The Month of Dhul Qi’dah
We are currently in the month of Dhul Qi’dah, one of the sacred months of the Islamic calendar, and is the 11th month of the Islamic calendar, it is also one of the months of Hajj wherein a Muslim can travel to Makkah with the intention of Hajj and can wait within Makkah until the Hajj season starts
This month witnessed a great event in the Seerah of the Messenger of Allah. In the 6th year of the Hijrah, the Messenger of Allah saw in a dream that he and his companions had entered Makkah, and performed Tawaf around the Ka’bah, the Messenger of Allah then informed his companions about this dream and was met with jubilation. The Messenger of Allah informed his companions that they were to perform Umrah and embarked on the journey with around one thousand six hundred companions. The Messenger was in the company of his wife Umm Salamah on this journey of Umrah, prior to leaving, the Messenger of Allah performed Ghusl, and wore two pieces of clothing (thawbayn) and set out on the journey leaving behind Ibn Umm Al Maktoum in charge of Al Madinah during his absence.
The Messenger of Allah and the Sahabah then reached Dhul Hulayfah on the outskirts of Al Madinah, which is the Miqaat for the people of Al Madinah, the Messenger of Allah and his companions entered the state of Ihram in preparation for their Umrah voyage. It was here that the Prophet sent Busr bin Sufyan to ‘Asafan (a region between Makkah and Madinah) to gather intelligence on the actions of Al Quraish, who would inevitably hear of the Prophet's departure from Al Madinah. Busr bin Sufyan had informed the prophet the Quraish had plans to prevent him and his companions from performing the Umrah.The Messenger of Allah, then sought counsel from his companions, Bukhari narrated that Abu Bakr stated “ Whoever prevents us from performing Umrah we will fight them”
The route that the Prophet and his companions took was arduous, and in order to avoid Khalid ibn Al Walid, they took a more mountainous route, when the Messenger of Allah and his companions were within the bounds of Makkah at a location known as Hudaybiyyah his camel Al Qaswaa’ sat and did not move. The Messenger of Allah then said “Qaswaa’ has refused to move, she does not have a choice in the matter, rather, she has been prevented by the one who prevented the elephant”. The Prophet then sent Uthman bin Affan to Makkah to inform Quraish that the Prophet and his companions did not come to fight, and were travelling to Makkah only to perform Umrah. After Uthman had arrived in Makkah and informed Quraish about the Messenger of Allah’s intention, he was held captive by Quraish. This then led to rumours about his death amongst the muslims. Fearing for Uthman and his plight, the Prophet called those around him to pledge an oath of allegiance, those around him rushed towards him to make the pledge, the following Ayah was then revealed
لَقَدْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنْزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحاً قَرِيباً
“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”
Quraish then sent Urwah bin Mas’ud and Suhail bin ‘Amr to the Muslims to negotiate terms of a treaty. Ali bin Abi Talib was instructed to write the terms of the treaty as relayed to him from the mouth of the Messenger of Allah, Ali began to write the following
Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem, (In the Name of Allah the most Gracious, the most Merciful) Suhail of the Quraish replied, “we do not know who this Rahman is, write Bismika Allahumma Instead (In your name o Allah)” The Messenger of Allah ordered Ali to write what Suhail had ordered, then the Messenger of Allah said “ This is what Muhammad Messenger of God has agreed to” Suhail then replied, “If we believed you to be a prophet, we would not have stopped you from visiting the House (Ka’ba), write Muhammad son of Abdullah instead” the Messenger of Allah agreed and replied “ By Allah I am the Messenger of God even if you deny me, Ali, write down Muhammad son of Abdullah” Ali wrote down what the Messenger of Allah said as per his instructions.
The treaty came to be known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. The Muslims had to return to Al Madinah and did not perform Umrah, the treaty stated that all tribes who wanted to have treaties with Quraish or the Muslims were free to do so. Also, anyone that was wanted by the Muslims and found themselves in Makkah under the control of Quraish was not to be sent back to the muslims, however, if the Muslims had anyone that was wanted by Quraysh they had to be returned to Makkah, and that there would be a cessation of hostilities for ten years. The Muslims would be granted permission to do Umrah in the following year.
Despite the treaty on first impressions not favouring the Muslims, it had the opposite effect, due to there being no war between Quraysh and the Muslims, people were now freely open to hear the Da’wah of Islam, it was the precursor to what would happen two years later with the conquest of Makkah. The Messenger of Allah when entering Makkah two years later had ten thousand followers in comparison to the one thousand six hundred followers he had during the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which demonstrated the potency of Islam and the willingness of people to enter into it when no external pressures existed. This event was a turning point in the Da’wah of the Messenger of Allah, and it occurred in the very month we are in today.
The lessons to be learned are many, some of which are:
- The importance of seeking counsel
- The importance of patience amongst those who do not see your value
- Dreams of the prophets are a form of revelation
- The permissibility of entering treatise with non Muslims
- To accept the terms of a contract which may not be in one's benefit if it leads to a greater good for the Muslims
- The importance of togetherness and obeying the Ameer.
- The permissibility of bringing one's wife on a journey that may have possible dangers.
Written by Sheikh Khalid Hassan
