Suhayl ibn Amr - Biographies of the Companions (Sahabah)

At the Battle of Badr, when Suhayl fell into the hands of the Muslims
as a prisoner, Umar ibn al-Khattab came up to the Prophet and said:
"Messenger of God! Let me pull out the two middle incisors of Suhayl
ibn Amr so that he would not stand up and be able to speak out against
you after this day."
"Certainly not, Umar," cautioned the Prophet. "I would not mutilate
anyone lest God mutilate me even though I am a Prophet." And calling
Umar closer to him, the blessed Prophet said:
"Umar, perhaps Suhayl will do something in the future which will please you."
Suhayl ibn Amr was a prominentperson among the Quraysh. He was clever
and articulate and hisopinion carried weight among his people. He was
known as thekhatib or spokesman and orator of the Quraysh. He was to
play a major role in concluding the famous truce of Hudaybiyyah.
Towards the end of the sixth year after the Hijrah, the Prophetand
about fifteen hundred of hisSahabah left Madinah for Makkahto perform
Umrah. To make it known that they were coming inpeace, the Muslims
were not armed for battle and carried only their travellers swords.
They also took with them animals for sacrifice to let it be known that
they were really coming on pilgrimage.
The Quraysh learnt of their approach and immediately prepared to do
battle with them. They vowed to themselvesthat they would never allow
the Muslims to enter Makkah. Khalid ibn al-Walid was despatched at the
head of a Quraysh cavalry force to cut off the approaching Muslims.
Khalids army stood waiting for them at a place called Kara al-Ghamim.
The Prophet learnt in advance of Khalid's position. Although committed
to the struggle against them, he was keen not to have any encounter
then withthe Quraysh forces. He asked: "Is there any man who could
take us (to Makkah) on a different route to avoid the Quraysh?"
A man from the Aslam tribe said he could and took the Muslims through
the difficult terrain of Warah and then on fairly easy marches,
finally approaching Makkah from the south. Khalid realized what the
Muslims had done and returned frustrated to Makkah.
The Prophet camped near Hudaybiyyah and indicated that if the Quraysh
would give any hint of a truce out of veneration for the sacred time
and place, hewould respond. The Quraysh sent Badil ibn Warqa with a
group of men from the Khuzaah tribe to find out why the Muslims had
come. Badil met the Prophet and when he returned to the Quraysh and
informed them of the peaceful intentions of the Prophet and his
companions, they did not believe him because they said hewas from the
Khuzaah who were allies of Muhammad. "DoesMuhammad intend," they
asked,"to come upon us with his soldiers (in the guise of) performing
Umrah? The Arabs would hear that he moved against us and entered
Makkah by force white a state of war existed between us. By God this
will never happen with our approval."
The Quraysh then sent Halis ibn Alqamah, the chieftain of the Ahabish
who were allies of the Quraysh. When the Prophet, peace be on him, saw
Halis he said, "This man is from a people who think greatly of animal
sacrifice. Drive the sacrificial animals in full view of him so that
he can see them. This was done and Halis was greeted by the Muslims
chanting the talbiyyah: "Labbayk Allahumma Labbayk." On his return,
Halis exclaimed: "Subhana Allah - Glory be to God. These people should
not be prevented from entering Makkah. Can lepers and donkeys perform
the Hajj while the son of alMuttaIib (Muhammad) be prevented
from(visiting) the House of God? By the Lord of the Kabah, may the
Quraysh be destroyed. These people have come to perform Umrah."
When the Quraysh heard these words, they scoffed at him: "Sit down!
You are only a nomad Arab. You have no knowledge of plots and
intrigues."
Urwah ibn Masud, the Thaqafi chieftain from Tail, was then sent out to
assess the situation. He said to the Prophet: "O Muhammad! You have
gathered all these people and have come back to your birthplace. The
Quraysh have come out and pledged to God that you would not enter
Makkah against them by force. By God, all these peoplemight well
desert you." At that Abu Bakr went up to Urwah and said with disdain:
"We desert him (Muhammad)? Woe to you."
As Urwah was speaking, he touched the Prophet's
beard and Mughirah ibn Shubah rapped his hand saying, "Take away your
hand," and Urwah retorted: "Woe to you! How crude and coarse you are."
The Prophet smiled. "Who is this man, O Muhammad?" asked Urwah. "This
is your cousin, Al-Mughirah ibn Shubah." "What perfidy!" Urwah hissed
at Al-Mughirah and continued to insult him.
