MUHAMMAD AND THE TREATY OF
HUDAYBIYYA
by Silas
ABSTRACT
During 628 A.D. Muhammad attempted
to make a pilgrimage to the Kaba in Mecca.
As he neared Meccan troops opposed him and forbid him to proceed to
Mecca. However, the Meccans entered
into negotiations with him. About ten
miles outside of Mecca, by the spring of Hudaybiyya, Muhammad and the Meccans
concluded a treaty known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyya. This treaty humiliated the Muslims and Muhammad. Later as he journeyed home, Muhammad told
his followers that the affair at Hudaybiyya was in fact a
"victory". As proof of the
victory Muhammad promised his followers that they would have the
"booty" of the Jewish settlement of Khaibar. Weeks later Muhammad attacked and plundered
Khaibar.
INTRODUCTION
In March of 628 A.D., (6 A.H.),
Muhammad attempted to make the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca. Muhammad had
had a vision of going to Mecca and venerating at the Kaba.[1]. The Arabs in
charge of Mecca refused to allow Muhammad to enter Mecca and sent their
army out to stop him. They did not want it to appear that they were weak
and Muhammad had done something against their will. Instead of entering Mecca,
Muhammad and the Meccans made a treaty known as the Treaty of Hudaybiyya.
This treaty was humiliating to the Muslims. Both Umar and Abu Bakr
complained about the treaty's provisions.
Surprisingly, as he returned to
Medina, he proclaimed the Meccan rejection of his pilgrimage, and the
humiliating treaty, a "victory".
Muhammad attempted to mask his degrading compromise with the Meccans by
claiming to have a revelation found in Sura 48:1
-
"We have given you a glorious
victory so that God may forgive you your past and future sins".
To insure his followers that he had indeed won a victory Muhammad even
found a source for the spoils of war.
Muhammad promised them the booty of Khaibar. Six weeks later Muhammad attacked Khaibar, conquered the Jews
there, and distributed the spoils of war.
Note
[1] - I did not find any reference to
this vision at the beginning of the story of Hudaybiyya, however, this vision
is referred to twice in source material.
Further, the Quran mentions the dream Muhammad had to go to the Kaba in
48:27 (given later).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESENTATION
OF ISLAMIC SOURCES.
NOTE: comments in brackets [ ] are mine.
BEGINNING
OF THE JOURNEY
"Then
the apostle stayed in Medina during the months of Ramadan and Shawwal and went
out on the little pilgrimage in Dhul-Qada with no intention of making war. He called together the Arabs and neighboring
Bedouin to march with him, fearing that Quraysh [the people of Mecca] would
oppose him with arms or prevent him from visiting the temple, as they actually
did." - Sirat Rasul Allah, page 499.
"Then he [Muhammad] marched
till he reached al-Hudaybiyya which lies at the limit of the Haram [sacred
territory of Mecca], area at a distance of nine miles from Mecca." - Kitab
al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, page 118.
Bukhari in 5.495 states that
Muhammad intended to enter Mecca when he left, and that he would fight to enter
it:
"Narrated Al-Miswar bin
Makhrama and Marwan bin Al-Hakam: (one
of them said more than his friend): The Prophet set out in the company of more
than one-thousand of his companions in the year of Al-Hudaibiya, and when he
reached Dhul-Hulaifa, he garlanded his Hadi (i.e. sacrificing animal), assumed
the state of Ihram for 'Umra from that place and sent a spy of his from Khuzi'a
(tribe). The Prophet proceeded on till he reached (a village called)
Ghadir-al-Ashtat. There his spy came and said, "The Quraish (infidels)
have collected a great number of people against you, and they have collected
against you the Ethiopians, and they will fight with you, and will stop you from
entering the Ka'ba and prevent you." The Prophet said, "O
people! Give me your opinion. Do you recommend that I should destroy the
families and offspring of those who want to stop us from the Ka'ba? If they
should come to us (for peace) then Allah will destroy a spy from the pagans, or
otherwise we will leave them in a miserable state." On that Abu Bakr said,
"O Allah Apostle! You have come with the intention of visiting this House
(i.e. Ka'ba) and you do not want to kill or fight anybody. So proceed to it,
and whoever should stop us from it, we will fight him." On that the
Prophet said, "Proceed on, in the Name of Allah !"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
CAMEL STOPS
Muhammad proceeded a little
further. Then, Muhammad's camel
unexpectedly stopped and knelt.
