Week 5

The Hudaybiyah treatyLetters

Victory at KhaybarBattle of Mutah

Opening of MakkahTabuk expeditionThe Farewell Hajj

Death of the Messenger (saw)

It was now 6 years since the Hijrah The Prophet (saw) had a dream

that the Muslims would go to Makkah for pilgimage.

1,400 Muslims went for Umrah, unarmed.

When the Quraysh heard this they sent an army headed by Khalid ibn al Waleed to stop the Muslims.

The Messenger (saw) avoided the army by leading the Muslims through mountain passes.

When they reached Hudaybiyah, south of Makkah, the Prophet’s (saw) camel refused to go further.

The Muslims camped that night at Hudaybiyah.

The water springs were almost dry; by the will of Allah, the Prophet (saw) caused fresh water to spring up for the Muslims.

A man was sent to negotiate with Quraysh but they killed his camel and he managed to escape back.

Then Uthman ibn Affan, who had been one of the greatest men of Quraysh, was sent.

He was a long time, and there was a rumour that he had been killed.

The Prophet (saw) gathered the Muslims under a tree and they pledged to stay with him and to fight to the death if necessary, even though they had no arms, shields, or horses.

Just after that, Uthman appeared and he was safe.

Allah mentioned in the Qur'an that He was pleased with the believers and their pledge under the tree.

Soon after this, official messengers came from Quraysh and held talks with the Muslims.

The Hudaybiyah treaty was made with the following conditions:

1. Muslims would return to Madinah and not make Umrah.

2. Muslims can come for 3 days next year to make Umrah.

3. When they come to Makkah, Muslims cannot carry arms.

4. There will be peace for 10 years and people can travel without fear.

5. If Makkans took refuge in Madinah, they must be returned if Quraysh wanted. If Muslims take refuge in Makkah, they do not have to be returned.

6. If there is war between other tribes, Quraysh and the Muslims stay neutral.

7. The Muslims and Quraysh can make treaties with other Arab tribes.

The Muslims felt very disheartened by this treaty, but Allah revealed:

“Indeed, We have given you a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive your sins of the past and future, and complete His favour

on you and guide you to the straight path, and that Allah

may help you with strong help”(trans. 48:1-3)

The Hudaybiyah treaty allowed the Muslims to preach Islam

freely.

Thousands of people became Muslim after this, including

Khalid ibn al Waleed and Amr ibn al As.

The Prophet (saw) decided that the time had come to spread the message to other countries by sending letters to their rulers.

The Negus of AbyssiniaHe replied that he was already a Muslim

and he agreed that the Muslims living there could return to be with the Prophet (saw).

Muqawqis of EgyptHe responded in a friendly manner but

was afraid he would lose his power if he became Muslim. He sent many gifts back.

Heraclius of RomeHe said that he knew Muhammad (saw)

was a true Prophet but he feared his people would turn against him.

He sent a letter to the Bishop who said the shahadah and accepted Islam. The people beat the Bishop to death.

Heraclius feared this would happen to him, so did not become Muslim and sent a letter to the Prophet (saw).

Chosroes Parvez of PersiaHe became angry and tore his letter into

pieces. The Prophet (saw) heard this and said, “May Allah tear his kingdom into pieces”. A few days later he was killed by his son, and the kingdom declined until it was opened to Islam during the time of Umar (ra).

Mundhir, King of BahrainHe responded well and accepted Islam.

The Jews who had been expelled from Madinah went to live in Khaybar, a rich town in Arabia.

Now they gathered forces and the Banu Ghatafan helped them.

The Muslims marched against Khaybar with 1,500 men.

It was difficult to penetrate the great fortress, but by the will of Allah, they succeeded.

An agreement was made with the Jews who pleaded with the Prophet (saw) not to expel them.

One year had passed since Hudaybiyah and the Prophet (saw) set out for Makkah with thousands of unarmed Muslims.

The performed the rites of Umrah, and were overjoyed to be able to visit Makkah again. The Ansar went with them.

Three months later, the Prophet (saw) sent Harith ibn Umayr with a letter to Shurahbil, chief of Busra, inviting him to Islam. He killed Harith.

The Prophet (saw) then sent an army of 3,000 men to Busra, led by Zayd ibn al Haritha.

The enemy gathered a huge force of 200,000 men.

 

The Battle of Mu’tahThe Battle of Mu’tah

The battle was extremely fierce. Zayd ibn Harithah, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, and

Abdullah ibn Rawahah all held the standard but died shaheed.

Then Khalid ibn al Waleed took the banner with fearless courage.

He changed the position of the army and was very clever in his plans.

The Romans stopped attacking and the Muslims were able to return to

Madinah.

