158 ,,, tbt Footsteps of the ProphFfMu~di1115' advanLage. The claU5e5 sLaling Lhal ClnigrallL~ Lu Mcuilla ~hould
be sent back and Muslims leaving ivlcdina for i\'lecca given asylum only
marginally affected the l' ... Iuslims' interests: a believer leaving 1·1edina was
of no use to the Muslim community, and thc I\'luslim faith of a Meccan
sent back to his clan ought not--despile the suffering-to be shaken bY'
this forced exile. Contrary to appearances, which Abu Jandal's plight rein-
forced, IVluhammad had not made any serious concessions on this point.
Trust in God, allied to strict intellectual coherence and an exceptional-
ly acute mied, had enabled the Prophet to es tablish a ten-year truce with
the prospect of a visit to the sanctuary the following year. J\Tost of th e
Companions, and particularly Umar ibn al-Khattab, considered only
immediate results, however, and felt this was a humiliation that could
amount to cothing but a defeat. Like many othCf5, he regretted his violent
reaction against the Prophct, but he remained convinced that the
covenant was a capitulation. On the way back, he was told that Muham-
mad had sent fat him; he was afraid the Prophet \vas going to blame him
for his inappropriate attitude or, worse still, tell him that verses had becn
revcaled disapproving his behavior. He found the Prophet with a beam-
ing face, and Muhammad told him about Rcvelation of verses quite dif-
ferent from what he might havc expected. The Divine \V'otd announced:
"Verily We have granted you a manifest victoty."s T hen it mcntioncd the
pledge of allegiance, saying: "He knew what was in their hearts, and H e
sent down tranquility ras-sakinabJ to them; and H e rewatded them with a
victory near at hand."9 All this was recalled in the light of Muhammad's
initial dream, which was therefore truthful: "Truly did God fulfill the
vision for His f\kssengcr: you shall enter the Sacred ~Iosque, if God wills,
with minds sec ute, heads shaved or hair cut short, and without fear. For
H e knows what you do not know, and he has granted you, besides this, a
victory ncar at hand."l0
The events of the recent past were presented in a manncr totallr at
odds with the Companions' perception of them: thc pledge of allegiance
to prepare fOf war was in reaJity a pledge of fidelity for peace, the appar-
cnt defeat \,;as presented as "a manifest victoty," and a seemingly aborted
dream was announced as a certainty in the future: "you shall cnter the
Sacred 1\1osque." The vast majority of Muslims had no t understood, had
not seen, or had been unable to perceive th e prospects and hopes the
co venant allowed. The signing o f the pact was thercfore, oncc again, a