(Cont.) The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
So last week, we were talking about the writing down of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah — and as we said, Suhayl ibn Amr had his own personal agenda too: He had already 'lost' one son to the Muslims, and the other son was in his basement, so he said, "Not a single man will come to you (Muslims) from us (pagans) even if he be upon your religion except that you will return him to us." And before this condition was written down, a number of sahaba objected and said, "Subhan'Allah! How can we return one of ours to the mushrikun when he has chosen us as a place of protection?" — because, realize, the bulk of the sahaba had migrated from Makkah; and if this condition had applied 6 years ago, there would be no Islam in Madinah; so they felt this condition especially personally. And how many are the people, every few days, somebody is migrating, fleeing from their family, fleeing from persecution, fleeing from torture, and the Muslims embrace him? So if they were to implement this condition, the trickle of Muslims would be cut off completely, and there would not be now a surge of Islam. Additionally, there is the issue of helping innocent Muslims — they are being persecuted, they are coming to Madinah, "we need to protect them" — so the Muslims find this condition to be very demeaning and harsh. So before even it is written down, they are objecting to Suhayl. And the very fact that they are objecting while the conditions are being said, it really shows how emotional this condition is. A number of them remarked, "How can we return a Muslim to the pagans when he has come to us as a Muslim?" But Suhayl insisted, "No, this is the condition." And subhan'Allah, by the qadr of Allah, right when they were discussing this decision, Suhayl's own captive son, Abu Jandal came to the army of the Muslims.
His chains were still tied to his hands, and the torture marks were clearly visible. He came to the Muslims and called out, "O Muslims, help me! O Muslims, save me!" And Suhayl saw his own son in the distance and recognized it was Abu Jandal, so he turned to the Prophet PBUH and said, "This is the first one that this condition will be applied on." He is saying, "He (my son Abu Jandal) is the first one you (Muslims) shall return to us as per this condition." And the Prophet PBUH said, "We haven't written down the condition yet, we are still discussing them." But Suhayl said, "If you don't agree to this, then the treaty will be over." The Prophet PBUH: "Gift him to me, then we will start the condition after this. Just one gift." Suhayl: "No. I'm not going to gift him to you." The Prophet PBUH pleaded multiple times —and in our entire reading of the seerah, there is no other place where the Prophet PBUH pleaded this many times— he said, "Just make an exception for him," "Just gift him to me," "Just go ahead," 3, 4 times, but Suhayl still insisted, "No. I am not going to gift him to you. This is the condition. Take it or leave it."
This back-and-forth went on until finally, Mikraz, Suhayl's companion, said, "Okay, we will at least guarantee his safety from now on (i.e., he won't be tortured)." Mikraz said this to break the deadlock. And Abu Jandal is watching the entire proceedings, his father on one side and the Prophet PBUH on the other, and it's clear that the negotiations are against him, so he cries out, "O Muslims, will you return me to the pagans while I have come to you as a Muslim? Don't you see what they have done to me?" And the narrator in Ibn Hisham said the marks of torture were clear on him, and the mushrikun had tortured him a severe torturing. You can imagine the whips, lashes, chains, emaciated body, blood, etc. So the Prophet PBUH addressed him directly, "Be patient, O Abu Jandal, for Allah will make a way out for you."
When Umar RA saw this happening, he stood up and walked towards Abu Jandal and said to him, "Be patient, O Abu Jandal, and realize that their blood is not worth anything." And as he said this, he pointed with his eyes to his sword, that, "Look, here's the sword, use it against them (Suhayl and Mikraz)." So he gave Abu Jandal this opportunity — but at the end of the day, Suhayl is his father, so he did not take this opportunity. He was therefore put back in his chains and returned to Makkah. But as Mikraz said, he was not tortured thereafter.
His chains were still tied to his hands, and the torture marks were clearly visible. He came to the Muslims and called out, "O Muslims, help me! O Muslims, save me!" And Suhayl saw his own son in the distance and recognized it was Abu Jandal, so he turned to the Prophet PBUH and said, "This is the first one that this condition will be applied on." He is saying, "He (my son Abu Jandal) is the first one you (Muslims) shall return to us as per this condition." And the Prophet PBUH said, "We haven't written down the condition yet, we are still discussing them." But Suhayl said, "If you don't agree to this, then the treaty will be over." The Prophet PBUH: "Gift him to me, then we will start the condition after this. Just one gift." Suhayl: "No. I'm not going to gift him to you." The Prophet PBUH pleaded multiple times —and in our entire reading of the seerah, there is no other place where the Prophet PBUH pleaded this many times— he said, "Just make an exception for him," "Just gift him to me," "Just go ahead," 3, 4 times, but Suhayl still insisted, "No. I am not going to gift him to you. This is the condition. Take it or leave it."
