Understanding Islam — Page 121
119 In earlier chapters, we have demonstrated this by taking the reader through glimpses from the life of Prophet Muhammad sa that he was always looking to establish peace and eschew armed conflict. He became a Prophet at the age of 40 and for the next 13 years he did not fight a single battle. Even after migration, no battles were fought for nearly two years. Then, after four years of warfare, the treaty of Hudaibiyya was signed for the sake of peace even though its terms were evidently not favorable to the Muslims. Another two years later, Muslims took over Makkah, because of a violation of the treaty of Hudaibiyya by the Makkans, and instead of taking a bloody revenge, Prophet Muhammad sa declared a general amnesty for all Makkans, except a handful who had committed the most atrocious crimes against humanity. Many of these culprits were also forgiven, later on. It is true that Muslims had to fight bigger battles as their numbers grew, but this reflected the fact that with the rise in the number of Muslims the resistence to Islam also grew increasingly fierce and it caused rising military adventurism among the erstwhile powers. At any rate, it is quite evident as a historical fact that the treaty of Hudaibiyya and the