Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 63 - Between the Battle of Khandaq & Hudaybiyya - P1 - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

We move to one of the most significant and interesting lessons in the seerah of the Prophet PBUH. It is the precursor to the Conquest of Makkah, and Allah calls this incident a 'clear victory.' And this ayat in Surah al-Fath, the 'fath' which means victory, came down during this incident therefore it is this incident that is the clear victory, and this incident is none other than the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا

"Indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest." [48:1]

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah is especially relevant to Muslims living in the west. There is a mark of significance for us and we will see why. In a nutshell, the treaty demonstrates that at times, political alliances/agreements forces us to allow other states to do injustice, and all that we can do is turn to Allah for help. This treaty shows that sometimes we only have the option to make du'a to Allah to help. As we will see, clearly injustice happened and the Prophet PBUH because of the agreement he had, he could not defend those particular Muslims and he had to sacrifice a few for the benefit of the ummah. And of course Allah took care of all.

 064 - The Treaty of Hudaybiyya - Part 2

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Was It a Treaty or a Ghazwa?

The first issue: What do we call it? Some call it 'the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah' and others 'the Ghazwa of Hudaybiyyah.' Most of the later more modern writers reference it as the former. However the sahaba referenced it as the latter. This is interesting because there was no ghazwa. Recall a ghazwa is when the Prophet PBUH fought or took part in some sort of battle. Yet most of them call this event 'Ghazwat al-Hudaybiyyah.' One sahabi called it a ghazwa explicitly. So why ghazwa? Because the fighting didn't actually take place, but the Prophet PBUH and the sahaba came a hair's width close to fighting. They had the determination and resolve to fight they might as well have fought (but no fighting happened). Also this incident is so significant politically that it is more appropriate to call it a ghazwa and a conquest:

إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا

"Indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest." [48:1]

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The Cause

 

What was the cause? Sometime during the 6th year of the Hijrah, the Prophet PBUH saw a dream of doing tawaf, wearing ihram and then shaving his head i.e. all the stages of Umrah. He interpreted this as Allah telling him to go and do Umrah. The Quran itself references this in Surah al-Fath:

لَّقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ ۖ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِن شَاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ ۖ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِن دُونِ ذَٰلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا

"Certainly has Allah showed to His Messenger the vision in truth. You will surely enter al-Masjid al-Haram, if Allah wills, in safety, with your heads shaved and [hair] shortened, not fearing [anyone]. He knew what you did not know and has arranged before that a conquest near [at hand]." [48:27]

Also in the hadith of Bukhari that Umar RA came up to the Prophet PBUH and said, "Ya Rasulullah did you not tell us we would be doing tawaf and shaving our head?" So this is reference clearly to his dream. So the Prophet PBUH tells the sahaba what he saw; the Islamic political area has become relatively large so the Prophet PBUH announces his intention to do Umrah to a large group of people.

All of the historians agree when this took place: He left Madinah on the 1st Dhu al-Qa'dah 6 H. He had made the announcement to the Ansar, Muhajirun and surrounding tribes. We can imagine the sahaba have not seen Makkah for 6 years, and the excitement and anticipation would have been so high for them. Along with this the nervousness of 'what's going to happen when we get there?!' When the news reached the sahaba they immediately prepared. As for the Bedouins, the people around Madinah, they refused to participate.

 

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The Bedouins, Exposed

 

As for the Bedouins, the people around Madinah, they refused to participate. The Quran references this that:

 

سَيَقُولُ لَكَ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ شَغَلَتْنَا أَمْوَالُنَا وَأَهْلُونَا فَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَنَا ۚ يَقُولُونَ بِأَلْسِنَتِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ ۚ قُلْ فَمَن يَمْلِكُ لَكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا إِنْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ ضَرًّا أَوْ أَرَادَ بِكُمْ نَفْعًا ۚ بَلْ كَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا

بَلْ ظَنَنتُمْ أَن لَّن يَنقَلِبَ الرَّسُولُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِيهِمْ أَبَدًا وَزُيِّنَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَظَنَنتُمْ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ وَكُنتُمْ قَوْمًا بُورًا

