Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
12. Emigration—From Makkah to Madinah
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becoming Muslims. There was now nothing to stop
people from accepting Islam. It was as if a large
crowd had gathered at the gate of Islam. The gate
was thrown open with the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
and the crowds flocked in. As Ibn Shahab al-Zahri
and others have pointed out, the Muslims gained
more from the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah than from
any of their campaigns. The Prophet returned to
Makkah two years later with 10,000 men, whereas
previously the Muslims had numbered no more
than 3,000. This was a direct result of the removal of
the greatest obstacle to acceptance of Islam—the
anger and irritation of the Quraysh which would
result from such a move. Bara’ was one of the
Muslims present at Hudaybiyyah. Bukhari has
related how he used to say to later-day people,
those who considered the Conquest of Makkah to
be the great victory of Islam that the Companions of
the Prophet used to consider the Peace Treaty of
Hudaybiyyah as the outstanding victory.
The economic blockade of Madinah was now lifted.
Caravans from that city were now permitted to pass
freely through Makkah. But Abu Jandal, Abu Basir,
and others who had accepted Islam, had to be
