The Hudaybiyah campaign

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the blessed verse "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory" [Al-Fath: 1] that it refers to al-Hudaybiyah.

Hisham narrates from his father that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out for al-Hudaybiyah. The event of al-Hudaybiyah took place in the month of Shawwal. The narrator says: So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out until, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached the place Usfan, a man from Banu Ka'b met him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we left Quraysh in such a state that they have gathered against you their people of mixed descent and are feeding them khazir (a mixture of mince and flour). They intend to bar you from the House of Allah." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) set out until, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) came out of the place Usfan, Khalid bin al-Walid, the scout of Quraysh, met him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he came face to face with him (peace and blessings be upon him) on the road. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said (to the Companions): "Come over here!" So he (peace and blessings be upon him) went between two trees and turned aside from the level road until he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Ghamim. 2. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) halted at al-Ghamim, he (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed the people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) praised Allah Almighty and extolled Him as befits His majesty. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "To proceed: Quraysh have gathered against you their scattered groups and have begun feeding them khazir (a particular mixed food), and they intend to bar us from the House of Allah. So inform me of your opinion. Do you wish to go (to fight) the chief (that is, the people of Makkah), or do you wish to go (to fight) their helpers, so that we come behind them upon their women and children? If they sit still, they will sit helpless and defeated. And if they seek (battle with) us, they will seek us with a weak and feeble seeking; then Allah Almighty will disgrace them." 3. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), our opinion is that we advance toward the chief, for Allah Almighty is your (peace and blessings be upon him) helper, your supporter and the One who will make you prevail." Sayyiduna al-Miqdad bin al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him) said, while he was at his saddle: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we will not say to you what the Children of Israel said to their prophet (peace be upon him): 'Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will remain sitting here' [Al-Ma'idah: 24]. Rather we will say: You and your Lord go and fight, and we will fight alongside you." 4. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out (from there) until, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) drew near the Sacred Precinct and entered its boundaries, his (peace and blessings be upon him) she-camel al-Jad'a' knelt down. The people said: "This she-camel has balked." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, the she-camel has not balked, nor is balking her habit; rather she has been held back by the One who held back the elephants from Makkah." (Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:) "(If) Quraysh invite me to honor the sacred things, they will not be able to outstrip me in that." (He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Companions:) "Come this way." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) took the path on the right side of the mountain pass called Dhat al-Hanzal until he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Hudaybiyah. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) camped there, the people began drawing water from a well. Not all the people had yet quenched their thirst when the well ran dry. The people complained of this to him (peace and blessings be upon him). So he (peace and blessings be upon him) took an arrow from his quiver, gave it to the people and said: "Plant this arrow in the well." They planted the arrow in the well, and the well began to gush with water and its water rose, until the people had drunk their fill. 5. When Quraysh heard of this, they sent to him (peace and blessings be upon him) the brother of Banu Hulays, who was from a people among whom the sacrificial animals were held in reverence. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make the sacrificial animals stand up." When he saw the sacrificial animals, he did not speak a word to them, and he turned back from where he was to Quraysh and said: "O my people, the garlands, the camels and the sacrificial animals!" He warned them and made much of it to them, but they reviled him, frowned at him and said: "You are only a rough Bedouin. We do not wonder at you; rather we wonder at ourselves for having sent you. Sit down." Then they said to Urwah bin Mas'ud: "Go to Muhammad, and let no harm come to us from your direction." Urwah set out until he came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad, I have not seen any man of the Arabs march against the like of what you have marched against. You have marched with the riffraff of people against your own kin and your own stock, from which you were hatched, in order to destroy their whole multitude. You know that I have come to you from Ka'b bin Lu'ayy and Amir bin Lu'ayy, who have put on leopard skins beside their milch camels with their young, swearing by Allah that no proposal will be put to them without their putting to you one more bitter than it." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We have not come to fight; rather we wish to complete our Umrah and slaughter our sacrificial animals. Will you go to your people? For they are people of the camel saddle, and war has frightened them, and there is no good for them in war consuming more of them than it already has. So let them leave the way open between me and the House, so that we complete our Umrah and slaughter our sacrificial animals, and let them set a term between me and them, during which we will move their women away (from harm) and in which their travelling parties will be safe, and let them leave me and the people alone. For by Allah, I will fight the red and the black over this matter until Allah makes me prevail or my neck is severed. If the people get me, that is what they want; and if Allah makes me prevail over them, they will have a choice: either to fight fully prepared, or to enter into peace with their numbers intact." The narrator says: Urwah returned to Quraysh and said: "You must know, by Allah, that there is no people on earth dearer to me than you. You are my brothers and the dearest of people to me. I sought help for you from the people in the gatherings, and when they did not help you, I came to you with my family and camped with you, wishing to stand by you. By Allah, I do not love