Treaty of Hudaybiyyah - Corrected Khutba

خطبة صلح الحديبية - Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

بداية الخطبة - Opening of the Khutba

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful."

"Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him and seek His help and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the wickedness of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide; and whomever He misguides, no one can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without any partners, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger."

أهمية صلح الحديبية - Introduction

The topic that I want to talk a little bit about before we open the floor for question and answer is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. And the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, I want to emphasize it because in my opinion it is one of the most important incidents of the seerah for the Muslims of our times. It is one of the most relevant and one of the most interesting and fascinating incidents of the entire 23 years of the beginning of the Wahi until the death of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). This one incident is probably the most relevant to us in the present situation that we are living in today.

السياق التاريخي - Historical Context

Timing of the Treaty

And the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, it occurred in the 6th year of the Hijrah. The 6th year of the Hijrah, meaning after pretty much all the major battles have been fought. Badr has gone and finished. Uhud, Ahzab, all of the other skirmishes. The only major battle that is left is the Fatih Makkah or the conquest of Makkah. So the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, if you like, is at the pinnacle of the conquest.

All the conquests have occurred, there is just one major conquest left, that's the conquest of Makkah. Right before that comes the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. And it occurs at a time when the Muslim state has established its power.

Political Situation

It has been effectively, the force of the Muslim, if you like, republic or the Muslim state has now, the threat from the Quraysh to the Muslim empire is now very minimal. Because they have won. They won in Badr, Uhud was not really a total victory or loss, but in Ahzab they completely destroyed the Quraysh.

So the Quraysh know that the Muslims are here to stay. The Quraysh know the Muslims are a force to be reckoned with.

رؤيا النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم - The Prophet's Dream

And what happened was that, in the 6th year of the Hijrah, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) he saw a dream in which he saw himself performing Umrah. And as you know, the dreams of the Prophets, all of them are true. So, he undertook it upon himself to journey to Makkah to perform the Umrah. He thought that the dream would occur in that year.

So he announced to the companions that I saw a dream where I'm doing Umrah, let us go and do Umrah, whoever wishes to do so. And 1400 Muslims agreed to accompany him. 1400, that's a very large number of Muslims for that time.

The Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) had never gone to Makkah since the Hijrah. This is the first time he is planning to go to Makkah. And he is going to Makkah without an army.

الرحلة إلى مكة - Journey to Makkah

Peaceful Intentions

Yes, there are 1400 people, but these people are not wearing armors. Neither are they armed with fighting swords and shields, bows and arrows, spears, javelins, nothing. Nor do they have steeds of war, horses of war, nothing.

He is marching into Makkah and he has no armor and weapons. Why could he and how could he do this? Because the Makkans of old, from the time of Ibrahim (عليه السلام - alayhis salam) they had a well-known law which is a law in our Sharia as well. And that is whoever wants to come to Makkah has free access.

حرمة مكة - Sanctity of Makkah

Nobody is allowed to prevent someone from coming to Makkah and doing Tawaf and Umrah. And to this day Allah says in the Quran:

"Whoever enters it, he is safe and secure."

The laws of the Sharia to this day state that no matter what crime you have done, if you come to Makkah as the worst criminal in the world, no Sharia court of law can take you and try you. Because Makkah is sacred territory. If you go to Makkah seeking refuge and seeking protection, the Sharia gives it to you. The only exception is if you do the crimes in Makkah, in which case you have no sanctity.

الأشهر الحرم - Sacred Months

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made his way in the months of the Haram, the Ashur al-Haram, we call it the sacred months. There are four months that the Arabs of old, and our Sharia as well, consider sacred. And these sacred months mean you cannot engage in war. Even to this day, we cannot engage in any war, if we are in an Islamic city. We are not allowed to engage in war in four months of the year. One third of the year, we are not allowed to.

So he undertook his journey in the months of the Haram, or the sacred months, knowing that basically the Quraish are not allowed to touch him in this state.