"Those who remained behind of the Bedouins will say to you, "Our properties and our families occupied us, so ask forgiveness for us." They say with their tongues what is not within their hearts. Say, "Then who could prevent Allah at all if He intended for you harm or intended for you benefit? Rather, ever is Allah, with what you do, Acquainted. But you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, ever, and that was made pleasing in your hearts. And you assumed an assumption of evil and became a people ruined."" [48:11-12]

Subhan'Allah Allah exposed them in the Quran. And in the books of seerah it's reported that the Bedouins said, "This man wants us to go to the very nation who came here to kill us, surely this won't happen. Let us just tell him an excuse." And subhan'Allah their laziness and fear prevented them from upgrading themselves from having the highest level. The sahaba have ranks remember: The first highest is the promised 10. Second highest are the those that participated in Badr (Badriyun). And the third highest are the people of Hudaybiyyah. We see here a causal relationship: Those who were brave and eager to go, Allah blessed them with such an immense blessing that the Prophet PBUH said, "No one on earth is more pious and righteous than this group," referring to the sahaba who came with him to Makkah. And this is well known: The more tawakkul you have in Allah, the more Allah blesses you.

 

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Leaving Madinah for Umrah

In the end 1400 Muslims leave Madinah for Makkah. We see here that the Muslim nation is growing steadily. At Badr there was 300 men; Uhud there was 700; Khandaq we estimated 1000 and now we have 1400 men who are going out for Umrah. This clearly shows the Muslims are numbering in the thousands. They left Madinah for Makkah and there are a number of reports. Here the books differ: Were they armed for battle or not? There seems to be both opinions. One book mentioned they were only wearing defensive swords; others say fighting swords which are sharper swords for actual battle. One way to reconcile is that they were not wearing these weapons and armor, but they had them in case they needed them. Obviously they are not wearing it because they are in ihram - and you cannot wear these things in the state of ihram. So those who said 'they had arms' means they had them in the caravan. And this makes sense: The Prophet PBUH would not walk in blindly. Indeed the whole seerah shows us the meticulous cautions which the Prophet PBUH took when he approached anything.

 

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The Sacred Month

Another interesting thing: The Prophet PBUH left Madinah on 1st Dhu al-Qa'dah. What is interesting about this? The sacred months start from this month. Recall the Quraysh used to swap back and forth the sacred months as they pleased. And Allah said, "This is the essence of blasphemy" i.e. playing around with the sacred preordained sacred months of Allah. It just so happened when the Prophet PBUH did Hajj, the 12 months were in perfect order. At that time the Prophet PBUH said, "On this year the months have reverted to their original order when Allah created the heavens and the earth, so let there be no more changing around." And this was one of the reasons they couldn't have a calendar: From that year the months has been set in stone. So the sacred months are Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab.

The Prophet PBUH left Makkah on the beginning of the sacred month - so he is delaying his departure until it begins. This is clearly intended - he wants to send the clearest message possible to the Quraysh that, "I have no desire for war. I am going peacefully to Makkah."

Now this was a huge gamble/risk. Technically the Quraysh are supposed to allow everyone to come to Makkah in the sacred months. Ibn Abbas himself said in the sacred months in the haram a person would see his father's murderer but he could not do anything. This is the law of Jahiliyyah the Quraysh prided themselves on. Once the sacred months were announced there should not be any fighting. And recall when the sahaba killed someone on the first day of a sacred month. And the Quraysh made a big deal out of it - at this Allah revealed, "They ask you about fighting in the sacred months? Fighting in the sacred months is a 'kabir.'" This means anyone who engages in offensive war during these months is a major sin. Allah is saying there must be 1/3 of the year where everyone must be at peace: For economical, political, etc. reasons and other wisdoms known to Him. And therefore the Prophet PBUH leaves on the first day of a sacred month to send a peace message to the Quraysh, and they technically they should let him enter since they've never in their history refused entry. This would be the very first time they would disobey the law of Ibrahim - knowing it's the sacred month, still they don't allow the Muslims access to the Ka'bah.

