Page 13 - Non-violence and peace-building

Non-violence and Peace-building in Islam

the House of God, the Prophet could have agreed to
return to Madinah without performing the visit. They
would be allowed to come the following year but would
have to leave the Makkah after a stay of only three days.
Humiliating clauses such as this, exacerbating as they
were for the Muslims, were all accepted unquestioningly
by the Prophet. It seemed to be an acceptance of defeat.
The Quraysh deliberately acted in an aggressive
manner in order to offend the Prophet. They wanted to
provoke him into initiating hostilities so that they could
find an excuse for fighting him. To prevent a visit to the
Kabah was in itself quite contrary to Arab tradition.
Moreover, it was the month of Dhul Qadah, which was
one of four months considered sacred in Arab lore, in
which fighting was prohibited. The Quraysh wanted to
fight the Muslims, but they did not want to be accused
of having desecrated the holy month. They wanted to
be able to lay the blame at the door of the Muslims, who
were few in number at that time and not even equipped
for battle. There the Muslims were, stranded some 250
miles from home, right on the border of the territory
of their opponents. It was a perfect opportunity for the
Quraysh to unleash a savage onslaught on the Muslims
and give full vent to their antagonism.

The Quraysh did everything they could to provoke the
Muslims into starting a fight, but the Prophet ignored
every provocation; he scrupulously avoided falling into
their trap. The situation was so grave that Abu Bakr
1
was the only one of the Companions not to feel that

1 Abu Bakr (573—634 C.E.) was a senior companion of the Prophet
Muhammad and became the first Caliph.

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