5. Would you like to meet him outside the institution? (cont.)

When about seventeen or eighteen months had passed after the treaty of Hudaybiyah, Banu Bakr attacked Khuza’ah at night in a place called al-Wateer, which is close to Makkah. They had sought help from the Quraysh. The Quraysh said, “Muhammad will never get to know about this, as no one will be able to recognise us at night.” The Quraysh thus decided to help them with men and weapons, and to fight alongside them. Khuza’ah was taken by surprise and many of their men, women and children were killed. When a man from amongst them, ‘Amr bin Salim, saw what had happened to his people, he got on his camel, escaped from the Quraysh and sped to the Messenger of Allah . He entered Madinah terrified and defeated. He approached the mosque with visible signs of the long journey he had undertaken. He stood in front of the Messenger of Allah  and recited some words of poetry, wherein he asked the Prophet  to help his people against Quraysh who had violated the treaty by killing his people at night, whilst some were praying. Charity before consultation When the Prophet  heard the words of poetry, he became enraged and said, “Victory is yours, O ‘Amr bin Salim!” He then got up and ordered the Muslims to make preparations for battle. They were taken by surprise as they didn’t know where the battle would be. The Prophet  did not want to disclose its whereabouts in case news of it reached the Quraysh. He prayed to Allah that He blind the Quraysh from the Muslims’ plans so they could be attacked by surprise in their dwellings. The Messenger of Allah  was enraged over Quraysh’s violation of the treaty. He said, as he was preparing for the battle, “You will see that Abu Sufyan will come and request us to respect the treaty and even increase its duration!” Another group of people from Khuza’ah came to the Messenger of Allah , amongst them Badeel bin Warqah, and informed the Messenger of Allah  of what had befallen them, and how the Quraysh had taken sides with Banu Bakr against them. The Prophet  gave them his word that he would help them and said, “Go back and disperse in various towns.” He said this as he feared that the Quraysh may find out about his interaction with them and decide to fight them before the Prophet  could even reach them. They turned back to return to their cities and on their way they met Abu Sufyan at a place between Makkah and Madinah called ‘Asfan. Quraysh had sent Abu Sufyan to the Messenger of Allah  to renew the treaty that was signed at Hudaybiyah and to increase its duration. They feared that the news of their misdeeds may have reached the Prophet . When Abu Sufyan met Badeel bin Warqah on the way, he Charity before consultation feared that he may have come from the Messenger of Allah  after having informed him of Quraysh’s treachery. He said, “Where are you coming from, O Badeel?” Badeel replied, “I went to Khuza’ah from such and such a valley.” Abu Sufyan remained silent. When Badeel moved on, Abu Sufyan came to the place where Badeel had rested his camel and examined the animal dung to notice a date seed therein. From this he knew that the camel had been to Madinah, for the people there feed their camels date seeds. Abu Sufyan said, “I swear by Allah, Badeel has seen Muhammad!” Abu Sufyan then went ahead until he reached Madinah. He headed for the house of his daughter, Umm Habibah, a wife of Allah’s Messenger . When he entered, he decided to sit on the mattress of Allah’s Messenger , but she snatched it away and folded it up. He said, “Dear daughter, I do not know whether you think I am too good for the carpet or the carpet is too good for me?” She replied, “It is the mattress of Allah’s Messenger and you are an unclean pagan. I do not want you to sit on his mattress.” Abu Sufyan became surprised and said, “Evil has touched you since you left me!” Abu Sufyan then went to the Prophet  and said, “O Muhammad, renew the pact and increase its duration.” The Prophet  asked, “Is this the reason why you have come? Has something happened from your side?” Charity before consultation The Prophet  did not want to show him that he knew about their treachery, or that he knew about their attack on Khuza’ah. It was as if he was saying to Abu Sufyan, “Why do you want to renew the treaty and increase its duration? Do we not already have a treaty in place? Why the need to renew it or increase its duration?” Abu Sufyan replied, “Allah’s refuge is sought! We are still abiding by our pledge and treaty that we signed on the day of Hudaybiyah. We will not change our stance concerning the treaty.” The Prophet  remained silent.