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The ROTJ Radio Drama by Brian Daley explains the situation a whole lot better than the movie did.
The drama suggested that the Empire knew Han (a rebel sympathizer) was in the hands of Jabba the Hutt on Tattooine, so they maintained a blockade around the planet to prevent a Rebel campaign to break him free. And even if Han were to escape, Jabba and his cronies would surely search him out again.
This meant Luke & company had to devise a plan to sneak onto the planet avoiding Imperial detection, get inside Jabba's lair and bust Han out from the inside, and make sure Jabba doesn't pursue them.
Lando went on ahead and set himself up as a loyal guard in Jabba's court, so he would has access to Jabba's layout and discover Jabba's moves. The droids were sent next to smuggle in a weapon (the lightsaber) for Luke to use. Then Leia got in posing as a Bounty hunter with a "captured" Chewbacca, so she could free Han from Carbonite. Then Luke enters - unarmed - under the false assumption to bargain for Solo.
The drama continues to suggest that everything was part of an "exit strategy". Our friends had to somehow destroy Jabba so he wouldn't have Han hunted once they left, and so thanks to Lando's info and help, Jabba would take them all outside to the Sarlacc. Killing the Hutt and his cronies outside on a barge would be easier and more effective that way. R2 shoots Luke his lightsaber, and with Lando, they over power the skiff gaurds while Leia creates a diversion on the barge (shutting the windows) and proceeds to strangle Jabba (in the drama on Endor, she later recounts that her unnatural strength to kill Jabba frightened her. Luke tells her in the Ewok tree house that she was finally in touch with her Force abillities.)
R2 & C3PO exit the barge, Luke rescues Leia, destroys the barge with Jabba & his cronies on board, swings onto the stolen skiff, picks up the droids and escape.
The drama also says that while on the barge during the confusion, R2 communicates with Jabba's Palace computers to warn the remaining bounty hunters and others left behind that the Empire is after them with death warrents. So the remaining bounty hunters of Jabba's court blast offworld and engage the Imperial Blockade. That allows the Falcon and Luke's X-Wing (Leia & C3PO's Y-Wing is left behind ) to sneak away unchallenged.
So now, Luke's plan (part of his Jedi Trials) worked. Jabba can no longer hunt Han or his friends, and the Empire didn't capture them. But none of that comes across in the film. Han's rescue is pretty much so that the audience doesn't lose a favorite character. The rescue (as decribed by the Brian Daley's radio drama) is actually part of Luke's steps to become a Jedi Knight.
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