The Prophet (peace be upon him) and the Muslims with him encamped at Al-Hudaybiyah looking for a solution to the crisis that resulted from the Quraysh’s attempt to block their way into Makkah where they wanted to do the Umrah. The Quraysh sent several emissaries asking the Prophet to go back as they were not prepared to let him and his companions in. He, on the other hand, insisted that he only wanted to visit the Kaabah and offer the Umrah. All the Quraysh’s delegates went back advising them to make a compromise. Eventually, the Quraysh sent a delegation headed by Suhayl ibn Amr. The Prophet received them well. He had already declared that he would positively respond to any peace arrangements the Quraysh might offer. Now that this delegation arrived, he felt that it was time for an agreement to be made. He instructed his companions to show their sacrificial animals and to raise their voices with phrases expressing the fact that they had come only in response to God’s call to honor the Sacred House.
The talks between the two sides were not easy. Despite the fact that the Prophet was keen to achieve a peace settlement, the negotiations had to deal with several issues of substance. The topics included the Prophet’s visit to the Sacred House; the Quraysh’s determination not to seem to have given in to force; the possibility of agreeing a long truce between the two sides, putting an end to their frequent military clashes; the sort of relations which should exist between the two sides; and the freedom of each side to make any political moves on the wider horizon of the whole of Arabia.
There was, however, no reason to prolong these discussions. The Prophet accepted all the Quraysh’s conditions readily. It was Suhayl ibn Amr who took a long time in his presentation of each of those conditions and what each of them entailed. Indeed, the Quraysh side were surprised that all their conditions were accepted by the Prophet without too much trouble. It was necessary, however, to write the agreement down and to have it signed by representatives of both sides.
The Prophet’s attitude caused a stir in the Muslim camp. They were not used to seeing the Prophet taking such a very soft attitude. It was also surprising for the Quraysh negotiators themselves as the Prophet accepted all the terms the Quraysh stipulated without consulting any of his companions in the matter, contrary to his normal practice.
The Prophet then called in Ali ibn Abu Talib to write down the peace agreement. Again, Suhayl ibn Amr showed maximum rigidity, while the Prophet showed complete flexibility.
The Prophet told Ali to write: “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent.” Suhayl interrupted: “I do not know this. Write down: ‘In your name, Our Lord’.” The Prophet told Ali to write the phrase Suhayl proposed. He continued with his dictation: “These are the terms of the peace agreement negotiated between Muhammad, God’s Messenger, and Suhayl ibn Amr.” Again, Suhayl interrupted: “Had I accepted that you are God’s messenger, I would not have fought you. You have to write down your name and your father’s name.” The Prophet accepted Suhayl’s point and revised his dictation. The terms included that both parties will observe peace for ten years. However, if anyone from the Quraysh joins Muhammad without permission from his guardian or chief, he shall be returned to the Quraysh. By contrast, the Quraysh need not return anyone from Muhammad’s camp who joins them.
When the agreement was written down, witnesses from both sides were asked to sign the document. At that moment, a man from Makkah arrived in handcuffs and with his legs in chains. He was being kept prisoner there because he was a Muslim. This man was none other than Suhayl’s own son, Abu Jandal. It was his father who imprisoned him and fastened his shackles. Nevertheless, he was able to escape and to take an unfamiliar route through the mountains surrounding Makkah until he arrived at Al-Hudaybiyah. When the Muslims saw him, they were very glad that he had been able to escape and gave him a fine reception.
While the peace agreement was being written down, Suhayl was too busy to notice anything. When it was finished, Suhayl looked up and saw his son among the Muslims. He went up to him, hit him in the face and took him by the collar. Abu Jandal cried aloud: “My fellow Muslims, am I to be returned to the unbelievers to try to turn me away from my faith?” Those words were very painful to the Muslims, some of whom started to cry.
Suhayl ibn Amr, however, was unmoved. He said to God’s Messenger: “This is the first person whose case I take up. You must return him to me.” The Prophet referred to the fact that Abu Jandal arrived before the agreement was completed: “We have not finished drawing up the document yet.” Suhayl said: “Then I have not agreed any terms with you whatsoever.” The Prophet pleaded: “Then allow me him.”
Suhayl said that he would not. Mikraz, another member of the Quraysh delegation, said that they should allow Muhammad to have Abu Jandal. The father was adamant and refused all appeals to let his son join the Muslims. He went further and began to hit his son with a thorny branch of a tree. The Prophet again pleaded with him to let his son go, or at least not to torture him. But Suhayl would accept nothing. Some of Suhayl’s friends, however, extended their protection to Abu Jandal and his father stopped hitting him. The Prophet explained to Abu Jandal his inability to help him, speaking to him in a loud voice so that he could hear: “Abu Jandal, be patient and endure your situation for God’s sake. He will certainly provide for you and those who are suffering with you a way out of your hardship. We have made a peace agreement with those people, giving them a pledge by God that we will be faithful to the terms of our agreement. We shall not violate our pledges”.
When two years later Makkah fell to Islam and practically all its people became Muslims, there remained some of its leaders who needed time to review their position. Mostly, such people did not wish to feel, or to be perceived by others, as accepting Islam in order to save their lives. They wanted to make a free decision. The Prophet did not pressure anyone to become a Muslim. However, the fact that the psychological barrier of old opposition was removed and people began to think clearly. Yet those who were in leading positions had a higher mountain to climb. They had to struggle against their past when they mobilized people’s resistance to Islam.
Suhayl ibn Amr was one of these. He reports: “When God’s Messenger entered Makkah, winning a clear victory, I went straight into my home and locked my door. I sent to my son asking him to request the Prophet to extend protection to me.” His son, Abdullah, asked the Prophet: ‘Would you extend protection to my father?’ He said ‘Yes. He is safe under God’s security. Let him come out.’ He then said to those sitting with him: “Suhayl is a man of wisdom and noble position. Someone like Suhayl could not be ignorant of Islam. He has realized that his opposition to it will avail him nothing.”
Abdullah ibn Suhayl went to his father and told him what the Prophet said. He remarked: “By God, Muhammad always honored his commitments, both when he was young and now that he is old.” Suhayl ibn Amr enjoyed his freedom of movement, feeling secure. When the Prophet moved to meet his enemies at the Battle of Hunayn, Suhayl joined him but was still an unbeliever. He then declared his acceptance of Islam when the Prophet reached Al-Ji’irranah on his way back to Makkah.
