Treaty of Hudaybiyyah The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah ( Arabic : صلح الحديبية ) was an important event that took place during the formation of Islam . It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad , representing the state of Medina , and the Quraish tribe of Mecca in March 628 ( corresponding to Dhu al - Qi ' dah , 6 AH ) . It helped to decrease tension between the two cities , affirmed a 10 - year peace , and authorized Muhammad ' s followers to return the following year in a peaceful pilgrimage , The First Pilgrimage . Background . Muhammad , a Meccan , stated that from the age of 40 , he was receiving revelations from God . He and his followers were persecuted by the other Meccans , primarily the powerful tribe of the Quraish , and eventually forced to flee to the city of Medina , to the north . Armed hostilities ensued , at events such as the Battle of Badr and the Battle of the Trench . Attempted pilgrimage . Muhammad had a dream that he entered Makkah and did tawaf around the Ka ' bah . His Companions in Madinah were delighted when he told them about it . They all revered Makkah and the Ka ' bah and they yearned to do tawaf there . In 628 , Muhammad and a group of 1 , 400 Muslims marched peacefully towards Mecca , in an attempt to perform the Umrah ( pilgrimage ) . They were dressed as pilgrims , and brought sacrificial animals , hoping that the Quraish would honor the Arabian custom of allowing converts to enter the city . The Muslims had left Medina in a state of " ihram " , a premeditated spiritual and physical state which restricted their freedom of action and prohibited fighting . This , along with the paucity of arms carried , indicated that the pilgrimage was always intended to be peaceful . Muhammad ' s people camped outside of Mecca , and Muhammad met with a Meccan emissary . He said : We have not come to fight anyone , but to perform the ' Umra . No doubt , the war has weakened Quraish and they have suffered great losses , so if they wish , I will conclude a truce with them , during which they should refrain from interfering between me and the people , and if I have victory over those infidels , Quraish will have the option to embrace Islam as the other people do , if they wish ; they will at least get strong enough to fight . But if they do not accept the truce , by Allah in Whose Hands my life is , I will fight with them defending my Cause till I get killed , but ( I am sure ) Allah will definitely make His Cause victorious . The two parties decided to resolve the matter through diplomacy rather than warfare , and a treaty was drawn up . Treaty . The outline of the treaty was as follows : In the name of almighty Allah who is the most Rehman and Rahim . These are the conditions of Peace between Muhammad , son of Abdullah and Suhayl ibn Amr the envoy of Mecca . There will be no fighting for ten years . Anyone who wishes to join Muhammad and to enter into any agreement with him is free to do so . Anyone who wishes to join the Quraish and to enter into any agreement with them is free to do so . A young man , or one whose father is alive , if he goes to Muhammad without permission from his father or guardian , will be returned to his father or guardian . But if anyone goes to the Quraish , he will not be returned . This year the muslims will go back without entering Mecca . But next year Muhammed and his followers can enter Mecca , spend three days , perform the tawaaf . During these three days the Quraish will withdraw to the surrounding hills . When Muhammad and his followers enter into Mecca , they will be unarmed except for sheathed swords . Controversy . The treaty was quite controversial for many reasons . Originally , the treaty referred to Muhammad as the Messenger of God , but this was unacceptable to the Quraish ambassador Suhayl ibn Amr . Muhammad compromised , and told his cousin Ali to strike out the wording . But Ali said , " I will not be the person to rub it out " , after which Muhammad himself rubbed out the words . ( , ) . Another point of contention , was that the Muslims objected over a clause of the treaty that said that any citizen from Mecca entering Medina was eligible to be returned to Mecca ( if they wanted ) , while the reverse was not true , and any Muslim from Medina entering Mecca was not eligible to be returned to the Muslims , even if Muhammad himself requested . ( ) A condition was also placed that the Muslims could not enter for their pilgrimage at that time , but could return the following year . The treaty also assured a 10 - year peace . After the signing of the treaty , there was still great resentment and fury among the Muslims because they did not like its stipulations . Muhammad , binding onto the Islamic ethic " fulfill every promise " ordered that Muslims do exactly as the treaty says . Umar bin Al - Khattab asked improper questions by questioning prophethood , actions and objectives of Muhammad . Also , many Muslims thereafter objected , when Muhammad told them ( thrice ) to perform their rites there and then . ( ) Muhammad insisted that Muslims had been victorious and was supported in this by new revelation : " Verily we have granted thee a manifest victory " ( Qur ' an 48 : 1 ) . He promised much spoils in the near future : " . . . and He sent down peace of reassurance on them , and hath rewarded them with a near victory , and much booty that they will capture " . ( Qur ' an 48 : 18 - 19 ) The treaty ' s stipulations on the movement of persons gave rise to later controversy , when the Quraysh woman Umm Kulthum went to Medina and joined the Muslims , and her brothers demanded her return from Muhammad , as they interpreted the treaty to mean . Muslim commentator Abdullah Yusuf Ali considers that the treaty had already been violated , probably by an attack by the Quraysh - allied tribe of Banu Bakr upon the Muslim tribe of Banu Khuza ' a . Thus he believed that divine instruction was needed on what was to be done with migrants from Mecca . Other Muslim sources state that the treaty ' s restrictions only applied to free men , and not to slaves or women . Ultimately , Muhammad refused on the basis of revelation from God : " When there come to you believing women refugees , examine and test them . . . if ye ascertain they are believers , send them not to the unbelievers " ( Qur ' an 60 : 10 ) . If the woman married a Muslim , the Muslims would pay the Meccan refugee ' s ex - husband a sum equal to the dower he had paid upon marriage to her " . ( Qur ' an 60 : 10 ) Aftermath . In 629 , the Muslims returned as promised in the treaty , and made The first pilgrimage . The next year , the clan of the Banu Bakr , allied with the Quraish , attacked the Bedouin Khuza ' a , Muhammad ' s allies . Muhammed considered the Banu Bakr attack a breach of the treaty , citing one of the clauses of the treaty : " an attack on an ally of the party , will be considered an attack on the party itself " , and offered the Quraish three alternatives : The Quraish chose the third alternative , to dissolve the treaty , and Muhammad decided to march on to Mecca with an army of 10 , 000 , leading to the Conquest of Mecca .