This back-and-forth went on until finally, Mikraz, Suhayl's companion, said, "Okay, we will at least guarantee his safety from now on (i.e., he won't be tortured)." Mikraz said this to break the deadlock. And Abu Jandal is watching the entire proceedings, his father on one side and the Prophet PBUH on the other, and it's clear that the negotiations are against him, so he cries out, "O Muslims, will you return me to the pagans while I have come to you as a Muslim? Don't you see what they have done to me?" And the narrator in Ibn Hisham said the marks of torture were clear on him, and the mushrikun had tortured him a severe torturing. You can imagine the whips, lashes, chains, emaciated body, blood, etc. So the Prophet PBUH addressed him directly, "Be patient, O Abu Jandal, for Allah will make a way out for you."
When Umar RA saw this happening, he stood up and walked towards Abu Jandal and said to him, "Be patient, O Abu Jandal, and realize that their blood is not worth anything." And as he said this, he pointed with his eyes to his sword, that, "Look, here's the sword, use it against them (Suhayl and Mikraz)." So he gave Abu Jandal this opportunity — but at the end of the day, Suhayl is his father, so he did not take this opportunity. He was therefore put back in his chains and returned to Makkah. But as Mikraz said, he was not tortured thereafter.
And other conditions were placed:
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The Conditions of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
Let us list them from the start:
1) No Umrah this year, that shall be next year.
2) When Umrah takes place next year, the Quraysh will vacate the city for three days and the Muslims can complete their Umrah.
3) Not a single man from the Quraysh can renegade or defect over to the Muslims even if he be on Islam except that he is handed back. (So if any Makkan Muslim rejects the people of Makkah and goes to Madinah, he will be returned.)
4) However, if any Muslim came to Makkah after having rejected Islam and returning to the ways of their forefathers (i.e., becoming a pagan again), he shall NOT be returned.
5) There would be a peace for 10 years. For 10 years, neither side will fight. (And both sides said the common Arabic phrase, "No armor and no swords.")
6) Both of the two sides can engage with treaties with any other entity. Both Quraysh and the Muslims can engage with treaties with any tribe that wants to enter into alliances. And if any tribe entered with the Muslims, all of these conditions are applied to that tribe; and if any tribe entered with the Quraysh, all of these conditions are also applied to that tribe.
The conditions were very harsh, especially the first four, which was almost a slap in the face of the Muslims.
1) No Umrah this year, that shall be next year.
2) When Umrah takes place next year, the Quraysh will vacate the city for three days and the Muslims can complete their Umrah.
3) Not a single man from the Quraysh can renegade or defect over to the Muslims even if he be on Islam except that he is handed back. (So if any Makkan Muslim rejects the people of Makkah and goes to Madinah, he will be returned.)
4) However, if any Muslim came to Makkah after having rejected Islam and returning to the ways of their forefathers (i.e., becoming a pagan again), he shall NOT be returned.
5) There would be a peace for 10 years. For 10 years, neither side will fight. (And both sides said the common Arabic phrase, "No armor and no swords.")
6) Both of the two sides can engage with treaties with any other entity. Both Quraysh and the Muslims can engage with treaties with any tribe that wants to enter into alliances. And if any tribe entered with the Muslims, all of these conditions are applied to that tribe; and if any tribe entered with the Quraysh, all of these conditions are also applied to that tribe.
The conditions were very harsh, especially the first four, which was almost a slap in the face of the Muslims.
Both sides had their witnesses: On the side of the Muslims were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, i.e., all of the four Rightly Guided Khalifas; and on the side of the Quraysh were Mikraz and one or two other people.
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Islam as a Political Entity
It might seem like all doom and gloom at this point in time, but the one biggest positive that is clearly occurring is that for the very first time, the Muslims are being treated as an independent, powerful political entity. Yes, we feel anger at the conditions —and the sahaba's anger was far more than ours, obviously a million times more— but for the first time, the Muslims and the Quraysh are on the same political table. You don't write a treaty except with an equal. The fact that the Quraysh are forced to write such a treaty shows that the Muslims are now being given the respect of being a separate political entity. And we see here the beginnings of the real split between Islam and paganism: Clause #6 will eventually divide the entire Arabian Peninsula into two: Islam and kufr. This is the precursor to the Conquest of Makkah, and the precursor to the conquest of all of Arabia.
Recall in the beginnings of Islam, it was just the Banu Hashim vs. the Quraysh, i.e., something relatively small. And then slowly but surely, the entire Arab race is being dragged in, until finally —and this is amazing— within a few years, paganism will be wiped out from the entire Arabian Peninsula. There will be no more Arabs who worship idols. Subhan'Allah. Think about this; how they were and what happened.
So this is now the camp being divided: On the one side Islam, on the other side paganism, idolatry, tribalism, Jahiliyyah, ethnicity — all of this is being represented. So for the first time, people have to make up their minds which side of the coins they are on. This is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the precursor to this division and split.
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Back-and-Forth Between Umar RA and the Prophet PBUH
Suhayl returns back happy and content.
At this, Umar RA was the one who verbalized what was in the minds of many Muslims. He came up to the Prophet PBUH and asked him a series of rhetorical questions:
1. "Are you not the Messenger of Allah?"
2. "Are we not upon the Truth, and the enemies upon the misguidance?"
3. "Then how can we accept the lower hand, the humiliation, and being disgraced in our religion?"
