Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 67 - The Treaty of Hudaybiyya - Part 5 - Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 2nd Oct 2013
Seerah of Prophet Muhammad 67 - The Treaty of Hudaybiyya - Part 5 - Dr. Yasir Qadhi | 2nd Oct 2013
Surah al-Fath
As we mentioned Surah al-Fath [48] came down in its entirety while the Prophet PBUH is going back to Madinah. And this was a very rare thing. Surah al-Baqarah [2] took 9 years to come down; other surahs came down over time. But al-Fath [48] came down in one whole go. We will discuss all the ayat:
إِنَّا فَتَحْنَا لَكَ فَتْحًا مُّبِينًا
1. Indeed, We have given you, [O Muhammad], a clear conquest
لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ وَيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ وَيَهْدِيَكَ صِرَاطًا مُّسْتَقِيمًا
2. That Allah may forgive for you what preceded of your sin and what will follow and complete His favor upon you and guide you to a straight path
وَيَنصُرَكَ اللَّهُ نَصْرًا عَزِيزًا
3. And [that] Allah may aid you with a mighty victory.
So Allah is saying this treaty and incident is another way of showing honor and forgiving sins of the Prophet PBUH. Also any honor or blessing given forgives sins.
هُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِيمَانًا مَّعَ إِيمَانِهِمْ ۗ وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
4. It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers that they would increase in faith along with their [present] faith. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth, and ever is Allah Knowing and Wise.
لِّيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عِندَ اللَّهِ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا
5. [And] that He may admit the believing men and the believing women to gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein eternally and remove from them their misdeeds - and ever is that, in the sight of Allah , a great attainment -
So Allah has given the conquest to forgive the Prophet's PBUH sins and cause the believers to enter Jannah.
وَيُعَذِّبَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ الظَّانِّينَ بِاللَّهِ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ ۚ عَلَيْهِمْ دَائِرَةُ السَّوْءِ ۖ وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَنَهُمْ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا
6. And [that] He may punish the hypocrite men and hypocrite women, and the polytheist men and polytheist women - those who assume about Allah an assumption of evil nature. Upon them is a misfortune of evil nature; and Allah has become angry with them and has cursed them and prepared for them Hell, and evil it is as a destination.
وَلِلَّهِ جُنُودُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
7. And to Allah belong the soldiers of the heavens and the earth. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا
8. Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner
لِّتُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُعَزِّرُوهُ وَتُوَقِّرُوهُ وَتُسَبِّحُوهُ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
9. That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ يَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۚ فَمَن نَّكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ۖ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِمَا عَاهَدَ عَلَيْهُ اللَّهَ فَسَيُؤْتِيهِ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
10. Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah . The hand of Allah is over their hands. So he who breaks his word only breaks it to the detriment of himself. And he who fulfills that which he has promised Allah - He will give him a great reward.
So Allah is saying the hand of Allah is over the sahaba's hands when they gave the Bay'at al-Ridwan.
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
11. 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.
Here the munafiqun are referenced and their excuses are mentioned clearly.
بَلْ ظَنَنتُمْ أَن لَّن يَنقَلِبَ الرَّسُولُ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِيهِمْ أَبَدًا وَزُيِّنَ ذَٰلِكَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَظَنَنتُمْ ظَنَّ السَّوْءِ وَكُنتُمْ قَوْمًا بُورًا
12. 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."
So Allah exposes their excuse. Of course there is so many miracles: Before the Prophet PBUH returns to Madinah Allah tells the Prophet PBUH what the Bedouins will tell him. And the Bedouins had not even heard Surah Fath yet, but when the Prophet PBUH asked them they literally quoted Surah Fath. They give an excuse that, "We're busy, harvest season etc." They in fact thought the Quraysh would kill the Prophet PBUH which was very evil.
وَمَن لَّمْ يُؤْمِن بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَإِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ سَعِيرًا
13. And whoever has not believed in Allah and His Messenger - then indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers a Blaze.
وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ يَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
14. And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
سَيَقُولُ الْمُخَلَّفُونَ إِذَا انطَلَقْتُمْ إِلَىٰ مَغَانِمَ لِتَأْخُذُوهَا ذَرُونَا نَتَّبِعْكُمْ ۖ يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُبَدِّلُوا كَلَامَ اللَّهِ ۚ قُل لَّن تَتَّبِعُونَا كَذَٰلِكُمْ قَالَ اللَّهُ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ فَسَيَقُولُونَ بَلْ تَحْسُدُونَنَا ۚ بَلْ كَانُوا لَا يَفْقَهُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا
15. Those who remained behind will say when you set out toward the war booty to take it, "Let us follow you." They wish to change the words of Allah . Say, "Never will you follow us. Thus did Allah say before." So they will say, "Rather, you envy us." But [in fact] they were not understanding except a little.
قُل لِّلْمُخَلَّفِينَ مِنَ الْأَعْرَابِ سَتُدْعَوْنَ إِلَىٰ قَوْمٍ أُولِي بَأْسٍ شَدِيدٍ تُقَاتِلُونَهُمْ أَوْ يُسْلِمُونَ ۖ فَإِن تُطِيعُوا يُؤْتِكُمُ اللَّهُ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا ۖ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْا كَمَا تَوَلَّيْتُم مِّن قَبْلُ يُعَذِّبْكُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
16. Say to those who remained behind of the Bedouins, "You will be called to [face] a people of great military might; you may fight them, or they will submit. So if you obey, Allah will give you a good reward; but if you turn away as you turned away before, He will punish you with a painful punishment."
لَّيْسَ عَلَى الْأَعْمَىٰ حَرَجٌ وَلَا عَلَى الْأَعْرَجِ حَرَجٌ وَلَا عَلَى الْمَرِيضِ حَرَجٌ ۗ وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ ۖ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ يُعَذِّبْهُ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
17. There is not upon the blind any guilt or upon the lame any guilt or upon the ill any guilt [for remaining behind]. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger - He will admit him to gardens beneath which rivers flow; but whoever turns away - He will punish him with a painful punishment.
لَّقَدْ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُونَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ فَأَنزَلَ السَّكِينَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَثَابَهُمْ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا
18. Certainly was Allah pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you, [O Muhammad], under the tree, and He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down tranquility upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest
This is the highest level of praise here. Allah exposed the hearts of the hypocrites as He knows what's in their hearts, but this verse is affirming the believers were genuine. And Allah promises the believers a, "Near victory" and as will see it is the conquest of Khaybar, and in it the Muslims will get the greatest booty ever received up until now.
وَمَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَةً يَأْخُذُونَهَا ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
19. And much war booty which they will take. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.
وَعَدَكُمُ اللَّهُ مَغَانِمَ كَثِيرَةً تَأْخُذُونَهَا فَعَجَّلَ لَكُمْ هَٰذِهِ وَكَفَّ أَيْدِيَ النَّاسِ عَنكُمْ وَلِتَكُونَ آيَةً لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَيَهْدِيَكُمْ صِرَاطًا مُّسْتَقِيمًا
20. Allah has promised you much booty that you will take [in the future] and has hastened for you this [victory] and withheld the hands of people from you - that it may be a sign for the believers and [that] He may guide you to a straight path.
وَأُخْرَىٰ لَمْ تَقْدِرُوا عَلَيْهَا قَدْ أَحَاطَ اللَّهُ بِهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرًا
21. And [He promises] other [victories] that you were [so far] unable to [realize] which Allah has already encompassed. And ever is Allah , over all things, competent.
وَلَوْ قَاتَلَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوَلَّوُا الْأَدْبَارَ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُونَ وَلِيًّا وَلَا نَصِيرًا
22. And if those [Makkans] who disbelieve had fought you, they would have turned their backs [in flight]. Then they would not find a protector or a helper.
And subhan'Allah Allah is saying even if there was a war, the Muslims would have remained and the Quraysh would have fled. And this is another phrase of great praise for the Muhajir and Ansar. And we see here Allah knows past, present and future, but He also knows the future that didn't happen - if it did, HOW it would have happened Allah knows. Subhan'Allah. This is also of the knowledge of Allah. Allah is predicting something here that didn't happen. There was no battle. Yet Allah says, "If you would have fought them they would have fled."
سُنَّةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا
23. [This is] the established way of Allah which has occurred before. And never will you find in the way of Allah any change.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي كَفَّ أَيْدِيَهُمْ عَنكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ عَنْهُم بِبَطْنِ مَكَّةَ مِن بَعْدِ أَنْ أَظْفَرَكُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرًا
24. And it is He who withheld their hands from you and your hands from them within [the area of] Makkah after He caused you to overcome them. And ever is Allah of what you do, Seeing.
هُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوكُمْ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَالْهَدْيَ مَعْكُوفًا أَن يَبْلُغَ مَحِلَّهُ ۚ وَلَوْلَا رِجَالٌ مُّؤْمِنُونَ وَنِسَاءٌ مُّؤْمِنَاتٌ لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوهُمْ أَن تَطَئُوهُمْ فَتُصِيبَكُم مِّنْهُم مَّعَرَّةٌ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۖ لِّيُدْخِلَ اللَّهُ فِي رَحْمَتِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ لَوْ تَزَيَّلُوا لَعَذَّبْنَا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا
25. They are the ones who disbelieved and obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haram while the offering was prevented from reaching its place of sacrifice. And if not for believing men and believing women whom you did not know - that you might trample them and there would befall you because of them dishonor without [your] knowledge - [you would have been permitted to enter Makkah]. [This was so] that Allah might admit to His mercy whom He willed. If they had been apart [from them], We would have punished those who disbelieved among them with painful punishment.
Allah is criticizing the Quraysh here that they prevented the Muslims from entering Makkah. He also is saying in Makkah there are many Muslims who are persecuted and hiding their faiths. And if there was a battle, they would be forced to be on the side of the Quraysh, and so the Muslims could have killed them which would led to a large amount of grief.
إِذْ جَعَلَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْحَمِيَّةَ حَمِيَّةَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ فَأَنزَلَ اللَّهُ سَكِينَتَهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِ وَعَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَأَلْزَمَهُمْ كَلِمَةَ التَّقْوَىٰ وَكَانُوا أَحَقَّ بِهَا وَأَهْلَهَا ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا
26. When those who disbelieved had put into their hearts chauvinism - the chauvinism of the time of ignorance. But Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers and imposed upon them the word of righteousness, and they were more deserving of it and worthy of it. And ever is Allah , of all things, Knowing.
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
27. 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].
In the final verse Allah reaffirms the vision and dream, that surely Allah has shown the Prophet PBUH a true dream. And the Muslims WILL enter Makkah. And Allah says they will get a victory in the future; some scholars say this was either Khaybar or the conquest of Makkah (or other victories as we'll see).
هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَىٰ وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا
28. It is He who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to manifest it over all religion. And sufficient is Allah as Witness.
مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُولُ اللَّهِ ۚ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّاءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ ۖ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا ۖ سِيمَاهُمْ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنْ أَثَرِ السُّجُودِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ ۚ وَمَثَلُهُمْ فِي الْإِنجِيلِ كَزَرْعٍ أَخْرَجَ شَطْأَهُ فَآزَرَهُ فَاسْتَغْلَظَ فَاسْتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِ يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ الْكُفَّارَ ۗ وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ مِنْهُم مَّغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا
29. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers - so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.
The final verse has the phrase 'Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah' and this phrase only occurs twice in the whole Quran. The rest of the verse is a praise for the Muhajir and Ansar. Those who are 'WITH' him. Again there is immense praise for the sahaba here. And the last verse of Surah al-Fath is one of only two verses in the Quran in which ever single letter of the Arabic alphabet occurs.