Muhammad took that as a sign from God.
"The Muslims said "Pass
on! Pass on! to chide it [Muhammad's camel], But it did not rise. .... Thereupon the prophet said, "It
has not stopped but it has been prevented (from moving forward) by Him who had
prevented the people of elephants. By
Allah, if they ask me for anything that retains the sanctity of Allah, I shall
grant. - Kitab
al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, page 119.
But the Sirat records Muhammad's
words slightly different:
"Today
whatever condition Quraysh make in which they ask me to show kindness to
kindred I shall agree to". - Sirat Rasul Allah, page 501.
Bukhari
adds in 3.891:
"Narrated Al-Miswar bin
Makhrama and Marwan: (whose narrations
attest each other) Allah's Apostle set
out at the time of Al-Hudaibiya (treaty), ... The Prophet went on advancing
till he reached the Thaniya (i.e. a mountainous way) through which one would go
to them (i.e. people of Quraish). The
she-camel of the Prophet sat down. The people tried their best to cause the
she-camel to get up but in vain, so they said, "Al-Qaswa' (i.e. the
she-camel's name) has become stubborn! Al-Qaswa' has become stubborn!" The
Prophet said, "Al-Qaswa' has not become stubborn, for stubbornness is not
her habit, but she was stopped by Him Who stopped the elephant." Then he said, "By the Name
of Him in Whose Hands my soul is, if they (i.e. the Quraish infidels) ask me
anything which will respect the ordinances of Allah, I will grant it to
them."
"I left Kab bin Luai and 'Amir
bin Luai residing at the profuse water of Al-Hudaibiya and they had milch
camels (or their women and children) with them, and will wage war against you,
and will prevent you from visiting the Kaba." Allah's Apostle said, "We have not come to fight anyone, but
to perform the 'Umra. No doubt, the war has weakened Quraish and they have suffered great
losses, so if they wish, I will conclude a truce with them, during which they
should refrain from interfering between me and the people (i.e. the 'Arab
infidels other than Quraish), and if I have victory over those infidels,
Quraish will have the option to embrace Islam as the other people do, if they
wish; they will at least get strong enough to fight. But if they do not accept
the truce, by Allah in Whose Hands my life is, I will fight with them defending
my Cause till I get killed, but (I am sure) Allah will definitely make His
Cause victorious."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE MAKING
OF THE TREATY OF HUDAYBIYYA
Although Muhammad did not set out to
make war upon the Quraysh, the Quraysh opposed his coming to Mecca. As they found out about Muhammad's approach,
they sent their troops out to stop him.
He sent word to the Quraysh about his peaceful intentions, but they
replied,
"He
may have come not wanting war but by Allah he shall never come in here against
our will, nor shall the Arabs ever say that we have allowed it." - Sirat,
page 501.
The two groups parleyed, finally,
the Quraysh sent a man to work out a treaty with Muhammad.
"Then
the Quraysh sent Suhayl brother of Luayy to the apostle with instructions to
make peace with him on condition that he went back this year, so that none of
the Arabs could say that he made a forcible entry...After a long discussion
peace was made and nothing remained but to write an agreement." - Sirat, page 504.
Bukhari
adds in 5.496:
Suhail refused to conclude the truce
with Allah's Apostle except on this condition. The believers disliked this
condition and got disgusted with it and argued about it. But when Suhail
refused to conclude the truce with Allah's Apostle except on that condition,
Allah's Apostle concluded it. Accordingly, Allah's Apostle then returned Abu
Jandal bin Suhail to his father, Suhail bin 'Amr, and returned every man coming
to him from them during that period even if he was a Muslim. The believing
women Emigrants came (to Medina) and Um Kulthum, the daughter of 'Uqba bin Abi
Mu'ait was one of those who came to Allah's Apostle and she was an adult at
that time. Her relatives came, asking Allah's Apostle to return her to them,
and in this connection, Allah revealed the Verses dealing with the believing
(women). Aisha said, "Allah's Apostle used to test all the believing women
who migrated to him, with the following Verse:-- "O Prophet! When the believing Women come to you, to give
the pledge of allegiance to you." (60.12)
'Urwa's
uncle said, "We were informed when Allah ordered His Apostle to return to
the pagans what they had given to their wives who lately migrated (to Medina)
and we were informed that Abu Basir..." relating the whole narration.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISENCHANTMENT
WITH THE TREATY
However, this Treaty was not to the
Companions liking:
"Umar jumped up and went to Abu
Bakr saying, "Is he not God's apostle, and are we not Muslims, and are they
not polytheists?" to which Abu Bakr agreed, and he went on: "They why should we agree to what is
demeaning to our religion?" - Sirat page 504.
