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Taken from
The Un-schooled Prohet
By Allama Murtaza Mutahhari
Chapter III.
The event of Hudaybiyyah
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In the life-history of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), there
are events which bring to light the fact that even
while in Madinah, the Prophet (PBUH&HF)) did not read or
write. Among all such events, the event of Huday-
biyyah is the best known, for it is of particular
historical significance. Historical accounts and
ahadith, while in conflict, help to some extent, to
explain the question.
In the month of Dhu al-Qa'dah, the sixth year
after Hijrah, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) left Madinah for
Makkah to perform 'Umrah and Hajj. He ordered
that the camels for sacrifice be marked and be led
along. However, as soon as they arrived at Huday-
biyyah, about two farsakhs (about 12 km) from
Makkah, the Quraysh took sides to prevent the
entry of the Muslims; this, although it was in the
forbidden month, when in accordance with the law
of Jahiliyyah (period of pre-Islamic ignorance in
Arabia), even the Quraysh did not have the right to
deny them admittance. The Prophet (PBUH&HF) explained
that he did not mean to do anything other than to
make a pilgrimage to the Ka'bah and that he meant
to return home after completing his pilgrimage.
The Quraysh disagreed. The Muslims demanded
leave to enter Makkah by force, but he refused in
order not to show disrespect for the Ka'bah. The
Quraysh and the Muslims, finally agreed to sign a
peace treaty. The Prophet (PBUH&HF) dictated the peace
treaty to 'Ali (AS) who wrote it down. The Prophet
(PBUH&HF) ordered him to write:
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Suhayl ibn 'Amr, representing the Quraysh, protested
and said:
This is your slogan, with which we are not familiar.
Write: In your name,O Allah! The Prophet (PBUH&HF)
agreed and ordered 'Ali (as) to write accordingly.
Then, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) ordered him to write:
This is a contract being concluded between Muhammad,
Allah's messenger and the Quraysh.
The representative for the Quraysh objected saying:
We do not regard you as Allah's messenger. Only
your followers regard you likewise. If we had
regarded you as Allah's messenger, we would not
have fought against you, nor had barred your
entry to Makkah. Write your and your father's
name.
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said:
Whether or not you regard me as Allah's messenger,
I am Allah's messenger.
Then, he ordered 'Ali (AS) to write:
This is a treaty being concluded between Muham-
mad ibn 'Abdillah and the people of Quraysh.
It was at this point that the Muslims became angry.
From this point on, the historical accounts differ
in certain respects.
From Ibn Hisham's "Sirat Ibn Hisham" and
also from Sahih Al-Bukhari (Bab Shurut fi Al-
Jihad wal-Musalahah ma'a Ahlal-Harb), it can be
concluded that this objection was made before the
words "Allah's messenger" were written, where-
upon the Prophet (PBUH&HF) agreed immediately to have
"Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah" written for "Muham-
mad, the Allah's messenger". Yet, it can be con-
cluded from most accounts that the objection was
made at a time when 'Ali (AS) had already written
the words. The Prophet (PBUH&HF) then requested 'Ali
(AS) to erase the words, whereupon 'Ali (AS)
requested to be excused from doing so.
Here, again the texts differ. The Shi'a ahadith 's
texts agree that upon 'Ali's (AS) expressed refusal
to erase the sacred words, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) him-
self erased the words, in place of which 'Ali (AS)
wrote "Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah". In these texts
and in certain Ahl al-Sunnah ahadith's texts, there
is an explicit reference to the fact that the Prophet
(PBUH&HF) requested 'Ali (AS) to show him the words by
placing his hand on the words so that he might
erase the words with his own hands. 'Ali (AS) did
so and the Prophet (PBUH&HF) erased the words "Allah's
messenger" with his own hand. Then, 'Ali (AS)
wrote "ibn 'Abdillah", instead. Therefores it was
'Ali (AS) who did the writing and not the Prophet
(PBUH&HF). Rather,in accordance with both Shi'i accounts,
and those of the Ahl al-Sunnah the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
neither read nor wrote.
In the book entitled: "The Stories of the
Qur'an", written in Persian in the 5th Century
(Hijrah) by Abu Bakr 'Atiqi Nayshapuri who
adapted the work from his own exegesis of the
Qur'an, the author relates the Hudaybiyyah event
up to the point where Suhayl ibn 'Amr, on behalf
of the Quraysh, objected to the words "Allah's
messenger".
Suhayl ibn 'Amr said
The Prophet said to 'Ali to erase "Allah's messenger". '
Ali disinclined to do this and felt uneasy at
the Prophet's insistence. Then the Prophet said
to 'Ali;
Put my finger on the words so that I may erase them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since Allah's messenger was untaught, and did not
know how to write, 'Ali placed the Prophet's finger
on the words and the Prophet erased the words as
Suhayl ibn 'Amr meant.
Al-Ya'qubi too, in his book: "Tarikh al-
Ya'qubi" writes: "The Prophet ordered 'Ali to write
"Ibn 'Abdillah" in place of "Allah's messenger".
Having written "'Ali refused to erase the
words", in "Sahih Muslim", Muslim writes:
The Prophet said to 'Ali to show him the
words. 'Ali did likewise whereupon the Prophet
erased the words and wrote Muhammad ibn
'Abdillah.
In this statement, on the one hand, Muslim
writes: "The Prophet sought 'Ali's help to erase the
words", and on the other hand, he writes:
The Prophet erased the words and wrote.
It might appear that the Prophet wrote after erasing
the words, but the writer of the statement means that
'Ali did the writing, for the text of the statement
reads that the Prophet sought 'Ali's help to erase
the words.
It fo'llows explicitly from "Tarikh al-Tabari"
and "Kamil Ibn al-Athir" and Al-Bukhari's account
under the chapter: "Al-Shurut" that the second
word was written by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) himself.
It is on record that
The Prophet (PBUH&HF) took the pen from 'Ali's hand
and wrote himself.
In Al-Tabari's and Ibn al-Athir's statements, there is
an additional sentence: "Allah's messenger took the
pen from 'Ali's hand and while it was not proper
for him to write, he wrote."
Al-Tabari's and Ibn al-Athir's accounts confirm
that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) would not write, but that he
did write exceptionally in Hudaybiyyah. This may
confirm the view of those who observe that under
divine instructions he could have written had he so
wished; he never composed a poem nor recited
anyone else's. If he ever wished to recite a couplet,
he would utter it in prose form, disordering and
adjusting the words to achieve this end; for Allah
(SWT) would deem poetry below his dignity:
And We haue not taught him poetry, nor is it suitable
for him; it is nothing but a reminder and a plain
Qur'an (36:69).
As is seen, the accounts on the Hudaybiyyah
event do not tally. However, despite the fact that
it can be concluded from certain accounts that the
words "ibn 'Abdillah" - an integral part of the
Prophet's signature-would have been written by
the Prophet (PBUH&HF), these very accounts also confirm
that this was exceptional.
In the book entitled: "Usud al-Ghabah",
under the details regarding Tamim ibn Jarashah
al-Thaqafi the author quotes a story about him,
which suggests that even in the course of his
prophethood, the Prophet (PBUH&HF) neither read nor
wrote. He narrates:
I, along with a group of people from Thaqif,
met the Prophet and embraced Islam. We requested
him to sign an agreement with us and agree to our
terms. The Prophet ordered us to write whatever
we desired and then bring it to him to see. We
requested for permission to practise usury and
adultery. As we were unable to put it into writing,
we visited 'Ali ibn Abi Talib for the purpose.
Seeing that we had such terms to include, 'Ali
refused to write. We made the request to Khalid
ibn Sa'id ibn Al-'As. 'Ali enquired from Khalid
whether or not he knew what he had been requested
to do. Khalid replied: "It does not concern me
what it is. I will write whatever they will tell me.
Once the writing is brought to the Prophet's atten-
tion, he will know what to do therewith". Khalid
wrote the matter down and we took it to the
Prophet who ordered someone to read it. The
reader had scarcely uttered the word "usury", the
Prophet asked him to place his finger on the word
which he erased with his own hand and recited
from the Qur'an: "O believers! Practise taqwa
(fear Allah) and giue up usury." On hearing this
verse we were imbibed with refreshed faith and
assurance whereupon we resigned not to take
usury. The reader continued reading till he uttered
adultery whereupon again, the Prophet having had
his hand placed on the word recited from the
Qur'an: "Do not indulge in adultery, for surely it
is an open indecency".
Contributed by Br. Ali Abbas, abbas@seas.gwu.edu
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