Shaykh Yasir Qadhi elaborates in immense detail the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah which is a monumental and historic event in the life of our beloved Prophet ﷺ and what we can extrapolate, inculcate and imbibe in our daily existence from the happenings of this turning point of an event in the history of Islam. What is noteworthy is how the Muslims got an opportunity to unexpectedly extract benefits from the clenches of a certain defeat.
In 6H, the Prophet ﷺ dreamt that he and his followers were entering Makkah and performing Tawaf. Hence, he declared his plan to visit Makkah to perform Umrah. In order to avoid confrontation of any sort, the Prophet ﷺ changed the route of Taneem to a lesser-known place called Hudaibiyah. The Makkans sent Urwah bin Mas'ud to negotiate with the Prophet ﷺ, in their bid to stop him from entering Makkah. The Prophet ﷺ later sent Uthman bin Affan RA who had good contacts in Makkah for a counter negotiation. But they captured him and spread a rumor that Uthman has been killed.
The people rushed to take an oath of allegiance on the calling of the Prophet ﷺ and within a short span of time, news reached Makkah that 1400 volunteers were ready to fight the Makkans. This scared the Makkans so much so that they agreed to discuss terms of peace with him.They also released Uthman and sent Suhayl bin Amr Al-Thaqafi to negotiate the terms of peace with the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The following were the terms of the Treaty called the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah:
In the name of Almighty Allah.
These are the conditions of peace between Muhammad, son of Abdullah, and Suhayl Ibn Amr the envoy of Makkah:
There will be an armistice between the two parties and no fighting for the next 10 years.
Any person or tribe who wishes to join Muhammad and to enter into any agreement with him is free to do so. Likewise any person or tribe who wishes to join the Quraysh and to enter into any agreement with them is free to do so.
If any Makkan went to Madinah, then Muslims would return him to Makkah, but if any Muslim from Madinah went to Makkah, he would not be returned.
If any young man, or one whose father is alive, goes to Muhammad without permission from his father or guardian, will be returned to his father or guardian. But if anyone goes to the Quraysh of Makkah, will not be returned.
This year the Muslims will go back without entering Makkah. But next year Muhammad and his followers can enter Makkah, spend three days and perform the Umrah.
The Prophet ﷺ demonstrated exemplary patience by accepting all these terms as dictated. The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah had numerous benefits for the Muslims due to the farsightedness of the Prophet ﷺ:
The Makkan leadership recognized Prophet Mohammed ﷺ as a leader of Madinah.
The Treaty terminated the hostile behavior of Quraysh against Muslims.
Muslims were equally allowed to make alliances with other tribes.
10 years armistice with Quraysh provided a unique opportunity to preach Islam and to deal with their rivals in other parts of the peninsula.
Regarding performing Umrah this year, Muslims received a written guarantee to perform it next year peacefully. When the Prophet ﷺ returned from Hudaibiya, he received the Divine Revelation that Allah SWT had put a seal of honor on this Treaty and called it "Fatah Al-Mubeen" (Manifest Victory) in the Qur'an. He also rewarded His pleasure to those who took oath of allegiance under a tree called Bait Ridwan and termed that Allah’s protection was upon the hand of the Prophet ﷺ.