Islamic Thoughts

• ANALYSES
• 1 Behavior code of Muslims toward non-Muslims
• 2 September 11 (2001) attacks on America not compatible with Islam
• 3 Ways To Defuse Religious Tensions
• 4 The Value Of The Ten Commandments
• 5 Bright Spot Of The Us Constitution: Religious Freedom
• 6 Lessons from the prophet's hudaibiah treaty.
• 7 Rulers' roles in promotion of christianity.
• 8 Exploring a model definition of 'religion'
• 9 Where islam stands as a civilized religion?
• 10 Proving god's existence through experimental science.
• 11 Roles of man as necessary & God as sufficient condition.
• 12 Human kindness is a shadow of god's kindness.
• 13 Why islam is the best choice for the Africans?
• 14 In Old Age, All Roads Lead To Death.
• 15 No Creations Are Without Purposes & Uses.
• 16 Prayer Prevents People From Bad Actions.
• 17 When Haram May Be Excusable: Five-Step Conditions.
• 18 Islamization Of Some Un-Islamic Cultures.
• 19 Greater The Faith, Tougher The Test.
• 20 How Science Can Make A Difference For Muslims?
• 21 The Time Gap Reality Between Sin & Punishment.
• 22 Good & Bad Days Alternate In Cyclic Order.
• 23 Let Moon-Sighting Unite & Not Divide The Muslims.
• 24 Faith Crisis Among Some Intellectuals.
• 25 Islamic Policy Toward Animals.
• 26 Improving The Muslim Performance (Aamal) Standard.
• ARGUMENTS
• 27 How Middle Course Better Than Conservative And Liberal Extremes?
• 28 Why God Is The Best One To Be Worshipped?
• 29 Costs And Benefits Of Belief In The Afterlife
• 30 Bible Is Similar To Hadith But Different From Quran
• 31 Defaming Islam: Freedom Of Speech Or Violation Of Rights?
• 32 How Islam Compares With Democracy?
• 33 Who Is Responsible For '0' Small Pox Since 1980?
• 34 Timeliness Is The Leading Condition For Prayer.
• 35 Ten Arguments For Women's Education.
• 36 Why Physical Fitness Matters For The Muslims?
• 37 Homosexuality Vs Adultery: Which Is Worse And How?
• 38 Countering Abortionist Argument
• 39 Which Is Better: Open Or Secret Prayer?
• 40 Small Or Large Recitation: Which Is Better In Prayer?
• 41 Personal Or Social Suffering: Which Is More Painful & Why?
• 42 Cultural Slavery Vs Cultural Diffusion.
• 43 Why Should America Ban Religious Defamation?
• ASSORTMENTS
• 44 Visible Action Of Invisible God: From Author's Diary.
• 45 Optional Good Deeds Are Like Bodyguards For Compulsory Ones.
• 46 The Gravitation Law Of Performance (Not One Of Newton).
• 47 The Theory Of Relativity (Not That Of Einstein).
• 48 In Good Deeds
• 49 "Rob Peter to pay Paul" is not for islam
• 50 Muslims Cannot Be "Penny Wise And Pound Foolish".
• 51 Islam Endorses Salad Bowl & Not Melting Pot Theory.
• 52 100% Homosexuality Means Prospect Of 'O' World Population.
• 53 Sinning In Teens To 40's & Suffering From 50's To Death.
• 54 Revenge May Be Lower But Not Greater Than Harm.
• 55 Why Karl Marx Is Irrelevant Forever?
• 56 Is God The Same One For All Religions?
• 57 How God Controls Economy And Livelihood?
• 58 How Muslim Repression In Myanmar Violates Buddhist Principles?
• MISCELLANEOUS
• 59 Grim Reality of Death: Unfailing Lesson for Everyone
• 60 Religion Vs Reason: Which is More Important?

6. LESSONS FROM THE PROPHET'S HUDAIBIAH TREATY.

After mass migration from Mecca in 622 A.D., the Prophet and his followers made their position stronger in Medina. Six years later, they decided to go back to Mecca for performing lesser pilgrimage (Umra). To make the Meccans fearless about any possible military invasion, the Muslim pilgrims left behind battle-grade weapons. Still, they would not let the Muslims in Mecca, not as much for fear as for prestige. They stopped them at Hudaibiah near Mecca. Based on negotiation, the Prophet reached an agreement with the Meccan leaders.

Major terms of the contract included: (i) The Muslims would go back to Medina without performing pilgrimage this time. The following year they would go to Mecca and stay there for only 3 days. (ii) There would be one-way extradition: escapees from Mecca to Medina will be turned back but that will not happen in case of those who would flee from Medina to Mecca. (iii) There will be peace for 10 years and during this time both parties would remain neutral in case one of them fights with a third party.

Notable from the above agreement is that the terms of contract were mostly dictated by the Meccans and therefore they went against the immediate interest of the Muslims. For example, they postponed their important pilgrimage rituals and Islamic-minded escapees to Medina were to be sadly forced back to infidel society of Mecca. This seemed like an apparent defeat for the Muslims who had reasons for their resentment. However, the Prophet under spiritual guidance of God, agreed to the contract which finally proved to be a blessing in disguise. In exchange for relatively small sacrifices for now, the Muslims bought much needed years of peaceful time to grow in strength. Ultimately that is exactly what happened as the powerful Muslims made victorious return to Mecca later in 630 A.D. The following lessons follow from the above:

(i) Even though your Islamic mission may have the backing of Almighty God and you are supposed to rely on Him, you should not ignore the reality on the ground. It does not make religious sense to jump into trouble by attempting to fight empty-handed against an armed enemy. Sometimes you may get direct help from God (ex: Battle of Badr), but not always (ex: Battle of Uhud). You should therefore be realistic while dealing or interacting with those who are around you.

(ii) Apart from being realistic, you also need to be diplomatic by applying your prudence, and wisdom, with vision into your long term interest.