We are in the sixth year of the Hijrah; it has been six years since the messenger of Allah ﷺ and his companions emigrated from Mecca to Medina because of the oppression they were experiencing there. These six years were punctuated by battles between the new Muslim power: Medina and the Meccan tribe of Quraysh. It was then that the Prophet ﷺ saw himself in a dream making an Umrah (a short pilgrimage) to Mecca. As the dreams of prophets are part of revelation, he understood that this dream was a revealed order to go on this pilgrimage despite the tense situation with the Meccans.

The companions were delighted to travel to Mecca to make a pilgrimage with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, especially those from Mecca, who had left their homeland with sad hearts and had grown up loving the Ka’ba (for even before Islam, the Arabs revered the Ka’ba. It was a trace of the religion of their ancestors Ibrahim and Ismâ’îl, peace be upon them. Although their religion had been corrupted by idolatry).

The messenger of Allah ﷺ then set off for Mecca, at the head of 1,500 men, having taken care to display the signs of pilgrimage (sacralizing outfit, decorated beasts intended for sacrifice, no weapons of war), so that the Meccans would understand that the Muslims had not come to fight. Their journey has only a spiritual purpose, that of performing an Umrah.

 

 

 

 

However, when they arrived near Mecca, pathfinders informed the Prophet ﷺ that the Meccans had gathered men on the road to prevent the Muslims from entering the city. There was no question of letting them approach the Ka’ba in peace.

The Prophet ﷺ decided to set up camp in the town of Al Hudeybiyah, some thirty kilometers from Mecca. 

He sent an emissary to explain to the Qurayshite that the Muslims came in peace. He didn’t choose this emissary at random, and sent ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, himself a former notable Meccan who was highly respected in Mecca before Islam.

He was received with respect but a rumor began to spread that ‘Uthman had been killed. Such an act made the Prophet ﷺ think that the Quraysh had no limit in their hatred of Muslims. If, indeed, it is true that they killed an emissary, which is already extremely serious in itself, and all the more so if this emissary is ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, we must expect the worst and the Muslims are not equipped for the war.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ remobilizes his troops by making them swear allegiance again. In this oath, he took his own hand to represent ‘Uthman’s allegiance. This episode was called Bay’at al Ridwan: the allegiance of satisfaction, because Allah declared to be satisfied with all those who participated in it.

لَّقَدۡ رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ إِذۡ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحۡتَ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمۡ فَأَنزَلَ ٱلسَّكِينَةَ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَأَثَٰبَهُمۡ فَتۡحٗا قَرِيبٗا

Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you ˹O Prophet˺ under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down serenity upon them and rewarded them with a victory at hand (Surah Al-Fath verse 18).

But this was a false rumor, ‘Uthman was very much alive, however this remobilization was not in vain as the Messenger’s companions would soon have to face disappointment and show obedience to the Prophet ﷺ.

From there, emissaries from Quraysh began to follow one another to convince the Prophet ﷺ to return to Medina. Until Suhayl ibn ‘Amr presents himself. Seeing him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ understood that the Meccans wished to negotiate.

The Prophet ﷺ began to dictate the document to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, starting with “This is what Muhammad the Messenger of Allah has decided”. But Suhayl asked that the words “Messenger of Allah” be deleted. Ali refused, but the Prophet did it himself. Then they agreed on the following conditions:

• Muslims would not be able to enter Mecca this year, but would return the following year to perform their ‘Umrah.
• If a Meccan leaves Mecca for Medina, the Prophet ﷺ cannot welcome him and must send him away.
• If a Medinan were to leave Medina for Mecca, the Meccans would not have to send him back.
• A 10-year truce is signed between Mecca and Medina.
• If a tribe wishes to enter the pact, on either side, this is permitted and they must abide by the terms of the agreement.

 

This fundamental pact in the history of Islam was called the Pact of Al Hudeybiyah.

The Prophet’s companions had great difficulty accepting this pact, which they saw as humiliating for Islam and Muslims.

But on the way back to Medina, Allah revealed:

إِنَّا فَتَحۡنَا لَكَ فَتۡحٗا مُّبِينٗا

Verily, We have granted you a resounding victory,

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ complied with all the demands of Quraysh’s emissary, for he had a higher goal: peace, and obtaining a truce. Which he did. Subsequently, the other clauses, seemingly to the disadvantage of the Muslims, turned to their advantage.

The reason why the Messenger ﷺ was so keen to seize this opportunity to secure a truce was that Islam never repents as well as it does in times of peace. When we can take the time to present Islam to people in a peaceful way. Moreover, two years after this pact, Quraysh allies broke the agreement by attacking Muslim allies, which opened the door to the opening of Mecca. At the time, the Muslim army numbered 10,000 men, while 1,500 went to Hudeybiyah. Within two years, the expansion of Islam in the Arabian Peninsula was exponential. We also see that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ acted with an eye to priorities. He didn’t hesitate to make certain concessions in order to achieve the main objective. This is also what following the sunnah is all about: acting with intelligence and foresight so as not to sacrifice priority objectives for things of lesser importance.

An action may be good in itself, but when carried out when the conditions are not right, it can have harmful consequences. Following the sunnah also means assessing the consequences of our actions and knowing how to identify the priorities of the moment. This is one of the main teachings of the Al Hudeybiyah pact.

Vincent Souleymane

Vincent Souleymane, a French imam and shariah advisor at Muslim Pro, has devoted his time to studying and enriching others with the knowledge of Islamic sciences ever since he converted to the religion in 1999. During his studies at the Oussoul Eddine Institute in Saint-Denis, he became aware of the importance of devotion to Allah and decided to continue his religious studies at the daroul ouloum achrafiya of the Island La Réunion and at the IESH of Château Chinon. 

Since then, Vincent Souleymane has devoted himself to the Almighty by teaching Islam at the Oussoul Eddine Institute, as well as being an imam at the Fontenay sous Bois Mosque.