No Interference

~ 81 ~ forgo rightful claims on other communities. The object of this sacrifice would be to establish the relationship of da’i and mad’u on a sound and peaceable footing. The Hudaybiyya peace accord (6 A.H.) is a good example of such a strategic withdrawal. In this instance, Muslims acceded to all the national and economic demands of their rivals on a unilateral basis (the enemy did not meet any of the demands of the Muslims) in the drawing up of this treaty. Yet soon after this accord had been finalized, God revealed the following verse: “Verily, We have granted you a manifest victory.” (48:1) Why did God describe an apparent defeat as a clear victory? It was because the accord subsequently reached had shifted the field of encounter between Muslims and non-Muslims to a sphere in which the Muslims had a distinct advantage. In the face of non-Muslim aggression, encounters between Islam and non-Islam had formerly taken place on the battlefield. Islam, being militarily the weaker because of reduced numbers of fighting men and