Bukhari
writes in 3.891:
Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "I
went to the Prophet and said, 'Aren't you truly the Apostle of Allah?' The
Prophet said, 'Yes, indeed.' I said, 'Isn't our Cause just and the cause of the
enemy unjust?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then why should we be humble in our
religion?' He said, 'I am Allah's Apostle and I do not disobey Him, and He will
make me victorious.' I said, 'Didn't you tell us that we would go to the Ka'ba
and perform Tawaf around it?' He said, 'Yes, but did I tell you that we would
visit the Ka'ba this year?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'So you will visit it and
perform Tawaf around it?' " Umar further said, "I went to Abu Bakr
and said, 'O Abu Bakr! Isn't he truly Allah's Prophet?' He replied, 'Yes.' I
said, 'Then why should we be humble in our religion?' He said, 'Indeed, he is
Allah's Apostle and he does not disobey his Lord, and He will make him
victorious. Adhere to him as, by Allah, he is on the right.' I said, 'Was he
not telling us that we would go to the Kaba and perform Tawaf around it?' He
said, 'Yes, but did he tell you that you would go to the Ka'ba this year?' I said,
'No.' He said, "You will go to Ka'ba and perform Tawaf around it."
(Az-Zuhri said, " 'Umar said, 'I performed many good deeds as expiation
for the improper questions I asked them.' ")
Bukhari
in 6.367:
"At that time 'Umar came (to
the Prophet) and said, "Aren't we on the right (path) and they (pagans) in
the wrong? Won't our killed persons go to Paradise, and theirs in the
Fire?" The Prophet replied, "Yes." Umar further said, "Then
why should we let our religion be degraded and return before Allah has settled
the matter between us?""
Sahih
Muslim in volume 3, #4405:
"....Umar b. Khattab came,
approached the messenger of Allah and said:
"Messenger of Allah, aren't we fighting for truth and they for
falsehood?" He replied, "By
all means." He asked, "Are
not those killed from our side in Paradise and those killed from their side in
the Fire?" He replied,
"Yes." He said, "They
why should we put a blot upon our religion and return, while Allah has not
decided the issue between them and ourselves?" He said, "Son of Khattab, I am the messenger of Allah. Allah will never ruin me. (The narrator said), "Umar went away,
but he could not contain himself with rage.
So he approached Abu Bakr and said, "Abu Bakr, aren't we fighting
for truth and they for falsehood?"
He replied, "Yes." He
asked, "Aren't those killed form our side in Paradise and those killed
form their side in the Fire?" He
replied, "Why not?" He said,
"Why should we then disgrace our religion and return while God has not yet
decided the issue between them and ourselves?"
Despite their dislike of the
agreement, they went along with it, keeping faith in Muhammad.
Now the terms of the treaty were
written, and further humiliation was suffered by Muhammad and the Muslims:
"Then
the Apostle summoned Ali and told him to write "In the name of Allah the
Compassionate, the Merciful."
Suhayl said, "I do not recognize this; but write, "In they
name, O Allah"". The apostle
told him to write the latter and he did so.
Then he said: "Write
"This is what Muhammad the apostle of God has agreed with Suhayl b.
Amr."" Suhayl said, "If
I witnessed that you were God's apostle I would not have fought you. Write your
own name and the name of your father."
The apostle said: "Write "This is what Muhammad b. Abdullah has agreed with
Suhayl v. Amr: they have agreed to lay
aside war for ten years during which men can be safe and refrain from
hostilities on condition that if anyone comes to Muhammad without the
permission of his guardian he will return him to them; and if anyone of those
with Muhammad comes to Quraysh they will not return him to him. We will not show
enmity one to another and there shall be no secret reservation of bad faith....
- Sirat page 504.
