Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
12. Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah
~ 315 ~
the Companions could bear. ‘Urwah ibn Mas’ud
even commented that those whom the Prophet had
gathered around himself were about to desert him.
‘Urwah’s remark was too much for the normally
placid Abu Bakr, who sternly rebuked him and
said, “So you think that we will leave the Prophet
on his own?” But the Prophet himself refused to be
provoked. He accepted all the Quraysh’s demands,
and completed a ten-year truce with them. As long
as the truce lasted, the Quraysh were prevented—
directly or indirectly—from participating in any
hostilities against the Muslims.
This treaty weighed so heavily on the Muslims that,
after it had been completed, no one responded to
repeated calls by the Prophet for sacrifice of the
camels they had brought with them. It was with
heavy hearts that finally they rose to make the
sacrifice. So much so that when they shaved their
heads afterwards it seemed as if they were going to
cut one another’s throats, so deep was their sorrow.
But this truce, the terms of which appeared so
unfavourable to the Muslims, was destined to reap
incalculable benefits for them later.