life after you. You must know that the man has offered a fair settlement, so accept it. You must know that I have visited kings and seen great men, and I swear by Allah that I have never seen a king or great man more revered among his companions than he is. None of them speaks until he asks his permission; if he permits him he speaks, and if he does not permit him he remains silent. Moreover, when he performs ablution, they race for the water of his ablution, pouring it on their heads and taking it as a source of mercy." When they heard his words, they sent Suhayl bin Amr and Mikraz bin Hafs to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Go to Muhammad; if he grants you what Urwah mentioned, then settle with him on condition that he goes back from us this year of his and does not reach the House, so that those of the Arabs who hear of his march will hear that we have barred him." Suhayl and Mikraz set out until they came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and mentioned that to him, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) granted them what they asked. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." They said: "By Allah, we will never write this." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How then?" They said: "We will write: Bismika Allahumma (In Your name, O Allah)." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This too: write it." So they wrote it. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), has settled upon." They said: "By Allah, we differ only on this." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "What shall I write?" They said: "State your lineage: write Muhammad bin Abdullah." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This too is good; write it." So they wrote it. Among their conditions was that between us there is a sealed bag, and that there will be no aghlal and no aslal. Abu Usamah said: Al-aghlal means coats of armor and al-aslal means swords, and by the sealed bag he meant his Companions, whom he would restrain from them. (Also among the conditions was) that whoever of us comes to you, you will return him to us, and whoever of you comes to us, we will not return him to you. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever joins me has the same terms as mine." Quraysh said: "Whoever joins us is one of us, with the same terms as ours." Banu Ka'b said: "We are with you, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)," and Banu Bakr said: "We are with Quraysh." While they were at the document, Sayyiduna Abu Jandal (may Allah be pleased with him) came, shuffling in his fetters. The Muslims said: "This is Abu Jandal." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He is mine." Suhayl said: "He is mine." Suhayl said: "Read the document," and it was in Suhayl's favor. Sayyiduna Abu Jandal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah, O company of Muslims, am I to be returned to the polytheists?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Abu Jandal, here is this sword; he is only one man against one man." Suhayl said: "You have helped against me, O Umar." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Suhayl: "Give him to me." He said: "No." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then grant him protection for my sake." He said: "No." Mikraz said: "I have granted him protection for you, O Muhammad." And so he was not harassed.

It is narrated from Marwan that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out in the year the polytheists barred him (peace and blessings be upon him). When he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Hudaybiyah, he (peace and blessings be upon him) pitched his tent in the area outside the Sacred Precinct (al-Hill), while his (peace and blessings be upon him) place of prayer was within the Sacred Precinct. When the people had written the settlement and finished writing it, they were greatly disheartened by it. The narrator says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, slaughter (your animals), shave your heads, and leave the state of ihram." Not one man stood up. He (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated this, but again not one man stood up. He (peace and blessings be upon him) went in to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: "What is your view of the state the people have reached?" She said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), go and slaughter your sacrificial animals, have your head shaved, and leave the state of ihram. The people too will leave it." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) slaughtered, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) had his head shaved and left the state of ihram.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was barred from the House of Allah, the people of Makkah made peace with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the terms that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would enter Makkah (the following year) and stay there for three days, that he would bring into Makkah only the weapons bag, containing a sword and its sheath, that he would not take away anyone from the people of Makkah, and that he would not forbid any of those with him (peace and blessings be upon him) from staying there. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Write the agreement between us. Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). These are the terms on which Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), has made peace." The polytheists said: "If we accepted you as the Messenger of Allah, we would follow you; but (since we do not accept it) write thus: Muhammad bin Abdullah." The narrator says: He (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to erase the earlier wording. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No! By Allah, I will not erase it." At this he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Show me the place." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) showed him (peace and blessings be upon him) the place, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) erased that phrase and wrote (in its place): Ibn Abdullah. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for three days (the following year). When the third day came, the polytheists said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "This is the last day under the terms of your companion, so tell him to leave Makkah." Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) told this to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) left.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him): When we camped on the day of al-Hudaybiyah, we found its well in such a state that the people before us had already drunk from it. He (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on the edge of the well, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) called for a bucket from it, took some water from it into his blessed mouth, spat that water back into the bucket and supplicated to Allah. The water of the well then became so abundant that all the people drank their fill from it.

