The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
صلح الحديبية
Summary
The Prophet (peace be upon him) set out with 1,400 Companions for Umrah but was stopped by the Quraysh at Hudaybiyyah. A peace treaty was negotiated with terms that seemed unfavourable to the Muslims but was called 'a clear victory' (Fath Mubin) by Allah in Surah al-Fath (48:1).
Details
Key terms: a ten-year truce, Muslims would return that year without performing Umrah, any Qurayshi who went to Madinah without permission would be returned, but any Muslim who went to Makkah would not. Umar was deeply troubled by these terms, but Abu Bakr calmed him. The Prophet accepted when Suhayl ibn Amr objected to writing 'Muhammad, Messenger of Allah' and 'Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim', agreeing to write 'Muhammad ibn Abdullah' and 'Bismik Allahumma' instead. Ali refused to erase the Prophet's title, so the Prophet erased it himself. The Bay'ah ar-Ridwan (Pledge of the Tree) occurred when a rumour spread that Uthman (sent as envoy) had been killed. The treaty's true wisdom became apparent: it created peace that allowed da'wah to flourish, and more people entered Islam in the two years after Hudaybiyyah than in all the previous years combined.