The treaty of Hudaibiyah had just been concluded between the Messenger (saw) and the Mushrikeen leadership of Al-Qur’aish. If we recollect back to the Seerah of RassoolAllah (saw) we remember there was a feeling amongst a section of the sahabah (ra) that the terms of the treaty were too one-sided. On the face of it seemed a capitulation, if anyone from the Quraysh embraced Islam and came to Muhammad (saw) without the permission of his guardian, he would be returned to hostile Makkah. If anyone from the inhabitants of Medina sought refuge with the Quraysh, they did not need to be returned to the Messenger (saw). Umar (ra) saw the treaty as demeaning Islam, he pleaded with him to accompany him to dissuade the Messenger, but Abu Bakr (ra) refused. He went to RasoolAllah (saw) himself expressing his dislike at this move. Allah’s Messenger (saw) replied, “I am Allah’s slave and His Messenger. I shall not go against His commandment and He will not make me the loser.”One of the conditions of the treaty allowed tribes to choose to either fall under the protection of the Messenger (saw) or the Qur’aish. The tribe of Khuza’ah came under the protection of Allah’s Messenger (saw) and Banu Bakr sided with the Quraysh, these alliances would later destroy the treaty.
What followed was a period of peaceful co-existence that allowed each party to take care of their priority business.
The Qur’aish literally prioritised their business by seeking to make up for what they had lost during the wars against the Muslims.
The Messenger (saw) pursued the prophetic mission of conveying the message of Islam whilst shoring up the security position of the growing Islamic state.
During this time as a result of the actions of the Muslims prominent personalities in Makkah began embracing Islam. Khalid ibn al-Walid, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As and the guardian of the Ka’bah, ‘Uthman ibn Talhah, followed by a large number of people from Makkah. The Muslims grew stronger by the day, whereas fear and weakness crept into the Qur’aish’s ranks.
When the Muslims returned from the battle of Mu’tah, having suffered a large number of casualties, the Qur’aish deemed the Muslims to be militarily defeated, so they motivated the tribe of Banu Bakr against Khuza’ah and supplied them with weapons. Banu Bakr attacked Khuza’ah killing some of their men and the remaining Khuza’ah fled to Makkah for refuge.
‘Amru ibn Salim al-Khuza’i then hurried to Madinah and told the Messenger of Allah SalAllahu alaihi wasallam what had happened and implored his help. The Messenger of Allah (saw) replied, “May you be helped, O ‘Amru ibn Salim.”
This was a clear breach of the peace treaty. The Messenger of Allah (swt) decided the authority in Makkah would have to be wrested from the hands of the Qur’aish. Immediately the Qur’aish recognised the mistake they had made and regretted their misjudgement if only for the inevitable consequences that would result.
They decided to send an envoy to Madina to request an extension of the treaty rather than its dissolution. So Abu Sufyan travelled to Madina. Rather than visit Muhammed (saw) directly, he stopped off at the home of his daughter Umm Habibah (ra), the wife of Allah’s Messenger (saw). As he began to sit down on the Messenger’s (saw) bed she folded it up so he could not sit on it.
Abu Sufyan asked his daughter whether she moved it because he was too good for it or because it was too good for him. Her reply set him in his place, “It is the Messenger of Allah’s bed and you are a filthy polytheist so I do not want you to sit on it.”
Abu Sufyan replied, “By Allah since you left me you have turned bad.”
He left in an angry mood.
He proceeded to see Allah’s Messenger (saw) in order to convince him of the need for an extension to the treaty of Hudaibiyah. He did not receive a reply as Rasool Allah (saw) ignored his pleas.
Abu Sufyan at the time (when Makkah came under Islamic authority he later embraced Islam) was given the treatment he deserved. The Qur’aishi leadership had blood on its hands and there was no appeasing their demands.
He was losing hope in his mission, so he visited Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (ra) He pleaded with him to speak to the Messenger (saw) on his behalf. Abu Bakr (ra) refused which filled Abu Sufyan with even more dread.
He was now a desperate man and that led him to mistakenly believe ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab would be more receptive than Rasool Allah (saw) or Abu Bakr.
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) rebuked him harshly saying, “Should I intercede for you with the Messenger of Allah? By Allah if I had only an ant I would fight you with it.”
His last hope was to convince ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra) who was with Fatimah (ra) and he appealed to him to intercede with the Messenger of Allah (saw). ‘Ali answered that if the Messenger of Allah (saw) had determined a thing then it was useless for anyone to try to talk him out of it.
Turning to Fatimah he asked her to let her son Hasan be a protector between men. She said, “None could give protection against the Messenger of Allah.”
The sahabah (ra) did not roll out the red carpet for a known opponent and enemy of the Muslims and Islam. The Qur’aish had misjudged a weakness in the Muslims and broke a peace treaty by arming their ‘tribe’ against a tribe under protection of Rasool Allah (saw).
This apt reminder from the seerah has resonance today. President George W Bush is currently on a visit to the Middle East. He is being welcomed by the treacherous rulers of the Muslim world; Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Saudi King Abdallah amongst others. These rulers have given Bush, the warmonger, a hero’s treatment with all the trappings of a high status visit.
The Ummah does not need reminding that it is was the Crusader Bush and his regime that have been responsible for the brutal occupation of Iraq that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and subjected its survivors to a pitiful existence. Bush and his allies, the destroyers of innocent lives, have locked up hundreds in Guantanamo and tortured others in Abu Ghraib. Bush, the junior, continued from where his father left off in invading and occupying Muslim countries. His criminal acts have left him with few supporters in his own society, yet he comes to meet his last remaining friends-the Muslim rulers.
Bush’s visit is not aimed at peace, but to gloat about his wars. The last 7 years in power bears testimony to this, Afghanistan and Iraq, the support of tyrant rulers throughout the Muslim world are down to Bush. A market trader in Ramallah accurately summed up the sentiments of millions when he said; “His [Bush] weapons are being used to kill our kids so he cannot be an honest mediator.”
In his final year as president he is desperate to secure whatever legacy he can scrape from the illusion of peace in Palestine. He wants to go down in history as Israel’s biggest supporter by formalising the prison camps of Gaza and the West Bank. The Muslims of the region, and elsewhere, must see through this charade and use our voices against this imperial visit.