It is reported from Ata that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) set out to perform Umrah in Dhu al-Qa'dah, and with him (peace and blessings be upon him) was a group of the Muhajirun and Ansar, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) reached al-Hudaybiyah. The people of Quraysh came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) to turn him (peace and blessings be upon him) back from the House of Allah. During this, harsh words and a dispute arose between them, and they nearly came to blows. The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge from his Companions under a tree. The Companions numbered one thousand five hundred. This is what is called the day of the Pledge of Ridwan. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) made peace with Quraysh. Quraysh said: "We make peace with you on the condition that you slaughter the sacrificial animals right here, shave your heads and go back; and when next year comes, we will permit you to stay in Makkah for three days." He (peace and blessings be upon him) accepted this. The narrator says: Then the people set out for Ukaz and stayed there for three days. The polytheists had also stipulated that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would not enter Makkah with any weapon except the sword, and that if anyone from the people of Makkah wished to go with him, he would not take him along. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) slaughtered the sacrificial animals at that very place, had his head shaved and went back. When those same days of the following year came, he (peace and blessings be upon him) entered Makkah, bringing several camels with him (peace and blessings be upon him), and many people were with him (peace and blessings be upon him). When they entered the Sacred Mosque, Allah Almighty revealed these words: "Allah has certainly fulfilled His Messenger's vision in truth: you will surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in safety" [Al-Fath: 27]. The narrator says: Allah Almighty also revealed this verse: "The sacred month is for the sacred month, and sacred things are subject to retribution. So whoever transgresses against you, transgress against him in the same way that he transgressed against you" [Al-Baqarah: 194]. That is, if they fight you in the Sacred Mosque, then you also fight them. So Allah Almighty has made it lawful for you that if they fight the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Sacred Mosque, then you may also fight them in the Sacred Mosque. Sayyiduna Abu Jandal bin Suhayl bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in bonds, his father having tied him up, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) returned him to his father.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his (peace and blessings be upon him) Companions came during the truce that preceded the peace concluded between the polytheists and him (peace and blessings be upon him). The narrator says: The polytheists were at the Gate of al-Nadwah, next to the Hijr, and were saying among themselves that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his (peace and blessings be upon him) Companions had been afflicted with weakness and emaciation. When the Companions performed the touching (of the Stone), he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "These people are saying among themselves that you have been afflicted with weakness and emaciation. So perform raml (brisk walking) in three circuits, so that they may see that you are strong." The narrator says: When the Companions performed the touching, they began raml as soon as they lifted their feet. At this some of the polytheists said to others: "Did you not claim that they had been afflicted with weakness and emaciation? Yet these people are not content merely to walk unless they run."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mujammi' bin Jariyah (may Allah be pleased with him): I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at al-Hudaybiyah. When we turned back from al-Hudaybiyah, the people began driving their camels at speed. Some of the Companions asked others: "What has happened to the people?" They replied: "Revelation has come down upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." The narrator says: Then we too set out with the people, urging our mounts on, until we found the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) standing near the mountain called Kura' al-Ghamim. When those he (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted had gathered around him (peace and blessings be upon him), he (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory." One of his (peace and blessings be upon him) Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is this a victory?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! By the One in whose hand is my soul, it is indeed a victory." The narrator says: This conquest was then divided among the people of al-Hudaybiyah in eighteen shares. The army numbered fifteen hundred, and three hundred (of them) were horsemen. The horseman received two shares.