Put yourself in his shoes and the shoes of the sahaba. The majority of the sahaba are feeling very angry at the Quraysh. They must be thinking, "How could they have done this to us, and why did we accept? We came in peace and we have been waiting here for weeks. We are tired, hungry, away from home. We just want to go to the Ka'bah, but we have been stopped. On top of that, now there are all these other conditions. We have to return every Muslim back to them?! And we can allow people from us to go to them?!"
1. "Are you not the Messenger of Allah?"
2. "Are we not upon the Truth, and the enemies upon the misguidance?"
3. "Then how can we accept the lower hand, the humiliation, and being disgraced in our religion?"
Put yourself in his shoes and the shoes of the sahaba. The majority of the sahaba are feeling very angry at the Quraysh. They must be thinking, "How could they have done this to us, and why did we accept? We came in peace and we have been waiting here for weeks. We are tired, hungry, away from home. We just want to go to the Ka'bah, but we have been stopped. On top of that, now there are all these other conditions. We have to return every Muslim back to them?! And we can allow people from us to go to them?!"
The Prophet PBUH replied to all of this, "I am the Messenger of Allah, and I will not disobey Allah, and He will help me," meaning this was what the Prophet PBUH was commanded to do. And he is saying he doesn't know where this is leading or why Allah wanted this to happen, but Allah has told him to accept the conditions, so, "I will not disobey Him, and He will help me." And this is a solid response, so Umar RA could not argue, so he backtracked and attempted a new line of reasoning and said, "Ya Rasulullah, didn't you tell us we will be doing tawaf around the House of Allah?" The Prophet PBUH said, "Indeed, I told you. But did I say we will do it this year?" Umar RA said, "No." So the Prophet PBUH said, "You will do it next year," meaning, "My vision will come true. Allah didn't tell me which year. I assumed it was this year, but we now know it's next year."
Here we see that Umar RA is angry because he feels the Muslims have been short-changed, i.e., his anger is for the religion of Islam — however, it is clear that he made an error and a mistake and surpassed what is legitimate. After all, the Prophet PBUH represents Islam completely, and Umar RA does not. And emotions make a man do things he will regret. And this is why in one hadith, when a man came to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Advise me," the Prophet PBUH said to him, "Don't get angry," and he PBUH repeated this three times, because in anger, a man does what he later regrets. Even though the base of Umar's RA anger was coming from Iman —he genuinely felt the religion of Islam was humiliated— but he went beyond his bounds — and he himself later realized this. At this point in time, however, not yet. He needed someone else to put him in his place, and what man was there to do this except Abu Bakr RA:
Here we see that Umar RA is angry because he feels the Muslims have been short-changed, i.e., his anger is for the religion of Islam — however, it is clear that he made an error and a mistake and surpassed what is legitimate. After all, the Prophet PBUH represents Islam completely, and Umar RA does not. And emotions make a man do things he will regret. And this is why in one hadith, when a man came to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Advise me," the Prophet PBUH said to him, "Don't get angry," and he PBUH repeated this three times, because in anger, a man does what he later regrets. Even though the base of Umar's RA anger was coming from Iman —he genuinely felt the religion of Islam was humiliated— but he went beyond his bounds — and he himself later realized this. At this point in time, however, not yet. He needed someone else to put him in his place, and what man was there to do this except Abu Bakr RA:
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Back-and-Forth Between Umar RA and Abu Bakr RA
Umar goes to Abu Bakr after the Prophet PBUH. (Side note: This again shows us the rank of Abu Bakr: Out of all of the sahaba, even Umar knew only Abu Bakr was second to the Prophet PBUH.) And he asked Abu Bakr the exact same three questions he asked the Prophet PBUH. At this, Abu Bakr got angry and replied, "Ya rajul..." (and this is a very harsh thing to say, that, "O man!", "Hey you!"), and then he said, "...Watch out. He IS the Messenger of Allah, and he will not disobey his Lord — so you hang onto the stirrup of his saddle. Otherwise, there is no hope for you." (Side note: We clearly see Abu Bakr has analyzed everything, and he has no issues accepting what has happened. And this shows us his superiority over Umar. Even though, no doubt, he is also angry and hurt; but he understands that Allah knows best.) Then he said to Umar the exact same things the Prophet PBUH said, "Yes indeed, he said we will do tawaf, but did he say we will do it this year?" "No." "So then we will come back and do it next year" — and this corresponds to what the Prophet PBUH says without the Prophet PBUH telling him these things — and this clearly shows us Abu Bakr's fiqh.
We also see over here a side of Abu Bakr that is generally overlooked: Our image of Abu Bakr is an extra-polite, humble, soft-hearted man, and this is valid, but there is a side of him that comes out when he is provoked. And as we know, later on, he would do this again at the death of the Prophet PBUH when Umar RA lost it; it was Abu Bakr who put Umar in his place [see episode 101]. It was Abu Bakr who quoted him the verse. Nobody had the audacity to speak to Umar in that manner except Abu Bakr. Subhan'Allah. When push comes to shove, when a man needs to be a man, nobody beats Abu Bakr, including Umar. And this is the superiority of Abu Bakr over Umar.