Urwah then surveyed the companions of the Prophet. He saw that
whenever he gave them an order, they hastened tocarry it out. When he
made ablutions they vied with one another to help him. When they spoke
in his presence, they lowered their voices, and they did not look him
in the eye out of respect for him.
Back with the Quraysh, Urwah showed that he was obviously impressed:
"By God, O people of the Quraysh, I have been to Chosroes in his
kingdom and I have seen Caesar the Byzantine emperor in the plenitude
of his power, but never have I seen a king among his people like
Muhammad among his companions. I have seen a people who would not
abandon him for anything. Reconsider your position. He is presenting
you with right guidance. Accept what he has presented to you. I advise
you sincerely... I fear that you will never gain victory over him."
"Don't speak like that," said the Quraysh. "We will have him go back
this year and he can return in the future." Meanwhile, the Prophet
summoned Uthman ibn Allan and sent him to the Quraysh leaders to
inform them of his purpose in coming to Makkah and to ask their
permission for the MusIims to visit their relatives. Uthman was also
to cheer up the Mustadafin among the Muslims who still lived in Makkah
and inform themthat liberation would not be long in coming...
Uthman delivered the Prophet's message to the Quraysh and they
repeated their determination not to allow the Prophet to enter Makkah.
They suggested that Uthman could make tawaf around the Kabah but he
replied that he would notmake tawaf while the Messengerof God was
prevented from doing so. They then took Uthman into custody and a
rumor spread that he was killed.When the Prophet heard this,
hisattitude changed.
"We shall not depart," he said,"until we fight." He summoned the
Muslims to take bayah, an oath of allegiance, to fight. The herald
cried out: "O people, al-bayah, al-bayah." They flockedto the Prophet
as he sat under a tree and swore allegiance to himthat they would
fight. Soon afterhowever, the Prophet ascertained that the rumor was
false.
It was at this point that the Quraysh sent Suhayl ibn Amr to the
Messenger of God with the brief to negotiate and persuade the Prophet
to return to Madinah without entering Makkah. Suhayl was chosen no
doubt because of his persuasiveness, his toughness and his alertness
major qualitiesof a good negotiator. When the Prophet saw Suhayl
approaching, he immediately guessed the change in the position of the
Quraysh. "The people want reconciliation. That's why they have sent
this man."
The talks between the Prophet and Suhayl continued for long until
finally agreement was reached in principle. Umar and others were very
upset with the terms of the agreement which they considered to be
harmful tothe cause of Islam and a defeat for the Muslims. The Prophet
assured them that this was not the case and that he would never go
against the command of God and that God would not neglect him. He then
called Ali ibn Abi Talib to write down the terms of the treaty:
"Write: Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Rahim.""I don't know this (phrase)",
interjected Suhayl. "Write instead 'Bismika Allahumma - In Your name,
O Allah."
The Prophet conceded and instructed Ali to write 'Bismika Allahumma.'
He then said:"Write: 'This is what has been agreed between Muhammad
theMessenger of God and Suhayl ibnAmr..." Suhayl objected: "If I had
testified that you were indeed the Messenger of God, I would not be
fighting you. Write instead you name and the name of your father." So
the Prophet again conceded this and instructed Ali to write: 'This is
what has been agreed upon by Muhammad the son of Abdullah and Suhayl
ibn Amr. They have agreed to suspend war for ten years in which people
would enjoy security and would refrain from (harming) one another.
Also, that whoever from among the Quraysh should come to Muhammad
without the permission of his wali (legal guardian), Muhammad would
send him back to them and that if any who is with Muhammad should come
to the Quraysh, they would not send him back to him.
Suhayl had managed to save the Makkans face. He had attempted to and
got as much as possible for the Quraysh in the negotiations. Of course
he was assisted in this by the noble tolerance of the Prophet.
Two years of the Hudaybiyyah treaty elapsed during which the Muslims
enjoyed a respite from the Quraysh and were freed to concentrate on
other matters. Inthe eighth year after the Hijrah however the Quraysh
broke the terms of the treaty by supporting the Banu Bakr in a bloody
aggression against the Khuzaah who had chosen to be allies of the
Prophet.
The Prophet took the opportunity to march on Makkahbut his object was
not revenge. Ten thousand Muslims converged on Makkah reaching there
in the month of Ramadan. The Quraysh realized that there was no hope
of resisting let alone of defeating the Muslim forces. They were
completely at the mercy of the Prophet. What was to be their fate,
they who had harried and persecuted the Muslims, tortured and
boycottedthem, driven them out of their hearths and homes, stirred up
others against them, made war on them?