Quraysh MuslimsBanu Bakr Banu Khuza’a

The Quraysh secretly helped Banu Bakr to kill some of Banu Khuza’a.

The Quraysh refused to pay compensation to the Khuza’a or withdraw support for Banu Bakr.

Now the treaty of Hudaybiyah had been broken.

On 20th Ramadhan, 8AH, 10,000 Muslims marched on Makkah.

They did not want power or money, just to establish worship of Allah alone.

They camped outside Makkah, and Abbas and Abu Sufyan came and accepted Islam.

The Muslims were able to open Makkah without bloodshed, apart from one small group that fought the Muslims.

The Muslims from Makkah were able to return to their own homes and families.

The Prophet remained praying in a tent, then went out and made tawaf.

He erased the images from the inside of the kaba and broke the idols.

Makkah became a united city of Islam.

Hawazin and Thaqif were afraid of the Muslims’ power. They made an agreement to destroy the Muslims.

They met the Muslims at the Battle of Hunayn. The Muslims felt confident as they had a huge army now.

The Muslims were ambushed by the enemy on a narrow, rocky path.

The Muslims were terrified and many fled.

Only 600, true in faith, remained.Allah gave them victory.

Shortly afterwards, the Hawazin and Thaqif accepted Islam.

The Prophet (saw) returned to Madinah with the Ansar.

Islam began to spread all over Arabia.

The Battle of TabukThe Battle of TabukThe Roman Empire could not tolerate

the increasing power of the Muslims.

They decided to attack.The Messenger (saw) summoned all

Muslims to come and defend Islam.It was extremely hot. The journey

was very long.It was also time for the crops to be

harvested.

The Romans were extremely fearsome soldiers.

However many Muslims did all they could to help this battle.

Umar (ra) gave half his wealth for the jihad, and Abu Bakr (ra) gave everything he had.

An army of 30,000 men was assembled.

The hypocrites made excuses and did not join in the battle.

The march was so hard and it was so hot that some Muslims turned back to Madinah.

Finally, the army ran out of water.The Prophet (saw) prayed to Allah,

and rain came pouring from the sky.The Muslims camped at Tabuk.The Roman were afraid at the

strength of their army and retreated.

Three Muslims who were not hypocrites, but were weak, stayed in Madinah without an excuse.

They were excluded from the community.

They repented to Allah and Allah forgave them.

The hypocrites made excuses and did not repent.

Urwa ibn Masud was a leader of Thaqif, the tribe from Ta’if.

He became Muslim and went back to bring his people to Islam.

The next day he gave the adhan for Fajr.The people killed him, but in his last

breath, he said, “This is a gift with which Allah has honoured me and a martyrdom which Allah has led me to”

Later, Thaqif all became Muslim.

It was 10 AH and the month of Hajj came again.

The Messenger (saw) completed the Hajj and delivered his farewell speech on the Mount of Rahma

above the plain of Arafah.He ended by saying,

“Be my witness O Allah. Have I conveyed Your message to Your

people?”And the people answered “Yes you

have! Allah be witness!”

Allah revealed,“This day I have perfected your

religion for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen

Islam as Your religion”(trans. 5:3)

When Abu Bakr heard this, he knew that the mission of the Prophet

(saw) was completed and that his life was soon to come to a close.

The Prophet (saw) had got ready an army to go to Syria against the Romans. He placed Usama ibn Zayd, who was 19 or 20, in charge.

But just then the Prophet (saw) became seriously ill.

Between his fevers, he would go to lead the prayers at the masjid.

As the Prophet (saw) became weaker he asked Abu Bakr to lead the prayers.

Aisha said that her father would cry so much when reading Quran, he could not lead the prayers.

Once the Prophet (saw) heard Umar (ra) leading the prayer and he asked, “Where is Abu Bakr?”

The Prophet (saw) instructed that all his possessions be given away, so he did not meet his Lord owning anything.

On his last day, he was able to go to the masjid, but signalled to Abu Bakr to continue leading the prayer.

As his fever increased, he was nursed by Aisha and passed away on her lap. His last words were;

“Nay, the eternal companion in Paradise”

The Muslims heard the sound of crying and found it hard to accept what could have happened.

Umar (ra) stood with his sword saying that the Prophet (saw) has not died.

Abu Bakr (ra) went out to meet the people, and said, “He who worshipped Muhammad, let him know that Muhammad is dead. But He who worships Allah, let him know Allah is alive and never dies”

Tears of sorrow and grief began to flow from the Muslims at their loss.

O Allah! Make us of those who guide and are rightly guided, and keep us on the path of your Messenger (saw) until

we meet him, Ameen