Umar RA later on in his life said about these back-and-forths he had with the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr, "After this, I continued to perform good deeds hoping that Allah will forgive me for what I had done [that day]." And it's said he freed so many slaves, fasted so many days, prayed so many nights, to atone for what he had done that day, i.e., he realized he had crossed the line on the Day of Hudaybiyyah. Even though technically, it was an act of emotion, and Allah AWJ has forgiven these types of emotional outbursts — but he felt like he had gone beyond what was appropriate, so he did all these good deeds afterward, and said, "I continued to do these good deeds until I feel that I had made it up." And he later remarked during his khilafa, that, "On the Day of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet PBUH put a condition on us that if any other leader had put it on me, I would never have accepted."
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"O People! Always Find Your Own Opinions Blameworthy Over the Quran and Sunnah!"
It's important to note that Umar RA was not alone. Yes, he was the only one who went directly to the Prophet PBUH, but the frustration and anger were common among the sahaba. We have another sahabi, Sahl ibn Hanif (سهل بن حنيف), many years later in the Battle of Siffin [37 AH] when the Muslims were lined up to fight other Muslims and he was trying to calm them down, he said, "O people! Always find your own opinions blameworthy over the Quran and Sunnah!" meaning accuse your own opinions before you accuse the Quran and Sunnah. "Verily, I remember myself on the Day of Abu Jandal..." (Side note: Notice he didn't even call it the Day of Hudaybiyyah. Can you imagine the emotional trauma and shock he had to endure seeing the fate of Abu Jandal on that day? The sahaba would rather have died in battle defending Abu Jandal than willingly hand him back. This is their Iman. So the whole day was called "the Day of Abu Jandal.") And he continues, "...If I could have rejected the command of the Prophet PBUH, I would have done so." He is basically saying, "Look, follow the Quran and Sunnah even if you don't understand it. No matter how sure you think you are, accuse your own opinions before you accuse the Quran and Sunnah."
Wallahi, this quote needs to be memorized by everyone, especially in our times where everyone thinks their opinion holds more weight than the Quran and Sunnah. This type of attitude is common in our time, that when we are quoted a hadith or a verse in the Quran, we think, "Oh, no no, we know better" — this is not the spirit of Islam. Rather, Islam is we-hear-and-we-obey. And this is what Sahl is saying: "Accuse your own opinions before the Quran and Sunnah," because even though the Day of Abu Jandal made him want to disobey the Prophet PBUH, he later realized that indeed, Allah and His Messenger know better, and Hudaybiyyah turned out to be the best thing ever happened to the Muslims up until that point. It was a major victory.
The point is this sentiment of anger was not alone with Umar. There were many other sahaba who felt the same.
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Making Up for One's Mistake
We also see a very important lesson in making up for one's transgressions/mistakes. Umar RA made a mistake, and he made it up by doing good deeds. This shows us the best way to make up to Allah SWT is to increase our good deeds. And this is why REAL tawba should bring about extra actions and a change in lifestyle. Allah says, "As for those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, they are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful" [Quran, 25:70]. We link "do good deeds" in the verse with "repentance." And this is what Umar RA himself understood — he made a mistake, so he did a lot of good deeds afterward to compensate.
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Accusation of the Non-Sunni Group
No doubt what Umar RA did on the Day of Hudaybiyyah was beyond what was appropriate. But unfortunately, the non-Sunni group uses this type of stuff and says about Umar things that they say. But this is ludicrous, because Umar's anger isn't coming from his own ego, it's not personal, it's not "I'm not going to listen to you, O Muhammad" like Abdullah ibn Ubayy said at Uhud — that is nifaq and kufr; but rather, it was a mistake of emotion stemmed from Iman. Not of kibr or arrogance. And everybody makes the mistake of emotion. Like the man who is mentioned in one hadith, who made a mistake by stating a statement that normally would be considered kufr: Out of overwhelming joy, when he found his camel in the middle of the desert, he mistakenly said, "O Allah, You are my servant and I am Your Lord," when what he meant to say was "O Allah, You are my Lord and I am Your servant." Emotional outbursts are overlooked.
Secondly, where does Umar's emotion come from? For the love and sake of Islam. We need to take this into account. And the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba all understood this, so they let it be. And Umar RA made up for it.
So the non-Sunni groups have no grounds.
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Are We Allowed to Disagree With a Ruler?
A very important lesson that is demonstrated by Umar's outburst and by the Prophet PBUH responding back to him and defending himself, is that: Objecting to, or even arguing respectfully with, the leader is something that the shariah allows. Bringing another point of view is allowed. You can criticize and give other positions to the rulers. Of course, you cannot make fun of Allah and His Messenger — there is a line to be drawn; but you have the freedom to argue a point. Umar RA was arguing with three/four tactics. And if this is being done with the Prophet PBUH, then how about with normal people? No doubt, if it's a legitimate khalifa and he insists you do something (something halal), then you should follow — but you have the right to object and give a new viewpoint.
This is in contrast to what some of the more extreme hardcore ultraconservative movements say, that whatever the wali al-amr says, 'we-hear-and-we-obey.' No. Our ultimate obedience is only to Allah and His Messenger.
