Al-Baraa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
When the Prophet ﷺ intended to perform ‘Umrah in the month of Dhul-Qi‘dah, the people of Makkah did not let him enter Makkah till he ﷺ settled the matter with them by promising to stay therein for three days only. When the document of the treaty was written, the following was mentioned: 'These are the terms on which Muhammad, Allah's Messengerﷺ agreed (to make peace).' They said, "We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are Allah's Messenger, we would not prevent you from entering Makkah, but you are Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah." The Prophet ﷺ said, "I am Allah's Messengerand also Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah." Then he ﷺ said to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him), "Rub off (the words) 'Allah's Messenger,” but ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "No, by Allah, I will never rub off your name." So, Allah's Messengerﷺtook the document (, rubbed it himself) and wrote instead, 'This is what Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah has agreed upon: No arms will be brought into Makkah except in their cases, and nobody from the people of Makkah will be allowed to go with him, i.e., the Prophet ﷺeven if he wished to follow him and he (the Prophet ﷺwill not prevent any of his Companions from staying in Makkah if they want to stay.' When the Prophet ﷺ entered Makkah and the specified period expired, the Makkahns went to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) and said, "Tell your Friend, i.e., the Prophet ﷺ, to leave Makkah; the (agreed-upon) period has passed." So, the Prophet ﷺwent out of Makkah. The daughter of Hamzah ran after them, i.e., the Prophet ﷺand his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), calling, "O Uncle! O Uncle!" ‘Alee received her and led her by the hand and said to Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with them), "Take your uncle's daughter." Zayd and Ja‘far quarreled about her. ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "I have more right to her as she is my uncle's daughter." Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "She is my uncle's daughter, and her maternal aunt is my wife." Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "She is my brother's daughter." The Prophet ﷺ judged that she should be placed under the care of her maternal aunt, and said that the maternal aunt was like the mother. He ﷺ then said to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him), "You are from me and I am from you", said to Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him), "You resemble me both in terms of moral character and outward appearance", and said to Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), "You are our brother (in faith) and our freed slave."
.
Commentary :
The Prophet ﷺ endured grievous harm at the hands of the polytheists, who denied him access to the Sacred House. He ﷺ endured their persecution until Allah, Exalted is He, blessed him with triumph over them, and the days proved that he ﷺ was supported by the divine revelation and attested his discretion during the conclusion of the Treay of Al-Hudaybiyah.
In this hadeeth, Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allah be pleased with him), narrated that the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) departed Al-Madeenah, and headed towards Makkah with the intention of performing ‘Umrah in the month of Dhul-Qi‘dah, in 6 A.H. However,the people of Makkah did not let them enter Makkah till heﷺmade an agreement with them to stay therein for three days only and return to Al-Madeenah, provided that he ﷺ should come back on the following year to perform ‘Umrah. This treaty became known as the Treay of Al-Hudaybiyah, and it was named after a big village that was given the name of a well located in that area; it is currently located on the outskirts of Makkah.
When the document of treaty was written, the following was mentioned: 'These are the terms,” of the treaty, “on which Muhammad, Allah's Messengerﷺ agreed (to make peace).” They said, "We will not agree to this, for if we believed that you are Allah's Messenger, we would not prevent you (from entering Makkah), but you are Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah." They said to the Prophet ﷺ, ‘Had we believed in you and you religion, we would not have denied you access to the Sacred House, but we only know you as Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah,’ (by the name given to him by his father). Thereupon, the Prophet ﷺ said, "I am Allah's Messengerand also Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah," meaning that he ﷺ did not mind writing down either of them. Then he ﷺ said to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him), who was writing down the terms of the treaty, to rub off (the words) 'Allah's Messenger,’ from the document, but ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) refused. It should be noted that he (may Allah be pleased with him) did not mean to disobey the Prophet’s command, but rather expressed his disapproval of erasing his title out of reverence for the Prophet ﷺ and to defiantly support him against the polytheists. The Prophet ﷺtook the document, erased it himself, after ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) pointed to its place, because he ﷺ was illiterate. He ﷺ then commanded ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) to write down instead, 'This is what Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah has agreed upon.’ The terms included that no arms may be brought into Makkah by Muslims except those kept in their own cases, and nobody from the people of Makkah would be allowed to go with the Prophet ﷺeven if he wished to follow him (and embrace Islam). On the contrary, the Prophet ﷺwould not prevent any of his Companions from staying in Makkah if they wanted! According to this treaty, the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions returned to Al-Madeenah, after ending their state of Ihraam (i.e., ritual state of consecration) as authentically reported in other narrations. They came back on the following year to perform ‘Umrah, which became known as ‘Umrat Al-Qadhaa’. After the period specified by the terms of the treaty i.e., three days, ended the Makkans went to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him to ask the Prophet ﷺ, to leave, as the (agreed-upon) period has passed. When the Prophet ﷺwent out of Makkah, the daughter of Hamzah, Umaamah - it was also said that she was named Faatimah - ran after them, i.e., the Prophet ﷺand his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), wanting to go with them to Al-Madeenah. ‘Alee received her, led her by the hand, since she was still young, and said to Faatimah, his wife and the Prophet’s daughter, "Take your uncle's daughter." Faatimah (may Allah be pleased with her) held her, but Zayd and Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with them) quarreled about her; each wanted to take care of her. Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) claimed her because she was his brother's daughter, since the Prophet ﷺ had established the bond of brotherhood between him and Hamzah (may Allah be pleased with them). ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him) claimed her because she was his paternal cousin, his uncle's daughter, and Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him) claimed her because she was his uncle's daughter, and her maternal aunt, i.e., Asmaa’ bint ‘Umays (may Allah be pleased with her), was his wife. The Prophet ﷺ judged that she should be given to her maternal aunt, and said that the maternal aunt was like the mother, meaning as far as the right to the custody of a child is concerned, and also in terms of maternal affection and care. He ﷺ then said to ‘Alee (may Allah be pleased with him), "You are from me and I am from you", in terms of blood relations, love, seniority in Islam, and the like of his many great merits. He ﷺ said to Ja‘far (may Allah be pleased with him), "You resemble me both in terms of moral character and outward appearance", and said to Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him), "You are our brother (in faith) and our freed slave.” The bond of Al-Walaa’ (lit., loyalty, meaning to maintain a relationship of patronage without bondage with one’s manumitter) was as strong as the blood bond. The Prophet ﷺ made these statements toconciliate ‘Alee and Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them) for not granting them custody over Hamzah’s daughter, and to highlight that he ﷺ did not place her under Ja‘far’s care for his own sake, but rather because he was married to the girl’s maternal aunt (who was more entitled to the custody).
It was said that this hadeeth is one of the main Laws of Islam texts about the right to custody, which essentially means the care for a young child who is below the age of distinction and cannot live independently, providing him or her with a good upbringing, and guarding him or her against whatever may incur destruction and loss on him or her.
It is deduced from the hadeeth that it is allowable to conclude peace treaties with non-Muslims, conduct political and military agreements with them for the benefit of Muslims.
It is also inferred therefrom that a maternal aunt is entitled to custody over a child.
It also highlights the merits of ‘Alee, Ja‘far, and Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them)..