Muhammad: Victory and DeathThe vv. 67f states that at the Judgment God will decide between those who
argue with Muhammad, and the vv. 70f show that the polytheists who reject
God's signs will be sent to Hell. The v. 73 says that God is not honored by
polytheists, and v. 74 maintains that God chooses messengers from among
angels and men. In the vv. 76f the believers are commanded to bow down,
serve God, perform good (works), and strive in Allah's way. This passage
claims that God chose the believers, obligated them to the religion (way) of
Abraham and named them "Muslims." In v. 78 commandment is given to
perform the prayer, give alms and hold fast to Allah. The word for "animal"
in v. 29 appears to have come from Hebrew, and the term for monas^108 teries
in v. 41 may have come from Ethiopic. The v. 38 is similar to Is. 1:1^1091
(etc.), and the v. 46 is reminiscent of II Pet. 3:8.^110
In the 69th month after the Hijra, Muhammad and 1400 Muslims ap^111 -
proached Mecca dressed as pilgrims (with 70 animals for sacrifice) in order
to perform the Umra. The Meccans sent out reconnaisance to^112 shadow the Muslims, who eventually stopped at al-Hudaybiya, not far from Mecca. In the long negotiations with the Meccans, the Muslims thought at one point they would have to resort to armed force, when it was falsely rumored that Muhammad's negotiatorUthman had been killed. An agreement was
finally made with the Quraysh, by which 10 years of peace were to prevail,
and the Meccans would be allowed to stay in Mecca for three days the^113
following year. Other conditions were that those of the Quraysh dependents
who fled to Muhammad without permission were to be returned, but those
who fled from Muhammad to the Meccans were not to be given back.
Owing to the objections of the Meccans, the treaty document began with
the words: "In your name Allahumma" instead of the basmala, and
Muhammad was referred to as Muhammad b. Abdullah rather than "the messenger of God."Ali is said to have written the original, and a copy was
given to the Meccans. Many of Muhammad's followers were highly
dissatisfied about the apparent concessions Muhammad had made with the
Meccans. The Muslims later sacrificed their 70 sacrificial animals. Some of
the Muslims cut their hair and others shaved their heads. On the return from
Hudaybiya, Qur'an 48:1-2 is said to have been revealed.^114