Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 337
— Part III 330 emissary was Suhail bin ‘Amar and the Muslim camp was represented by the Holy Prophet sa himself. Verbal conditions were settled and the treaty was about to be signed. Suddenly Suhail’s own son, Ab u Jandal, somehow reached the field of H udaibiya. He was bound in chains, occasionally dropping to the ground as he staggered. It was revealed that having accepted Islam, he was tortured and imprisoned by his own father, the same Suhail who was representing the idolaters. He made a piteous appeal to the Muslims to save him from the clutches of his own father. His father reacted strongly to this and said, 'if you give him shelter, no peace treaty will be signed'. The Holy Prophet sa repeatedly appealed to Suhail to allow his son to take shelter, but he adamantly refused. At this the Holy Prophet sa advised Ab u Jandal to return to Mecca because the agreement had already been verbally reached that escapees from the Meccan idolaters could not be given shelter. Apparently this treaty was against the interest of the Muslims, but the way it was worded by the Holy Prophet sa , it turned out to be advantageous to the Muslims. He did not commit himself to send all the Muslim escapees who reached Medina seeking shelter back to Mecca. He only committed himself to send them out of Medina so they could settle anywhere they liked. This part of the contract ultimately developed into a grievous threat to the Meccans’ trade caravans. Those who had accepted Islam from among