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For the rest of today we will do the main benefits of Hudaybiyyah:
I. Benefits for the seerah
II. Theological benefits
III. Fiqh benefits
IV. Modern political thought benefits
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I. Seerah Benefits
1. Of the greatest benefit is that is forced the Quraysh to treat the Muslims like an equal party. For the first time the Quraysh and the Prophet PBUH complete a treaty as equals. Therefore this demonstrates the Muslims aren't only gaining, eventually they will gain an upper hand. Many of the Quraysh realize the tide is turning, and this realization made them so paranoid they said, "Whatever happens you won't enter this year, 'let not the Arabs say you had the upper hand over us.'" This in fact shows the Muslims DID have the upper hand but there is this stubborn and arrogance. In this we notice their insecurity and as the tables are turning, some of them embraced Islam. And very soon we will come to the last converts before the conquest of Makkah: Khalid ibn al-Walid, Uthman ibn Abi Talha and Amr ibn al-As. It was the treaty of Hudaybiyyah which was the last straw - they realized without a doubt Islam is the truth. And these group of people needed to see signs before embracing Islam and Hudaybiyyah was that final sign.
2. This peace brought about for the Muslims a comfort and security they never felt before. Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, etc. These are all fresh and recent. And there was always a fear of 'when will they attack again?' But now this treaty is in place, it brings about a sense of peace and calm. And this allows the Muslims to concentrate on other issues. First and foremost, the issue of the remaining Jewish tribes which were in Khaybar. They were a big thorn to the Muslims from the Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa living in Khaybar - and why couldn't the Muslims deal with them before? Khaybar was a fortress. And it will require a lot of work - who has the time and energy to dedicate on it when the Quraysh are a threat?
3. This peace allowed for the first time for the Prophet PBUH to act globally. Now that the local threat is eliminated, for the very first time he starts writing letters to international leaders. Hudaybiyyah took place in the 7th Hijrah and the letters started in the 8th Hijrah.
4. It showed the Muslim ummah is a truly political independent entity. The Prophet PBUH is writing letters to the leaders as a political leader.
5. Perhaps the best seerah blessing was that it allowed for the first time Muslims and pagans to interact without fear of any bloodshed. Throughout the Arabian Peninsula, it allowed Muslims and pagans to engage in buying, selling, mixing with one another etc. And this allowed the message of Islam to spread peacefully which led to many people converting. Thus Hudaybiyyah was a jihad of peace and dawah, and it was far more effective than any jihad of war. You will never convert people by the sword. But you will with peace and talking.
Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, the most famous scholars of the tabi'un, died 124 H and clearly he is one of the main architects of our fiqh, usul, seerah etc. We don't know much about him but we owe almost everything to him. al-Zuhri said there was no victory given to Islam before Hudaybiyyah than Hudaybiyyah. Why? He says, "The people were all at peace with one another, so they would mix and talk about Islam, and so not a single intelligent person heard about Islam except that he entered it. And in the next two years after Hudaybiyyah, the number of Muslims doubled or even more than this." Subhan'Allah in just two years the number of converts doubles from the 19 years of preaching pre-Hudaybiyyah. Think about that. And ibn Hisham quotes al-Zuhri and then he says, "The proof of al-Zuhri's statement is that in Bay'at al-Ridwan there were 1400 people, two years later in the conquest of Makkah there are 10,000 people." So all you have to do is look at the numbers: The bulk of Muslims participated in Bay'at al-Ridwan. Just two years later 1400 became 10,000. Where did these 8,600 come from? The two years in between of peaceful free dawah.
6. The sahaba present during Hudaybiyyah were given of the highest blessing and status. As we said the Prophet PBUH said to the sahaba, "You are the best people on earth" and he said, "No one who gave me the bay'ah will ever enter the fire of hell."
7. Hudaybiyyah was a direct line to the conquest of Makkah. It was this treaty which allowed the Prophet PBUH to engage in a military expedition when the Quraysh broke the treaty. Thus without Hudaybiyyah there would be NO conquest of Makkah.
So it was the most clearest and greatest victory without a doubt.
