Islam Evolves into a Communal Faith

To carry out their assassination plot, the Quraish chose a single youth from every tribe and clan—so that the Prophet’s clan could not seek revenge on all of them—to all sneak into his house together and murder him in his sleep. The day before this, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ visited his best friend outside of his family, the first man to accept Islam, Abu Bakr, and informed him that Allah had commanded him to migrate. So that night, they set out together with a hired guide, whilst the Prophet’s assailants were blinded to their movements, and he made for Madinah. When the Quraish realized the Prophet snuck out beneath their noses, they made a ransom for him, dead of alive, for whoever could present him. The Prophet traveled an unfamiliar route, but some hunters caught up with him while he was hiding in a cave. Abu Bakr said to the Prophet, “If they only look down to their feet they would see us” and the Prophet responded to him, “What do you think of a Prophet, a truthful believer and Allah is the third of them?” to comfort his companion, assured that Allah would see them through their journey safely.

The Prophet’s ministry for the thirteen years he preached in Mecca much replicated the manners of what was known of Jesus ﷺ in Palestine. This included calling people towards true monotheism, encouraging them towards righteousness in speech and action, and preparing for death. This was because both Muhammad and Jesus, during such times, were living in the lands ruled by polytheists as small minorities under their authority. They did not encourage their followers towards revolt or the taking up of arms, but towards gentleness, forgiveness, and perseverence. They rendered to the local government that which was their claimed right over their subjects, and to God that which was His Right.

“Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the foolish.” [7:199]

When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would come to Medina as the leader, his rule was more akin to the rule of Moses ﷺ since political authority returned to him in that case. The primary difference between Muhammad and Moses was that Moses’ rule was restricted to the descendants of Jacob, whereas Muhammad’s message was a global message, and his political rule encompassed whoever chose to live in Medina, regardless of their religion.

First, the Prophet arrived safely to Quba’, a suburb of Madinah, and stayed there for two weeks until a masjid (house of worship) was built. After that, he rode into Madinah where its people greeted him, happily and with song, while he rode up until the place where his masjid in Madinah was to be constructed. One of the Jewish rabbis that was present at the time and later accepted Islam, Abdullah bin Salaam, relates, “When the Messenger of Allah arrived at Al-Madinah, people quickly gathered around him and I was among them. When I saw his face, I knew that it was not the face of a liar. The first statement I heard from him was, O people! give food to one another, spread greetings of peace, stand praying at night while the people are sleeping, and you will enter Paradise in peace.”

After settling in Madinah, the Prophet Muhammad began swift construction on a house of worship. He also united the two feuding Arab tribes of Madinah and the three Jewish tribes, all under his leadership, in a mutual pact of protection and agreement to return all disputes and judgments to him. He also created an official brotherhood between each Meccan immigrant and a Madinan convert, to share their livelihood together until the immigrants were able to establish their own businesses and provide for themselves after they had abandoned their homes and wealth in Mecca. Thus, those who accepted Islam from Madinah were known as “al-ansaar” (the helpers) whilst those who migrated from Mecca were known as “al-muhaajiroon” (the ones who migrated).

In Medina, the Prophet continued calling people to the Oneness of Allah while abolishing unfair financial transactions and further obliterating ill social practices of tribalism and pride of lineage, as Allah says:

“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is the most God-fearing. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, Well-Acquainted with all things.” [49:13]

The Prophet said, “None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

He also said, “Truly, actions are only by their intentions, and for every person is only [their reward] based upon their intention; so whose ever migration was for Allah and His Messenger, then their migration is for Allah and His Messenger, and whose ever migration is for some worldly motivation or to marry a woman, then their migration is only for what they intended.”

Mention is deserved here concerning the three Jewish tribes of Madinah, known respectively as Banu Qainuqaa’, Banu Nadeer, and Banu Quraizah. Jews had began settling in Madinah, another town called Khaybar, and Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula after their exile from the Roman empire. Many of them chose Madinah in specific because they believed this town was to be the place of migration of a future messenger of God who would ultimately conquer his enemies. They brought agriculture to Madinah and partook in Arab past times and even took sides against one another along with the two Arab tribes during skirmishes between them. When in Madinah, they frequently scoffed at the Arabs claiming, “someday a prophet will come here and we will all together finish you off” since these Arab tribes were polytheistic at the time. When it was the Arabs that became the first believers in an Arab prophet who was migrating to Madinah, they refused to follow him. Thus, Allah revealed what means:

“O Children of Israel! Remember My Favor which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My Covenant so that I fulfill your covenant, and fear none but Me. And believe in what I have sent down (this Quran), confirming that which is with you [the Torah and the Gospel], and be not the first to disbelieve therein, and do not sell My Verses for a measly price, and fear Me Alone. And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know it.” [2:40-42]

After the Muslims had settled in Madinah and unity was felt, a new legislation came to the Prophet Muhammad, the head of the first Islamic city.

“Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against, because they have been wronged; and surely, Allah is Able to give them victory – Those who have been expelled from their homes unjustly only because they said: ‘Our Lord is Allah.’ For had it not been that Allah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the Name of Allah is mentioned much, would surely have been pulled down. Verily, Allah will help those who help His Cause. Truly, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty. Those (Muslim rulers) who, if We give them power in the land, enjoin the formal prayers, pay the obligatory charity and they command towards Good and forbid evil. And with Allah rests the end of all matters. And if they deny you (O Muhammad), so did deny before them the people of Noah, ‘Ad and Thamood^[1]‘Ad is the name of the town that the Prophet Hud was sent to, and Thamud is the name of the town Prophet Saalih was sent to, and their stories are mentioned throughout the Quran., and the people of Abraham and the people of Lot, and the dwellers of Median; and Moses was denied. But I granted respite to the disbelievers for a while, then I seized them, and how terrible was My punishment! And many a township did We destroy while they were given to wrongdoing, so that it lie in ruins, and many a deserted well and lofty castle. Have they not traveled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand and ears wherewith to hear? Verily, it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind.” [22:39-46]

So then the Prophet sent out small expeditions to sack the caravans of Quraish and hurt their economy. As a response to this, the Quraish leaders of Mecca began sending armies to protect its caravans from Muslim ambush.

“And remember when you were few and reckoned weak in the land, and were afraid that men might kidnap you, but He provided a safe place for you, strengthened you with His Help, and provided you with good things so that you might be grateful.” [8:26]

Then, during the second year after migration, the Prophet received revelation that either a large new caravan from Levant or its army would be subdued by the Muslims. So he set out with approximately 300 Muslims and met the polytheist Meccans at the plain known as Badr, while their caravans had slipped away. The Prophet then sought the counsel of his companions. The immigrants from Mecca were ready for battle and the helpers from Madinah affirmed their readiness to follow him anywhere he led them and promised that their tried and tested courage in battle would delight him. So it was, during the month of Ramadhan in the second year after migration that the Muslims fought the idolaters at the well of Badr who were one thousand in number and with greater armaments and cavalry. The day before the battle, the Prophet went out to the field and pointed to the exact spots where each of his adversaries would be slain. The next day, battle began when three of the pagans challenged 3 of the Muslims to duels, and then fierce battle ensued. The Muslims were ultimately victorious over Quraish, killing most of their former tormenters, and capturing many prisoners of war whom they later freed for ransom or for teaching writing. Most of the eighth chapter of the Quran, a battle hymn, was revealed around the battle of Badr, and a small portion of the third chapter.

“There has already been a sign for you in the two armies that met. One was fighting in the Cause of Allah, and as for the other they were disbelievers. The believers saw them with their own eyes only twice their number (although they were thrice their number, to give them confidence, and a second time they looked and thought that the idolators did not outnumber them by a single person). And Allah supports with His Victory whom He wills. Verily, in this is a lesson for those who understand.” [3:13]

Alfred Welch wrote, “…his attempt to stop the Meccan caravan that resulted in the battle of Badr was accepted by all as customary and within his rights. Most other major battles in which he fought were initiated by the enemy, and the majority of the expeditions he led did not make contact with any enemy tribe but were largely demonstrations of his growing power to the neighboring Bedouin tribes.”

When the Muslims returned to Madinah, fresh from victory, the call to Islam gained reverence and good reputation. This influenced most, if not all, of the remaining idol-worshipers from the two Madinan tribes to openly profess their Islam. However, most of the individuals who declared their Islam at this moment later became known as al-munaafiqoon (the hypocrites) because they only stood by the Prophet when he was victorious so that they could be protected and gain a share of the spoils of war, but if the Prophet was tested with any set-back, they would be the furthest from him, ready to help out whoever could put an end to Islam.

