the people: “We ask Allah for forgiveness and we repent unto Him.” After they had done so, he then said: “By Allah, this is the (saying of) ‘Forgive us’ which was ordained on the children of Isra’eel, but they did not say it.”
Ibn Shihab related: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, travelled on the way leading to the spot of Thaniyatal-Murar when his camel suddenly knelt down. The people began to say that it was stubbornly clinging to the ground. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “It is not stubborn as that is not its nature but it has been restrained by what restrained the elephant from entering Makkah. Today, the Quraish will not ask me for anything which is conducive to strengthening the ties of kinship except that I shall grant them.
Az-Zuhri narrated in his Hadith: When Allah’s Messenger had settled down, Budail Ibn Warqa’al-Khuza‘i came with some people from his tribe, Khuza‘a. They conversed with him and asked him for the reason why he had come. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informed them that he did not come to fight, but to visit the House (of Allah) and venerate its sacredness.
Then they sent Mikraz Ibn Hafs Ibn Al-Akhyaf from Banu Amir Ibn Lu’ayy. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him coming, he said: “This is a treacherous man.” When he approached and spoke to the Prophet, he (the Prophet) responded to him with the same words as he said to Budail and his Companions.
Then they sent to him Hulais Ibn Alqamah or Ibn Zabban who was at the time, the chief of the AlAhabeesh from Banu Al-Harith Ibn Abdul Manat Ibn Kinanah. When Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him coming, he said: “This man is from the tribe that respects the Budn (i.e. camels of the sacrifice). So, bring the Budn in front of him.” When he saw the sacrificial animals being driven in his presence through the valley and with knotted ropes already eaten into their skin due to long tethering at a spot, he returned to the Quraish expressing that he did not think it is advisable to prevent the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in deference to what he had seen. They said to him, “Sit down, you are an ordinary Bedouin possessing no knowledge.”
Then they sent to the Prophet Urwah Ibn Mas‘ood Ath-Thaqaafee and when he approached the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, he sat in front of him and then said, “O Muhammad! Won’t you feel any scruple in extirpating your relations? Have you ever heard of anyone amongst the Arabs extirpating his relatives before you? On the other hand, if the reverse should happen, (nobody will aid you, for) by Allah, I do not see (with you) dignified people, but people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone.”
Hearing that, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, who was standing behind the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, rebuked him and said, “Do you say we would run and leave the Prophet alone?” Urwah said, “Who is that man?” They said, “He is Abu Bakr.” Urwah said to Abu Bakr, “By Him in Whose Hands is my life, were it not for the favor which you did to me and which I did not compensate, I would retort on you.”
Urwah kept on talking to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and seizing the Prophet’s beard as he was talking while AlMugheerah Ibn Shu‘bah was standing near the head of the Prophet, holding a sword and wearing a helmet. Whenever Urwah stretched his hand toward the beard of the Prophet, Al-Mugheerah would hit his hand with the handle of the sword and say (to Urwah), “Remove your hand from the beard of Allah’s Messenger.” Urwah raised his head and asked, “Who is that?” The people said, “He is Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah.” Urwah said, “O treacherous one! Am I not doing my best to prevent the evil consequences of your treachery of yesterday?”
When he went back to the Quraish, he said, “O Quraish, I have visited Kisra in his sovereignty and I have equally visited Caesar and Negus in their respective sovereignties but by Allah, I have never witnessed a king among his subjects similar to Muhammad amongst his Companions. I have seen people who would never give him up for anything, so you may consider your opinion.”
Ibn Ishaq related: I have been informed from ‘Ikrimah from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that Quraish sent forty or fifty men from them ordering them to reconnoiter the army of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and to kidnap one of his Companions. The Quraish contingent were captured and brought to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, but he forgave and released them even though they had pelted the army of Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, with stones and arrows.
Afterward, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, summoned ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattab to convey his message to the chiefs of Makkah explaining the reason for his coming. Umar said, “O Messenger of Allah, I fear that they would kill me especially since there is none of the Banu Adiyy in Makkah who could defend me and the Quraish are well acquainted with my animosity and harshness towards them, rather I recommend to you a man who is far more respectable to them than me – ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan.”
Thus, Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, summoned ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan, may Allah be pleased with him, and sent him to Abu Sufyan and other notables of Quraish informing them that he had not come to fight (against them) but to visit the House in honor of its sacredness. Soon after, information reached the Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, and the Muslims that ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, had been killed. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “We shall not depart until we have fought against the people (of Quraish).” Then he invited (the Muslims) to give their pledge. This turned out to be the Pledge of Ridhwaan which took place under the tree.
Ibn Hisham related: Someone whose trustworthiness I trust informed me that he was informed through Ibn Abi Mulaikah from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, gave a pledge on behalf of ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, by placing his hand over the other. The chain of this Hadith as related by Ibn Hisham is weak however it is confirmed in the Saheeh hain.
