Where the story is told

Surah al-Fath, chapter 48, speaks about the events of Hudaybiyyah and what followed. The most detailed hadith is the long narration of al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and Marwan in Sahih al-Bukhari (2731-2732). Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) added in Sahih al-Bukhari 4154 that the Prophet ﷺ told them on that day that they were the best of the people of the earth, and that they were one thousand four hundred.

Stopped on the way to the House

The Prophet ﷺ set out with his companions to perform umrah, not to fight. On the way he learned that Khalid ibn al-Walid was with a group of Quraysh horsemen, so he took another road. Then his camel, al-Qaswa, knelt down and would not move. The people said she had become stubborn, but the Prophet ﷺ said that she was not so by nature, and that she had been held back by the One who held back the elephant (the elephant army that came against the Ka'bah). He added that they would not ask him for any plan that honors the sanctities of Allah except that he would give it to them.

He camped at the far end of Hudaybiyyah, where there was little water. When the people complained of thirst, he took an arrow from his quiver and told them to put it in the well. By Allah, the narrator says, water kept rising for them until they had all drunk. Envoys then went back and forth between the Prophet ﷺ and Quraysh. One of them, Urwah ibn Mas'ud, saw how the companions honored the Prophet ﷺ and told his people that he had never seen a king honored by his men as Muhammad ﷺ was honored by his companions.

The conditions and Umar's questions

Suhayl ibn Amr came for Quraysh to write the agreement. The Prophet ﷺ asked the scribe to begin with Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Suhayl objected and asked for "Bismika Allahumma" instead, and the Prophet ﷺ agreed. When the text said "Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah", Suhayl objected again, and the Prophet ﷺ had it written as "Muhammad ibn Abdillah", saying that he was truly the Messenger of Allah even if they denied him.

The conditions, as the hadith mentions them, were that the Muslims would not enter Makkah that year but could come the next year to perform the tawaf, and that any man who came from Quraysh to the Prophet ﷺ would be returned, even if he was Muslim. This was hard for the Muslims. Abu Jandal, a Muslim who had been tortured, arrived in chains during the writing, and Suhayl demanded that he be sent back.

Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) then came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked whether he was truly the Prophet of Allah, whether the Muslims were on the truth and their enemies on falsehood, and why they accepted what seemed to lower their religion. The Prophet ﷺ answered that he was the Messenger of Allah, that he would not disobey Him, and that Allah would help him. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) gave Umar the same answer when he asked him, and Umar said that he did many good deeds afterwards because of what he had said.

Slaughter and shave

When the writing was finished, the Prophet ﷺ told his companions to rise, slaughter their sacrificial animals and shave their heads. None of them moved, even after he said it three times. He went to his wife Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) and told her. She advised him to go out and say nothing until he had slaughtered his animal and called his barber. He did so, and when the people saw it they rose, slaughtered and shaved, in such haste and distress, the narrator says, that they almost killed one another with grief.

What Surah al-Fath says

The surah opens with the meaning: We have given you a clear victory. Quran 48:4 says Allah sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers so that they might increase in faith. Verse 18 says Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance under the tree, knew what was in their hearts, sent down tranquility on them and rewarded them with a near victory.

Verses 24 to 26 recall that Allah held back the hands of both sides in the area of Makkah, and that there were believing men and women in Makkah whom the Muslims did not know, so entering by force could have harmed them. Verse 26 describes the pride of the disbelievers and the tranquility Allah sent down on His Messenger and the believers. In Quran 48:27 Allah confirms the vision of the Prophet ﷺ that they would enter al-Masjid al-Haram, with heads shaved or hair cut short, without fear, and adds that He knew what they did not know and arranged a near victory before that.

Umar said that the Prophet ﷺ told him, on a journey, that a surah had been sent down to him that night which was dearer to him than everything the sun rises on, and then recited: Indeed, We have given you a clear victory (Sahih al-Bukhari 4177). Many commentators understand the clear victory as the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah itself, and the near victory in verses 18 and 27 as what followed soon after. The Quran uses the word fath for it before the conquest of Makkah.

What the sources do not tell us here

The Quran does not give the details of the negotiation, the names of the envoys or the length of the truce. We have mentioned only what is stated in the Quran and the authentic hadith above.

Lessons from this story

  • What looks like a loss in the moment may be a victory in Allah's plan. The Quran named Hudaybiyyah a clear victory while many companions found the terms hard.
  • Allah's wisdom is greater than our understanding. Umar's questions were honest, and the Prophet ﷺ answered them patiently, trusting Allah's promise.
  • Peace and honoring the sanctities of Allah can open doors that fighting would not. The Prophet ﷺ was ready to accept any reasonable plan that honored them.
  • Tranquility (sakinah) is a gift from Allah in the hearts of the believers, as Quran 48:4 and 48:26 say.
  • Consulting a trusted person is part of the Sunnah. Umm Salamah's advice helped the Prophet ﷺ solve a difficult moment.
  • Obedience to the Messenger ﷺ, even when the reason is not yet clear, is a sign of faith. The companions who pledged under the tree were praised by Allah in Quran 48:18.

General information for learning, not a fatwa. For your own situation, ask a qualified scholar.

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