“Those who wait and watch you; if you gain a victory from Allah, they say: ‘Were we not with you?’ But if the disbelievers gain a success, they say to them: ‘Did we not gain mastery over you and did we not protect you from the believers?’ Allah will judge between you all on the Day of Resurrection. And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a way to triumph over the believers. Verily, the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah, but it is He Who tries them. And when they stand up for the prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen of men, and they do not remember Allah except a little; swaying between this and that, belonging neither to these nor to those; and he whom Allah sends astray, you will not find for him a way.” [4:141-143]

Nonetheless, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ continued leading the Muslims, teaching them their religion–its beliefs and practices–how to get closer to Allah and earn His Love and reward.

Meanwhile, peace between the Muslims and the Jews in Madinah was threatened. One of the Jewish tribes, Banu Qainuqaa’, mostly makers of weaponry and metal instruments, were the first to break the Prophet’s non-aggression pact. They began by singing and circulating old poetry to bring back the hatred that had been long buried between the Muslim Arab tribes of Madinah. Some of the Muslims began fighting with each other on tribal grounds. The Prophet seeing this, admonished the Muslims for falling prey to calls of jaahiliyyah (ignorance, racism, tribalism). Later after the Muslim victory at Badr, the Jewish tribe openly made a challenge to war, saying that the Quraish are poorly trained Arabs, whereas they were hardened sons of war, more than capable of destroying the Muslims. The Prophet admonished them for this and their other behavior which had been meant to sow discord between the Muslims. Members of their tribe also sought to tarnish the image of Islam by openly professing their acceptance of Islam and then within a day, disowning Islam. Thus, it became decreed that apostasy from Islam warranted capital punishment. The last straw from Banu Qainuqaa’ came when one of their blacksmiths tricked a Muslim woman, pulling all of her clothes off in a market place. One of the Muslims struck him, knocking him dead, and the Jews retaliated immediately killing that man, with mob justice and a street brawl ensued. All out war was certainly eminent. When the fight ended, the Prophet and his companions surrounded the fortified dwellings of Banu Qainuqaa’ for several days until they surrendered. Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul, an Arab who falsely proclaimed Islam, and former delegate to the Jewish tribe interceded on their behalf that they be allowed to leave their dwellings peacefully, but never to return, and to this the Prophet agreed.

It was also at this time that fasting the month of Ramadhan was prescribed upon the Muslims. As Allah says what means:

“O you who believe! Observing the fast is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may obtain greater taqwaa.” [2:183] taqwaa (literally, precaution) is the continuous mindfulness of Allah a believer has, and it means that the believer makes a shield between himself and Allah’s anger and punishment by performing what Allah has prescribed upon him, and abstaining from what Allah has forbidden from him. Taqwaa is a truly a guiding light that Allah bestows upon and brightens for whom He wills among His slaves, steering them to what He loves.

However, the Quraish, wounded and disreputed amongst the Arabs, sought to inflict a great casualty upon the Muslims in return for what they suffered at Badr. They raised funds and drummed up support for a new battle, this time in Madinah itself. During the tenth month of the lunar calendar, known as Shawwaal, of the third year after the Prophet’s migration, an army of three thousand was launched from Mecca and just settled on the outskirts of Madinah by the Uhud mountain range. The Prophet consulted his companions once again, preferring to stay inside the city, while the majority favored meeting the Quraish in their own camps. The Prophet agreed to do just that, suited up for battle and began marching towards Uhud Mountain with one thousand men.

Abdullah ibn Ubay ibn Salul, the unofficial leader of the hypocrites, then claimed that there would be no battle and therefore no point in leaving Madinah, and persuaded 300 of the Prophet’s warriors to turn back home and abandon the cause. The Prophet’s lesser army met Quraish and began fighting and appeared at first to be inflicting a decisive victory. Archers stationed on one of Uhud’s hills then disobeyed the Prophet, instead of protecting his side from behind, descended from the hill to collect victory spoils. At this point, horsemen from Quraish, led by Khaalid bin Waleed, rode around this hill, killing whom they could of the archers and fighting the Prophet, face to face, shattering one of his canine teeth.

The Prophet’s uncle, Hamzah, was martyred, as well as the teacher whom the Prophet sent to Madinah years ago. Eventually, the Muslims rallied and the Quraish, weary from battle, subsided. On their way out from Madinah, the Meccans’ general, Abu Sufyan, considered another attack, but the Prophet assembled his army to meet and frighten them away. The battle of Uhud certainly wasn’t a victory for the Muslims, but it wasn’t a complete defeat either; thus, many historians deemed it a “set back”. Many verses of the third chapter of the Quran were revealed upon this occasion.

