Salam (Peace) - Part 5

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('Salam' - Peace; often used by Muslims as a greeting. [Muhammad Prophet For Our

Time Glossary pg. 218].)

 

 

Salam - Part 5

 

(p. 183) The Qur'an had long stipulated that in the interests of peace, Muslims

must agree to any conditions that the enemy proposed, even if they seemed

disadvantageous. [22] But many of the pilgrims found these terms dishonorable.

(p.184) The truce meant that Muslims could no longer raid the Meccan caravans;

why was Muhammad abandoning the economic blockage that was really starting to

bite? Why had he consented to return new converts to Mecca, when the Quraysh did

not have to reciprocate? During the last five years, many Muslims had died for

their religion; others had risked everything and given up family and friends.

Yet now Muhammad had calmly handed the advantage back to the Quraysh, and the

pilgrims must agree to go home meekly, without even forcing the pilgrimage

issue. The treaty assaulted every single jahili instinct. " The apostle's

companions had gone out without any doubt of occupying Mecca, because of the

vision the apostle had seen, " explained Ibn Ishaq. " When they saw the

negotiations for peace and a withdrawal going on and what the apostle had taken

on himself, they felt depressed, almost to the point of death. " [23]

 

Mutiny was in the air. The fragile solidarity that had united the pilgrims

throughout this dangerous expedition was shattered and the deep rifts that had

always existed within the ummah became suddenly apparent. 'Umar leapt to his

feet and strode over to Abu Bakr. " Are we not Muslims and they polytheists? " he

demanded. " Why should we agree to what is demeaning to our religion? " [24] Abu

Bakr was also disturbed, but managed to reply that, in spite of everything, he

still had faith in the Prophet. Later 'Umar said that if he could have found a

hundred companions to follow him, he would have defected. At this point, he

could not share Muhammad's vision. [25] (p.185) Like many of the Medinese

Muslims and those Emigrants who came from the more peripheral, disadvantaged

Qurayshan clans, he did not want merely to reform the social order of Mecca but

to overthrow it and replace it with a purely Qur'anic regime. 'Umar was

courageous, unselfish, and passionately committed to the ideals of justice and

equity, which had been so lacking in the Meccan polity. But he was not a man of

hilm and was still fired by the fierce impetuosity of jahiliyyah. He did not

understand that the values of gentleness and nonviolence were also central to

the Islamic ideal. He was a man of action, prone to reach, jahili-like, for his

sword without thinking matters through. [26] Faced with Muhammad's apparent

about-face at Hudaybiyyah, he was bewildered and confused.

 

After defeating the Quraysh at the Battle of the Trench, the obvious plan would

have been to press on and destroy them unilaterally. But this had never been

Muhammad's intention. The downfall of Mecca would be an inconceivable

catastrophe for Arabia, a backward region that sorely needed the commercial

genius of the Quraysh, who would never see the point of Islam while the war

continued to fuel destructive anger and hatred on both sides. By abandoning the

economic blockade, Muhammad had hoped to win them over. He could see further

than anybody else at Hudaybiyyah. Far from caving in weakly, he knew exactly

what he was doing. He was moving toward an unprecedented political and religious

solution for the Arabs, and that meant that he could never do the expected

thing, because that would bind him to the unhappy status quo.

 

(p.186) When he looked at the stunned, miserable faces of the pilgrims, Muhammad

had to tell them that they must accept the terms of the treaty because Allah had

dictated them. This did not satisfy the rank and file, who had expected some

kind of miracle, and it was intensely disappointing to the Hypocrites, who had

joined the ummah simply for worldly gain. The atmosphere became even more

strained when the Muslims heard the wording of the treaty. Muhammad summoned

'Ali to write to his dictation, and when he began with the usual Muslim

formula-- " In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful " --Suhayl

objected. The Quraysh had always found these attributes of Allah somewhat

feeble, so he insisted that Muhammad begin with the more conventional formula:

" In thy name, O Allah. " To the horror of the Muslims, Muhammad agreed without

demur. Worse was to follow. Muhammad continued: " This is the treaty that

Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has agreed with Suhayl ibn 'Amr. " Again Suhayl

interrupted. If he had believed that Muhammad was God's prophet, he argued,

reasonably enough, he would not have fought him all these years. He asked that

Muhammad simply use his own name and that of his father in the usual way. 'Ali

had already written down the words " the Messenger of God " and told Muhammad that

he simply could not bring himself to excise them, so the Prophet held out his

hand for the pen, asked 'Ali to point to the words on the parchment, and crossed

them out himself. He continued: " This is what Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah has agreed

with Suhayl ibn 'Amr. " [27]

