Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

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Campaigns of Muhammad
Badr – Banu Qaynuqa – Uhud – Banu Nadir – The Trench – Banu Qurayza – Hudaybiyyah – Khaybar – Mu'tah – Mecca – Hunayn – Autas – Ta'if – Tabouk

The Treaty of Hudaybiyya (Arabic: صلح الحديبية) is a treaty that took place between the state of Medina and the Quraishi tribe of Mecca in March 628 AD/CE (corresponding to Dhu al-Qi'dah, 6 AH) ^[1].

1 Background
2 Treaty
3 Controversy
4 Aftermath
5 See also
6 References

[edit] Background

See also: Pledge of the Tree

In 628 AD/CE a group of 1,600 Muslims marched towards Mecca, in an attempt to perform the pilgrimage. The group was prepared with animals of sacrifice, as they hoped that the Quraish would honour the Arabian custom of allowing unarmed pilgrims to enter the city. The Quraish, however, intercepted the Muslim party well outside Mecca. By this time all of Arabia was aware of the military strength of the Muslims. Muhammad, the leader of the Muslims, wanted to avoid bloodshed in or near the holiest city of Islam. Therefore the two parties decided to resolve the matter through diplomacy, rather than warfare.

[edit] Treaty

The basic outline of the treaty was as follows:

"In the name of God. These are the conditions of Peace between Muhammad, son of Abdullah and Suhail Ibn 'Amr the envoy of Mecca. There will be no fighting for ten years. Anyone who wishes to join Muhammad and to enter into any agreement with him is free to do so. Anyone who wishes to join the Quraish and to enter into any agreement with them is free to do so. A young man, or one whose father is alive, if he goes to Muhammad without permission from his father or guardian, will be returned to his father or guardian. But if anyone goes to the Quraish, he will not be returned. This year Muhammad will go back without entering Mecca. But next year he and his followers can enter Mecca, spend three days, perform the circuit. During these three days the Quaraish will withdraw to the surrounding hills. When Muhammad and his followers enter into Mecca, they will be unarmed except for sheathed swords which wayfarers in Arabia always have with them." (Bukhari)

[edit] Controversy

The treaty was quite controversial for many reasons. Originally the treaty referred to Muhammad as the Messenger of God. The ambassador of Quraish Subahil ibn 'Amr refused to sign any such document. This, however, was taken out despite great opposition from Muslim scribes. But, perhaps, the greatest objection to those who doubted the wisdom of the pact was directed to the provision that any Quraish member joining the Muslims without the permission of his guardian would have to be returned to Quraish, and that any deserter from Islam would not have to be returned to Medina. Muhammad's opinion in this matter centered on the consideration that the apostate from Islam who seeks the shelter of Quraish is not really worthy of readmission to the Muslim community; that for the convert who wished to join that community but who was not allowed to at present, Allah would soon find an outlet.

After the signing of the treaty, there was still great fury amongst the Muslim side. Muhammad ordered that Muslims perform their sacred rites there and then, and return to Medina. Many Muslims, however, refused to do so. Some openly questioned whether the Prophet's decision to opt for peace was a right one. In the end, Muhammad's wife, Um-Salamah, solved the matter by asking him to perform the rites, regardless of his companions' wishes, and leave for Medina.

[edit] Aftermath

Main article: Conquest of Mecca

In 629 AD/CE, the Muslims made The first pilgrimage.

Two years later, in 630 AD/CE, a skirmish between the Bedouin tribe of Khuza'a and the Banu Bakr tribe which was an ally of the Quraysh occurred; this was a breach of the treaty as one of the clauses of the treaty was 'An attack on an ally of the party, will be considered an attack on the party itself'. Muhammad offered the Quraish three alternatives:

Dissolve their alliance with the Banu Bakr.
Compensate by paying blood money.
State that the treaty stood dissolved.

The Quraish chose the third alternative. Thus, Prophet Muhammad was left with no alternative but to march on Mecca. He, along with 10000 men, marched to Mecca where he gave orders that no old or sick man, children, men who dropped their arms, men who stayed in their homes, or people who stayed in Abu Sufyan's home were to be harmed and no trees were to be cut. Thus, there was no bloodshed in the conquest.

Islam spread widely and quickly during the two years that the treaty was in effect. While Muhammad had one thousand four hundred followers when he signed the treaty in Hudaybiyya, he had well over ten thousand for his conquest of Mecca two years later.