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Shaving of Head and Making Way Back to Madinah
So now that this was over, the Prophet PBUH told all the sahaba, "Stand up, shave your heads, and let us return." This was such an anticlimactic ending. The sahaba had to wrap up their bags after having been built up that, "Insha'Allah, we will go to the Ka'bah, Suhayl will make things easy for us," etc. They were so depressed that this was the only time in the whole seerah that nobody had the heart to implement what the Prophet PBUH said. This really shows us how traumatized they were. One humiliation after another.
By the way, this is a new part of the shariah, that if you cannot go to the Ka'bah, you get out of your ihram, shave your head, and return. It's now a standard part of our shariah. If any of us are prevented from going to the Ka'bah for Hajj or Umrah (for a political, economic, or social reason), this is what you do. Wherever you are stuck, then you will shave there, sacrifice your camels there, get out of ihram right then and there, and make it up later on.
This ruling was new for the sahaba. So not only is it anticlimactic, not only is it humiliation, now they are faced with this new 'bizarre' ruling. So what happened is the entire congregation just sat there and did not move. And also, another thing is, when no single person is being commanded and all of them simply sit there, there is this complacency with the mob.
So the Prophet PBUH repeated himself a second time. Yet nobody moved. He repeated it a third time, and still nobody moved. Clearly, the tension is great.
The Prophet PBUH then returns back to his tent, and Ummi Salama is in his tent, so he confides in her, "I commanded them to shave their heads, but not one of them responded to me." Ummi Salama said, "Do you wish that they follow you, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Yes." So she said, "Why don't you show them you are doing it. When they see you doing it, they will follow you." The Prophet PBUH took this advice, went outside, called for his barber, and began to shave his hair off in front of everyone. When the sahaba saw the Prophet PBUH shaving his hair off and they realized this really is it now, they started calling for each other to shave their heads off, until finally, everyone was fighting one another to shave each other's heads. Subhan'Allah. And it was here as well that the Prophet PBUH made du'a for shaving one's head, he said, "May Allah have mercy on the muhalliqin (المحلقين - those who have shaved their head)," and some sahaba who only trimmed their hair said wishfully asking the Prophet PBUH to include them, "And those who cut?" but the Prophet PBUH repeated, "May Allah have mercy on those who have shaved their head." But they asked again, "And those who cut?" But for the third time, the Prophet PBUH said, "May Allah have mercy on those who have shaved their head." But they asked again, "And those who cut?" So on the fourth time, the Prophet PBUH added, "And those who cut." And from this, the scholars have derived the famous ruling that shaving [during Hajj/Umrah] is much more rewarded than trimming.
The Prophet PBUH then returns back to his tent, and Ummi Salama is in his tent, so he confides in her, "I commanded them to shave their heads, but not one of them responded to me." Ummi Salama said, "Do you wish that they follow you, O Messenger of Allah?" He said, "Yes." So she said, "Why don't you show them you are doing it. When they see you doing it, they will follow you." The Prophet PBUH took this advice, went outside, called for his barber, and began to shave his hair off in front of everyone. When the sahaba saw the Prophet PBUH shaving his hair off and they realized this really is it now, they started calling for each other to shave their heads off, until finally, everyone was fighting one another to shave each other's heads. Subhan'Allah. And it was here as well that the Prophet PBUH made du'a for shaving one's head, he said, "May Allah have mercy on the muhalliqin (المحلقين - those who have shaved their head)," and some sahaba who only trimmed their hair said wishfully asking the Prophet PBUH to include them, "And those who cut?" but the Prophet PBUH repeated, "May Allah have mercy on those who have shaved their head." But they asked again, "And those who cut?" But for the third time, the Prophet PBUH said, "May Allah have mercy on those who have shaved their head." But they asked again, "And those who cut?" So on the fourth time, the Prophet PBUH added, "And those who cut." And from this, the scholars have derived the famous ruling that shaving [during Hajj/Umrah] is much more rewarded than trimming.
With this, the animals were sacrificed; and it is said the meat was still sent to Makkah. And it's also said the first camel that the Prophet PBUH sent was Abu Jahal's camel that he captured during Badr. It was a well-known expensive camel, and the people of Makkah recognized it was Abu Jahal's. This was painful for the Quraysh.
So the Muslims shaved their hair, sacrificed their animals, and made their way back to Madinah.
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The Revelation of Surah al-Fath
On the way back, Umar RA feels greatly troubled by what he has done. When he calms down, he realizes he needs to apologize and make up to the Prophet PBUH. So he rides up to the camel of the Prophet PBUH and tries to engage in conversation. He says 'salam,' but there's no response. He says 'salam' for a second time, and no response. Says 'salam' for the third time —and that's the maximum you're supposed to say— and again there was no response. So Umar RA thought the worst, that, "I am now finished." And he said to himself, "Let Umar's mother mourn the loss of her son." He thought because of what he did, he had lost any chance of mercy — and it appears that his fears were seemingly confirmed by a rider who said to him, "The Prophet PBUH is calling you," so he is thinking, "This is it. I am going to end." He rides up to the Prophet PBUH — but he sees the Prophet's PBUH face beaming with joy. Just light coming out of it. And the Prophet PBUH started reciting the famous chapter of the Quran, Surah al-Fath:
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا
لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَاطًا مُّسْتَقِيمًا
وَيَنصُرَكَ اللَّهُ نَصْرًا عَزِيزًا
"Indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest. That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow and complete His favor upon you and guide you to a straight path. And [that] Allah may aid you with a mighty victory" [48:1-3].The entire Surah was revealed right then and there. The beginning of the Surah says: "We have surely given you a CLEAR victory," and so Umar RA said, "Is this a victory?" And the Prophet PBUH said, "By Allah, it is a victory." So Umar RA said, "Allahu'akbar!" and began racing with his camel up and down the lines of the Muslims saying, "Allah has given us the biggest victory!"
And our Prophet PBUH praised the Surah and said, "Allah has sent down a surah that is more beloved to me than everything on this earth."
Surah al-Fath of course prophesied many things [see next episode], but one of the main themes of the Surah is praising of the sahaba. Allah SWT praises them with one of the most poetic examples: He compares them to a beautiful tree that has been planted by a farmer, and the farmer is happy with the tree [see Quran, 48:29] — the farmer here is the Prophet PBUH, and he is happy with what the sahaba have done. Indeed, no doubt it was a difficult test, but in the end, when push came to shove, they followed through. Imagine how much they went through, yet they still obeyed. And so Allah praises the sahaba throughout Surah al-Fath, and He blesses them with a great promise of forgiveness, and He promises them a large victory which was the Battle of Khaybar [see Quran, 48:20].
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The Sahaba Knew That the Prophet PBUH Was But a Messenger of Allah
So Surah al-Fath changed the Muslims' attitudes from depression to thanking Allah. And in this, there is a very important theological point. The fact that the sahaba's psychology changed instantly at the revelation of Surah al-Fath —most notably Umar's RA— this clearly demonstrates that they realized the humanity of the Prophet PBUH, and the infallibility of Allah's wahy. Because the whole point was they were worried that, "Maybe this is not coming from Allah directly. Maybe this is the ijtihad of the Prophet PBUH." That's why they were feeling, "This isn't the best," until Allah SWT got rid of the fear by revealing Surah al-Fath.
And by extension, this also shows that the Prophet PBUH was allowed to make his own ijtihad by Allah, as we have discussed many times in previous episodes [see episodes 38, 40, 58, 63, 64].
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The Treaty Worked Out in Muslim's Favor
So the sahaba returned to Madinah. They stayed at Hudaybiyyah for around 20 days (according to al-Waqidi and Ibn Sa'd), so the entire trip lasted a month and a half. Subhan'Allah, what a difficult trip. And when they returned back, an incident occurred that will test the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and that is the incident of Abu Basir (أبو بصير). Abu Basir is someone who lives in Makkah, and his tribe, Khuza'a, is associated with Makkah. After the Incident of Hudaybiyyah, he is the first person to make Hijrah to Madinah. And under the treaty, the Muslims would have to hand him back to the people of Makkah. But when he came, the Prophet PBUH did not say anything. It was only after two or three days when the Khuza'a tribe sent an emissary and said to the Prophet PBUH, "Hand us back Abu Basir in accordance with the treaty," the Prophet PBUH called Abu Basir and said to him, "These two men have come to take you, and you came knowing the treaty that we signed, and I will not be treacherous — so return to your people."
Abu Basir and everyone know the treaty — but he probably thinks, "Come on, you won't really do it," so he risks it, leaves Makkah, and comes all the way to Madinah. And notice here, when he comes, the Prophet PBUH does not turn him away. Why? Because he PBUH is following the letter of the contract, and not the spirit of the contract. The letter did not say, "YOU have to return the person." The enforcement of the contract is not up to the Prophet PBUH — the Prophet PBUH doesn't have to patrol Madinah and make sure people go away. The enforcement is open. So it was only when the Quraysh came for the enforcement that the Prophet PBUH basically said, "Okay, he is yours." If they had not come, it was not the Prophet's PBUH job to enforce.
So Abu Basir lived in Madinah for a few days, and when he was handed to the two men, he said to the Prophet PBUH the same thing Abu Jandal said, "Are you going to return me after Allah has saved me?" And he was told, "Allah will make a way out for you."