 

At this extremely difficult juncture, just as the treaty was being signed,

Suhayl's son, Abu Jandal, burst onto the scene. (p.187) He had converted to

Islam, but Suhayl had locked him up in the family home in order to prevent him

making the hijrah [migration] to Medina. Now, however, he had managed to escape

and arrived triumphantly to join the Muslims at Hudaybiyyah, dragging his

fetters behind him. Suhayl smashed his fist into his son's face, grabbed his

chains, and turned to Muhammad. Would he keep his word and return this renegade

to his lawful guardian? Muhammad did not falter, even though Abu Jandal screamed

in anguish as Suhayl dragged him back to Mecca: " Am I to be returned to the

polytheists that they may entice me from my religion, O Muslims? " With classic

understatement, Ibn Ishaq remarks: " That increased the people's dejection. " [28]

 

This was the last straw for 'Umar. Yet again, he jumped to his feet and yelled

at the man he had followed so loyally for twelve years. Was he not God's

messenger? Were not the Muslims right and their enemies wrong? Had not Muhammad

assured them that they would pray again at the Kabbah? This was all true,

Muhammad replied mildly, but had he promised that they would return to the Haram

this year? 'Umar remained grimly silent, so Muhammad continued firmly: " I 'am'

God's messenger. I will not go against his commandments and he will not make me

the loser. " [29] Even though he was bitterly perplexed, 'Umar subsided and

reluctantly put his hand to the treaty. But the pilgrims were still furious and

there was a dangerous moment when they seemed about to rebel. Muhammad announced

that, even though they had not reached the Kabah, they would complete the

pilgrimage right there at Hudaybiyyah: the Muslims must shave their heads and

sacrifice their camels, just as they would if they were in the heart of Mecca.

(p.188) There was absolute silence, and the pilgrims stared grimly back at

Muhammad, tacitly refusing to obey. In despair, the Prophet retreated to his

tent. What on earth could he do? he asked Umm Salamah. She judged the situation

perfectly. Muhammad should go out and, without uttering another word, sacrifice

the camel that he had consecrated to Allah. It was exactly the right decision.

The spectacular bloodletting broke through the torpor of depression, and

immediately the men fell over themselves to sacrifice their own camels and

shaved each other's heads with such zeal that Umm Salamah said later that she

thought they would inflict mortal wounds in their pious frenzy.

 

The pilgrims started home in a lighter mood, but some anger remained and the

Prophet himself seemed distant and preoccupied. 'Umar was afraid that his

defiance had irreparably damaged their friendship, and his heart sank when he

was summoned to join Muhammad at the head of the party. But to his intense

relief, he found him looking radiant, as though a great weight had fallen from

his shoulders. " A surah has descended upon me, which is dearer to me than

anything under the sun, " he told 'Umar. [30] This was 'Al-Fatah', the Surah of

Victory. It laid bare the deeper meaning of the events of Hudaybiyyah and began

with a luminous assurance that Muhammad had not suffered a diplomatic defeat

there but that God had given him " a manifest victory. " (p.189) He had sent down

his 'sakinah', the spirit of peace and tranquility, which had entered the hearts

of the Muslims; they had made a courageous act of faith when they had agreed to

accompany Muhammad on this perilous expedition--showing a commitment that had

been beyond the Bedouin. They had shown their faith and trust again when they

had sworn the Oath of Good Pleasure. Finally, the treaty that Muhammad had made

with Mecca was a " sign, " an ayah, which revealed God's presence.

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 5, 'Salam', p. 183-189

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[22] Qur'an 2:193.

 

[23] Ibn Ishaq, 'Sirat Rasul Allah', 748, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad'.

 

[24] Ibid., 747.

 

[25] Bamyeh, 'Social Origins of Islam', 226-27.

 

[26] Mernissi, 'Women in Islam', 184-86.

 

[27] Ibn Ishaq, 'Sirat Rasul Allah', 747, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad'.

 

[28] Ibid., 748.

 

[29] Lings, 'Muhammad', 254.

 

[30] Ibid., 255.