Iyas bin Salamah narrates from his father: We set out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the expedition of al-Hudaybiyah, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) slaughtered one hundred animals. We numbered seventeen hundred, and they had readiness in weapons, men and horses. Among his (peace and blessings be upon him) animals there was also a male camel. He (peace and blessings be upon him) camped at al-Hudaybiyah, and Quraysh made peace with him (peace and blessings be upon him) on the terms that the sacrificial animals would be sacrificed right where we had stopped them.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him): We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and had we been of the view to fight, we would have fought. This was during the peace concluded between the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the polytheists. Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came, presented himself before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), are we not in the right and are they not in falsehood?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed!" Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Will our slain not go to Paradise and their slain to Hell?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed!" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then why are we returning after agreeing to such a lowly thing? Allah Almighty has not yet judged between us and them." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O son of al-Khattab, I am the Messenger of Allah. Allah Almighty will never let me be lost." The narrator says: Then Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) could not bear it, and he went off in anger and came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "O Abu Bakr, are we not in the right and are they not in falsehood?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed!" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Will our slain not go to Paradise and their slain to Hell?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Indeed." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then why are we leaving after agreeing to such a lowly thing concerning our religion, when Allah Almighty has not yet judged between us and them?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O son of al-Khattab, he is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah Almighty will never let him be lost." The narrator says: Then the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with (the promise of) victory, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a man to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and (having called him) had him read that Qur'an. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is this a victory?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes!" At this Sayyiduna Umar's (may Allah be pleased with him) heart was gladdened and he went back.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that Quraysh made peace with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and among them (those making peace) was Suhayl bin Amr. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): "Write: Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." Suhayl said: "We do not know this Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim. What is Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim? Rather write what we know: Bismika Allahumma (In Your name, O Allah)." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah." They said: "If we accepted you as the Messenger of Allah, we would simply follow you. Rather write your name and your father's name." At this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: From Muhammad bin Abdullah." Then the polytheists of Quraysh imposed this condition on him (peace and blessings be upon him): that whoever of you comes (to us), we will not return him to you, and whoever of us comes to you, you will return him to us. The Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), will this also be written?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes! Whoever of us goes to them, Allah will put him far away; and whoever of them comes to us, Allah Almighty will make for him a way and an exit."

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) states: On the day of al-Hudaybiyah we numbered fourteen hundred. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to us: "This day you are the best of the people of the earth."
It is narrated from Sayyiduna al-Miswar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Marwan that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out in the year of al-Hudaybiyah with ten-odd hundred of his (peace and blessings be upon him) Companions. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) was at Dhu al-Hulayfah, he (peace and blessings be upon him) garlanded and marked the sacrificial animals and entered the state of ihram.

Iyas bin Salamah narrates from his father that Quraysh sent Suhayl bin Amr, Huwaytib bin Abd al-Uzza and Mikraz bin Hafs to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to make peace with him (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Suhayl among them, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Your matter has become easy. The people are coming to you with their kinship ties and asking you for peace. So make the sacrificial animals stand up and raise the Talbiyah aloud. Perhaps this will soften their hearts." The noble Companions raised the Talbiyah from the sides of the army until their voices echoed with it. The narrator says: The polytheists came and spoke of peace. 2. The narrator says: During this, when these people had made a truce with one another, and there were polytheists in the army of the Muslims and Muslims in the army of the polytheists, Abu Sufyan launched a sudden attack, and suddenly the valley was flowing with men and weapons. The narrator says: Iyas states that Salamah said: I drove along six armed men of the polytheists, while they had no power over any benefit or harm for themselves. We brought them to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) neither killed them nor seized their belongings, but pardoned them. The narrator says: Then we pressed hard concerning those of our companions who were in the hands of the polytheists, and we did not leave any of them in the polytheists' hands but rescued him. The narrator says: We kept control over those of theirs who were in our hands. 3. Then Quraysh went to Suhayl bin Amr and Huwaytib bin Abd al-Uzza and made them responsible for their peace. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote the settlement between them: "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). This is the document on which Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, has made peace with Quraysh. He (peace and blessings be upon him) has made peace with them on the terms that there will be neither treachery nor breach of the conditions; and also the condition that whoever of the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) comes to Makkah to perform Hajj or Umrah, or seeking the bounty of Allah, his life and property will be safe; and whoever of Quraysh comes to Madinah on his way to Egypt or Syria, seeking the bounty of Allah, his property and life will also be safe; and also the condition that whoever of Quraysh comes to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) will be returned, and whoever of the Companions of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) comes to Quraysh will remain with them." 4. This was very hard on the people of Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever of us goes to them, may Allah put him far away; and whoever of them comes to us, we will return him to them (although) Allah Almighty knows the Islam in his heart, and Allah Almighty will make a way for him." 5. Quraysh made peace with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the terms that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would perform Umrah next year in this same month, (but) would not come to us with horses and weapons, except the amount a traveler keeps in his bag; that he (peace and blessings be upon him) would stay in Makkah for three days (next year); and also the condition that these sacrificial animals would be sacrificed right where we had stopped them, and would not be driven any farther. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "We will drive them, and you turn them back."

