Chapter 55 - Prophet Muhammad's Diplomatic Tactics in Alliances, Guarantees and Agreements;

Throughout history in international relations, agreements have taken second place after wars. The flow of history has been determined by wars and agreements.

Determining which purposes were basic to the agreements Rasulullahﷺ is connected to knowing the spirit and basic principles dominant in his diplomacy. As the founder and leader of Islamic society, he had the goal of preparing a foundation for the application of divine instructions in his own society and taking, by every possible means, the message he brought to individuals and societies he came into contact with. His agreements should be evaluated from this perspective before anything else. 

Rasulullahﷺ was not pursuing the exploitation of another political unit by intervening in their internal affairs or the establishment of hegemony over people by creating pacts through agreements. Rasulullahﷺ knew that the transmission of Islam would be more effective in an environment of peace and security provided by agreements. Due to religion being a belief system before anything else, he could only enter societies using the hearts of individuals. For this reason, Rasulullahﷺ never used force or declared war against those who did not prevent his call and invitation; he took as an essential principle being a sultan of hearts, not bodies.

The command in the Holy Quran:

 “Let there be no compulsion in religion,”

(Al-Baqara 256)

Attempting to force people to adopt a belief or ideology or wanting to shape their minds with pressure would not do anything but increase the number of hypocrites. In that case, why did Islam make jihad mandatory? Jihad is for removing obstacles to the conveyance of the divine message to people and to create a foundation for people to be able to know Islam with common sense, far removed from pressure and anxiety, and to be able to make choices with their own free will. On the other hand, jihad allows presenting the Islamic religion as a functional, individual, and practical system instead of just a theoretical message.
Because peace is the most suitable foundation for calling people to Islam and for conveying its noble values, Rasulullahﷺ always took peace as a basis of his politics. War was secondary. Peace being fundamental is tied to the judgment of Quranic verses:

لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَـٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَـٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ

 وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ ٨

“God forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for your Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them” 

(Al-Mumtahana 8);

۞ وَإِن جَنَحُوا۟ لِلسَّلْمِ فَٱجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٦١

“But if the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust in God. For He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things”

(Al-Anfal 61).

Also with these, Allah warns not to forego controlling the enemy by trusting agreements. Rasulullahﷺ’s application of some tactics against tribes that he had agreements with stems from this cautious approach, not from having made the agreement with the goal of deceit and ill-intention.

During the early days of his prophecy, Rasulullahﷺ began to call people to Islam, beginning with those close to him. Rasulullahﷺmade his call to all Makkan either individually or in groups. Meanwhile, he took advantage of the status of Makkah as a trade and cultural center. Participating in the fairs held in Makkah and its surroundings, he also invited those coming from outside of Makkah to Islam. At this point, his behaviors deserve our attention. When the Quraish tribe persisted in their stubbornness, despite all the efforts in Makkah to call them to Islam, he concentrated his activities on those coming from outside of Makkah.

It seemed impossible for Rasulullahﷺto remain in Makkah and call people from outside of Makkah to Islam in front of the Quraish’s eyes and to develop power against the Quraish who were the leaders of the Arabian Peninsula. Under these conditions, the best path was to make a base outside of Makkah take root there, and become an organized power. The migration to Abyssinia should be seen as an activity within the framework of the search for a central base.