his own initiative. He stated that he obeys Him and does not disobey Him as one who follows his own opinion (1) and desire does. He also stated that Allah would grant him victory. He was therefore confident of Allah’s support, and what had occurred would not harm him, for it contained benefits and advancement for the religion that became evident afterward. This was, in truth, a clear victory, although many people did not recognize the good it contained; rather, they saw it as humiliation, helplessness, indignity, and injustice.

For this reason, those who opposed it—may Allah be pleased with them—repented, as the hadith recounts how ʿUmar reconsidered his position. Likewise, the hadith relates that Sahl ibn Hunayf acknowledged his error when he said:

“Allah and His Messenger know best.”

He made their opinion a lesson for those who came after them, instructing them to distrust their own opinions when these conflicted with their religion. An opinion may be mistaken, just as theirs was mistaken on the day of al-Hudaybiyyah. The same applies to the man who did not do what he had commanded him to do, and to those who did not obey the command to shave their heads and slaughter their sacrificial animals until he himself did so: they repented of that, and Allah accepts His servants’ repentance and pardons their misdeeds.

This was a momentous ordeal that affected them profoundly, imposing a burden that most people could not bear. They (2) are, after all, the best of creation, the finest of people, and the greatest in knowledge and faith. They are those who pledged allegiance beneath the tree; [Allah] was pleased with them (3) and praised them. They are the earliest forerunners among the Emigrants and the Helpers.

Virtue is judged by the perfection attained at the end, not by the shortcomings at the beginning. Allah has related