The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 42
CH. 48 AL-FATH fatiguing march through devious and rugged pathways reached Ḥudai- biyyah," where he encamped. The Prophet had declared that he would accept all the demands of the Quraish for the honour of the Holy Place (Hishām), but the Quraish were firmly resolved not to allow him to enter Mecca, whatever he might say or do. Messages were exchanged in an attempt to find a solution to the impasse. After heated and protracted parleys in which the Holy Prophet left no stone unturned, even at the cost of his prestige, to arrive at a reasonable compromise with the Quraish, a treaty was signed of which the terms were: War shall be suspended for ten years. Whosoever would like to join the Holy Prophet or enter into treaty with him, shall have liberty to do so. The same will apply to whosoever would like to join the Quraish or enter into treaty with them. If a believing man goes over to the Prophet from Mecca without the permission of his guardian, he shall be sent back to his guardian; but should any of the followers of the Prophet return to the Quraish, they shall not be sent back. The Prophet shall retire this year without entering the city. Next year he and his Companions may visit Mecca only for three days to perform (Lesser Pilgrimage), but they shall carry no arms save sheathed swords (Bukhārī, Hishām & Muir). The terms of the Treaty were demonstrably very humiliating. The Muslims were greatly upset. No PT. 26 words could adequately describe their grief, and sense of humiliation and injured pride. The third term was particularly galling. But the Holy Prophet was quite calm and tranquil. Being convinced of the moral force of Islam, he knew that "a believer who had once tasted the sweetness of faith would prefer to be cast into fire than to revert to disbelief" (Bukhārī), and that he would be a source of strength to his religion and other believers wherever he might happen to be. The case of Abū Başir, and that of Abū Jandal and their associates fully justified his conviction. He wanted to have a peaceful atmosphere. He knew that a peaceful soil was most congenial for the spread of Islam, and Islam did spread very rapidly after the signing of the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah. When as a result of violation by the Quraish of the terms of the Treaty, the Prophet marched on Mecca two years later, ten thousand faithful Companions were under his command, instead of the paltry 1500 who were with him on the occasion of the signing of the Treaty. Thus the Treaty and its aftermath gave in advance the direct lie to the false and foolish propaganda that was to be conducted by Christian missionaries in our own time, that Islam was propagated by the sword. 2938 One immediate effect of the Treaty was that the tribes of Banu Khuzā'ah entered into an alliance with the Holy Prophet, while the Banu Bakar sided with the Quraish, an incident which later on led to the march on Mecca. The Treaty did indeed prove to be "a clear victory. " The Companions of the