Dr. Nasim Rehmatuallah - Naib Amir USA & Incharge Al Islam
September 30, 2025
President Trump's Gaza peace plan represents an important step toward ending the devastating conflict, yet when compared to the golden standard of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, it reveals opportunities for creating a more balanced and enduring peace.
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah's greatest strength was its mutual recognition principle - the Quraysh acknowledged the Prophet (peace be upon him) as an equal leader, giving tacit recognition to the Islamic State of Medina. This established both parties as legitimate entities with equal standing.
Trump's plan, while mentioning Palestinian self-determination, lacks this foundational equality. To align with Hudaybiyyah's model, the plan could explicitly recognise Palestinian leadership and sovereignty rights from the outset, not just as a distant possibility. This recognition would transform the entire framework from one of submission to one of negotiated partnership.
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah included reciprocal obligations - both Muslims and Quraysh faced similar restrictions and benefits. The current plan, however, places all disarmament requirements and behavioural constraints on Hamas and Palestinians, while Israel faces no comparable restrictions or accountability measures.
A Hudaybiyyah-aligned approach would include mutual de-escalation commitments: Palestinian disarmament paired with Israeli settlement freezes, withdrawal from occupied territories, and military restraint guarantees. This creates shared stakes in peace rather than unilateral surrender.
The Treaty included reciprocal prisoner exchange without imposing different standards on each party. Trump's plan requires Hamas to release all hostages within 72 hours, while Palestinian prisoner releases follow a different timeline and criteria.
Following Hudaybiyyah's model, simultaneous prisoner exchanges could occur with equal dignity - all captives and prisoners released according to identical timelines and procedures, demonstrating mutual respect for human life.
Hudaybiyyah's brilliance lay in allowing tribes to freely choose alliances without coercion from either side. This principle respected autonomy and prevented forced allegiances.
Trump's plan could incorporate this by allowing Palestinian factions and communities a genuine choice in their governance structures, rather than externally imposed technocratic committees. Local communities could participate meaningfully in determining their future leadership and alliances.
The Treaty designated Hudaybiyyah as neutral territory where both parties could meet as equals. Trump's "Board of Peace" concept, while innovative, places him as chairman, potentially creating perceived bias.
A more balanced approach might establish a truly neutral international body with equal representation from Muslim nations, Arab states, and international partners - creating genuine neutral ground for ongoing negotiations.
Hudaybiyyah established a 10-year peace commitment that gave both sides security and breathing room to develop trust. Trump's plan lacks this temporal framework and long-term mutual security guarantees.
Adding a multi-year peace commitment period with mutual non-aggression pacts would provide the stability both peoples need to rebuild and develop trust, following the Hudaybiyyah model of patient, sustained peace-building.
While Trump's plan includes economic development for Gaza, it's structured as aid rather than partnership. Hudaybiyyah's approach emphasised mutual benefit and shared prosperity.
The economic framework could be restructured as a Palestinian-Israeli economic partnership with shared investment, joint ventures, and mutual benefit arrangements that create interdependent prosperity rather than dependency relationships.
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah succeeded because it treated both parties with equal dignity and created shared stakes in peace. While Trump's plan shows a genuine commitment to ending suffering, aligning it with Hudaybiyyah's principles of mutual respect, balanced obligations, and equal recognition could transform it into a truly historic peace agreement.
This comparison reveals not criticism but opportunity - the chance to elevate a well-intentioned plan into one that honours both peoples' dignity and creates lasting peace through the time-tested wisdom of Islamic diplomatic tradition. The framework exists; it simply needs the balancing touch of Hudaybiyyah's golden principles to become the transformative peace both peoples deserve.
These are principles, not prescriptions. People familiar with the region will know that not all of them will be palatable to all parties. The test is not absolute satisfaction but balanced satisfaction or balanced dissatisfaction. The temporary pain of letting go of our egos and rights yields permanent freedom from conflict. If some solution based on these or comparable elements is not achieved, the drift toward debasement, dehumanisation, death and destruction will further accelerate.
Yet the truest and most profound insights on the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and its relevance to modern peace are found in the words of Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad (aba), Khalifatul Masih V, in the Friday Sermon of November 29, 2024: Treaty of Hudaibiyah – Friday Sermon, November 29, 2024. Khalifatul Masih's guidance sheds light with far greater wisdom than any analysis here, offering the real framework for just and lasting peace.
My words fade; Khalifatul Masih's words are eternal divine light
