The Account of Abū Baṣīr and its Outcomes

Among the conditions of the agreement of Ḥudaibiyyah, one condition was that if an individual from among the Quraish becomes Muslim and came to Madīnah, the people of Madīnah should not grant him protection, instead, they should return him. If however, a Muslim denounces Islām and heads towards Makkah, then the people of Makkah would not return him. At the outset, this condition seemed to be a means of disgrace for the Muslims. It was for this reason that many Muslims were averse, so much so, that even a venerable and remarkably understanding companion like Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar(ra), in the emotional situation of that time, was very displeased and restless concerning this condition. However, soon thereafter it was proven that in reality, this condition was a means of weakness for the Quraish and strength for the Muslims. Just as the Holy Prophet(sa) had stated in the beginning, that if a Muslim became apostate and left Madīnah, then he was a rotten limb, whose amputation was actually better. However, in comparison to this, if an individual became Muslim pure-heartedly and left Makkah, whether he find a place in Madīnah or not, he would become a means to strengthen Islām, irrespective of where he resided, and ultimately, Allāh would clear a way for his deliverance.1 This perspective quickly proved truthful, because it had not been long since the Holy Prophet’s(sa) arrival back in Madīnah, when a man named Abū Baṣīr ‘Utbah bin Usaid Thaqafī, who was a resident of Makkah, and was an ally of the Banū Ẓuhrah, became Muslim, and escaped from the Quraish and fled to Madīnah. The Quraish of Makkah sent two men in his pursuit and implored the Holy Prophet(sa) to hand Abū Baṣīr over, as per the conditions of the agreement. The Holy Prophet(sa) summoned Abū Baṣīr and ordered him to go back. Abū Baṣīr lamented, “I am a Muslim, these people shall give me grief in Makkah and shall coerce me to denounce Islām.” The Holy Prophet(sa) said, “We are bound by the agreement and cannot keep you here. If you are patient for the sake of God, He will open a way for you. We are constrained by the treaty and cannot act in offense to the agreement.” Helpless, Abū Baṣīr left to return with these people but was extremely terrified that upon reaching Makkah, many cruelties would be inflicted upon him and that he would be compelled to hide a blessing like Islām, rather, due to oppression and persecution, perhaps wash his hands of it all together. Therefore, when this party reached Dhul-Ḥalīfah, which is situated at a few miles from Madīnah en-route to Makkah, finding the right opportunity, he managed to kill one of his attendants, who was also the leader of that party. He was about to take aim at the next, but he fled for his life in such a manner that he reached Madīnah even before Abū Baṣīr.2 Behind him, Abū Baṣīr also reached Madīnah. When this person reached Madīnah, the Holy Prophet(sa) was in the Mosque. Upon seeing his fearful state, the Holy Prophet(sa) said, “It seems as if he has been afflicted by some fear or terror.” Panting for breathe and trembling, he said to the Holy Prophet(sa), “My companion has been killed and I am also as if in the mouth of death.” When the Holy Prophet(sa) heard of this occurrence, he consoled him. Meanwhile, clutching a sword in hand, Abū Baṣīr also reached there and as soon as he arrived he began to say to the Holy Prophet(sa), “O Messenger of Allāh! You handed me over to the Quraish and now your duty has been fulfilled. However, God has granted me deliverance from a cruel people and now you have no responsibility over me.” The Holy Prophet(sa) spontaneously said:

“Woe to his mother (in the idiom of the arabs, these words are used to reproach someone or express astonishment), this man is kindling the fire of war. If only there was someone to control him.”3

When Abū Baṣīr heard these words, he understood that in any case, the Holy Prophet(sa) would order him to go back due to the treaty. In relation to this, the words of Bukhārī are:

4

Upon this, he quietly left from there, and instead of going to Makkah, where he foresaw both his physical and spiritual deaths, he reached Saiful-Baḥr towards the coast of the Red Sea.

When the other weaker and hidden Muslims of Makkah found out that Abū Baṣīr has setup a separate abode, they slowly began to leave Makkah and reached Saiful-Baḥr. Among them was Abū Jandal as well, who was the son of the chieftain of Makkah, Suhail bin ‘Amr, and about whom we have already read that the Holy Prophet(sa) sent him back from Ḥudaibiyyah. Gradually, these people approximately reached 70 in number,5 or as per some narrations, 300.6 In this manner, it was as if, in addition to Madīnah, a second Islāmic sovereignty also came into being, which in terms of religion was under the Holy Prophet(sa), but was separate and independent in terms of government. On the one hand, the existence of an independent political system within the region of Ḥijāz was dangerous for the Quraish, and on the other, the Muhājirīn of Saiful-Baḥr were deeply wounded by the Quraish of Makkah. For this reason, after only a short while, relations between these Muhājirīn of Saiful-Baḥr and the Quraish of Makkah, took on a form almost identical to that, which initially existed with the Muhājirīn of Madīnah. Furthermore, since Saiful-Baḥr was situated very close to the route which ran from Madīnah to Syria, for this reason, confrontations between the caravans of the Quraish and these Muhājirīn began to take place. This new war took on a very dangerous state of affairs for the Quraish. Firstly, because the Quraish had become very weak after the last war and secondly, their number had drastically decreased. Furthermore, in comparison to them, the Islāmic State of Saiful-Baḥr, which was led by zealous companions such as Abū Baṣīr and Abū Jandal, was full of the fresh fervour of faith and the strength springing from the bitter memories of cruelties committed against them, which knew no opposition. The outcome was that after a short period in time, the Quraish threw in its arms and becoming distressed by the attacks of the party of Abū Baṣīr, by means of a delegation, they came to the Holy Prophet(sa) and pleaded on account of their relation to him, to call the Muhājirīn of Saiful-Baḥr to Madīnah and make them a part of his political system. Moreover, along with this, they happily forfeited the condition of the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah which stipulated that, ‘New Muslims of Makkah shall not be granted protection in Madīnah,’ to the Holy Prophet(sa) of their own accord.7 The Holy Prophet(sa) accepted this request, and sent correspondence to Abū Baṣīr and Abū Jandal, that since the Quraish had amended the treaty of their own accord, they could now come to Madīnah. When the ambassador of the Holy Prophet(sa) reached Saiful-Baḥr, Abū Baṣīr was ill and bedridden and he was becoming weak. Abū Baṣīr clutched the blessed letter of the Holy Prophet(sa) very affectionately, and shortly thereafter, he passed away in this very state. After this, Abū Jandal and his companions buried their brave and gallant leader in Saiful-Baḥr and reached the Holy Prophet(sa) with bittersweet feelings of delight and grief.8 Grief because their brave leader, Abū Baṣīr, who was the hero of this account, remained deprived of paying respects to the Holy Prophet(sa), and delighted due to the fact that they themselves reached the company of the Holy Prophet(sa) and were thus, granted deliverance from the bloodthirsty onslaughts of the Quraish.

The interesting work of Abū Baṣīr and his companions spanned an era right after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah for many months. During the course of this era, many other occurrences also took place, but with the intention of presenting the accounts relevant to the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah all together, we have mentioned it along with the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah,