Islam and Peace
The Importance of Studying the Life of the Prophet Muhammad and its
Application to Our Lives
~ 95 ~
A CHANGE IN THE FIELD OF ACTION
When the Prophet Muhammad migrated from
Mecca to Medina, the Meccan leaders, still not
content, launched an all-out offensive against him.
Several military engagements ensued without their
being a decisive victory in sight. Ultimately, the
Prophet entered into a pact with the Meccans at
Hudaybiyyah. This, in effect, was a 10-year peace
treaty which permitted the Prophet to change the
arena of action and to look forward to a long and
undisturbed period of missionary activity. Till then,
the meeting ground between Muslims and non-
Muslims had been on the battlefield. Now the area
of conflict became that of ideological debate. Very
soon after this agreement was signed, the one-time
enemies began interacting with each other on a
large scale. During this period of interaction, the
ideological superiority of the Muslims so asserted
itself that large numbers of their former enemies
began to enter the fold of Islam. In this way, the
number of Muslims continuously increased, with a
corresponding decrease in the numbers of non-
Muslims. Ultimately the Muslims came to occupy a