“(What is the matter with you?) When a single disaster smites you, although you smote your enemies with one twice as great (at Badr), you say: ‘From where does this come to us?’ Say: ‘It is from yourselves (because of your sins).’ And Allah has power over all things. And what you suffered on the day (of the battle of Uhud when) the two armies met, was by the Permission of Allah, in order that He might test the believers. And that He might test the hypocrites. It was said to them: ‘Come, fight in the way of Allah or at least defend yourselves.’ They said: ‘Had we known that fighting will take place, we would certainly have followed you.’ They were that day, nearer to disbelief than to Faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. And Allah has full knowledge of what they conceal. They are the ones who said about their killed brethren while they themselves sat at home: ‘If only they had listened to us, they would not have been killed.’ Say: ‘Avert death from your own selves, if you speak the truth.’ Think not of those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive, with their Lord, and they have provision. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind (not yet martyred) that on them no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah, and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers.” [3:165-171]

The Prophet returned to Madinah and continued running affairs of the state along with serving as the supreme religious leader and serving as a judge in any disputes, and of course, taking care of his own family. After Muslims began dying, Allah revealed the laws of inheritance. A deceased person’s remaining wealth and estate before then, among the Arabs, was given to the closest male relative capable of riding a horse into battle. No others, no matter their closeness, were given a share if they were women, or even males if they were too young or old. Allah revealed new legislation, and in the preamble, said what means:

“For men is a share of what the parents and relatives have left behind, and for women is a portion of what the parents and relatives have left behind – an obligatory prescribed share.” [4:7]

After these new laws, Islam became a more rounded set of guidance, not only steering people in their worship customs, but also providing regulations for their finances, to reduce dispute and protect the rights of all. Other subjects of family law, tort law, defamation, etc became part of Islamic guidance. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said what means, “If people were given according to their claims, men would demand the wealth of peoples and their blood; but the proof (or witness) is upon the claimant, and the oath upon the defendant who refutes it.” Thus, he set a standard for judicial proceedings.

Then, the Quraish sent messages to the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadeer, threatening them to hand Muhammad over to them or else they would come and kill them and enslave their women. Rather than brush aside these threats and keep the treaty of peace and protection with the Prophet, they called for a meeting between the Prophet and a group of his companions along with a group of them. The Prophet agreed to attend this meeting until it was revealed to him that this was part of an assassination plot. When he disclosed that to them, fighting arose between them and the Prophet demanded a new treaty be made with the remaining Jewish tribes. Banu Quraizah accepted the call for renewing the treaty but Banu Nadeer did not, throwing peaceful solutions aside. The Prophet’s companions surrounded Banu Nadeer’s fortresses and the latter surrendered in exchange to leave peacefully and carry as much as their camels could hold. Some of them returned to Levant and others went to al-Khaybar (a town 60 miles northwest from Madinah). Chapter 59, al-Hashr was revealed concerning Banu Nadeer.

As for the third Jewish tribe, Banu Quraizah, chiefs from among them as well as Banu Nadeer began travelling around Arabia, beginning of course with the Quraish in Mecca, the role models of Arabia, to organize as many Arab tribes as they could to come to Madinah in a surprise assault with the intent of exterminating all the Muslims. Several tribes responded to the call and organized approximately 10,000 fighters to take Madinah in the fifth year after the migration. Word of this activity reached the Prophet and he counseled his companions on the best action to take. One companion named Salmaan, of Persian descent, suggested digging a long trench, since that was what they did in Persia whenever they wanted to defend against an assault. The Prophet liked this idea and organized his companions into groups, each to dig a separate section of the trench. When the enemy tribes finally arrived, they were perplexed as to how to face this man-made pseudo-barrier preventing them from further advancement. For a few weeks, the two sides were in a stalemate, unable to inflict much harm upon the other, but food was dwindling for both. Finally, the winter season seemed to set in over a night, by Allah’s Will, and fierce winds scattered the tents and shelters of the idolaters’ camps, weakening their disposition, forcing them to retreat without any gain. But for the Muslims, they gained a foothold in Arabia, recognition as a force protected by Providence as long as they were in obedience to their religion. This battle was known as the battle of al-ahzaab (the confederates) and is also called the battle of al-khandaq (the trench).