 

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The Valley of Dhu al-Hulayfah

When the Prophet PBUH reaches the miqat of Madinah, Dhu al-Hulayfah, he prayed two rak'at. And it is the sunnah to pray two rak'at there before moving towards Makkah from Madinah. The two rak'at are prayed because of the valley of Dhu al-Hulayfah, not because of the ihram. Some fuqaha have held a position that you should pray two rak'at every time you enter the ihram. But this doesn't seem to be the case. Rather, the Prophet PBUH prayed there because he said it's a sacred valley. So the Prophet PBUH prayed two rak'at and put on his ihram.

 

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Consecrating Animals

 

After this he consecrated the animals - this is a practice instituted by Ibrahim AS and it was very common up until recent history. It's a sunnah almost entirely lost by the ummah today. In one report the Prophet PBUH took 70 camels with him; during the Hajj he takes 100 - and this shows whenever he does something he wants to do it better and with more volume. So what does consecrating the camels mean? In Arabic it's called 'ihlal' which means to decorate the camels with signs, decorations etc. This is to designate that this animal is for the poor people, and it will be sacrificed for the sake of Allah. And seeing these animals was a sign of Iman - once you had consecrated an animal you shouldn't use it unless you have to. Allah says with regards to the camels,

ذَٰلِكَ وَمَن يُعَظِّمْ شَعَائِرَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّهَا مِن تَقْوَى الْقُلُوبِ

"That [is so]. And whoever honors the symbols of Allah - indeed, it is from the piety of hearts." [22:32]

So the Prophet PBUH consecrated all 70 camels, and towards the end of this story (in Hudaybiyyah) he shows these animals to some of the emissaries who came from the Quraysh. And this softened their hearts and they say, "All of these animals for Allah?! It is not allowed to stop these people from entering Makkah." So it was at Dhu al-Hulayfah the Prophet PBUH consecrated the animals, and he also sent a sahabi Busr ibn Sufyan al-Khuza'i to go to Makkah and find out what the Quraysh are doing.

 

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Find Out How the Quraysh Would React

 

Again and again we find the caution of the Prophet PBUH. His tawakkul is perfect - but he does everything in his power to make sure the plan is perfect. Tawakkul means you do everything you can. And who did he send? A sahabi that no one knows; he is neither an Ansari or Muhajir so he won't be recognized. He's from the Khuza'a which was a neutral tribe - this is pure wisdom. So the Prophet PBUH told him to find out the reaction of the Quraysh. This also shows us the Prophet PBUH was expecting opposition, and unlike the other expeditions he didn't try to double-back - this was a common tactic. But when it came to Hudaybiyyah he went straight to Makkah to demonstrate he has nothing to hide and he doesn't have another agenda except to do Umrah peacefully.

As he was proceeding, news reached him that there was a group of riders in an area called Ghayqah and the Prophet PBUH thought this might be the Quraysh, so he sent a small group to verify who they were. It turns out it was a false alarm but an incident happened that the books of fiqh always discuss. And every book of hadith also mentions this incident including Bukhari, Muslim etc. In this mini expedition (and this also shows the Prophet PBUH has guards around the army: He has conveys and lookouts and scouts around the group to inform the Prophet PBUH of anything happening).

 

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Tangent: Can Those Not in Ihram Hunt for Those in Ihram?