لقاء خالد بن الوليد - Encounter with Khalid ibn al-Waleed

When the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was outside of Mecca, the Meccans heard that he was coming. So they sent a small force with Khalid ibn al-Waleed, just to scare him off, not to really cause any battle. The scouts of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) told him that Khalid ibn al-Waleed has come to this place, so he went around that place. He went around it. He knew where Khalid was coming from, so he didn't want any confrontation.

الوصول إلى الحديبية - Arrival at Hudaybiyyah

توقف الناقة القصواء - The Camel Qaswa Stops

So he continued on, until he reached a place called Hudaybiyyah. Hudaybiyyah is a plain outside of Mecca. He reached this place called Hudaybiyyah, the 1400 people are marching, and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is riding his camel, and his camel's name was Qaswa.

That was the name of the camel of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), Qaswa. When he reached Hudaybiyyah, Qaswa all of a sudden stopped. It just stopped. It would not go further. The Sahaba came to coax it, to hit it, to go forward. It didn't move at all.

And so the Sahaba said, Qaswa has become stubborn. Camels are known for their stubborn nature. Qaswa has become stubborn. She's not obeying orders.

رد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم - The Prophet's Response

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) responded, "No, she has not become stubborn, and nor is that a characteristic of hers. She's never stubborn. She has not become stubborn, and nor is that a characteristic of hers. Rather, the one who prevented the elephants from entering Mecca, has also prevented Qaswa as well. The one who prevented the elephants from entering Mecca, has prevented Qaswa as well."

In this, we find that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) when his camel's honour was attacked, he defended the honour of a camel. He didn't allow the companions to say that the camel is stubborn.

Lessons from the Incident

Also we notice the eloquence of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) when he replied, when he said, the one who prevented the elephants from entering Mecca, has also prevented Qaswa. Meaning, which elephants is he referring to obviously? Which elephants? The Abraha, the elephants of Abraha. The one who prevented the elephants of Abraha from entering Mecca, is also the one who has prevented Qaswa.

And so he gave a beautiful metaphor, if you like, that he understood clearly, that this is a divine sign, that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants us to camp over here. And so he ordered that camp be set up, and the Muslims then set up a tent, all of their tents and all of their provisions and belongings, they set it up over there, realizing that they have to wait now for the decree of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

البعثة الدبلوماسية الأولى - First Diplomatic Mission

إرسال عثمان بن عفان - Sending Uthman ibn Affan

Of the first things that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did he sent Uthman ibn Affan into Mecca. And he said to Affan, tell the people that we are not here to fight or to cause any trouble, rather we have come in Ihram, to the Haram, in the months of Hurum. In other words, we want nothing but peace. We're in the state of Ihram, and the time of Ihram, the state of AshurHurum, and we're marching to the Haram.

We want security and peace, which is what Haram means in this context. We want nothing but good. So, let us go and do the Umrah, and if they want some time, we'll give them time to evacuate the city.

Uthman's Noble Stance

In the meantime, a rumor spread, that they had killed Uthman. Uthman was delayed in coming back. And when Uthman entered Mecca, and he tried to negotiate with them, they refused the Prophet's entry, but they said to Uthman, now that you're in Mecca, you might as well do tawaf al-Umrah.

You're here, you might as well do it. And they loved Uthman. But Uthman was a nobleman of the Quraish. Uthman ibn Affan said, "It is not possible for me to do the tawaf, when the Prophet of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is outside the city, not having done it. I cannot do anything until he precedes me in doing that."

And so he refused to do Umrah, out of respect for the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) after he had done it.

بيعة الرضوان - The Bay'at al-Ridwan

الإشاعة الكاذبة - The False Rumor

But he was delayed coming back. So the rumor spread, that they had taken Uthman hostage and killed him. The rumor spread that they had killed Uthman. It was a false rumor. But the rumor spread, and it reached the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).

And so, he said, if this rumor is true, if this rumor is true that they have killed Uthman, then by Allah, we will not leave Mecca until justice is done, and we have avenged the death of Uthman. Basically we will fight them, because of this.

The Sacred Pledge

And he said, who will give me the oath of allegiance to fight against them, regardless of what happens, if this rumor is true. And so all of the companions, 1,400 of them, they gave their oath of allegiance.