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II. Theological Benefits
1. Ibn al-Qayyim writes, and note Ibn al-Qayyim was one of the greatest masters at extracting benefits from the seerah. Hardly anyone has done this type of analysis, which is to really THINK about the seerah and then extract points of benefits. So Ibn al-Qayyim says, "Of the benefits from Hudaybiyyah, the permissibility of standing guard for a person of importance." Typically this is not allowed: Our Prophet PBUH has forbidden a Muslim ruler to sit while everyone stands in his presence. So the general rule is you don't stand up as a token of respect. But in Hudaybiyyah when the emissaries came Abu Bakr all stood up with their swords ready. Even though it was never the habit of the Prophet PBUH to have armed bodyguards, at Hudaybiyyah it took place to show the Quraysh the Muslims respect their leaders the most. To show them the protocol they were accustomed to. If the sahaba had all been sitting down, the emissaries of the Quraysh would have understood, "You don't care about your leader." So in this case it was allowed.
2. The issue of al-Fa'l which was optimism and good omens. Reading in something positive, and the two conditions for it being legitimate was:
i) a positive sign/message (no such thing as bad luck)
ii) the message is linked to Allah so you say 'it's from Allah'
And the Prophet PBUH when Suhayl came he said, "Now Allah is sending the ease" so from Suhayl's name which means easiness he derived a positive omen.
3. At one point in time it rained very hard during the 20 days camp of Hudaybiyyah. So one or two of the Muslims remarked, "It rained because of such-and-such a star." The Prophet PBUH after Asr salah said, "Do you know what Allah said last night?" Allah said, "Some of my believers have woken up believing in me, and others have woken up believing in the stars and rejecting me." So those who said, "It rained because of the stars" have rejected Allah. A lot of theology here but briefly, we see the superstitious customs of Arabs of attributing rain to stars or seasons, etc. is clearly haram. In our times we have similar types of things. There is no doubt when the sahaba said this they did not mean it in their hearts. So when you say something without meaning it, it's minor shirk. When you say it and mean it, it is major shirk. Therefore we must ascribe everything to Allah. We cannot say, "I was sick but the doctor cured me." We don't say, "That house was under fire but the fireman saved the house." This is inappropriate and minor shirk. We say, "I was sick but Allah cured me through the efforts of the doctor." We link it with Allah. We don't link it to secondary causes. We believe of course in causality but we don't ascribe blessings except to Allah. This is proven in this hadith. You never say, "It rained because of the star."
4. The issue of the remnants of the Prophet PBUH wudu, spit, hair etc. to seek blessings. We clearly see from hadith this was something that is clearly allowed and no-one can deny this. It's clearly allowed the sahaba could seek blessings from the Prophet PBUH in this way, but only for him and no-one else. No other person is of this level, that we kiss someone's hand and try to get blessings. This is wrong and haram. Also there is an authentic hadith wherein the Prophet PBUH said, "Why are you doing this?" They said, "Because we wish to get blessings." The Prophet PBUH said, "Whoever wishes Allah and His messenger love him, let him be truthful in his speech, trustworthy in his promises and let him not irritate his neighbors." So the Prophet PBUH is not forbidding the sahaba to get blessings from remnants of wudu etc. but he is saying to get even more blessings speak truthfully, be trustworthy, etc.
5. Of the greatest benefits is the issue of qadr. And that is that, sometimes things happens and we don't understand what happens. On the surface it appears nothing but wrong, chaos, evil and harm. Yet Allah knows and we do not know. Indeed one of the fundamentals of qadr is to put your faith in Allah. And you expect the best from Allah. Allah says, "It is possible you hate something but Allah will bring a lot of good from that thing you hate." This is the perfect example. Even the Prophet PBUH did not know what to say to Umar RA. All he says is, "Allah will help me." Indeed at face value it seems as a complete humiliation, but it turned out to be the single greatest victory ever.
6. From the incident we learn to never ever assume we know better than the Quran and Sunnah. Umar RA and Suhayl ibn Hanif both of them said, "Accuse your own opinion before you accuse the religion." Subhan'Allah. Umar RA said, "I saw myself almost rejecting Islam" meaning he is worried on that day he might have gone into kufr. Therefore you NEVER say, "I think" or, "My opinion is" when Allah and His messenger have spoken. When there is clear cut explicit verses/hadiths our opinion doesn't matter. When the Quran and sunnah is explicit, we obey.