On the way back from this mini expedition, there were a group of sahaba and amongst them was Abu Qatada al-Ansari. For some reason that the books don't mention, he was not in ihram, while everyone else was. It's also mentioned he was put in charge of the sacrificial animals. What happens? On the way back the sahaba see a herd of zebras/gazelles. This shows in the time of the Prophet PBUH there were wild animals such as zebras in Arabia, there are no more. The term for zebra is 'himar al-wahshi,' and the sharia has allowed zebras to be hunted but has forbidden donkeys. The Prophet PBUH explicitly said this after Badr. So the sahaba saw a flock of zebras and none of them moved. They didn't even tell Abu Qatada there are zebras over there because it's haram for them to hunt while in the state of ihram. Abu Qatada is not in ihram - so what do you do if there's a group, some in ihram and some not? Can those not in ihram hunt for those IN ihram? This is irrelevant for us, but once upon a time it was a crucial fiqh issue. So Abu Qatada saw the zebras and he didn't have his bow and arrow with him, it was in the bag. So while on his horse he told a sahabi to hand him his bow and arrow. But they refused to do so - they said, "We are in the state of ihram." So he jumped off the horse, got his own bow and arrow, jumped back and then started galloping towards the zebras and slaughtered one of them. He then comes back with zebra meat but the sahaba said, "We cannot touch or eat from this." And so they returned back to the camp and asked the Prophet PBUH, "Was this meat allowed for us to eat?" The Prophet PBUH asked them, "Did any of you motion to him where the zebras were? Did any of you help him in hunting the zebras." They said, "No." So he said, "Eat from it and any extra meat bring it to me."

Thus the fiqh here is very clear: If someone in non-ihram hunts by himself an animal then it's allowed for those in ihram to eat. Scholars say even 'nudging' someone and winking 'there's an animal over there' is not allowed because this is helping. Even just pointing or handing him a bow and arrow - this constitutes as 'helping.' But if the one not in ihram hunts by himself and gifts the meat to those in ihram, it becomes halal. And again and again we find the cautiousness of the sahaba: No doubt they wanted that meat. No doubt it's a delicacy. For sure they haven't eaten meat for a while. They only must have been eating dates and water. There is this exotic delicious meat but they do nothing to capture it. When it is presented to them on a table, still they say no. Subhan'Allah what Iman is this! And how laxed we are especially about food or drink. We just say, "Who cares insha'Allah Allah will forgive." And the sahaba know the big sin of eating sin: The Prophet PBUH said, "The one who eats haram his du'a won't be answered." Thus one of the outward signs of Islam is he who 'eats from what is allowed' - that is a Muslim. So we find here the remarkable example of the sahabi - they did not think of eating until they asked the Prophet PBUH.

 

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The Quraysh Wants War

Back to the story: Busr ibn Sufyan al-Khuza'i who went to Makkah and pretends he's a regular pilgrim to find out what the Quraysh are planning, returns to the Prophet PBUH. At this time the Prophet PBUH had reached a place called 'Asfan' around midway between Makkah and Madinah. Busr informs the Prophet PBUH the Quraysh have armed themselves and have worn their 'leopard skins' which was a sign of war. They even took their women and children with them to show their strength. And he said they sent Khalid ibn al-Walid to camp near Ghumaym - which is a plain right outside Makkah. So he is camped there to block the Muslims and prevent them from entering. When the Prophet PBUH heard this he said, "Woe to Quraysh - they have been consumed by war. What would they lose if they let me be? If the other Arabs attack me and win they will get the result they want. If I win over them, the honor will be theirs." He is a Qureshi thus if he wins automatically the Quraysh will bask in that victory. The Prophet PBUH then said, "For by Allah I will continue to fight them with what Allah has sent me until He gives me victory or this neck of mine is cut off." And subhan'Allah we sense here the anguish and pain, "Why do my own people hate me so much?" This clearly shows us what is in his heart. He loves his own people dearly, he is saying, "Why are they doing this to me?! It's a win-win if they leave me be, and it's a lose-lose if they fight me." Indeed whoever wins out of the Quraysh and Muslims, it's still a loss since they are killing one another and they are family. This also shows clearly the Prophet PBUH did not enjoy war. He did not want to fight or shed blood - this is a clear indication: Our Prophet PBUH only fought out of necessity.

