There is a strong connection between the Hudaibiya treaty tackled in this corner last week and the conquest of Mecca. We can assume that the treaty initiated the surrender of the pagans of Quraish to the call of monotheism, which had been made by the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) for some 13 years in Mecca, before he was forced to emigrate to Madina. After eight years of struggle to prove the strength of the religion of Islam, Mohamed and his Muslim companions succeeded in liberating Mecca, which houses the first mosque of Allah, from the worship of idols. As revealed last week, the Hudaibiya treaty drew some opposition from the Muslim companions by including huge concessions on the part of the Prophet, although it was still considered a great victory by Allah for the Muslims, as He affirmed in His revelation in Suret Al-Fath. Through this treaty the Quraish recognised the Muslims as equal rivals and ensured them the right to visit the holy shrine for pilgrimage as all Arab tribes were doing. Some modern historians believe that, by signing this unfair treaty, the Prophet Mohamed intended to get a beather from war with the pagans of Mecca in order to build up his capacity to invade and capture Mecca. It is true that it was the Quraish and not Mohamed who first breached this treaty and so deserved the Muslims' conquest. However, one cannot deny that the Prophet was not to continue preaching in all parts of the Arabian Peninsula, turning his back on Mecca that houses the Holy Beit (house), the Kaaba. Although it was created as the first mosque for the worship of One Allah, at that time it was housing tens of idols. Accordingly, the Prophet's mission was not to be completed without the conquest of Mecca and the liberation of the Kaaba from all the idols erected around it. By the time of the conquest of Mecca, the divine revelation had come to the Prophet through Suret Al- Nasr (the victory), which some companions understood as an indication to the imminent death of the Prophet, concluding his mission. Through Mecca becoming Islamic, all tribes of the Arabian peninsula gave their adherence to him collectively, which is why the Prophet had felt a great joy while marching towards Mecca. This was not to avenge the long years of hatred and enmity the Quraish had showed towards him and his companions, but for the great blessing of revealing Islam in the holiest spot of land on the earth, where idols had been worshipped. The great and merciful Prophet was eager to conduct a bloodless conquest not out of weakness – as he was leading a strong army of 10,000 soldiers – but out of love of his hometown. When the army started its march from Madina, Sa'd ben Ebada was lifting one of the banners of the army's wings and he shouted out among the soldiers: “Today is the day of malhama (fierce fight)”. However, the Prophet immediately responded to him and corrected his sentence: “ No, it is the day of marhama (mercy and reconciliation).” He even ordered his soldiers to avoid shedding blood except in defending themselves. So, when the Quraish leaders surrendered to him and showed no resistance at all, the Prophet entered Mecca on the back of his camel, presenting a very humble image with his face turned towards the ground and his back bowed down because of the glory of the place. With a very thankful tongue, he recited some verses of the Holy Qur'an while circumambulating the Kaaba and clearing all the idols from it. Then he assembled the people of Mecca asking them, “What do you think of me in what I'm doing to you?” “A generous brother and son of a generous brother”, they responded. Herein he released them saying, “ I free you all” in a clear reassurance that he would neither kill them in retaliation for the torture and even slaying of his companions nor take them as slaves as was the tradition in the Arab tribal wars. To appreciate the kind of mercy the Prophet showed to the Meccans, even without making it conditional that they embrace Islam, we should reveal some of the harm the pagans of Quraish had shown to the Prophet himself. It is true that the Prophet was living in Mecca under protection of his uncle, Abu Taleb, who, although he never converted to Islam, continued showing support for his nephew until his death a year before the Hijrah (migration) to Madina. However, the Prophet had still been subjected to different kinds of harm at the hands of the pagans. In addition to their verbal and physical assaults on the Great Prophet of Allah, the Quraish had forced Mohamed and all his tribe of Banu Hashim to flee their houses for three years. They lived in tents in a blockaded and isolated narrow valley of the Mecca desert called She'b Abu Taleb. The Quraish further signed a pact banning any trade deals or marriage relation between Banu Hashim and any of the other tribes of Mecca, which pact they hung inside the Kaaba to force all Arabs to be committed to it. These years of isolation brought hunger and sufferings to all Muslims to the extent that they were forced to eat tree leaves. This harsh oppression made no exception for the young or elderly and severely affected the health of both Abu Taleb as well as the Prophet's wife Khadijah who was 65 and died a few days after the siege ended.. Had Mohamed forgotten all these sufferings he endured because of the Quraish in showing them this mercy while possessing the ability and even the right to punish them for their old bad deeds? Apparently not. However, as a Prophet he was not to seek retaliation for a personal harm as he realised the greater fruit of spreading peace in this holy site and restoring its position as the Holy Land of Monotheism. By entering Mecca, Mohamed was not pursing a personal ambition, the proof is that he never remained in it nor turned it to the capital of the Muslim state so as to take authority over the leaders of Quraish. Instead, he returned to Madina in the company of Al-Ansar and the early emigrants to Mecca except for a few persons, who remained to teach new converts the real teachings of Islam. The goal was fulfilled as he managed to secure strength of the Muslim state and religion in the Arab peninsula from where the Islam da'wa (call) was conveyed to every corner of the world.
