The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) – Volume III — Page 161
IV - Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah & its Magnificent Outcomes 161 from Makkah who came to Madīnah would not be kept in Madīnah and that he would be considered expelled from the government of Madīnah, how can they then demand from the same mouth that the Holy Prophet sa impose the rule of his government upon such people and order them back to Makkah, wherever they may be residing? They presented the condition themselves that the Holy Prophet sa may rule the souls of these people and their matters of the hereafter, but should not become the ruler of their government and worldly affairs. Then, when they excluded them from the government of the Holy Prophet sa themselves, then what objection can there be upon the Holy Prophet sa ? In any case, this was a plot of the Quraish of Makkah which was overturned upon their very selves, and either way, the person of the Holy Prophet sa was pure and remained pure. The Holy Prophet sa fulfilled the words of the covenant and dismissed Abū Baṣīr from Madīnah, handing him over to the people of Makkah. Moreover, the Holy Prophet sa also fulfilled the spirit of this agreement as was the actual purport of this condition. The Holy Prophet sa excluded Abū Baṣīr and his companions from his own government. So, the Holy Prophet sa remained truthful in every respect and the infidels became the victims of their own trap. Ultimately, they came to the Holy Prophet sa humiliated in that they themselves desired to take this clause out of the agreement. Then, to assert that by saying, ٌ وَیْل ُ اُمِّه ٖ مِسْعَر َ حَرْب ٍ لَو ْ كَان َ لَه ٗ اَحَد (i. e. , Woe to his mother, this man is kindling the fire of war. If only there was someone to control him), the Holy Prophet sa indicated to Abū Baṣīr that he should make his own party and wage war against the Quraish, is such injustice and such a corrupt mentality, and in light of the situation, is such ignorance! These words are clear proof of t he truthfulness of the Holy Prophet sa and his abhorrence of unnecessary war. Furthermore, these words proved that the Holy Prophet sa was expressing his immunity from and disgust towards this action of Abū Baṣīr, and not that he wished to entice him to wage war by some hidden message. Then , one may think, as Sir William Muir has concluded, that the last words of the Holy Prophet sa ٌ لَو ْ كَان َ لَه ٗ اَحَد could also mean, “If he had but with him a body of adherents!” Some might think that this shows that the wish of the Holy Prophet sa was that if Abū Baṣīr was to find a companion, he may be able to ignite the fire of war, and in this phrase there seems to be an indication of instigating war. The answer to this is that firstly, the translation we have done is in complete accordance with Arabic idiom, examples of which are found copiously in Aḥādīth. In addition to this, if hypothetically the second meaning is accepted, even then, in the context of the expression, the meaning