 

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Shura

So when the Prophet PBUH heard this he stopped the caravan and addressed the entire group. He started by praising Allah and doing the normal khutbah al-Hajah. And then he explained: The Quraysh have sent out an expedition, Khalid ibn al-Walid is camped at such a place. Then the Prophet PBUH said, "We should attack the surrounding tribes that have also sent men with the Quraysh." Then the Prophet PBUH said, "What do you think we should do?" At this Abu Bakr RA stood up and said, "Ya Rasulullah you only left your house intending the house of Allah. You didn't want any war or battle - this was not your intention. So let us go straight to the Ka'bah and we will only fight if they fight us." So this was his opinion. The Prophet PBUH liked this plan and said, "Let us go forth in the name of Allah SWT." This shows us again and again the concept of shura in Islam. And again this is the sign of a true leader. If a leader just says, "Obey me because I am the leader," the people will not truly follow: But shura creates genuine trust and enthusiasm. Also the Prophet PBUH clearly changed his opinion: He had a position but he changed it to Abu Bakr's. This shows us the ijtihad of the Prophet PBUH is from himself. He has his own ijtihad and Allah allows this. But he changed his ijtihad when he saw Abu Bakr's opinion.

 

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Salah al-Khawf

It's said at Asfan he prayed Salah al-Khawf because he was afraid the Quraysh might attack them. Here there is a big controversy: Was this the first time Salah al-Khawf was prayed? One opinion is it was prayed now for the first time. Frankly, it's a trivial issue but many scholars say this was the first time it was prayed on the way to Makkah at Asfan - this is the majority opinion.

 

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Taking the Unusual Road

Since Khalid blocked the path, they had to find an alternative route. So the Prophet PBUH asked, "Who can take us amongst such and such a path?" He knows there is another path, but he didn't know exactly where it was. This shows there were well-known highways that everyone traveled on. Well known pathways all caravans took, and on the way there would be mini-shops or people camping. So the Prophet PBUH said, "Who can take us down the other path?" and a sahabi said, "I can guide you there." So the Prophet PBUH made him the guide and in order to get to the other highway, they had to pass through an entire valley of thorns and volcanic rock. It caused them to bleed and their feet to become sore, so much so the Prophet PBUH encouraged them by saying, "This valley for you is like the door was for the Bani Israel." What door was that?

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ ۚ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

"And [recall] when We said, "Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in [ease and] abundance, and enter the gate bowing humbly and say, 'Relieve us of our burdens.' We will [then] forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good [in goodness and reward]."" [2:58]

The Prophet PBUH said, "No one shall pass through this valley except that all of his sins will be forgiven." It was so difficult and hard the Prophet PBUH promised them this. And this gave them immense motivation to go through the valley. However the Prophet PBUH made one exception, "Except the man with the red camel." The sahaba were puzzled and were wondering who this man is. Right at the back of the group someone shouts out, "I've lost a red camel has anyone seen it?" So this must be the man. The sahaba went up to him and asked, "Why don't you come with us, let us go to the Prophet PBUH and perhaps he will include you in the forgiveness." It turns out this man was a Bedouin with nifaq (hypocrisy) in his heart, and his response shows this. He said, "For me to search for my red camel is more beloved to me than to go to your companion and have my sins forgiven." So Jibril AS told him this man won't be forgiven and indeed it was true.

 

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"There Are Munafiqun Around the Prophet PBUH"?

Also, this shows not everyone who was physically with the sahaba WAS an actual sahabi. Allah says in the Quran, "Amongst the Bedouins there are many who have hypocrisy." Why is this problematic? Because the other 'non Sunni' group JUMP at these texts and say, "Allah is clearly saying there are munafiqun around the Prophet PBUH." And they are referring to Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA etc. What a stupid position to hold. Allah clearly says, "Those who around you of the Bedouins are munafiq." As for the major sahaba, there is no doubt the Quran and sunnah has praised them to extreme levels directly and indirectly. We don't take a generic verse and use it to negate specific evidences that Abu Bakr RA is Jannah, Umar RA is in Jannah, Uthman RA in Jannah etc. That Umar is this and Abu Bakr is that etc. These are clear cut authentic evidences. You cannot take a generic verse and use it to trump explicit verses. And there is no question if anyone accuses such sahaba of hypocrisy, then they themselves are hypocrites. This is the reality. You cannot accuse Abu Bakr RA, Umar RA, Aisha RA and Uthman RA of having evil except the evil is in your own heart.

