Among the beauties of the Prophetic biography (Seerah)
is maintaining optimism during times of hardship.
They arrived in Mecca with the joy and delight of those reaching their destination,
like a lover reaching their beloved.
The breezes of the Ancient House (the Kaaba) had perfumed the surroundings,
and happiness spread and hovered over them.
Suddenly, the Quraysh blocked them at al-Hudaybiyyah.
Messengers went back and forth between them,
and their souls grew heavy at being barred from the House, their homes, and their comfort.
Then, when Suhayl Ibn 'Amr arrived,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Your matter has now been made easy for you."
Suhayl Ibn 'Amr came and said,
"Write a document between us and you."
So the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, called for the scribe.
Indeed, the hardship was alleviated,
and an agreement was reached for peace and the sparing of blood.
The war was halted for ten years,
which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, invested in calling people to Islam.
No rational person was invited to Islam thereafter but that they accepted it and submitted.
That is why the conquest of Mecca took place two years later,
in the eighth year of the Hijrah.
He entered it as a conqueror with ten thousand fighters.
Thus, he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, teaches us optimism
and how to deal with crises.
He teaches us that the voice of reason is better than intense confrontation when the latter is misplaced,
and that the call to Islam only spreads in an atmosphere of calm and safety.
He teaches us that the breezes of hope are better than pessimism,
and better than resenting the distress that Allah has decreed.
We learn from the excellent dialogue of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and his magnificent wisdom in accepting a peace treaty that barred him from the House,
and postponing the 'Umrah to the following year as a matter of policy and outreach.
For the continuation of war is a drain on time, wealth, and lives,
and the wiser course is to postpone it until its proper time.
And peace.