The holy Prophet was faced with a predicament...

The holy Prophet was faced with a predicament, since firstly they were not armed for battle, and secondly a battle during the Hajj season would not have been good publicity for the Muslims, since it would be said that the Muslims showed no regard for Hajj. Moreover the outcome of the battle was uncertain. On the other hand the refusal to adverse effect on the Muslims. What could the Prophet do in such a situation?

With extraordinary finality he declared that he would renew the peace with the infidels despite their having revoked the earlier treaty and abstain from the exercise of force. It was such a strange decision for the followers of the Prophet, that 'Umar bin Khattab, one close follower, expressed that he had never doubted the Prophet's words to the extent of the day of the "Hudaibiya Peace Accord" -because he had said they would visit Mecca that year.

The matter of Hudaibiya Peace Accord is one of the most instructive episodes in the history of Islam, showing how the crisis was handled so adroitly by the Prophet. The Muslims turned back from the journey, but after a short time even those who had been opposed to the peace, came to realise how politically favourable that peace had been for the Islamic ummah.

d) Peculiarities of Prevailing Political Environment Another issue which is directly related to the foregoing problems is that the Prophet's actions throughout the progress of the Islamic movement were appropriate to every stage under the prevalent conditions. During his 13 years of stay in Mecca, with the exception of one or two minor incidents, no armed clashes ever took place between Muslims and non-Muslims.

One case was that occurred in those early years when the Muslims' numbers were small and at prayer time had no security, neither in their homes nor beside the Ka'aba or elsewhere. At home if the husband was a Muslim and his wife and children were idol worshippers, they would make fun of him whenever he stood up to pray, and a quarrel ensued. In the Ka'aba the idolaters would jeer at and often molest the Muslims.

Thus they were forced to seek privacy for prayers in the mountains where numerous passes afforded seclusion. One day while a number of Muslims including Sa'd bin-Abi Waqas. had proceeded to such a secluded place and were busy offering their prayers, when a number of infidels who were passing by, noticed them and began to jeer at them.