Life of the Prophet

posed a far greater threat to their idolatrous religion. On the basis of this thinking, they decided to take military action against him. The religion they had failed to extirpate by simple opposition, they now resolved to wipe from the face of the earth by the sword. After the emigration, therefore, the Makkan leaders opened hostilities. One of the skirmishes came to be known as “Badr the first.” However, the first big-armed confrontation, initiated by the Makkan leaders, took place, eighty-five miles south-west of Madinah in 624 A.D. (2 A.H.), and is known as the Battle of Badr. With special divine succour the battle resulted in complete victory for the Prophet and his Companions. Seventy Makkans, most of them leaders, were killed and the same number were taken prisoner. The defeat at Badr provoked the Makkan leaders more than ever. They incited the Makkans to do battle by saying that they had to avenge the killing of their people at Badr. (In ancient Arabia the avenging of killings was considered a sacred duty devolving upon the survivors). Consequently, several skirmishes took place between the two parties. In the following year the Makkans under Abu Sufyan collected a large army and reached the borders of Madinah. The two armies engaged in a fierce battle near the Uhud mountain. The believers had actually won the battle but then, taking advantage of a mistake inadvertently committed by the Companions, the Makkans managed to charge again. The Muslims, confounded by this sudden attack, suffered great loss in terms of lives. The Prophet himself was wounded. The Makkans could avenge at Uhud their defeat at Badr. The Prophet of Islam felt that war was not the solution; therefore, he adopted another strategy. Guided by a dream, he announced in 6 A.H. that he intended to leave for Makkah in order to perform Umrah, (circumambulation of the Kabah) and other rites. Accordingly, about 1400 of his Companions accompanied him. It was a peaceful march, with no military overtones. Arrivals of such peaceful delegations were nothing new for Makkah. Various tribes of Arabia regularly used to come to visit the Kabah. But the Makkans could not tolerate this influx of Muslims, whom they considered their bitterest enemies. When the Prophet reached a place called Hudaybiya, while still on the march, the Makkan leaders objected to his advancing any further. They felt it was damaging to their prestige that the very people who had been expelled by them from Makkah should come to the city again and perform the rights of Umrah openly and in such large numbers. Now the Prophet halted at Hudaybiya and began negotiating for peace with the Makkan leaders. Finally, after lengthy parleys an agreement was reached which came to be known as the Treaty of Hudaybiya. In this, the Prophet of Islam unilaterally accepted all the conditions of the Makkan leaders. However, at the Prophet’s suggestion a clause was included in it, specifying that for the next ten years no war would take place between Muslims and the Makkans, directly or indirectly. After the finalization of this document the Prophet left Hudaybiya for Madinah. The danger of war taking place at any time was thus precluded, and now that peace prevailed, the Prophet set about the strengthening of dawah work. One task in this connection entailed the