Iyas bin Salamah narrates from his father that Quraysh sent Kharijah bin Kurz to spy for them. He came back praising (the noble Companions). Quraysh said to him: "You are a Bedouin. They made you hear the clatter of weapons and your heart flew away. So you had no idea what was said to you or what you said." Then Quraysh sent Urwah bin Mas'ud. He came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad, what is this matter? You call to the Essence of Allah, and then you bring riffraff to your own people, some of whom you know and some of whom you do not know, in order to cut your ties of kinship with them and to make lawful their sanctities, blood and wealth." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have come to my people only to uphold my ties of kinship with them. Allah gives them, in exchange for their religion, a religion better than it, and a livelihood better than their livelihood." (Hearing this) he too returned praising. The narrator says: Iyas narrates from his father: The hardship on the Muslims in the hands of the polytheists grew more severe. The narrator says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and indicated: "O Umar, will you convey a message from me to your Muslim brothers who are captives?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I do not have any great family in Makkah, whereas people other than me have more family connections there than I do." He (peace and blessings be upon him) called Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and sent him to the people of Makkah. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) set out on his mount until he reached the army of the polytheists. They began speaking senselessly to him and talked vulgarly. But then Aban bin Sa'id bin al-As, who was Sayyiduna Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) paternal cousin, gave him protection, seated him on his saddle and himself rode behind him. Then when they had gone a little farther, he said: "O cousin, why do I see you in worn-out clothes? Let down your garment (that is, cover your ankles)." The narrator says: The lower garment of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) reached halfway down his shins. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said in reply: "The lower garment of our companion (the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)) is like this too." Then Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) did not leave any of the Muslim captives without delivering the message of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) (that is, he gave the message to all). Sayyiduna Salamah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: While we were taking our midday rest, the caller of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called out: "O people, the pledge (to Muhammad), the pledge! The Holy Spirit has descended." The narrator says: So we went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) was seated beneath an acacia tree. We gave him (peace and blessings be upon him) the pledge. It is mentioned in this verse: "Allah was certainly pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree" [Al-Fath: 18]. The narrator says: He (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge on behalf of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) in this way: he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed one of his hands on the other. The people began to say: "How fortunate is Abu Abdullah! He is circling the House of Allah while we are here." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Even if he remained there for several years, he would not circle it until I circle it."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the day of al-Hudaybiyah: "Do not light a fire at night." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Light fires and prepare (food). No people after you will attain (the reward of) your mudd and your sa'."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) that on the day of al-Hudaybiyah the people were afflicted with severe thirst. The narrator says: The people rushed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So he (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hand in the leather vessel, and I saw the water like springs. Salim says: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "How many of you were there?" He replied: "Even if we had been one hundred thousand, that water would have sufficed us. (As it was) we numbered fifteen hundred."

