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How did the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah allow Muslims to visit Mecca?

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Medina, Saudi Arabia: Prophet's Mosque — Muhammad The Prophet's Mosque, showing the green dome built above the tomb of Muhammad, Medina, Saudi Arabia.

The Pact of Al-Hudaybiyah, signed in 628, was a compromise between Muhammad and the leaders of Mecca that established a 10-year truce and provided a framework for Muslim pilgrimage.12

When Muhammad initially approached Mecca with 1,400 followers to perform the ‘umrah (pilgrimage), the Meccans refused him entry. During negotiations at Al-Hudaybiyyah, Muhammad agreed to abandon his immediate pilgrimage on the condition that he and his followers would be permitted to enter the city the following year.1

Under the terms of the treaty, the Meccans agreed to empty the city for three days during the subsequent year, allowing the Muslims to enter and perform their religious rites. This agreement was successfully fulfilled in 629, when Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca to complete the pilgrimage as stipulated.12