Al-Fath (The Victory)

24. And He it is Who has withheld their hands from you [at Hudaybiyya] and your hands from them in the midst of Mecca after He had made you triumphant over them. And Allah is Ever the All-Seer of what you do. [All triumphs and progresses are dependent upon Divine Will.]

The blessed Verse in question is saying that He is the One who withheld disbelievers from inflicting harm upon you at the heart of Mecca as he withheld your hands from them after He had made you victorious over them. God Almighty is the All-Seer of what you do.

Indeed, this account was a clear instance of

“manifest triumph”

in Qur’anic terms. A limited number without sufficient equipment entered the land of the enemy who had embarked upon military expedition against Medina and had left no stone unturned to defeat them. However, now that the limited number of Muslims penetrated their land they fearful that offered the peace treaty.

Could there be any more significant triumph that they conquered the enemy without the least bloodshed?

The Treaty of Hudaybiyya was indubitably a defeat for the Quraysh and a triumph for Muslims throughout the Arabian Peninsula since Muslims were able to cast fear into the hearts of their enemies. In other words, withholding from waging war is a reference to the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, since Meccan polytheists had prepared themselves for engaging in war against Muslims and the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) had pledged allegiance with Muslims to stay loyal to him.

Thus both parties were prepared to confront each other.

In the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, God Almighty impeded polytheists from attacking Muslims on the one hand and hindered Muslims from killing polytheists on the other. There were two reasons behind the treaty which were Bounties: preservation of the sanctity of the sacred precinct of Mecca which was not to be defiled by Muslims and the other Bounty was the ten year truce stipulated in the treaty in which the number of Muslims was on the increase.

Since Muslims did not shed the blood of any of the Meccans, they went on pilgrimage the following year and three years after that they gloriously conquered Mecca. These Bounties were all the consequences of the treaty. Had some polytheists been fallen, peace, truce, pilgrimage in the following years, preservation of the sanctity of Mecca, and perhaps the conquest of Mecca would have been impossible.

Consequently, the Treaty of Hudaybiyya has been regarded as

“manifest triumph”

which paved the path of penetration and propagation of the Islamic faith.