The Treaty of al-Hudaybiya (Arabic: صُلح الْحُدَيْبِيَة, romanized: Ṣulḥ al-Ḥudaybiya) was an event that took place during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of Medina, and the tribe of the Quraysh in Mecca in March 628 (corresponding to Dhu al-Qi'dah, AH 6).
[3] In March 628, following a dream that he was circumambulating the Ka'ba, Muhammad decided to set out for pilgrimage.
[6][7] Muhammad with a group of some 1,500 Muslims of Medina, as well as some tribal allies, marched towards Mecca to perform the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).
Muhammad avoided the force by taking an unconventional route and pitched his tents at the place of Ḥudaybiya, on the border of the sacred territory of the Ka'ba.
Muhammad vowed to avenge his death and took pledge of his followers to fight the Meccans to end.
The rumour turned out to be false, and the Quraysh sent their emissary, Suhayl ibn Amr, to reach a settlement.
[13] In the long term, the treaty proved advantageous to the Muslims and is often regarded as an "important step" in Muhammad's consolidation of power.
The historian Fred Donner has suggested that the very purpose of the attempted pilgrimage was to secure a truce with the Meccans since Medina was trapped between two hostile cities (the Jewish stronghold of Khaybar to the north and Mecca to the south) and was very vulnerable.