Afterward, the Quraish sent Suhail Ibn ‘Amr. When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, saw him coming, he said: “They have decided to negotiate peace with the sending of this man.” When Suhail finally got to Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, they both spoke at length and bantered words and finally struck a peace agreement. Afterward, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, requested ‘Ali Ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, to record the terms of the treaty. “Write In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful,” The Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, began to dictate to ‘Ali but Suhail interjected, “I don’t know that, rather, write ‘In Your Name, O God.’ It was written as Suhail demanded and then the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, resumed dictating to ‘Ali: “Write: ‘This is a peace treaty agreed upon by Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and Suhail Ibn Amr.” Again, Suhail interjected, “Had I acknowledged that you are indeed a Messenger of Allah, I would not have fought you. Rather, write ‘What is agreed upon by Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdullah and Suhail Ibn Amr.’”
The terms of the treaty stipulated that all hostilities shall be eschewed for ten years within which people would taste security and each side would abstain from (fighting) the other; whoever defects from the Quraish to Muhammad without the permission of his Waliyy, then he shall be repatriated to them but whoever defects to the Quraish from the camp of Muhammad shall not be repatriated to him. There shall neither be theft nor treachery. He who wishes to enter into a covenant and pact with Muhammad shall be covered and whoever wishes to enter into a covenant and pact with the Quraish shall be covered as well.
The Khuza‘ah chose to enter into agreement with Muhammad while the Banu Bakr entered into a pact and covenant with the Quraish. The terms of the treaty also included: “…And that you shall turn back away without entering Makkah (against our wish) this year. Next year, however, we shall leave it for you and your Companions for three days carrying nothing but riders’ dagger and sheathed sword.”
While the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was in the process of concluding this treaty, Abu Jandal Ibn Suhail Ibn ‘Amr appeared in fetters, he had escaped to the Prophet from incarceration. Meanwhile, the Companions of the Prophet had left home having no doubt of the Conquest (of Makkah) based on the vision that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had earlier seen.
However, when they saw the turn of events and them leaving [without making hajj] as part of the terms of the peace agreement, which was being foisted on them, and what the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had to endure, they became extremely depressed almost to the point of death. When Suhail saw Abu Jandal, he got up and hit him in the face and held him by the collar and said: “O Muhammad, the pact had been concluded before this man came to you.” He (the Prophet) said: “You are correct.” Then he kept pulling the man violently by his collar with the intent of taking him back to the Quraish. Abu Jandal kept crying at the top of his voice, “O Muslims, I am to be sent back to the disbelievers to coerce me from my religion?”
This exacerbated the grief felt by the Muslims. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Abu Jandal, be patient in expectation of the reward; Allah will forge relief and a way out for you and other oppressed persons with you. We have entered a pact of peace with these people and we have given them our word and they have given us theirs by Allah and we do not want to betray them.
When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, rose from the peace treaty, he went to his sacrificial animal and slaughtered it and then had his head shaved. The one who shaved his head that day was Khirash Ibn Umayyah Ibn Al-Fadl Al-Khuza‘i. When the Muslims saw that the Messenger had slaughtered and shaven his head, they rushed to do so as well.
Al-Bukhari related from Zaid Ibn Khalid who said, “We went out with Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in the Year of Al-Hudaibiyyah. One night, it rained and Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, led us in the Fajr Prayer and (after finishing it), turned to us and said: “Do you know what your Lord has said?” We replied, “Allah and His Messenger know it better.” He said: “Allah says: (Some of) My slaves got up believing in Me, And (some of them) disbelieving in Me. The one who said: We have been given rain through Allah’s Mercy and Allah’s Blessing and Allah’s Bounty, then he is a believer in Me, and is a disbeliever in the star. And whoever said: We have been given rain because of such and such star, then he is a believer in the star, and is a disbeliever in Me.
Al-Bukhari also related from Al-Bara’ (Ibn ‘Azib) who said, “Do you (people) consider the conquest of Makkah the victory? Was the conquest of Makkah a victory? We really consider that the actual Victory was the Ar-Ridhwaan Pledge of Allegiance which we gave on the day of Al-Hudaibiyyah (to the Prophet). On the day of Al-Hudaybiyyah we were fourteen hundred men along with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Hudaibiyyah was a well, the water of which we used up and did not leave a single drop of water remaining. When the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was informed of that, he came and sat on its edge. Then he asked for a utensil of water, performed ablution from it, rinsed (his mouth), supplicated (to Allah, the Almighty), and poured the remaining water into the well. We stayed there for a while and then the well filled with water for ourselves and our riding animals.” The Hadith is exclusively related by Al-Bukhari.
