and he persuaded himself that they might thereby be induced to recognise his claims. But the memory of the blood shed at his command and especially of the occasion on which he had violated the truce of the sacred months was vividly present to the minds of the Meccans, and they determined on no account to admit him. When he reached Hudaibiya, a place within a few hours' march of Mecca, he found his way blocked by an armed force consisting partly of Meccans and partly of their Bedouin allies. A series of negotiations ensued, in the course of which Othman (properly 'Uthmān) ibn 'Affān went as Mahomet's agent to Mecca; the selection of this man was doubtless due to his being a relative of Abū Sufyān and other influential citizens. During Othman's absence a rumour that he had been murdered spread through the camp of the Muslims, whereupon Mahomet, fearing, or pretending to fear, an attack on the part of the Ḳuraish, assembled his followers under a tree and required from each of them a promise that he would on no account flee, if a conflict took place. To this scene the Koran alludes[1] as one specially pleasing to God; hence in Muslim tradition it is called "the Homage of good pleasure." Almost immediately afterwards Othman returned to Ḥudaibiya, bringing, it would seem, proofs that his mission to Mecca had not been fruitless. The negotiations were accordingly resumed in the Prophet's camp, whither the Ḳuraish sent a certain Suhail ibn 'Amr as their representative. After prolonged discussion a compromise was agreed upon, whereby Mahomet consented to withdraw for that year, while the Ḳuraish, on their part, promised that the year following he and his disciples should be allowed to enter Mecca, without weapons, and remain there for three days. Furthermore both parties were to refrain from hostilities for ten years; during that time no member of the Ḳuraish who was still a minor might join the Muslim community without the permission of his parents or guardians, whereas the sons of Muslims might freely go over to the Ḳuraish.
The terms of this treaty appeared at first so unfavourable to Islām that the more zealous followers of the Prophet, in particular Omar, vehemently protested. Mahomet, however, perceived that the conditions, humiliating as they might seem, would in the end turn to his advantage, and he accordingly adhered to them in spite of the opposition of his too eager disciples. Never was his influence put to so severe a test and never did he achieve a more signal triumph. From the moment when the treaty of Ḥudaibiya was concluded the number of conversions to Islām became larger than ever.
According to the ordinary Muslim tradition, the Prophet about this time took a step which shewed that he contemplated the conversion not only of Arabia but of the world — he despatched messengers to the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, to the Persian king, and to
- ↑ Chap. xlviii. 18.