 

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The Plain of Hudaybiyyah

So they spent the entire day walking through this valley, and by the time they exited the night has just began to fall. And they reached the plain known as Hudaybiyyah. Now they reached Hudaybiyyah. So this valley of thorns was between them and Hudaybiyyah which led directly to the road which the Prophet PBUH wanted to get to. From Hudaybiyyah to Makkah there is a direct and easy road - it's not the road from Madinah, it's on the way from Jeddah to Makkah which is west. So he went across all the way because he doesn't want war. So the night begins to fall and as soon as they enter Hudaybiyyah, this is when the Prophet's PBUH camel refuses to move and in fact sits down. And of course no one was in front of the Prophet PBUH, he was leading the pack. So when the Prophet's PBUH camel sat down, the rest of the sahaba had to stop. And so the sahaba started yelling at the camel, "Hal Hal" meaning 'stand and go.' This was the natural call of the camel. And the camel did not move - so they began getting angry at the camel, and they said, "Qaswa has become stubborn" and the Prophet PBUH said, "Qaswa has not become stubborn, and neither is it in her nature. Rather, the one who stopped the elephant (Allah) has also stopped her." At this point in time, they ran out of water, and they complained to the Prophet PBUH about this. Indeed they were not expecting to go away from the main road which had stations of purchasing water.

 

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What is 'Hudaybiyyah'?

By the way what is Hudaybiyyah? It seems as if the name comes from the Arabic term 'hadba' which means 'hunchback.' Apparently there was a tree in these plains going down like a hunchback. And there was a well next to this tree. So they called this whole land 'Hudaybiyyah.' In our times it's called "al-Shumaysi." It is 20km outside of Makkah on the road from Jeddah to Makkah. And that's the distance they would do in a few hours so it was one journey away from Makkah.

 

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Lessons So Far

From this we gain some benefits:

1. First and foremost, the name of the Prophet's PBUH camel. This shows us if we know the name of his camel, we know far more important things. We know even the number of white hairs in his beard (14). The detail with which the seerah has been preserved is amazing. So the Prophet's PBUH sword, shield, camel etc. all have been preserved.

2. When they criticized the camel, the Prophet PBUH defended the honor of the camel. Subhan'Allah. If the honor of a camel deserves to be protected, how about the honor of a Muslim?, "Neither has she become stubborn nor is it in her nature!"

3. The beautiful linkage the Prophet PBUH said: "the One who stopped the camel is He who stopped the camel." Look at how eloquent that is. In both cases they are animals, and in both cases the Ka'bah is being honored. And just like there was a wisdom stopping the elephants, so too there is a wisdom to stop Qaswa.

 

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Yet Another Miracle of the Prophet PBUH

So where the camel stopped they set up camp and they went to the well of Hudaybiyyah, and lo and behold the water had almost dried out. There was just a little bit left so they complained to the Prophet PBUH, "We don't have any water, our animals are thirsty etc." So the Prophet PBUH went to the side of the well, sat on it and he told some of the sahaba to go into the well, and the Prophet PBUH handed them some of his arrows. Then he gargled some water from the well bucket, threw it back into the bucket and lowered it back into the well. The sahaba said the water then began to gush out and the ones in the well had to rush out so they don't drown. Subhan'Allah. The entire camp of 1400 people drank and continued to drink from that well. Their animals drank to their fill and this was yet another miracle of the Prophet PBUH.

 

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The Negotiations Will Begin

 

Now that he realized negotiations will begin, the Prophet PBUH made an announcement, "Wallahi the Quraysh will not ask of me any condition that the signs of Allah are respected except that I will give them." Notice how keen he is not to fight. Anything they ask he will agree as long as it's not haram. This is a prelude to some very harsh conditions which even Umar RA could not understand.

Khalid ibn al-Walid obviously knows where they are via scouts, so Khalid returned to Makkah and the Quraysh decided on the right tactic, and sent an emissary out to meet the Muslims.