7. Very interesting tangent: A huge controversy erupted in Andalus over the question 'did the Prophet PBUH read or write or not?' One of the great Maliki scholars Abu al-Walid al-Baji in Andalus claimed the Prophet PBUH can read and write. And this spread amongst the masses, and other scholars got involved and they said, "Anyone who claims the Prophet PBUH can read or write is a kafir." Why? In the Quran it says the Prophet PBUH was, "An unlettered prophet." So there was a literal court case brought against Abu al-Walid al-Baji, the most famous scholar of his time, and the Sultan had to get involved, and he basically said, "Look all of the scholars are accusing you of being a kafir." al-Baji said, "I have clear evidences he can read and write." Sultan said, "What?" al-Baji said, "Number one evidence, hadith in Bukhari, incident of Hudaybiyyah that when Ali RA refused to erase 'Rasulullah,' one version in Bukhari literally says the Prophet PBUH took the kitab, he didn't know how to write and he wrote 'Muhammad ibn Abdullah.'" So this version in Bukhari says, "He didn't know how to read or write, but HE WROTE." The scholars said in response how about the verse in the Quran? He said that verse describes the Prophet PBUH in the early stage i.e. when he didn't know how to read or write. But later on he learned. Then they asked about this verse, how do you explain it:
وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ
"And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt." [29:48]
And he said, "This ayah is an evidence for me and against you." Why? Because it says, "From before the revelation of the Quran, you didn't recite a book or write" which means after the Quran was revealed the Prophet PBUH did know how to read and write.
And the other scholars could NOT defeat him. And in the end the case was dismissed because he had legitimate Quranic and Sunnah evidences against them. They could not say it was kufr. And this shows it is up to the scholars of theology especially to know what is kufr and not. In the end the case was dismissed and he held this position until he died. But it remained a minority position, and later scholars wrote entire volumes on this issue to refute him. The majority opinion remains that the Prophet PBUH was unlettered. As for the version in Bukhari there are two interpretations: First is that he wrote his name only, and the evidence for this is that most people who can't read and write can at least write their name. The second stronger opinion, sticking to the Quran when it says the Prophet PBUH was an 'unlettered prophet' and when it says 'you never wrote with your hand.' Even though it says this phrase in the past, it doesn't mean it became true in the future. In Usul al-Fiqh this is mafhum al-mukhalafah and it's not a very strong istidlal. So they say the Prophet PBUH did not write but he commanded someone to write. When we say for example, "The governor rebuilt the highway," we mean the governor commanded the rebuilding of the highway. It's allowed to speak in this type of language when the leader is involved. So it's clear the Prophet PBUH commanded someone to write.
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III. Fiqh Benefits
1. The most obvious blatant fiqh benefit is the permissibility of engaging in peace treaties with an otherwise completely evil enemy. The Quraysh were not neutral about freedom and democracy, they were the worst enemy the ummah has ever seen. Why? Nobody has ever opposed the Prophet PBUH except for the Quraysh. Anytime a group of people oppose Muslims now, they are not opposing the Prophet PBUH - but the only people who opposed the one man whom Allah sent was the Prophet PBUH. Even when an enemy attacks an Islamic state because of religion, they are not attacking the Prophet PBUH himself directly. However the Quraysh attacked him, expelled him, persecuted him etc. What can be greater injustice than this? Yet still the Prophet PBUH engaged with them and had a peace treaty with them. Thus even the most vile and crooked and evil people can be engaged with in peace treaty. Imam Shafi'i says the maximum is 10 years of peace but you keep on renewing if you want. Abu Hanifa said, "10 years was just what the Prophet PBUH did, there is no limit." And this is the stronger position, just because the Prophet PBUH said 10, it isn't the maximum. And some modern scholars al-Qaradawi and others say in light of current circumstances, we can extrapolate there can be permanent peace if that is the way the world is expected to be.
2. Even though vulgarity and cursing is haram, there are some very specific scenarios where it becomes allowed. Abu Bakr's curse was so extremely vulgar but the fact that someone as shy, humble, full of adab etc. utters such a curse to get a point across to someone who just insulted Islam and the Prophet PBUH, shows there are minor exceptions to the rule because the Prophet PBUH didn't criticize Abu Bakr afterwards.