This is called the Bay'at al-Ridwan). The oath of Ridwan. And it was given on the place of Hudaibiya, where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was sitting under a specific tree.

One after the other, 1,400 of the companions came and they gave the oath of allegiance that they will fight against those who have killed Uthman. And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) told them, you are the best people on earth right now. He praised them in that they had shown such valor, such courage, such iman.

He said, there is nobody on earth that is better than you right now. And in another hadith he said, nobody who has given the oath of Ridwan will ever enter the fire of hell. This is a guarantee from Allah. A guarantee from Allah that those people who have given the Bay'at al-Ridwan will not enter the fire of hell.

It turned out that the rumor was false. Uthman ibn Affan came back.

المبعوثون المتعددون - Multiple Emissaries

Budayl from Khuza

And the Quraysh were frantically thinking of what to do. They didn't want the Muslims to just march in. That would cause more chaos and confusion. So they sent a number of emissaries. Of the emissaries they sent was a person by the name of Budayl from the tribe of Khuza. And this person was from a tribe that appreciated and valued camels that were meant to be sacrificed in the Haram.

الهدي - The Sacrifice Camels

Now we have to go to a slight tangent because people are not aware of this fact. When you go for Hajj, even for Umrah this is allowed. You're allowed to, you're encouraged to, take a camel with you all the way to Makkah. This is one of the highest rites of Hajj. Is that you take a camel with you. And that camel is a special camel that you have dedicated to be sacrificed in the Haram and given to the poor.

In our times we don't take the camel, we just buy the purchase, the tickets from the authorities to do that. In our times we don't do that. But in those days, and you know in the past, even before the days of Jahiliyyah they would do it.

And this camel has special Fiqh rulings that you're not supposed to ride it. And you're not supposed to do this and that. Special rulings apply. The books of Fiqh discuss them. Of the rulings, you decorate the camel. You decorate it in a special way to show that this is a camel that is meant for something higher than other camels.

You decorate it, you put certain things on it, like you know, garlands and various types of things. Even in our Shari'ah, many Muslims don't know this, even in our Shari'ah this is something that we do, that we're supposed to do. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) had over a hundred such camels with him when he went to Makkah in this year.

Strategic Display

And this person was from the tribe that was well known that they loved this act. And they appreciated it. So when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saw this man come, he said, this man is from the tribe of such and such, they appreciate these beautified camels. Show him the camels.

So he commanded the Sahaba to take all of the camels out and march them back and forth like a military parade in front of this person. When the man saw these camels, he didn't even march into the Muslim army, nor did he go to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) to negotiate, nothing.

When he saw these hundreds of camels, beautified and sanctified and garlanded and ready for sacrifice, he turned back and he went straight into the meeting place, the assembly of the Quraysh. He was not a Qurayshi. He was from the allies of the Quraysh.

And he said, I have seen hundreds of camels that have been dedicated to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to be sacrificed in the Ka'bah. It is not possible that you stop these people from coming in. It is not possible that you stop these people from coming in. And if you do so, then I will break off my treaty with you.

Lesson in Da'wah Strategy

Subhanallah, look here at the tactic of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Without even shaking his hand, without even sitting him down and negotiating, through his actions, he already won the first round, won the first victory. And one of the benefits from this is that you need to know the mentality of the one whom you're giving da'wah to. You need to understand where he's coming from.

Urwa ibn Mas'ud's Visit - زِيَارَةُ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ مَسْعُود

Diverse Composition of Muslim Army

So they sent more and more people. One of the people they sent, Urwa ibn Mas'ud. Urwa ibn Mas'ud was one of their leaders as well. And seniors of Quraysh. And they sent Urwa ibn Mas'ud.

But of the things he said is that he looked around and he saw groups that were ethnically different. They weren't just pure Qurayshis or pure Ansaris. You had even within the different tribes, you had all of these eclectic different mix.

It was like if you like in our times, an international arena. Something that was rare for the Arabs to see. Because the Arabs were very racist if you like, in that they hung around their own tribes.

