TOWARDS GLOBAL PEACE

revealed to him during the journey. Many Companions of the Prophet were not happy with the terms of the treaty. When the Prophet recited the Chapter Al-Fath to the Companions, some of them expressed their misgivings. Umar Farooq exclaimed in surprise, ‘O Prophet of God, is this a victory?’ The Prophet responded saying, ‘Yes, I swear by the Lord who has power over my soul, this is a certain victory.’ Another Companion said, ‘This cannot be a victory’, to which the Prophet replied, ‘It is a victory, a victory greater than all other victories.’ (Tafseer Qurtubi) Why does the Quran refer to the Treaty of Hudaibiyah as a ‘clear victory’? Why did the Prophet call it a ‘great victory’ when there was no event to indicate a ‘victory’ at the time of the revelation of this verse? The truth is that, the description did not refer to a political victory, it was referring to the supremacy gained by the believers over their opponents as a result of the treaty. The believers were now in an advantageous position over their opponents. At the time of the Treaty of Hudaibiyah, the rival camp had only the power of the sword. This treaty compelled them to renounce their swords against the believers. Consequently, they were rendered powerless. But the believers had another power that their opponents did not possess―the ideology of tawheed. This ideological strength was fully available. The Treaty of Hudaibiyah, had practically rendered the opponents powerless. In contrast, as peace had been established, the believers got the opportunity to use all their strength and engage in the propagation of their ideology. And this is exactly what happened. On the one hand, the opponents were obliged not to use their swords against the believers. And on the other, in the climate of peace that now prevailed, the believers were active in communicating and spreading the ideology of tawheed. They conveyed the message of tawheed to people across Arabia, and even to the people and nations beyond. A result of this wisdom of Hudaibiyah was that in just two years, almost the whole of Arabia entered the fold of Islam. The benefit of the Hudaibiyah policy was not restricted to the success of Islam through a brief and bloodless revolution in seventh century The benefit of the Hudaibiyah policy was not restricted to the success of Islam through a brief and bloodless revolution in Arabia. This revolution that happened in Arabia by virtue of the Hudaibiyah policy, set off for the first time ever, a new process in human history.