The city surrendered to the Prophet. He received the leaders of the
Quraysh in a spirit of tolerance and magnanimity. In avoice full of
compassion and tenderness he asked: "O people of the Quraysh! What do
you think I will do with you?" Thereupon, the adversary of Islam of
yesterday, Suhayl ibn Amr, replied: "We think (you willtreat us) well,
noble brother, son of a noble brother. ". "A radiant smile flashed
across the lips of the beloved of God as he said: "Idhhabu... wa antum
at-tulaqaa. Go, for you are free."
At this moment of unsurpassed compassion, nobility and greatness, all
the emotions of Suhayl ibn Amr were shaken andhe announced his Islam
or submission to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. His acceptance of
Islam at that particular time wasnot the Islam of a defeated man
passively giving himself up to hisfate. It was instead, as his later
life was to demonstrate, the Islam of a man whom the greatness of
Muhammad and the greatness of the religion he proclaimed had
captivated.
Those who became Muslims on the day Makkah was liberated were given
the name"At-Tulaqaa" or the free ones. They realized how fortunate
they were and many dedicated themselves in sincere worship and
sacrifice to the service of thereligion which they had resisted for
years. Among the most prominent of these was Suhayl ibn Amr.
Islam moulded him anew. Ali hisearlier talents were now burnished to a
fine excellence. To these he added new talents and placed them all in
the service of truth, goodness and faith. The qualities and practices
for which he became known canbe described in a few words: kindness,
generosity, frequent Salat, fasting, recitation of the Quran, weeping
for the fear of God. This was the greatness of Suhayl. In spite of his
late acceptance of Islam, he was transformed into a selfless
worshipper and a fighting fidai in the path of God.
When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed away,
the news quickly reached Makkah, where Suhayl was still resident. The
Muslims were plunged into a state of confusion and dismay just as in
Madinah. In Madinah, Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him, quelled
the confusion with his decisive words: "Whoever worships Muhammad,
Muhammad is dead. And whoever worships Allah, Allah is indeed Living
and will never die."
In Makkah Suhayl performed the same role in dispelling the vain ideas
some Muslims may have had and directing them to the eternal truths of
Islam. He calledthe Muslims together and in his brilliant and salutary
style, he affirmed to them that Muhammad was indeed the Messenger of
Allah and that he did not die until he had discharged his trust and
propagated the message and that it was the duty of all believers after
his death to applythemselves assiduously to following his example and
way of life.
On this day more than others, the prophetic words of the Messenger
shone forth. Did not the Prophet say to Umar when the latter sought
permission to pull out Suhayls teeth at Badr:"Leave them, for one day
perhaps they would bring you joy"?
When the news of Suhayl's standin Makkah reached the Muslims of
Madinah and they heard of hispersuasive speech strengtheningthe faith
in the hearts of the believers, Umar ibn al-Khattab remembered the
words of the Prophet. The day had come when Islam benefitted from the
two middle incisors of Suhayl which Umar had wanted to pull out.
When Suhayl became a Muslim he made a vow to himself whichcould be
summarized in these words: to exert himself and spend in the cause of
Islam at least in the same measure as he had done for the mushrikin.
With the mushrikin, he had spent long hours before their idols. Now he
stood for long periods with the believers in the presence of the one
and only God, praying and fasting.
Before he had stood by the mushrikin and participated in many acts of
aggression and war against Islam. Now he took his place in the ranks
of the Muslim army, fighting courageously, pitting himself against the
fire of Persia and theinjustice and oppression of the Byzantine
empire.
In this spirit he left for Syria withthe Muslim armies and
participated in the Battle of Yarmuk against the Byzantines, a battle
that was singularly ferocious in its intensity.
Suhayl was someone who loved his birthplace dearly. In spite of that,
he refused to return to Makkah after the victory of the MusIims in
Syria. He said: "I heard the Messenger of God, peace be on him, say:
'The goingforth of anyone of you in the path of God for an hour is
betterfor him than his life's works in his household.' "He vowed: "I
shall be a murabit in the path of God till I die and I shall not
return to Makkah."
For the rest of his life, Suhayl remained true to his pledge. He died
in Palestine in the small village of 'Amawas near Jerusalem.

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