Life-of-Muhammad

104Life of Muhammad satwo ways—an agreed peace or the submission of oneside to the other. In the encounters between Muslimsand disbelievers so far there had been no hint of a peacenor had either side offered to submit. True, there hadbeen pauses in the fighting, but nobody could say thatwar between Muslims and disbelievers had ended.According to ordinary canons, Muslims could haveattacked the enemy tribes and compelled them tosurrender. But Muslims did not do this. When theenemy stopped fighting, Muslims stopped also. Theystopped because they believed there might be a talk ofpeace. But when it became evident that there was notalk of peace by the disbelievers, nor was there anydisposition on their part to surrender, the Prophet sathought that the time had come to end the war either bya peace or by the surrender of one side to the other. Warhad to be ended if there was to be peace. After the Battleof the Ditch, therefore, the Prophet sa seemed determinedto secure one of two things; peace or surrender. ThatMuslims should surrender to disbelievers was out ofquestion. The victory of Islam over its persecutors hadbeen promised by God. Declarations to this effect hadbeen made by the Prophet sa during his stay at Mecca.Could Muslims then have sued for peace? A movementfor peace can be initiated either by the stronger or bythe weaker side. When the weaker side sues for peace ithas to surrender, temporarily or permanently, a part ofits territory or part of its revenues; or it has to acceptother conditions imposed upon it by the enemy. Whenthe stronger side proposes peace it is understood that itdoes not aim at the total destruction of the weaker sidebut is willing to let it retain complete or partialindependence in return for certain conditions. In thebattles which had so far been fought between Muslimsand disbelievers the latter had suffered defeat afterdefeat. Yet their power had not been broken. They hadonly failed in their attempts to destroy Muslims. Failureto destroy another does not mean defeat. It only meansthat aggression has not yet succeeded; attacks which