The Wisdom of Seizing Opportunities

“O people of Quraysh, by God, you will gain nothing by confronting Muhammad and his companions. By God, if you meet them in battle, each of you will be facing someone he would hate to fight—his cousin, his nephew, or a man from his own clan. So return, and keep away from Muhammad and the other Arab tribes. If the Arabs defeat him, then that is exactly what you want. And if the outcome is different, you will still be safe, without having risked anything.” (Seerat Ibn Hisham, Vol. 1, p. 623) The world we live in is a place of tests and challenges. It is not possible to force the other side to accept terms exactly as we wish. In most situations, we must accept some of the other side’s conditions. Such acceptance is not surrender; it is wisdom—a way to create a starting point for progress. This is where true wisdom and strategy are tested. One must carefully examine the other side’s conditions and see where there is room that can be accepted, so that the path for building the future can be opened. This is exactly what the Prophet () did at Hudaybiyyah. With great insight, he understood this particular mindset of the Quraysh and used it very wisely. When the Quraysh blocked him at Hudaybiyyah, the message he sent to them included these words: “We have not come to fight anyone; we have come only to perform ‘umrah. The war has