Bay'at al-Ridwan (Pledge Under the Tree)

The Pledge of Ridwan (Bay'at al-Ridwan) took place at Hudaybiyyah in Dhul-Qa'dah 6 AH during a moment of crisis. The Prophet ﷺ had sent Uthman ibn Affan to Mecca as his envoy during the treaty negotiations; when Uthman's return was delayed and a rumor spread that he had been killed by the Quraysh, the Prophet ﷺ called the companions to pledge. He sat under an acacia tree and extended his hand. Approximately 1,400 companions came — one by one — and pledged to stand with him and not flee, even in the expectation of battle to the death. When it was time for Uthman's own pledge, the Prophet ﷺ placed his right hand in his left and pledged on Uthman's behalf: 'This is the hand of Uthman.' The absent companion's pledge was given by the Prophet ﷺ himself. The Quran's response to this pledge is among the most direct divine honors extended to any group in the entire Quran. Surah al-Fath (48:18): 'Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, and so He sent down tranquility upon them and rewarded them with an imminent conquest.' The phrase 'Allah was pleased with the believers' at that moment is the foundation of the formula radiyallahu 'anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) that Muslims attach to the names of companions — invoking the divine pleasure expressed here in the Quran for this specific group at this specific moment. The Prophet ﷺ said that none of those who pledged under the tree would enter the Fire. The approximately 1,400 participants in Bay'at al-Ridwan hold a unique position in Islamic theology: they are the group for whom divine pleasure is explicitly stated in the Quran itself, not merely hoped for or inferred. Umar ibn al-Khattab during his caliphate would ask, when news came of a companion's death: 'Was he of the people of Hudaybiyyah?' — the question of whether the deceased had been present at Bay'at al-Ridwan affected the degree of mourning. The tree itself was later removed during Umar's caliphate to prevent any development of veneration around it — preserving the purity of the act of worship from the site of the pledge.