Bukhari
adds in 3.862:
"Narrated Al-Bara bin
'Azib: When Allah's Apostle concluded a
peace treaty with the people of Hudaibiya, Ali bin Abu Talib wrote the document
and he mentioned in it, "Muhammad, Allah's Apostle ." The pagans
said, "Don't write: 'Muhammad, Allah's Apostle', for if you were an
apostle we would not fight with you." Allah's Apostle asked Ali to rub it
out, but Ali said, "I will not be the person to rub it out." Allah's
Apostle rubbed it out and made peace with them on the condition that the
Prophet and his companions would enter Mecca and stay there for three days, and
that they would enter with their weapons in cases."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
TREATY PUT TO THE TEST
During the making of the Treaty an
event occured that tested it. A Meccan
who had just joined Muhammad and the Muslims was demanded by the Meccans and
then forcibly taken back to Mecca:
"While
the apostle and Suhayl were writing the document, suddenly Abu Jandal appeared
walking in fetters, having escaped to the apostle. The apostle's companions had gone out without any doubt of
occupying Mecca because of the vision which the apostle had seen, and when they
saw the negotiations for peace and a withdrawal going on and what the apostle
had taken on himself they felt depressed almost to the point of death. When Suhayl saw Abu Jandal he got up and hit
him in the face and took hold of his collar, saying, "Muhammad, the
agreement between us was concluded before this man came to you." He replied "You are right". He began to pull him roughly by his collar
and to drag him away to return him to Quraysh, while Abu Jandal shrieked at the
top of his voice, "Am I to be returned to the polytheists that they may
entice me from my religion O Muslims?" and that increased the people's
dejection. - Sirat page 505.
Bukhari
says in 3.891:
"Abu Jandal said, "O
Muslims! Will I be returned to the pagans though I have come as a Muslim? Don't
you see how much I have suffered?" Abu Jandal had
been [previously] tortured severely for the Cause of Allah.
Bukhari
adds in 3.874:
"Narrated Marwan and al-Miswar
bin Makhrama: (from the companions of
Allah's Apostle) When Suhail bin Amr agreed to the Treaty (of Hudaibiya), one of
the things he stipulated then, was that the Prophet should return to them (i.e.
the pagans) anyone coming to him from their side, even if he was a Muslim; and
would not interfere between them and that person. The Muslims did not like this condition and got disgusted with
it. Suhail did not agree except with
that condition. So, the Prophet agreed
to that condition and returned Abu Jandal to his father Suhail bin 'Amr. Thenceforward the Prophet returned everyone
in that period (of truce) even if he was a Muslim.
Later, other Muslims were also
returned.
All in all, Muhammad and the Muslims
were humiliated at Hudaybiyya. They
were stopped from entering Mecca to worship Allah, they agreed to a one-sided
treaty, Muhammad was forced to re-write parts of the treaty that the Quraysh
didn't like, and some of their fellow Muslims were forcibly taken back to
Mecca.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE
"REVELATION" OF VICTORY
Now, another curious part of the
affair occurred. About half way back to
Medina, Muhammad received a "revelation" supposedly from God:
"The
apostle then went on his way back and when he was half way back the Sura
al-Fath came down: "We have given
you a plain victory that God may forgive you your past sin and the sin which is
to come and may complete his favor upon you and guide you on an upright
path." - Sura 48:1,2. - Sirat page
506.
Another "revelation"
Muhammad had with regard to the event, is found in Sura
48:27 -
"Now hath God in truth made
good to His apostle the dream in which He said 'Ye shall surely enter the
sacred Mosque [Kaba], if God will, in full security, having your heads shaved
and your hair cut: ye shall not fear;
for He knoweth what ye know not; and He hath ordained you, besides this, a
speedy victory."
Bukhari
adds in 6.358:
"Narrated Anas: "Verily, We have given you (O Muhammad)
a manifest victory.' refers to Al-Hudaibiya Peace treaty)."
Here, a number of days after the
repulse at Hudaybiyya, Muhammad attempted to extract victory from failure, and
proclaimed that Hudaybiyya was a real victory.
Somehow, forgiveness of sins was attached to this victory.
But, Muhammad's followers questioned
if it were a real victory.
Bukhari
states in 4.406: -
On that 'Umar asked, 'O Allah's
Apostle! Was it (i.e. the Hudaibiya Treaty) a victory?' Allah's Apostle said,
"Yes".
In order to prove to his followers
that they really did have a true victory, booty was promised.
