Making full use of Opportunities

Making full use of Opportunities

1986 7 July 9-10 Making full use of Opportunities (666) The Treaty of Hudaibiyya, which took place six years after the Prophet’s emigration to Medina, stands out as a watershed in the course of Islamic history. In his handling of the negotiations, the Prophet Mohammad showed extraordinary practical wisdom. He approached the Quraysh from the angle on which he knew they would be most accessible. Though bitterly opposed to his mission, there was a strong element among the Quraysh that did not want to fight the Prophet, and preferred that he should turn his attention to other Arab tribes besides themselves. The Prophet was fully aware of this feeling among the Quraysh, and used it to full advantage.

Utbah ibn Rabiah was eminent among the chieftains of the Quraysh. Once, before the Emigration, he was chosen by the Quraysh to speak to the Prophet on their behalf. The exchange between Utbah and the Prophet is described in details in biographies of the Prophet. This is what Utbah said on returning to the Quraysh:

“Hear what I say, Quraysh. Do not stand in between this man and what he is set on; leave him alone. If the Arabs gain ascendancy over him, they will have done your work for you. And if he wins the day, his sovereignty will be your sovereignty, his honour yours.”

(Seerat lbn Hisham, Vol, I,p.314)

Two years after the Prophet’s emigration to Medina, before doing battle with the Muslims at Badr, the Quraysh held consultations among themselves. Utbah, speaking on behalf of one group of the Quraysh, took up his earlier stance. “You can achieve nothing,” he told the assembled Qurayshites, “by doing battle with Mohammad and his companions. Were you to meet them in battle, every one of us would be facing cousins and kinsfolk – ones whom we are loathe to slay. Let us turn back, and not stand in the way of Mohammad and other Arab tribes. If they defeat him, it is his defeat that you are after. Even if he emerges victorious, if you have not fought against him, you will be safe.”

(Seerat lbn Hisham, Vol.II,p. 263)

There is no way, in this world of trial and competition, that one can bring a rival party fully round to one’s own position. In order to persuade others to agree to one’s own demands, one has to give in to a few of theirs. Such situations are indeed a test of our wisdom and insight. They require us to scrutinize the demands of our rivals, to see if there are any which can be met. That is the only way to forge a better deal for ourselves. The Prophet did this at Hudaibiyya. He saw that, deep down, the Quraysh wanted peace, as long as Mohammad would leave them alone. So, when the Meccans barred the Muslims’ way to Mecca, the Prophet sent them this message:

“We have just come to visit the House of God; we have not come to fight anybody. What good has fighting done the Quraysh? It has done them nothing but crippling harm. If they agree, I am willing to make peace with them. They should not stand in the way of myself and other Arab tribes. If I win through, they can do as other people have done and enter Islam. The victory of Islam will be their own victory. And if I am defeated, they will have their way.” (Ibid)

In offering peace, the Prophet was exploiting a feeling that already existed among the Quraysh. Thus he was able to pave the way for a great breakthrough in the progress of his preaching mission. Once peace was made with the Quraysh, there was nothing to hinder him from approaching Arab tribes, and inviting them to embrace Islam. In just two years the star of Islam spiralled, from straggling on the horizon, to a position of dominance in the sky of Arabia. This was only made possible by the Prophet’s astute detection of what the Quraysh actually wanted, and agreement to their demands.