Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
2. The Life of the Prophet Muhammad
~ 47 ~
The allied forces of 10,000 marched to Madinah under the
command of Abu Sufyan. The Madinans numbered only 3,000.
The Makkan cavalry were stopped by the trench. However, they
had plenty of provisions and supplies so they decided to lay siege
to the city.
On the 27th day of the siege, a cyclone hit Madinah. For three
days and nights the storm continued bringing torrential rain.
All the tents were blown away and the provisions became
unusable due to the rain. Dissension in the army was gradually
growing. Discouraged, the Quraysh abandoned the siege.
TREATY OF HUDAYBIYYAH
The Prophet felt that war was not the solution. Therefore he
adopted another strategy. Guided by a dream, he left for Makkah
to perform Umrah accompanied by 1400 companions. He camped
at Hudaybiyyah, a short way from Makkah. It was a completely
peaceful march. But the Makkan leaders objected to it. They felt
that their prestige was damaged by the fact that the very people
who had been expelled by them from Makkah should come to the
city again and perform the rights of Umrah openly and in such
large numbers.
Now the Prophet halted at Hudaybiyyah and began negotiating
for peace with the Makkan leaders. The Quraysh finally agreed to
sign a peace treaty. However, at the Prophet’s suggestion, a clause
was included in it, specifying that for the next ten years no war