“O you who believe! Remember Allah’s Favor to you, when there came against you hosts, and We sent against them a wind and forces that you saw not (angels). And Allah is Ever All-Seer of what you do.” [33:9] – this thirty-third chapter of the Quran was revealed during this battle and some of the next minor engagements.

Then, the Muslims surrounded the fortresses of Banu Quraizah, the last major Jewish tribe living in Madinah, who had broken their pacts with the Prophet and instigated war against him, their agreed upon political leader, yet refusing to openly join the Arabs during the battle against the Prophet. Banu Quraizah offered to surrender and give up fight on the condition that Sa’d bin Mu’ath, the leader of an Arab tribe that they had an allegiance with prior to the coming of Islam, decide their fate. They hoped he would be lenient to them just as Abdullah ibn Ubay had interceded for in lenience with Banu Qainuqaa’. Sa’d had been among the few Muslims that were injured in the battle of the trench, shot in the leg by an arrow, an ultimately mortal wound. His decision against the treasonous was that all men should be killed and the women and children sold into slavery (to other Jewish tribes).^[2]Coincidentally, this is the same penalty the Old Testament decrees for treason and betrayal of a community, and in some contexts, the Bible prescribes a far worse punishment.

After this, the Prophet was able to rest from the plots of Quraish and local tribes and continue teaching and calling to Islam. The Prophet continued to teach the Muslims about the importance of being kind and dutiful to one’s parents, to be charitable and hospitable and to recognize that one’s wealth is a gift from Allah that should not be held onto covetously, but be grateful for and spend and give moderately. The Prophet exhorted his followers to live life as if they were a stranger or a traveler – recognizing that this life is temporal and that the real home is in the Hereafter which we can prepare for by correcting our beliefs, worshiping Allah Alone, and following the guidance of His Messengers.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, “The strong is not the one who subdues his opponent in wrestling, but rather the one who has control over himself in a fit of rage.”

Mahatma Gandhi said, in a statement published in ‘Young India,’ 1924: “I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind…. I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet’s biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.”

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ also said, “Two hungry wolves let loose on a flock of unguarded sheep do less harm to them than do the love of wealth and fame upon a person’s faith.”

Then, in the eighth lunar month, Sha’ban, in the sixth year after migration, the Prophet launched an attack with his companions in response to the preparations made by a nearby Arab community, known as Bani Mustalaq, to sack Madinah. The operation ended with a decisive Muslim victory, very few casualties all around, but a great many captives. The Prophet took the daughter of the tribal chief as his wife, and in celebration of this event, the rest of his companions freed their captives and the tribe openly proclaimed Islam.

Napoleon Bonaparte: “Arabia was idolatrous when, six centuries after Jesus, Muhammad introduced the worship of the God of Abraham, of Ishmael, of Moses, and Jesus. The Ariyans and some other sects had disturbed the tranquility of the east by agitating the question of the nature of the Father, the son, and the Holy Ghost. Muhammad declared that there was none but one God who had no father, no son and that the trinity imported the idea of idolatry…..I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur’an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness.”

It was a habit that whenever the Prophet travelled, he appointed a specific trustworthy man to trail his army, pack the encampment provisions, and pick up anything that fell or was forgotten from their encampment. After the Prophet’s army had left, his youngest wife Aa’ishah, the daughter of Abu Bakr, and only virgin he ever married, was found in her tent, assumed to have been sleeping in another carriage that had already left. When the Prophet’s pick-up man finally reached Madinah, steering the camel of Aa’ishah, Abdullah ibn Ubay, the hypocrite leader happened to be the first person to see them arrive. He quickly seized this opportunity to spread rumors throughout the Muslims that the two had committed adultery and betrayed Allah and His Messenger. When this news reached the Prophet, he was shaken and chose to remain patient until Allah directed him specifically, and in the meantime, Aa’ishah moved to the home of her father, and the community of believers remained in suspicion. Finally, Allah revealed several verses of the Quran exonerating Aa’ishah; from among them,

“Verily, those who brought forth the slander are a group among you. Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for you. To every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will be a great torment. Why then did not the believers, men and women, when you heard it, think good of their own people and say: ‘This is an obvious lie?’ Why did they not produce four witnesses? Since they (the slanderers) have not produced witnesses! Then with Allah, they are the liars. Had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy to you in this world and in the Hereafter, a great torment would have touched you for that whereof you had spoken. When you were propagating it with your tongues, and uttering with your mouths that whereof you had no knowledge, you counted it a little thing, while with Allah it was very great.” [24:11-15]