Az-Zuhri said, “No previous victory was greater than this. It was only fighting when people met; however, when there was an armistice instead of war, people felt secure, sat together and negotiated to settle disputes. No one rationalized what was said about Islam except that he embraced it. In those two years, so many people embraced Islam as never before or even more. Ibn Hisham said: The proof of what Az-Zuhri said is that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, marched out to Hudaibiyyah with one thousand four hundred men according to Jabir’s report but he marched out two years afterward, for the conquest of Makkah, with ten thousand men.
Al-Bukhari related from Jabir who said: “On the day of Al-Hudaibiyyah, the people felt thirsty and Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had a utensil containing water. He performed ablution from it and then the people came toward him. Allah’s Messenger said: ‘What is wrong with you?’ The people said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! We haven’t got any water to perform ablution with or to drink, except what you have in your utensil.’ So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, put his hand in the utensil and the water started gushing out between his fingers like springs. So we drank and performed ablution.” I said to Jabir, “What was your number on that day?” He replied, “Even if we had been one hundred thousand, that water would have been sufficient for us. Anyhow, we were 1,500.”
Al-Bukhari also related that Qatadah said to Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab: It (information) has reached me that Jabir said they were fourteen hundred men. Sa‘eed then responded: Jabir narrated to me that there were fifteen hundred men who pledged allegiance to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on the day of Al-Hudaibiyyah.
Al-Bukhari related from ‘Amr who heard Jabir say, “On the day of Al-Hudaibiyyah, Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said to us: ‘You are the best people on the earth!’ We were 1,400 people then. If I could see now, I would have shown you the place of the Tree (underneath which we gave the Pledge of allegiance).”
Al-Bukhari related from Abdullah Ibn Abu Awfa said, “The people (who gave the Pledge of Allegiance) under the Tree numbered 1300 and the number of Banu Aslam was one-eighth of the Emigrants.”
Then Al-Bukhari related from Marwan and Al-Miswar Ibn Makhramah, both of whom said: “In the year of Al-Hudaibiyyah, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went out with around ten thousand of his Companions. When they got to Dhul Hulayfah, he garlanded and marked his Hady and assumed his Ihram from there.”
All of these narrations contradict the view of Ibn Ishaq that the Companions of Al-Hudaibiyyah numbered seven hundred. And Allah knows best. He merely said that spontaneously from his own conjecture, owing to the fact that the number of the sacrificial camels on that day was seventy, each one meant for ten people. Based on his opinion, the people who made the sacrifice would then be seven hundred. On the contrary, however, it is neither automatic that all of them slaughtered nor that all of them assumed Ihram. It is confirmed that Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, sent some of them who did not assume Ihram, among whom was Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him. Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, did not assume Ihram which was why he was able to kill the wild donkey from which he and his companions ate and some of which they took to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, midway through their journey. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Did anyone of you order him to attack it (the animal) or pointed it out to him?” They responded, “No.” He said: “You may eat the remainder of its meat.”
Al-Bukhari related from ‘Abdullah Ibn Abi Qatadah that his father related to him saying, “We set out with the Prophet in the year of Al-Hudaibiyah, and all his companions assumed Ihram but I did not.”
Al-Bukhari related from Qatadah (who narrated) from Sa‘eed Ibn AlMusayyab (who in turn narrated) from his father who said, “I had seen the tree (under which the pledge was made) and I came to it but afterwards I did not recognize it anymore.”
Al-Bukhari also related through Tariq Ibn ‘Abdur-Rahmaan who said, “When I set out for Hajj, I passed by some people offering a prayer, I asked, “What is this mosque?” They said, “This is the Tree where Allah’s Messenger took the Ar-Ridhwaan Pledge of allegiance. Then I went to Sa‘eed Ibn Al-Musayyab and informed him about it. Sa‘eed said, “My father said that he was amongst those who had given the Pledge of Allegiance to Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, beneath the Tree.
He (i.e., my father) said, “When we set out the following year, we forgot the Tree and were unable to recognize it.” Then Sa‘eed said (perhaps sarcastically), “The Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, could not recognize it; nevertheless, you (claim to) recognize it; do you then possess better knowledge (than them)?”
Al-Bukhari related from Abbad Ibn Tameem who said, “When it was the day (of the Battle) of Al-Harra the people were giving the Pledge of Allegiance to ‘Abdullah Ibn Hanzalah. Ibn Zaid said, “For what are the people giving the Pledge of Allegiance to ‘Abdullah Ibn Hanzalah?” It was said to him, “For death.” Ibn Zaid said, “I will never give the Pledge of Allegiance for that to anybody else after Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him.” Ibn Zaid was one of those who had witnessed the day of Al-Hudaibiyyah with the Prophet.”
By: Ibn Katheer
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