The story goes that when Abu Basir was with the two men, he started chatting with them and became friendly with them. And Abu Basir starts praising one of the man's swords: "I have never seen a sword this beautiful. What have you done with it? Tell me." So the man starts recounting, "I went to this battle, killed so-and-so, etc." Then Abu Basir says, "Let me see this legendary sword." And naively, the man hands him the sword, and instantly, Abu Basir chops off his head. He then turns to the other man — but the man races on his bare legs back to Madinah. It has barely been two hours since the Prophet PBUH handed Abu Basir over, and this Qureshi comes yelling and screaming into the masjid, "My companion has been killed and I am next! So protect me!" After a while, Abu Basir came and said, "Ya Rasulullah, you have fulfilled your responsibilities — but Allah allowed me to escape!" And the Prophet PBUH didn't address him directly; he PBUH turned to the air and said, "Woe to his mother," meaning he won't be alive any longer — and then said, "What a great warrior he is. If only he had someone else to help him." And by turning away, the indication is given that, "Before anyone else comes, you better get out of my sight. You cannot live here because the treaty clearly says so." The Prophet PBUH hinted that, "I can't help you," and Abu Basir understood this, so he instantly fled and ran away. And he eventually set up a small place to live in which was close to what is now Jeddah, and he sent a message out that, "I'm over here at such-and-such a place." When Abu Jandal heard of this, he escaped again and met up with Abu Basir. Then the news spread to the Makkan Muslims that, "Since you can't go to Madinah, come over to us!" And so 10, 15, 60, 80 people eventually congregated and they formed a full settlement.
The story goes that when Abu Basir was with the two men, he started chatting with them and became friendly with them. And Abu Basir starts praising one of the man's swords: "I have never seen a sword this beautiful. What have you done with it? Tell me." So the man starts recounting, "I went to this battle, killed so-and-so, etc." Then Abu Basir says, "Let me see this legendary sword." And naively, the man hands him the sword, and instantly, Abu Basir chops off his head. He then turns to the other man — but the man races on his bare legs back to Madinah. It has barely been two hours since the Prophet PBUH handed Abu Basir over, and this Qureshi comes yelling and screaming into the masjid, "My companion has been killed and I am next! So protect me!" After a while, Abu Basir came and said, "Ya Rasulullah, you have fulfilled your responsibilities — but Allah allowed me to escape!" And the Prophet PBUH didn't address him directly; he PBUH turned to the air and said, "Woe to his mother," meaning he won't be alive any longer — and then said, "What a great warrior he is. If only he had someone else to help him." And by turning away, the indication is given that, "Before anyone else comes, you better get out of my sight. You cannot live here because the treaty clearly says so." The Prophet PBUH hinted that, "I can't help you," and Abu Basir understood this, so he instantly fled and ran away. And he eventually set up a small place to live in which was close to what is now Jeddah, and he sent a message out that, "I'm over here at such-and-such a place." When Abu Jandal heard of this, he escaped again and met up with Abu Basir. Then the news spread to the Makkan Muslims that, "Since you can't go to Madinah, come over to us!" And so 10, 15, 60, 80 people eventually congregated and they formed a full settlement.
And what will they do now that they are 80-men strong? Attack the caravans of the Quraysh. They made it their livelihood — and this is fully justified. The Quraysh did not let them live in Makkah in peace, they didn't let them go to Madinah, so now they will attack back. And notice as well the treaty said there would be peace for 10 years, but this group is not being allowed to sign a treaty with the Prophet PBUH by the orders of the Quraysh; and since they aren't on the side of the Prophet PBUH officially, so the clause #6 —and by extension, the whole treaty— doesn't apply to them. Thus they made it their livelihood that every caravan of the Quraysh that went to Syria, they would attack it. And the situation became so bad because it was impossible to protect a caravan of 70-90 camels against fighting men who live in the desert — you don't know where they are going to attack from. So within a year and a half, the Quraysh sent a delegation to Madinah begging the Prophet PBUH to take the 80 people and put them in Madinah. He begged the Prophet PBUH by the rights of kinship, that, "If you really are our blood, have some mercy on us and take these people and keep them with you in Madinah." And so the Prophet PBUH sent a messenger to Abu Basir and told him to bring all his people. So they all came to Madinah and took up life with the Muslims. But alas, Abu Basir suffered a wound (or another narration says he was sick), so he died before he reached the city.
Here we have one of the first signs of how the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah would become a victory.
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The Iman of Abu Jandal and Abu Basir
Also, an amazing lesson from this incident is the Iman of Abu Jandal in particular, and then of Abu Basir. Can you think of a test more difficult than being rejected for political protection by the very prophet you believe in? Abu Jandal was tortured for four years, and he finally saw the Muslims and the Prophet PBUH, and yet the Prophet PBUH said, "I can't help you." Can you imagine how his Iman was shaken to the core? Yet still, his Iman wins. Look at how weak our Iman is compared to Abu Jandal's. The very Messenger he trusts tells him, "I can't do anything" — but he remains firm. And what happens? Out of nowhere, Allah helps him, and he ends up going to Madinah leading an entire caravan with lots of ghanima from the Quraysh. Subhan'Allah. He who puts his trust in Allah, Allah will always fulfill that trust. "And whoever is mindful of Allah, He will make a way out for them, and provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He [alone] is sufficient for them. Certainly, Allah achieves His Will. Allah has already set a destiny for everything" [Quran, 65:2-3].
And Abu Basir shows this too. Twice he comes to Madinah yet still the Prophet PBUH says "I can't help you." Abu Basir can't go back to Makkah, he can't go to Madinah, and every other city has a treaty either with the Quraysh or the Muslims, there is no neutral land, so what does he do? He founds his own settlement and village. One person all alone. And can you imagine how long he was alone and how he survived? Put yourself in his shoes. No wife, no family, and no society. But then Abu Jandal hears where he is and he manages to meet up with him. Both of them are legends among the convert community who cannot Emigrate. And now two of them are in one place — so when people heard of it, khalas, one, two, ten, 70, ~80 people came.