Urwa's Observation

And he said, O Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم), what do you think you will gain if you attack Mecca? If you march in? Look at these bandits around you. He called them bandits. Because he couldn't understand what has gathered them together. Do you think that when you meet a force, they're going to protect you? Each one is from a different tribe. They're going to run and flee, leave you.

The Bonds of Iman

He simply doesn't understand that Iman binds them together more than blood binds the Quraysh and their tribes together. He simply doesn't understand. And to this day, the same misunderstanding is prevalent amongst non-Muslims. Why do you guys living in Canada care about the Muslims of Palestine? Why are you so angry when the Muslims of Iraq are shown such injustice? What's the big deal?

They just don't understand that the bonds of Islam transcend nationalistic and ethnic bonds. They don't understand that really and truly. Even a non-practicing Muslim, when he sees what's happening in Palestine, his heart bleeds. He can't bear it.

Abu Bakr's Response

When Urwa ibn Mas'ud said this, Abu Bakr gave him a very vile and vulgar response. It was vulgar. Something that you would be shocked Abu Bakr said. But he said it. And it shows you that in such a time and place, it is permissible to utter certain types of strong language to get the point across to the enemy.

Urwa's Report to Quraish

That didn't happen. So he went back to the Quraysh and he commented to them and he said, "By Allah, By Allah, I have never seen a group of people show more respect to their leader than the companions of Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) showed to Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم). I have entered the palaces of Caesar. I have met with the emperor of Persia. I have seen the Habashi of Abyssinia, the Negus, the Najashi.

I have been with all of them. And I have never seen a group of people who exalt and respect their leader more than the companions of this man, respect the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Never once did any of them raise their head to look at him in the eye.

When he spoke, they were all dead silent to listen to his commands. When he commanded, they would race one another. They would race one another to see who was the first to execute that command.

So much so, he would not even spit, except that some of the companions would catch that spit and rub it on their bodies. When he would do wudu, the waters that dropped from his body, the sahaba would fight one another. He said they would fight one another, meaning they would jostle and shove each other to get to that water.

And no drop of water would even touch the ground. Because the sahaba are there to catch that water, to get barakah from the wudu of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). I have never seen any group of people who have exalted their companion or their leader more than the Muslims have done to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم)."

Suhayl ibn Amr and the Treaty Negotiations - سُهَيْلُ بْنُ عَمْرٍو وَمُفَاوَضَاتُ الْمُعَاهَدَة

The Final Negotiator

And then more and more emissaries came until finally the final emissary was Suhayl ibn Amr. And Suhayl ibn Amr, eventually he accepted Islam, but at this point in time he was not a Muslim. Suhayl ibn Amr was a politician. He understood the art of war, the art of negotiation.

And so when Suhayl came, he basically got straight to the point. And he said, come, let us write a treaty, a covenant. You take one term, I'll take one term. You say one thing, let's see if we agree or not. I'll say the other thing, let's see if we agree or not. Let's just get this over with. Let's just start and do what we need to do. Your turn first. He gave it to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم). You start.

First Disagreement - Opening Formula

So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said okay, let us write. Ali ibn Abi Talib was the scribe.

Suhayl said, stop. As for this Ar-Rahman, I have no idea who he is. Let us write it in the ways of our forefathers:

(بِاسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ - Bismika Allahumma)

The way they would write the Basmala is Bismika Allahumma. And so, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) agreed to this and he said, Bismika Allahumma, there's nothing wrong here. The Muslims said, we're not going to change (بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيم). We're not going to change it. This is our way.

This is what we start with. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, in the name of Allah, Bismika Allahumma, it's the same thing. Why this anger here? So he allowed the first thing, Bismika Allahumma.

Second Disagreement - Prophet's Title

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) continued dictating. And he said, this is a treaty that Muhammad Rasulullah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)he was going to say, is enacting with Suhayl ibn Amr. When Suhayl said, stop.

Right here again, stop. I don't believe you to be the Rasul of Allah. If I did, I wouldn't be here negotiating with you. If I believed you to be the Rasul of Allah, I would be on your side and not on this side.

