TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

to the extent of our being willing to accept the unilateral conditions of opponents, treating them as representing a temporary phase. The incident that took place in Hudaibiya is a specific instance. Apparently, it is regarded as only one of the many such incidents recorded in the Prophet’s biography. But, in reality, it is not just one such incident. In fact, the spirit of Hudaibiya pervades the entire life of the Prophet. It would not be wrong to say that this was a very wellconsidered policy of the Prophet, which he adopted throughout his life. The Hudaibiya policy, in fact, is that in any set of circumstances, problems have to be ignored and opportunities, despite all difficulties, have to be availed of. We find a number of examples of this policy in the life of the Prophet. The Prophet followed this same principle in his Makkan as well as the Madinan period. The only difference between Hudaibiya and other similar incidents is that on the occasion of Hudaibiya, this policy was adopted following a bilateral declaration, while at other times it was followed by a unilateral decision. The method of the Prophet was to study the prevailing sets of circumstances dispassionately and objectively and then follow an appropriate course on his own, without any external pressure. This is what we have called the Hudaibiya policy. For instance, in the early phase in Makkah before the Hijrah, the Prophet communicated his dawah message secretly. It did not mean that the Prophet had a meeting with the idolaters of Makkah, and then as a matter of bilateral decision-making decided not to propagate his message publicly but in secret. It was rather that by making concessions to circumstances, he on his own adopted the method of secret propagation, without waiting for any social compulsion. The essence of the Hudaibiya spirit is to completely refrain from entering into any controversy with the other party and to concentrate one’s efforts on achieving one’s goal in non-controversial fields. This policy can be followed only when the dayee is willing to give concessions to the other party unilaterally—such concessions as the other party at that time considers its right. The Hudaibiya policy cannot be followed without such unilateral concession-making. A study of the Prophet’s biography shows that the Prophet always followed the same policy. The essence of the Hudaibiya spirit is to completely refrain from entering into any controversy with the other party and to concentrate one’s efforts on achieving one’s goal in noncontroversial fields.