3. The one who cannot continue Hajj or Umrah must stop where he is, shaves his hair, sacrifices the animal and removes his ihram.
4. The ruling for ihram is that you can get out of it for a legitimate reason. A sahabi, Ka'b ibn Ujrah, suffered from a major medical issue which was that he was infested with lice. And he was highly sick and irritated, and when the Prophet PBUH saw him he said, "Why didn't you tell me it was this bad? Shave your hair off and then give a fidyah." So in ihram if you have a medical issue because of which you must wear other clothes, it's completely legit. They must do it and then they give a fidyah (feeding people etc.). So any legitimate reason for breaking the ihram is allowed.
5. Ibn al-Qayyim mentions the permissibility of seeking the help of a pagan if you trust him. According to Ibn al-Qayyim the first envoy the Prophet PBUH sent (Bishr/Busr al-Sufyan al-Khuza'i) was a pagan; others say he was a new convert to Islam. In our seerah we took the line he is a Muslim however Ibn al-Qayyim felt it he was not. But we know even if this evidence is not strong it's allowed to seek help from trustworthy non-Muslims from the Hijrah etc.
6. The permissibility of being literal about a treaty even if you contradict the spirit of the treaty. One example is that of women migrating. The treaty said, "No MAN shall come," so in this case the Prophet PBUH stuck by the letter and retained any women who sought protection in Madinah. Also the Prophet PBUH was not told it's his job to send the people who came to him back. So much so when Abu Basir came back again, the Prophet PBUH just spoke to the air and said, "If only there was someone to help him," i.e. he allowed him the opportunity to leave. So the Prophet PBUH wasn't obliged to hand over Muslims who came to him back to the Quraysh; this was not in the treaty.
7. We mentioned it rained severely, and on the day it rained Maghrib and Isha was not prayed in jama'ah. On this day the muezzin changed the adhan and to this day we are meant to change the adhan when Muslims cannot enter the masjid. We change, "Hasten to salah" to, "Pray in your homes." The sahaba said, "Pray in your tents" in the adhan. Similarly the sahaba prayed in their tents and not in jama'ah. This shows in times of difficulty (winds, snow, etc.) it is better not to pray in jama'ah.
8. If one oversleeps Fajr, in a lifetime it happened once to the Prophet PBUH (or maybe twice), never once in Makkah or Madinah. And in this there is mercy in Allah - it is something that once in a while happens so we should ask Allah for forgiveness and pray as soon as we can.
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IV. Modern Political Thought Benefits
Sh. YQ's first ever lectures on seerah was Hudaybiyyah and the slander of Aisha RA. These two were the most intriguing. Especially the treaty of Hudaybiyyah because it is very relevant (RE 9/11). Because the fact is we are living in difficult times, and there are so many internal and external problems. The people are far from Islam, the rulers are who they are and to make matters worse non-Muslim governments are harming the ummah with political and economic policies etc. So many things going on - the creation of Israel, the persecution of Palestine, large loans to countries and then interest and cheap exportation of goods etc. This is blatant criminal behavior but this is the reality. Militarily with drones and the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan etc. These policies are affecting Muslims so much so it is the belief the west is engaging in an all out war against Islam. This is a belief many people hold. This in turn has caused people to react in many different ways. Many people around the world hate America for what they've done. And indeed it's not only Muslim lands. So all of this has caused a lot of people to react in different ways. Some of them verbally, others physically i.e. al-Qaeda. Many of them say it's haram for us to remain in the west, to be paying taxes etc. Why? According to them: "Because it's not faithful to Allah - you are funding the killing of Muslims." Much can be said but for now, Sh. YQ says in his analysis if the lands that had oil in them were Buddhists, it would not have changed American foreign policy that much. That is, it's not a war against Islam as a whole. Yes it helps they label the Muslims as the brown "other", but in essence what America is doing is in its own interest: Economically and politically, not to directly attack Islam. The point is that western Muslims are accused of doing that which is haram.
