The Mediation of ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ood Ath-Thaqafi
The Qurayshis rejected the information transmitted to them by Budayl bin Warqaa’ Al-Khuzaa‘i about the peaceful visit of the Messenger and hurled accusations and bad words at Khuzaa‘ah. Therefore, ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ood Ath-Thaqafi suggested to meet the Messenger and hear what he had to say then convey the accurate news to Quraysh. It was narrated that ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ood said to Quraysh, “O people, are not you the father?’ They said, “Yes.” He added, “Am I not the son?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Do you distrust me?” They said, “No.” He said, “Do you not know that I invited the people of ‘Ukaath to help you, and when they refused I brought my relatives and children and those who obeyed me to help you?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Well, this man [i.e. the Prophet ] has offered you a reasonable proposal, you should accept it and allow me to meet him.” They said, “Then you can meet him.” So, he went to speak to the Prophet .
The Prophet told him almost the same thing as he had told Budayl. Then ‘Urwah said, “O Muhammad, do you wish to exterminate your people? Have you ever heard of any Arab who exterminated his relatives before you? Even if you do wish to, by Allah, I do not see [with you] dignitaries, but rather people from various tribes who would run away leaving you alone.” Hearing that, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, censured him severely and said, “Are you saying that we would run and leave the Prophet alone?” ‘Urwah said, “Who is that man?” People said, “He is Abu Bakr.” ‘Urwah said to Abu Bakr, “By Him in whose Hands my life is, were it not for the favor which you did for me and for which I have not compensated you, I would have answered you back.” [Al-Bukhari]
‘Urwah tried to launch psychological warfare against the Muslims to demoralize them, and he used propaganda to that effect. His attempt was clear when he gave hints about the military power of Quraysh by exaggerating that the situation would certainly be in favor of Quraysh. He wanted to disrupt the Muslims and weaken their confidence in their leader, the Messenger when he told him that his Companions came from different backgrounds and would soon let him down.
While he wanted to demoralize the Muslims, he also wanted to serve the military and intelligence purposes of Quraysh. He also tried to create a military crisis between the Prophet and his soldiers to affect their morale and shatter their willpower. His approach was one of the strongest psychological war methods that were used against the Muslims during those negotiations. Moreover, he tried to terrorize the Muslims by telling them about the invincible power of the Quraysh and by suggesting that the battle would not be in their favor. Although he used different methods to spread rumors, creating a crisis and spreading terror as elements of his psychological war during his negotiation with the Muslims, his attempt could not stand in the face of the staunch faith and delicate emotions of the Companions.
Amazingly enough, a wonderful incident took place during the negotiations and it perfectly highlighted the strong faith of the Companions. It also showed how the religion of Islam can turn evil people into noble and meritorious ones. Al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah, may Allah be pleased with him, the nephew of ‘Urwah himself guarded the Messenger during his talks with ‘Urwah in Al-Hudaybiyah. Before his Islam, Al-Mugheerah, may Allah be pleased with him, was a young man inclined to harassment, drinking and highway robbery. When he converted to Islam, however, he was, by the grace of Allah, a new man. He became of the cream of the believers. He was chosen to guard the Prophet in that war-heralding situation.
It was a pre-Islamic custom of negations that the negotiator would hold the beard of his counterpart in the talks. Following the same tradition, ‘Urwah bin Mas‘ood held the beard of the Messenger during the discussion, which enraged Al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah who was standing with a sword in his hand and wearing his mail coif guarding the Messenger . He reprimanded his uncle and hit him with the handle of the sword, saying, “Stop holding the beard of the Messenger before I cut off your hand.” The Messenger smiled at what happened between the polytheist ‘Urwah and his Muslim nephew. As Al-Mugheerah, may Allah be pleased with him, was wearing military uniform with his face covered, his uncle ‘Urwah could not make out who he was. Flaring with anger, he asked the Messenger “What kind of a man are you, and who is that man with you?” The Messenger told him that the man was his nephew, Al-Mugheerah bin Shu‘bah. Therefore, ‘Urwah addressed his nephew saying, “You are treacherous! You have made us the enemies of Thaqeef forever. By Allah, I have hardly handled the consequences of your treachery just a while ago!” He was referring to the fact that before embracing Islam, Al-Mugheerah, may Allah be pleased with him, was in the company of some people. He killed them and took their property then went to Madeenah to embrace Islam. The Prophet said to him: “I accept your Islam, but as for the property, I will not take any of it.” [Al-Bukhari]
(To be continued)