It is narrated from Urwah bin al-Zubayr that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set out in the year of al-Hudaybiyah with eighteen hundred people, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) sent ahead of him a man of Banu Khuza'ah, whose name was Najiyah, to bring news of the people. Eventually the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) reached a pool at Usfan called Ghadir al-Ashtat. There his (peace and blessings be upon him) scout met him (peace and blessings be upon him) at Ghadir al-Ashtat and said: "O Muhammad, I left your people, Ka'b bin Lu'ayy and Amir bin Lu'ayy, in such a state that they have called out against you the scattered peoples and whoever obeys them. They have heard of your march. And I left their slaves being fed khazir (a special food) in their houses. And here is Khalid bin al-Walid, whom they have sent ahead with a company of horsemen." 2. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and asked (the Companions): "What do you say? What do you command? Advise me. The news of Quraysh and their preparations has reached you twice. And here is Khalid bin al-Walid, who has also reached the place al-Ghamim." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked the Companions: "Is your opinion that we continue in our direction and fight whoever bars us from the House of Allah? Or is your opinion that we go, against them, toward those they have left behind them, and if a group of them comes after us, Allah Almighty will break it?" The Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the command is your command and the opinion is your opinion." Then these people turned to the right. Neither Khalid nor the army with him became aware of this until they had passed the dust of the army. 3. His (peace and blessings be upon him) she-camel took him (peace and blessings be upon him) from a high mound toward a low ground called Baldah, and (on reaching there) she knelt down. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Hal, hal." But the she-camel did not get up. The people said: "Al-Qaswa' (the she-camel's name) has balked." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By Allah, this she-camel has not balked, nor is balking her habit; rather she has been held back by the One who held back the elephants. Listen! By Allah, if today they invite me to any matter in which they honor something sacred, or invite me to any upholding of kinship ties, I will answer them positively." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) urged the she-camel on and she leapt up, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) turned back on his own footprints to where he (peace and blessings be upon him) had come from, until he (peace and blessings be upon him) camped with the people at a place in al-Hudaybiyah where the water was so little that the people were taking it little by little. So the people complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) of the shortage of water. He (peace and blessings be upon him) drew an arrow from his quiver and ordered a man, who planted that arrow in the middle of the well. The water gushed so much that the people drank their fill of it. 4. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was still in this state when Budayl bin Warqa' al-Khuza'i, with a party of his people Khuza'ah, passed by him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), these people of yours have set out with their women and children, and they swear by the name of Allah that they will most certainly stand between you and Makkah until not one of them remains." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Budayl, I have not come to fight anyone. I have only come to perform my rites of worship and to circle this House of Allah. If this is not to be, then do Quraysh have any other intention? Are they willing that I set a term with them in which they will be safe and during which they may also rest, and during which they leave me and the people alone? If my cause prevails over the people, they will have the choice: if they wish, they may enter the religion as the people have, and if they wish, they may fight, having increased their numbers and fully prepared." Budayl said: "I will present this to your (peace and blessings be upon him) people." 5. So Budayl rode (off) until he passed by Quraysh, and they said: "Where from?" He said: "I have come to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and if you wish I will tell you what I heard from him." Some of their foolish ones said: "Do not tell us anything about him." Some of their elders and wise men said: "Rather tell us: what did you see and what did you hear?" So Budayl related to them the account of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the term he (peace and blessings be upon him) had offered them. The narrator says: Among the disbelievers of Quraysh that day was Urwah bin Mas'ud al-Thaqafi. He jumped up and said: "O company of Quraysh, do you suspect me of anything? Am I not the son, and are you not the father? Did I not call out the people of Ukaz for you, and when they refused me, did I not rush to you myself with my children and those who obeyed me?" They said: "Yes indeed, you did." He said: "Then accept from Budayl what he has brought you and what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has offered you, and send me so that I may bring you confirmation of it from him." They said: "Go." Urwah set out until he alighted with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at al-Hudaybiyah and said: "O Muhammad, these people of yours, Ka'b bin Lu'ayy and Amir bin Lu'ayy, have set out with their women and children, swearing that they will not leave the way open between you and Makkah until their whole multitude is destroyed. In fighting them you are between one of two things: either you annihilate your own people, and you have never heard of a man before you who annihilated his own stock, or those I see with you will hand you over, for I see with you only riffraff whose names and faces I do not know." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), angered, said: "Go and suck the private part of al-Lat! Would we abandon him or hand him over?" Urwah said: "By Allah, were it not for a favor you have done me for which I have not repaid you, I would have answered what you said." Urwah had taken upon himself a blood money, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had helped him with it handsomely. Sayyiduna al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing over the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with a helmet on his face, and Urwah did not recognize him. Urwah was talking to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and whenever he stretched out his hand to touch the beard of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna al-Mughirah (may Allah be pleased with him) struck it with a cup that was in his hand. When this vexed him, he said: "Who is this?" They said: "This is al-Mughirah bin Shu'bah." Urwah said: "So it is you, O treacherous one! Did I not wash away your treachery only yesterday at Ukaz?