What does Hudaybiyyah do? It shows us it is allowed for different portions of the ummah to have different treaties and alliances with those who are pure enemies of Allah and His messenger. How much more so when there is no khalifa, when the current countries might not be fighting for religion. They aren't even religious people! By and large American foreign policy doesn't stem from the Bible. It stems from their love of power and money. It's clear to see. Putting this together, from Hudaybiyyah we learn it is allowed to have treaties with some political entities even if that entity is harming or even killing some Muslims. Can you imagine the personal pain and anguish of the Prophet PBUH, as he sees Abu Jandal himself with blood and chains saying, "You will return me to them when I seek protection from you?!" This is why Umar RA lost it that, "How can we return him?" But this sacrifice needed to be made to achieve the greater good of the treaty. Indeed Allah called it a great victory, but it clearly did not appear this way initially. In our times we don't have Abu Jandal but we have the prisoners of Guantanamo bay. On top of this, the hundreds of thousands who have been killed by drones, invasions, wars etc. And our heart bleeds for them - and we are very angry but no doubt at the end of the day, it is still allowed to engage in treaties for the sake of good. What is that good? In light of current circumstances of the world, we living in the west are afforded the opportunity to worship Allah, and do dawah etc. in ways even if we were in Muslim lands we could not do.
As we speak there are at least 50 million Muslims living in western democracies. Just discussing the main European powerhouses at least 50 million. What will we say to them? That they must leave? Where will they go? What land will take them? On top of this, the sheikh does not view western governments to be waging war against Islam. They just do it for greed and power. But it's not just Muslims, this is the reality of an empire. The point being, western Muslims need to decide: Do they wish to enter a treaty with the governments in return for rights and privileges? Indeed even more so those born in the west, where are they mean to go? So the treaty of Hudaybiyyah teaches us it is allowed for Muslims to have different political treaties. What might be allowed for one group might be haram for another. So for western Muslims to be living in this land with a visa and passport - this is their treaty. And what's the conditions? You must be a law abiding citizen. If you have a passport, the laws become binding even if you see Abu Jandal. Someone will say Hudaybiyyah was unique to the Prophet PBUH. But this attitude destroys the whole seerah. The general rule is anything the Prophet PBUH does is something he does for us. Thus the concept of making treaties we extract, and further Abu Jandal and Abu Basir could do things which the Prophet PBUH could not do (i.e. raid caravans). So it is allowed for scholars to make ijtihad, and it's allowed for them to extrapolate from Hudaybiyyah. Yes, if we say a person with a visa and passport cannot do certain things, that does not mean other Muslims cannot. As for Muslims living in foreign lands, if they defend their land against an invasion this is allowed. But if you hold a passport, you cannot go against your own 'treaty' which is an agreement with the government to obey the laws.
And those people who are fanatics, generally speaking they don't have scholars amongst them. By and large mainstream scholars of all Sunni movements, they are opposed to this type of military action and fanaticism. And they never talk about issues of fiqh, spirituality etc. it's always jihad jihad jihad. And jihad is a very deep topic, to master it you must master all the other fields first. But these militant people don't go to these proper scholars, they listen to self-taught people who claim they are scholars. Another point of criticism is that, they follow opinions from which they construct a position that frankly, a basic understanding of the Quran and seerah is enough to refute. You don't need to be a scholar to know suicide bombing is haram - that blowing up a Shia mosque is haram - or someone going into a shopping mall and killing kids is haram. And anytime you try to reason with these fanatics they say, "Oh but they did this" - all the people they kill are innocents! If they fight back against the real people attacking them this is fine! But responding by killing innocent men, women and children - no good comes from this. Just further destruction and chaos. What was accomplished?! This is why the treaty of Hudaybiyyah is so important. It truly tells us not to act with emotion when we see Abu Jandal and Abu Basir. Wallahi our hearts bleed for the prisoners of Guantanamo Bay; the inhumanity is just sad and pathetic. They treat dogs better than our brother in Guantanamo Bay - we know this. But what can we do? Make du'a to Allah, make our own lives better, protest in the right way, etc. But for the benefit of the ummah we must be rational. What will be accomplished by pricking a pin in the tyrant? What is the backlash? Allah will take care. And as people with passports we cannot lie against the treaty.