 

The Treaty of Hudaibiyah: Major Turning Point

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ received a dream that he and his followers would be in Mecca, performing umrah.^[3]The Muslims know “umrah” as being “the minor pilgrimage”. It resembles the annual hajj pilgrimage, except hajj is performed over several specific days of a specific month of the year while … Continue reading He announced this to his companions and ordered them to don the ihraam (a sacred state, wearing nothing but two white sheets for the men, and for the women not wearing any gloves or veils and leaving off nail clipping, hair cutting, sexual relations, and perfumes) so they traveled to Mecca in that condition. The Muslims were 1400 in number and reached Mecca but were not allowed to enter. The Prophet sent one of his greatest companions, ‘Uthman bin ‘Affaan, to negotiate their safe entry to perform their rituals and leave in peace. When ‘Uthman did not return, the Muslims gathered under the shade of a tree and took a pledge to stay united with the Prophet and fight the Meccans if Uthman was killed–this pledge was known as bai’at-al-ridwaan (the pledge that earned Allah’s Pleasure).

Delegates from Quraish came to the Muslim encampment outside of Mecca at a place called Hudaibiyah and proposed a treaty with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. From among the final arrangements they signed upon were that there would be no war between them for ten years; that the Muslims could return to perform their rituals after one year; that any person who became a Muslim in Mecca and left Mecca for Madinah without their parents’ approval be returned to Mecca; that any person who comes to Mecca from the Muslims, the Meccans have no obligation to return him; and that any tribe may enter into agreement with either Quraish or the Muslims, but that there be no fuel of war started between either side. After this treaty was signed, Uthman returned to the Muslims alive, and they returned home to Madinah, unsure of whether to consider their mission a victory or a failure. But Allah revealed several verses in response to the journey,

“Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad) a manifest victory.” [48:1]

One of the Quraish’s delegates of that meeting, Suhail ibn Amr, saw his son accept Islam and run to the Prophet and try to join the Muslims. Suhail then wanted his son back, and so the Prophet agreed to this, in accordance with the treaty, even though it seemed oppressive to the Muslims. Later on, another new Muslim fled Mecca and reached Medinah. When ambassadors from Quraish came to Medinah, even that new Muslim was handed over to them. However, that man, outside of Medinah, overpowered his escorts and fled to a sea town and created a haven for new Muslims from Mecca to run to instead of Madinah as long as the treaty remained in effect. From there, they carried out operations against caravans from Quraish, further crippling their economy, but this was not under the authority or sanction of the Prophet. So by the Decree of Allah, the Muslims were not hurt by the unfair stipulations of the treaty, but it was the Quraish that were ultimately hurt by it.

Another result of the treaty was that the Muslims of Madinah were officially recognized by the trend setters of the Arabs as an independent nation to negotiate, trade and deal with. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ spent this time teaching his companions and writing letters to various heads of state. He wrote to various Arab leaders, including the rulers of Yemen, Oman, Egypt, Bahrain (which previously was the name for the eastern part of the Arabian peninsula) and Damascus. He did not petition these rulers for their thrones or countries, but he asked them to believe and worship One God and submit (Islam) to Him, and that if they denied Islam from themselves or their people, that they would share the sins with those whom they are responsible for. Several Arab leaders accepted his call, and the leader of Ethiopia also accepted his message, whilst the leader of Byzantium made no move but the leader of Persia tore up the message sent to him. When news of this reached the Prophet, he said that since the Europeans saved their message, Allah would save their empires, and since the Persians ripped apart their message, Allah would rip apart and replace their empires.

From among the Prophet’s teachings amidst these events that marked his life were sociological benefits for his community to digest and live by. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned against living by one’s own self in isolation, saying “whoever lives like a Bedouin acquires coarseness.” Rather, he encouraged human interaction, saying “The believer that mixes with the people and is patient with their harms is better than the believer that doesn’t mix with them and is not patient with their harms.”

He also gave guidance to people in times of pain, loss, sickness and trial, saying, “Let none among you ever desire death because of any harm that came to them. But if that person does not see any other option, let them say: Oh Allah, keep me alive as long as you know life to be better for me, and take my soul if You know death to be better for me.”

Eduard Gibbon wrote in ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ‘ 1823: “The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.” – The Prophet was an ascetic yet beautiful and presentable. He reserved a beautiful cloak for receiving delegates, but never did he strut about letting his clothes drag in arrogance.