Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) Approach to handling adversaries (3rd part)
Manifestations of the Prophet’s way of dealing with opponents
The Prophet of Islam, PBUH, as the messenger of divine revelation and the leader of the people of the world, was in practice the embodiment of mercy and compassion and a person of tolerance. At the beginning of the mission, he faced strong reactions. Quraish did not hesitate to persecute and torture and slander him; they introduced him as a liar, sorcerer, madman, etc. When these ridiculous actions were brought to the peak, the reaction of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was: “O Allah, forgive the people because they do not know [the truth]”.
1. The peace of Hudaybiyah is one of the surprising and at the same time glorious cases, it shows the peaceful and flexible behavior of the Prophet, peace be upon him; When the beloved Messenger, PBUH, turned to Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to write a peace treaty and said: “Write: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful.” Here Suhail Ibn Amr, the representative of the polytheists, said: I am not familiar with such a sentence, write: Basmak Allahum.
At this time, the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed flexibility and said: “There is no obstacle”; Then he said: “This is a document that Mohammad, the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, reconciled with Suhail bin Amr, the representative of Quraysh.” Sohail said: If we had considered you as Allah’s messenger, we would not have fought or opposed you; you only have to write your name and your father’s name. Here again, the Prophet, PBUH, said: “There is no problem.”
In the continuation of this peace, it was written that: “The conclusion of this agreement means that 10 years of war will be abandoned so that the people can regain their security” and during the negotiation, he said: “If people from our people join you, you must return them to us and If people from you come to Makkah, we will not return them to you.
In this way, the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, did not object to the peace treaty and completed it with whole sobriety, Although Sohail’s arrogance was unfortunate for Muslims; But the calm manner of the Prophet, PBUH, and Allah’s help calmed their hearts, and in this sensitive situation, they prioritized reason over emotions.
2. One of the most important examples of the kind behavior of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with his enemies, during the time of his political authority, are the examples that were manifested on the day of the glorious conquest of Makkah. On that fateful day when after years of suffering and hardship and jihad, he conquered Mecca and brought them to their knees; He could take revenge for abuses, insults, murders and robberies; But the Prophet, PBUH, issued a general amnesty order and all of them, except for certain people, were pardoned by the Messenger of Allah, PBUH.
It was here that he addressed the Quraysh and said: “O Quraysh group, what do you think, how will I treat you?” The Quraish, while being stunned, surprised and afraid, said: “Alright, we consider you as our noble brother and the son of our noble brother.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I say to you the same sentence that Yusuf, peace be upon him, said to his brothers: «لاتثریب علیکم الیوم إذهبوا فأنتم الطلقاء» means: “There is no blame and reprimand, go, you are free”.
3. The behavior of the Prophet, PBUH, is accompanied by trust in Allah:
Hazrat Jabir, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, narrates: «أَنَّهُ غَزَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قِبَلَ نَجْدٍ فَلَمَّا قَفَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَفَلَ مَعَهُ فَأَدْرَكَتْهُمْ الْقَائِلَةُ فِي وَادٍ كَثِيرِ الْعِضَاهِ فَنَزَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَفَرَّقَ النَّاسُ يَسْتَظِلُّونَ بِالشَّجَرِ فَنَزَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَحْتَ سَمُرَةٍ وَعَلَّقَ بِهَا سَيْفَهُ وَنِمْنَا نَوْمَةً فَإِذَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَدْعُونَا وَإِذَا عِنْدَهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ فَقَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا اخْتَرَطَ عَلَيَّ سَيْفِي وَأَنَا نَائِمٌ فَاسْتَيْقَظْتُ وَهُوَ فِي يَدِهِ صَلْتًا فَقَالَ مَنْ يَمْنَعُكَ مِنِّي فَقُلْتُ اللَّهُ ثَلَاثًا وَلَمْ يُعَاقِبْهُ وَجَلَسَ»؛ “We were with the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, during the Najd campaign. We landed in a valley full of trees. The Prophet, PBUH, went to rest under a Samara tree and hung his sword on the tree, and the people also dispersed to rest under the trees. He called us, we got ready and saw a man from the desert sitting in front of him, the Messenger of Allah, PBUH, said: “I was asleep, this person took my sword out of my pocket and picked it up. When I woke up, I saw him standing above me and telling me who will save you from me? I said, Allah, this is where the sword fell from his hand. Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, says: The Prophet, PBUH, did not punish that man, but pardoned him and sat down.