"Then he said, "God was
pleased with the believers when they swore allegiance to you under the tree and
He knew what was in their hearts, and He sent down the Sakina (tranquillity)
upon them and rewarded them with a recent victory and much spoil which they
will take. God is mighty, wise. God has promised you much spoil which you
will capture and has given you this in advance, and kept men's hands from you,
that it may be a sign to the believers and that He may guide you on an upright
path, and other (things) which you have not been able to get."
Note here that Muhammad claims that
God promised them "much spoil which you will capture"
Finally,
Ibn Hisham spells out what the victory really was:
"...He (God) has wrought a near
victory, the peace of al-Hudaybiyya.
No
previous victory in Islam was greater than this. There was nothing but battle when men met; but when there was an
armistice and war was abolished and men met in safety and consulted together
none talked about Islam intelligently without entering it. In those two years double as many or more
than double as many entered Islam as ever before." -
Sirat page 507.
In short, the Sirat asserts that
Muhammad proclaimed he really won a victory at Hudaybiyya, the victory of a
truce between the Muslims and the Meccans.
On the
other hand, the Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir gives a different viewpoint:
"A revelation has dawned upon
the apostle of Allah.... When those of the people whom he wanted had assembled,
he recited: "We have given thee (O
Muhammad a signal victory". A
person from the Companions of Muhammad said, "O apostle of Allah, is it a
victory?" He replied, "By Him
in whose hand is my soul, it is surely a victory." Then (the booty of) Khaibar was allotted to
the participants of al-Hudaybiyya in eighteen shares.
Muhammad’s victory was that he was
going to attack non-Muslims and plunder them without interference by the
Meccans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMATION
TO THIS POINT
1) Muhammad had a vision to venerate
the Kaba.
2) He fully prepared for the pilgrimage to Mecca and left,
determined to go to the Kaba, but was stopped by the camel and the Meccans.
3) There he was humiliated and signed onto the treaty. But peace was established between the
Muslims and the Meccans.
4) On his way back to Medina, he claims that the experience at
Hudaybiyya was really a victory. The
Muslims were perplexed at this and asked him about it. He assured them it a real victory and told
them that God promised them the booty of Khaibar.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MUHAMMAD
BREAKS HIS WORD AND THE TREATY OF HUDAYBIYYA
Later, other Meccans came to
Muhammad and according to the Treaty asked Muhammad to return some women. Muhammad refused to honor his word and the
Treaty. Instead he had the Muslims
return any dowries that were given to the women.
"Umm
Kulthum Uqba Muayt migrated to the apostle during this period. Her two brothers Umara and Walid sons of
Uqba came and asked the apostle to return her to them in accordance with the
agreement between him and Quraysh at Hudaybiyya, but he would not. God
forbade it......Sirat page 509.
The
Sunan of Abu Dawud in volume 2, #2759 says:
"....Thereafter some believing
women who were immigrants came. (Allah
sent down: O ye who believe when
believing women come to you as emigrants).
Allah most high forbade them to send them back, but ordered them to
restore the dower."
Muhammad claimed that now God
allowed him to break the Treaty, stating the conditions were only a test of the
Muslim women's faith. Once again, Muhammad
has a convenient "revelation" justifying his actions [see Sura
60:10]. Once again, Muhammad puts the
responsibility on God's shoulders for his sin, i.e., allowing him to break his
word.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCUSSION
I've written this level of detail to
provide the context and background for Muhammad's attack and conquest of
Khaibar. Initially, I did not intend to
study this event, but it proved to be so interesting that I felt that a paper
should be written on it. Thereby I am
able to show how Muhammad's mind really worked.
First of all, because Muhammad
proclaimed himself to be a prophet of God, we are allowed to hold Muhammad up
to scrutiny. He exalted himself as
God's last prophet. We have the right
to examine his actions and judge them against a high standard.
1) Ibn Hisham (Sirat) states that the
victory was one of peace, and that many people became Muslims thereafter. This is just apologetic work on Hisham's
part. If the victory of Hudaybiyya were
really a victory of peace between the Meccans and Muslims, then there would
have been no need of booty. The rewards
of peace would have been sufficient.
After all, as Hisham states, people began to become Muslims more
frequently now.
Remember, booty is taken in
war. To the Muslims of that day, real
victory was real victory, i.e., your foe was vanquished, you held the field,
and you got plunder. Your foe didn't
watch you ride out of town eating humble pie.