This is what happens when you have ultimate tawakkul in Allah SWT.
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Emigration of Ummi Kulthum bint Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt
After Abu Basir, another Emigrant came, and this was Ummi Kulthum bint Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt (أم كلثوم بنت عقبة بن أبي معيط). Recall Uqba was the one who threw the camel's intestines on the Prophet PBUH. He had a daughter, Ummi Kulthum, who converted to Islam at around this time, and she fled persecution and found her way to Madinah. Now, this is very sensitive. It's one thing to return a man to be tortured, but to return a woman? This is very painful. Even the Prophet PBUH did not know what to do. And then Allah revealed Surah al-Mumtahanah, verse 10:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا جَاءَكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ ۖ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ ۖ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ ۖ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ ۖ وَآتُوهُم مَّا أَنفَقُوا ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ ۚ وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ وَاسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقُوا ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ۖ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ
"O believers! When the believing women come to you as Emigrants, test their intentions —their faith is best known to Allah— and if you find them to be believers, then do not send them back to the disbelievers. These [women] are not lawful [wives] for the disbelievers, nor are the disbelievers lawful [husbands] for them. [But] repay the disbelievers whatever [dowries] they had paid. And there is no blame on you if you marry these [women] as long as you pay them their dowries. And do not hold on to marriage with polytheistic women. [But] demand [repayment of] whatever [dowries] you had paid, and let the disbelievers do the same. That is the judgment of Allah — He judges between you. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise" [Quran, 60:10].So as per the verse, Ummi Kulthum was allowed to remain, and she was then married to Zayd ibn Harithah the 'adopted son' of the Prophet PBUH.
Now, why was it allowed to have the women stay? Because once again, the Prophet PBUH is following the letter of the law. It was Suhayl who said, "No MAN shall come to you except you return HIM to us." Of course, it's understood that "man" here applies to a person, male or female, so no doubt it includes women — but it doesn't literally say so, so Allah SWT basically said, "You did not agree to send back women. Only men" — and thus, He made the decree that the clause would not apply to women; and therefore, women were allowed to Emigrate.
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Missing Fajr
One last incident occurred on the way back from Hudaybiyyah. After a long day of heavy marching —and it was the sunnah of the Prophet PBUH to march as much as he could at nighttime, and in a hadith, the Prophet PBUH says, "Land shortens at night" meaning you can cover much more distance at night— finally when everyone was exhausted and tired, they got off of the side of the road and camped. Then the Prophet PBUH said, "Who shall stay awake and protect us and guard us, and then wake us up for Fajr?" And Bilal RA volunteered. But everyone was dead tired, including Bilal, so he eventually succumbed to sleep with the rest of the Muslims. The first to wake up was either Abu Bakr or Umar when they felt the rays of the sun on them — so it was around 7:00-8:00 AM in the morning. For an entire group of 1,400 that never ever sleeps past the crack of dawn —not just because of Fajr, but because of their livelihood— to not wake up until the heat of the sun gets to them, can you imagine how tired they must have been?
The sahaba never had the audacity to wake the Prophet PBUH up by shaking him, so Abu Bakr or Umar started saying, "Allahu'akbar, Allahu'akbar!" So the Prophet PBUH woke up. And lo and behold, Bilal RA was still asleep. Obviously, he tried his best to stay awake, but sleep got the better of him. And he was the last to fall asleep, so he was the last to wake up. And so when he wakes up, he finds everyone staring at him. So he said, "Ya Rasulullah, I tried! But the One who took my soul took my soul." The Prophet PBUH said, "Let us get away from this place, because shaytan has caused us to miss Fajr. Let us go a little bit further" — and then they prayed Fajr a little bit further away.
Now, there is a bit of a controversy: Did this incident happen twice or once? Because there are other versions that mention this incident occurred after a certain battle, and some narrations mention it happened after the Incident of Hudaybiyyah. So scholars have differed. Some say it happened twice in the life of the Prophet PBUH, others say only once. And frankly, it's very difficult to say for certain — so Allah knows best.
Nonetheless, subhan'Allah, the only salah of the Prophet PBUH ever to have been missed by oversleeping is Fajr. (Side note: We have already covered in the Battle of Khandaq that Salat al-Asr was delayed one time because of the volley of arrows coming in and Allah had not yet revealed Salat al-Khawf [see episode 59].) And this is no doubt a blessing in disguise, because no matter how righteous and pious we are, the one salah that humanity oversleeps at least once in a lifetime, is Fajr; so in this incident of the Prophet PBUH, there is a little bit of consolation for us. If Allah wanted to, surely, he PBUH would never have missed it. So there must be a wisdom. And of the things we learn from the incident is that if you miss Fajr for a legitimate reason, just pray as soon as you are able to. (Side note: As for the Prophet PBUH, he felt that the area itself was not good because shaytan caused them to oversleep, so he decided to get out of that area before praying.)
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2021]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, October 2021]