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Urwah bin Mas'ud the same as he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said to Budayl. Urwah got up and left until he came to his people and said: "O company of Quraysh, I have gone as an envoy to kings: to Caesar in his kingdom in Syria, to the Negus in the land of Abyssinia and to Khosrau in Iraq. By Allah, I have not seen any king more revered among those around him than Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is among his Companions. By Allah, they do not stare at him, nor raise their voices near him, and he does not perform any ablution without their crowding upon it, each striving to get some of it. So accept what Budayl has brought you, for it is a sound plan." They said: "Sit down." They called a man of Banu al-Harith bin Abd Manaf named al-Hulays and said: "Go and see what this man has and how he meets you." Al-Hulays set out, and when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him coming he (peace and blessings be upon him) recognized him and said: "This is al-Hulays, who is from a people who revere the sacrificial animals, so send the sacrificial animals in his direction." They sent the sacrificial animals in his direction. Ibn Shihab said: The report differs concerning al-Hulays. Some say: He came to him (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him the same as he had said to Budayl and Urwah. Others say: When he saw the sacrificial animals he went back to Quraysh and said: "I have seen something; if you bar it, I fear that hardship will befall you, so look to your own judgment." They said: "Sit down." They called a man of Quraysh named Mikraz bin Hafs bin al-Ahnaf, of Banu Amir bin Lu'ayy, and sent him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw him, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "This is a wicked man who looks with one eye." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him the same as he (peace and blessings be upon him) had said to Budayl and his companions regarding the term, and he came to them and informed them. They then sent Suhayl bin Amr, of Banu Amir bin Lu'ayy, to draw up a document with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on what he (peace and blessings be upon him) had called for. Suhayl bin Amr came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "Quraysh have sent me to you to draw up with you a settlement that both you and I will accept." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes; write: Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)." He said: "I do not know Allah and I do not know al-Rahman; rather write as we used to write: Bismika Allahumma (In Your name, O Allah)." The people were upset by that and said: "We will not write with you on any term until you acknowledge al-Rahman al-Rahim." Suhayl said: "Then I will not write with him on any term until I return." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: Bismika Allahumma. This is what Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), has settled upon." He said: "I do not acknowledge this. If I knew that you were the Messenger of Allah I would not have opposed you or disobeyed you; rather, Muhammad bin Abdullah." The people were upset by this as well. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write: Muhammad bin Abdullah, Suhayl bin Amr." Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, are we not upon the truth? Is our enemy not upon falsehood?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed." He said: "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I am the Messenger of Allah; I will not disobey Him and He will not let me be lost." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing aside, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him and said: "O Abu Bakr." He said: "Yes." He said: "Are we not upon the truth? Is our enemy not upon falsehood?" He said: "Indeed." He said: "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?" He said: "Leave what you see, O Umar, for he is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah will not let him be lost, and he will not disobey Him." Among the conditions of the document was: "Whoever of us comes to you, if he is of your religion, you will return him to us; and whoever comes to us from your side, we shall return him to you." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "As for whoever comes from my side, I have no need of his return. As for what you have stipulated for yourself, that is between me and you." While the people were in that state, Sayyiduna Abu Jandal bin Suhayl bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) appeared before them, shuffling in iron; he had got free at the lower part of Makkah, girded with a sword. Suhayl raised his head and there was his son Abu Jandal. He said: "This is the first one I have settled with you to return." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Suhayl, we have not yet completed the document." He said: "I will not write with you on any term until you return him." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then do with him as you please." Sayyiduna Abu Jandal (may Allah be pleased with him) rushed toward the people and said: "O company of Muslims, am I to be returned to the polytheists, who will persecute me for my religion?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stuck close to him, while his father held his hand, dragging him, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying: "He is only one man, and you have the sword." His father took him away. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send back to them whoever came from their side wanting to enter his religion. When a group of them had gathered, among them Sayyiduna Abu Basir (may Allah be pleased with him), whom he (peace and blessings be upon him) had returned to them, they stayed on the seacoast, and in this way they cut off Quraysh's trade route to Syria. So they sent word to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "We consider it a kindness to kin from you that you take them back to yourself and gather them." So he (peace and blessings be upon him) took them back to himself. Among what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted from them in the document was that they let him enter Makkah, complete his rites and slaughter his sacrificial animals among them. They said: "The Arabs shall never say that you seized us by force; rather go back this year of yours, and when next year comes we will permit you, and you will perform Umrah and stay three days." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and said to the people: "Get up, slaughter your sacrificial animals, shave your heads and leave the state of ihram." Not one man stood up or moved. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the people to do this three times, yet not one man moved or rose from his place. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw this, he (peace and blessings be upon him) went in to Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her), whom he (peace and blessings be upon him) had taken with him on that expedition, and said: "O Umm Salamah, what is wrong with the people? I have ordered them three times to slaughter, to shave and to leave the state of ihram, and not one man has risen to what I ordered him." She said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), go out yourself and do that." So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) rose, went to his sacrificial animals and slaughtered them, and called a barber who shaved his head. When the people saw what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had done, they leapt to their sacrificial animals and slaughtered them, and they bent over shaving one another, until they nearly pressed upon one another from the crowding.