That is why they questioned Muhammad about it being a real victory. They had left Hudaybiyya with their tails
between their legs. To assure his
followers that indeed it was a victory, Muhammad promises them the physical
aspects of victory: booty: -
booty taken by force. This booty
was what they naturally expected to receive if they had won a real victory, not
a metaphysical one.
2) I find that
it was Muhammad who first broke the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, not the
Meccans who are usually blamed via for the event years later. Muhammad ended up not honoring his
word. The fact that he did return some
dowry money does not mitigate his actions of not returning the women and not
keeping his word. Once again, Muhammad has another convenient
"revelation", and God gets stuck with the blame.
3) I also find that Muhammad is guilty of
duplicity. The sources say that he
believed that he had had a vision from God to go on the pilgrimage. He made extensive preparations to go and he
said he was prepared to fight to be able to complete the pilgrimage. However, once threatened, he changed his tune:
a) - At first, when the camel stops,
he says he will agree to a Treaty if it doesn't harm his people or the
ordinances of God. Later, he pledges to
return Muslims to the polytheists. It
is obvious that this was harmful for the Muslims, they suffered for it. And, it is obvious that it was against the
ordinances of God, because Muhammad later claimed that God stopped him from
returning the women.
b) - When he was challenged by his
Companions, Muhammad plays another one of his games. This is similar to the Jon Lovitt character on Saturday Night
Live. When questioned about his vision
to go and venerate the Kaba, Muhammad replies, "Yes, I said I would go,
but I didn't say which year I would go"!
I can hear the Jon Lovitt character
saying now, "I didn't say which YEAR I'd go! That's it, yeah, that's the ticket! I didn't say which "year" I would go. See, I'll go later, yeah, later!"
It was obvious he intended to do it
this year, and that initially he was willing to fight to go to the Kaba. Later, for whatever reason, he changed his
mind. Instead of leveling with his
Companions, he gave them a song and dance.
Fortunately for Muhammad, his followers were devoted to him, and very
gullible.
OTHER
REFERENCES
I found a short but concise, write
up concerning the Treaty in The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition,
Vol. III, 1971, H - IRAM, Brill, Leiden, under "Hudaybiya", page 539. It basically supports what I've written. The reader can verify this for himself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTIONS
1) Muhammad played the shuck and
jive. First of all, he claims to have a
vision to go, and fully prepares to go, then, once near, he claims he has a
sign to stay.
Then he says he's going to make a
treaty with the pagans, if the conditions don't hurt the Muslims or go against
God's ordinances, then he makes a treaty that hurts the Muslims and goes
against God's ordinances.
Then he claims God told him not to
honor his word but break the Treaty.
Like the old cliché "The Devil made me do it", Muhammad
basically says "God forbid me to keep my word".
Is this the type of
"prophet" that can be trusted?
2) If the "victory" of
Hudaybiyya were one of peace being maintained with the polytheists in Mecca,
couldn't have Islam prospered by making and maintaining peace with other
neighbors? In effect, via the
Hudaybiyya treaty, Muhammad was allowed a more free hand in attacking the other
non-Qurayshi tribes living nearer Medina.
We know that the Jews of Khaibar were not a warrior people, but they
were very prosperous.
Couldn't making peace, instead of
making war, between other non-Muslim tribes been a victory as well?
3) Was it necessary to attack a
neighboring tribe (Khaibar) and plunder them to assure his followers of the
"victory"? Even though the
Jews disliked him, could he not have worked out a peace treaty with them as
well? Certainly they disliked him no
more than the Qurayshi did.
4) How is his "victory" attack
on Khaibar justified, since many people were killed, others after capture were
executed, women and children were enslaved, and at least one man was tortured
just for Muhammad to attain money? (See
my article on Kinana).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCLUSION
This event clearly portrays the real
Muhammad; unable to make up his mind, and shucking his Companions to hide his
humiliation. Later he makes up
"revelations" to turn the sting of failure around in his followers
hearts, and even promises a weaker neighbor's property as "victory
booty", taken a few weeks later.
Further, he claimed that God told him to break the very treaty God told
him to make. These are the actions of a
man who was not following the instructions of a righteous God, but the actions
of a man now set out on his own, willful, mission in life. Muhammad proved
false to his word, and false to the people who followed him.
Jesus said that false prophets would
arise and mislead many (Matthew 24:11).
hudaybiyya.htm
Rev A: 12-28-97, Rev B: 2-24-98
Articles by Silas
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