The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
Sunnah Hudaybiya
~ 149 ~
The Hudaybiya policy, in fact, is that in any set of
circumstances, problems have to be ignored and
opportunities, despite all difficulties, have to be
availed of. We find a number of examples of this
policy in the life of the Prophet. The Prophet
followed this same principle in his Makkan as well
as Madinan period. The only difference between
Hudaybiya and other similar incidents is that on the
occasion of Hudaybiya this policy was adopted
following a bilateral declaration, while at other
times it was followed by a unilateral decision.
The method of the Prophet was to study the
prevailing sets of circumstances dispassionately
and objectively and then follow that course on his
own, without any external pressure. This is what
we have called the Hudaybiya policy. For instance,
in the early phase in Makkah, the Prophet
communicated his
dawah
message secretly. This
did not mean that the Prophet had a meeting with
the idolaters of Makkah, and then as a matter of
bilateral decision-making engaged not to
propagate his message publicly but in secret. It was
rather
that
by
making
concessions
to
circumstances, he on his own adopted the method