Ibn Shihab said: The sacrificial animals that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions drove were seventy camels. Ibn Shihab said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) divided Khaybar among the people of al-Hudaybiyah in eighteen shares, one share for every hundred men.

It is narrated from Ata that on the day of al-Hudaybiyah, the camping place of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was within the Sacred Precinct.

Sayyiduna al-Bara' (may Allah be pleased with him) states that on the day of al-Hudaybiyah our number was fourteen hundred.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that when the sacrificial animals were (still) short of the mountains from which the valley of al-Thaniyyah comes into view, the polytheists confronted him (peace and blessings be upon him) and turned back his (peace and blessings be upon him) sacrificial animals. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) slaughtered them at the very place where the polytheists had stopped him (peace and blessings be upon him), and this place was al-Hudaybiyah. (Then) he (peace and blessings be upon him) had his head shaved, and people, following his (peace and blessings be upon him) example, also had their heads shaved. Some others waited, and they said: "Perhaps we will circle the House of Allah." (At this) the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." It was said (to him (peace and blessings be upon him)): "And those who shorten their hair?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (again): "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions had their heads shaved on the day of al-Hudaybiyah, except Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." The people asked: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and on those who shorten their hair?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (again): "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." The Companions asked (a third time): "And on those who shorten their hair, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." The Companions said: "And on those who shorten their hair, O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said: "On those who shorten their hair (too, may He have mercy)."

Sayyiduna Najiyah bin Jundub bin Najiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: When we (reached) the place al-Ghamim, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) received news of Quraysh that they had dispatched Khalid bin al-Walid with a troop of horsemen who were to meet the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) disliked meeting them, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) felt great compassion for them. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who is the man who will turn us away from this road?" (that is, take us by another road). I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, I will take you." He says: So I put them on a difficult road, which had been my route of emigration, with ravines and ups and downs. Then when level ground came, I had him (peace and blessings be upon him) camp at al-Hudaybiyah, and the water of that place had run out. Najiyah says: He (peace and blessings be upon him) dropped one or two arrows from his quiver into its well, then he (peace and blessings be upon him) put his blessed saliva into it, and then he supplicated. The narrator says: Its springs then returned, until I, or we, said: "If we wished, we could fill our cups (vessels) with water."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said on the day of al-Hudaybiyah: "May Allah, the Pure, have mercy on those who shave their heads." The Companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah, on those who shorten their hair?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said (again): "May Allah Almighty have mercy on those who shave their heads." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said this three times. The Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), on those who shorten their hair?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "On those who shorten their hair (too, have mercy)." The Companions said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), what was the reason that you made the supplication for mercy more (three times) for those who shave their heads?" He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "They did not doubt to any degree."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) states: We came (back) from al-Hudaybiyah with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The Companions state that we alighted on sandy ground. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Who will wake us?" Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will wake you." He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then we will sleep." All the people remained asleep until the sun rose. Then some people, among whom were so-and-so, so-and-so and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), woke up. We said: "Talk (among yourselves)." At this his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed eye also opened, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Keep doing as you were doing (that is, go on talking)." The narrator says: We then did the same. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do just this with anyone who has slept or who has forgotten the prayer." The narrator states that the she-camel of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went missing, and I went out in search of her. He says: I found her with her rope caught on a tree. So I came (with her) to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) mounted her and we set off. The narrator states that when revelation came down upon him (peace and blessings be upon him), it was severe for him in that state, and we could perceive this severity upon him (peace and blessings be upon him). He says: He (peace and blessings be upon him) stood aside behind us and covered his (peace and blessings be upon him) blessed head with his garment. Signs of great severity appeared upon him (peace and blessings be upon him), until we understood that revelation was coming down upon him (peace and blessings be upon him). Then people came to us and informed us that revelation had come down upon him (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed, We have granted you a clear victory" [Al-Fath: 1].