Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 360
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 360 before he agreed to it. Indeed, the terms of the treaty were expressed in the language proposed by him. The literal translation of this particular clause of the treaty, as reported by Bokhari, is: ‘No one of our men, though he may belong to thy faith, shal l come to thee, but that thou shalt be bound to return him to us. ’ It is thus clear that this clause of the treaty was specifically confined to men. This is easily understandable, as neither side contemplated that a woman would have the opportunity and the courage and the endurance to escape from Mecca to Medina and declare herself a Muslim. Another very strong factor in support of the position adopted by the Holy Prophet was that Quraish at no time raised the objection that in refusing to return women back to the custody of Quraish the Holy Prophet had been guilty of a breach of the terms of the treaty. Besides, it is a well - recognised principle that a party making a claim under a treaty or engagement must establish its claim beyond doubt. Some time later a young man, Abu Baseer Utbah bin Usyad Thaqafi, who was a resident of Mecca and was a confederate of Banu Zuhrah, embraced Islam and having escaped from Mecca arrived in Medina. Quraish sent after him two emissaries to Medina with the requ est that he should be returned to them. The Holy Prophet sent for Abu Baseer and told him to go back to Mecca. Abu Baseer urged that he was a Muslim, that he would be persecuted in Mecca and that Quraish would seek to force him to renounce Islam. The Holy Prophet said to him, ‘We are under compulsion by virtue of the treaty that we have entered into, that we cannot permit you to remain with us. If you will be steadfast, seeking the pleasure of Allah, He will open some way for you. But