Verse 2

3817

Commentary:

The reference in the words "a clear victory" seems to be to the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah. It is remarkable that though, during the previous brief six years of his life at Medina, the Holy Prophet had gained great victories over his enemies which had crippled and crushed their fighting power, yet none of them is called "a clear victory" in the Quran. It was reserved for the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah to receive this single honour, in spite of the fact that its terms were seemingly so humiliating that the Muslims were greatly perturbed over this apparently rude rebuff to the prestige of Islam, and even a stalwart like ‘Umar exclaimed in extreme grief and indignation that had the terms been settled by any other person than the Holy Prophet, he would have scorned to listen to them (Hisham). The Treaty was indeed a great victory in that it opened the way to the expansion and spread of Islam and led to the Fall of Mecca and ultimately to the conquest of the whole of Arabia. It proved to be a master stroke of strategy as the Holy Prophet’s "political status as an equal and independent power was acknowledged by the Quraish" (Mohammad at Medina by Montgomery Watt).

As the Treaty of Hudaibiyyah constitutes a great landmark in the early history of Islam and as it forms the principal topic dealt with in the Surah under comment, it needs to be treated at some length.

The Holy Prophet had seen a vision that he was making a circuit of the Ka‘bah along with a party of his followers. In fulfilment of his vision, the Prophet started for Mecca with about 1500 Muslims to perform the Lesser Pilgrimage in 6 A.H., in the month of Dhul-Qa‘dah, one of the four sacred months in which, according to Arab tradition and usage, fighting was forbidden, even before Islam. When he reached ‘Usfan, a place a few miles distant from Mecca, he was informed by an advance party whom he had sent under the command of ‘Abbad bin Bishar that the Quraish were bent upon barring his entry into Mecca. In order to avoid an armed clash the Prophet changed his route and "after a fatiguing march through devious and rugged pathways reached Hudai-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 (Hisham), 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 عمرة (Lesser Pilgrimage), but they shall carry no arms save sheathed swords (Bukhari, Hisham & Muir).

The terms of the Treaty were demonstrably very humiliating. The Muslims were greatly upset. No 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" (Bukhari), and that he would be a source of strength to his religion and other believers wherever he might happen to be. The case of Abu Basir, and that of Abu 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.

One immediate effect of the Treaty was that the tribes of Banu Khuza‘ah entered into an alliance with the Holy Prophet, while the Banu Bakar sided with the Quraish, an incident which 1ater on led to the march on Mecca. The Treaty did indeed prove to be "a clear victory." The Companions of the Holy Prophet were rightly proud of being present on the occasion, and quite justified in regarding the signing of the Treaty, and not the conquest of Mecca as "the victory referred to in the present verse" (Bukhari). According to them no victory was greater and more far-reaching in its results and effects than this Treaty (Hisham). And the Holy Prophet himself called it a victory (Baihaqi as quoted by Zurqani).