So he was a politician, blunt, to the point, being honest. He goes, I don't believe you to be the Rasul of Allah.

Ali ibn Abi Talib had already written Muhammad Rasulullah. He already written. So the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, I am the Rasul of Allah, even if you deny it. Erase Rasulullah from the contract. He was willing to even do this.

At this, the Muslims balked. And they said, no way. How can we now allow you to write a contract without Muhammad Rasulullah on it?

Ali's Emotional Refusal

So when Ali ibn Abi Talib said, I'm not even going to cross this out. The Prophet said, cross it out. He goes, no, I'm not going to do it. He disobeyed a direct commandment, the irony, out of a love for the one who gave it. Look at the irony here. He disobeyed a direct commandment because he loved the one who gave the commandment so much.

He said, I am not going to delete Rasulullah. And so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked him, where does it say Rasulullah? He could not read. Ali Ibn Abi Talib pointed, this is where it said it.

So he took the pen himself and he crossed out Rasulullah with his own two hands. Look at the concessions. Look at how much he has to really give them.

But all of this because there is a greater good that needs to be gained. A greater maslah, as we call it, a greater benefit.

شُرُوطُ الْمُعَاهَدَة - Terms of the Treaty

First Condition - Umrah Denied This Year

And so the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) continues, he goes, the first condition is, you shall allow us to perform the Umrah. We want to do Umrah. Suhayl responded back immediately, that's his condition, no. As for this year, then no.

Yes, we will allow you. But as for this year, then no. Let not the Arabs say, it's all a matter of prestige and pride for them, what the other people will say. All of it is about ego.

Let not the Arabs say, that you came in and we had to let you do it. We will be the ones who will dictate when you can come next year. So this was his retort.

And the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) agreed. After marching for one month in the desert. In those days you're walking on foot, in the desert, wearing sandals, in the state of Ihram. For one month, they're eager

to get back to their homeland. This is their city that they have been born and raised in. And now, immediately, by the stroke of a pen, they're not going to do it this year.

Second Condition - Return of Muslim Refugees

Then, Suhayl gives his portion of the treaty. And he says, if any person from Makkah goes to you in Medina, you have to return him to us. We don't allow any Muslim to leave Makkah anymore.

The Muslims said, we can never allow this. How can we possibly allow our brothers who have come to us to return back to you?

ظُهُورُ أَبِي جَنْدَلٍ الْمَأْسَاوِي - Abu Jandal's Tragic Appearance

And before they could write this down, they're still debating it, before they could write it down, Suhayl's own son came in. And Suhayl's own son, by the way, he had accepted Islam. Suhayl's own son, his name was Abu Jandal.

He had accepted Islam. And his own father, Suhayl ibn Amr, had chained him in his house, and tortured him, and whipped him, and allowed the other Quraysh, the other Mushrikun to whip him and try to finish his Islam off. His own son is being tortured.

Abu Jandal had been chained inside of his room, inside of his house, literally chained. And when he heard that the Muslims are outside, he managed to get the chains off of his feet. But the chains of his hand were still tight.

And so he threw himself out of the window, into the street, and he literally dragged himself to the camp of the Muslims. Because he had been tortured severely. Blood marks were still apparent. You could see the effects of the whips, and the chains, and all that was on his body.

And he threw himself into the Muslim camp, and he goes, O Muslims, save me and protect me.

The Painful Decision

Right when they get to this clause, Abu Jandal comes in. And they see, chained, tied up, wounds, bleeding, pus. His whole body, they said, was basically tortured. You could see the wounds on his body.

He's not even wearing full clothes because he's being tortured. And he goes, O Muslims, protect me. So Suhayl turns to the Prophet, and he goes, this is going to be the first person that you have to fulfill the treaty with. The first person that you fulfill it, is going to be my own son.

The Prophet said, we haven't written it down yet. He said, no, this person has to be returned.

The Prophet said, just give me this one person in the entire seerah of the Prophet. I have not come across any incident where the Prophet literally begged like he did in that incident. Give me this one person, just