▶️The Conquest of Makkah

When the treaty of Al-Hudaibiyah was completed, Khuza’ah sided with the Messenger(ﷺ) and Banu Bakr sided with Quraish. But a man from Banu Bakr killed a man from Khuza’ah, and as a result war broke out between the two sides. Quraish supplied Banu Bakr with weapons, and some of Quraish even fought alongside Banu Bakr under cover of darkness. In this manner they broke their agreement with Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  Some people from Khuza’ah came to seek support from Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) , so he commanded the people to get ready and told them that he was heading for Makkah, He said, “O Allah. Do not let Quraish find out aboutbour plans until we take them by surprise in their own land.”Then the people got ready.

When Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) had set out for Makkah, Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah wrote a letter to Quraish, informing them of what Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) had decided to do and how he had commanded the Muslims to set out towards Makkah. Then he gave the letter to a woman and paid her wage to deliver it to Quraish. She put it on her head and wrapped her braids around it, and then she set out. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) received news from heaven about what Hatib had done, so he sent ’Ali bin Abi Talib(رضي الله عنه) and Az-Zubair bin Al-’Awwam(رضي الله عنه) and told them: “Catch up with the woman with whom Hatib has sent the letter to Quraish, warning them about what we have decided to do in their case.” So, they set out until they caught up with her in Rawdah Khakh at the place[82]’ of Banu Abi Ahmad. They told her to dismount and they looked in her saddlebags, but they did not find anything.

‘Ali bin Abi Talib(رضي الله عنه)said to her: “I swear that Allah’s Messenger was not told lies and we were not told lies. Either you bring this letter forth for us or we will expose you.”When she saw that they meant it, she said: “Turn away from me.” So, he turned away and she undid her braids and brought forth the letter and gave it to him. He took it to Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)  who called Hatib to him and said: “O Hatib, what made you do this?” He said: “O Messenger of Allah, by Allah I still believe in Allah and His Messenger,and I have not changed. But i am a man who has no family or clan among the people, and I have a child and a wife among them, so I tried to do (Quraish) a favor for their sake.” ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab(رضي الله عنه) said: “O Messenger of Allah, let me strike his neck (i.e., kill him), for the man is a hypocrite!” Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) said: “How do you know, O’Umar, perhaps Allah  looked at the people of Badr on the day of Badr and said: ‘Do what you like, for I have forgiven you.”[83]

Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) set out on the tenth of Ramadan, and Quraish did not know anything about it. No news reached them of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)and his army. Abu Sufyan bin Harb went out with Hakim bin Hizam and Budail bin Warqa’ to try and find out what was happening. Al-‘Abbas(رضي الله عنه) the paternal uncle of the Prophet(ﷺ), had gone out to Al-Arak,riding the white mule of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ), hoping to meet those who were coming to Makkah, to tell them where Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)was, so that they might come to his and ask him for protection. Al-’Abbas(رضي الله عنه)met Abu Sufyan and advised him to ride with him and go and ask Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)for protection. So, he went with him, and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)invited him to embrace Islam and he did so. After he became Muslim,

 Al-’Abbas(رضي الله عنه)said: “O Messenger of Allah, Abu Sufyan is a man who likes to have status, so give him something.” He said: “Yes, whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan, will be safe. Whoever closes his door will be safe. Whoever enters the Sacred Mosque will be safe.[84]

When Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) entered Dhu Tuwa, he bowed his head in submission to Allah when he saw how Allah hadbhonored him by enabling him to conquer Makkah, and he lowered his head so much that the hair of his beard was almost touching the middle of his saddle.

▶️The Armies Enter Makkah

Each detachment of the army set out to do as Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) had commanded it to do.

Khalid(رضي الله عنه)and his troops did not engage in any fighting, apart from what happened with regard to Banu Bakr and the Ahabesh (tribes living in suburbs) at the bottom of Makkah,whom they fought and Allah caused them to defeat them.Safwan bin Umaiyah, ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl and Suhail binb’Amr had gathered some people to fight in Al-Khandamah.When the Muslims, the companions of Khalid bin Al-Walid(رضي الله عنه)encountered them, they skirmished with them;approximately twelve or thirteen of the Mushrikun (polythiests) were killed, and they were defeated. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)had instructed the Muslim commanders, when he ordered them to enter Makkah: “Do not kill anyone except those who fight you,” -except for a few whom he mentioned by name, who he said were to be killed even if they were found beneath the curtain of the Ka’bah. These included ‘Abdullah bin Sa’d bin Abi Sarh, ‘Abdullah bin Khatal, the two singing-girls of’Abdullah bin Khatal, Al-Huwairith bin Nuqaidh bin Wahb, Miqyas bin Subabah, ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, and Sarah the slave woman of some of Banu ‘Abdul Muttalib. Of these people, ‘Abdullah bin Khatal, Miqyas bin Subabah, and one of the two singing-girls of Ibn Khatal were killed. The rest asked for protection and Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) granted them that.

The Prophet(ﷺ) entered Makkah with those who were with him, from Adhakhir. That was on Friday the 19th of Ramadan in the year mentioned.[85]This was stated by Al-‘Ulaimi in Tarikh Al-Quds. In Tuhfatul-Kiram bi Akhbar Baladillahil-Haram by Al-Fasi it is reported from Al-Waqidi that Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)came on Friday when there remained 10 nights of Ramadan.”

A tent was pitched for him in Al-Abtah, and he entered on his she-camel AI-Qaswa’, riding between Abu Bakr (رضی اللہ عنہ)  and Usaid bin Hudair (رضی اللہ عنہ) and he stayed at his tent in Al-Abtah. Ibn Umar (رضي الله عنه)said:

When the Prophet(ﷺ)entered Makkah on the day of the Conquest, he saw women brushing the dust from the horses’ faces with their veils. Abu Bakr smiled and the Prophet(ﷺ)said: “O Abu Bakr, what does Hassan say?Abu Bakr recited the words of Hassan bin Thabit:

“May I lose my dear daughter, if you do not see her. Wiping away the dust from the two sides of Kada’ [a hill near Makkah]They pull at the reins, going upward.

Our women wipe them with their veils”[86]

When the people had calmed down, the Prophet(ﷺ)came out,riding his she-camel, until he reached the Ka’bah. He did seven circuits of Tawaf, riding his camel, and touching the Black Stone each time with a stick that had a curved top.Around the Ka’bah there were three hundred and sixty idols fixed to the ground with lead. The idols fell on their faces as he started poking them, saying:

جَآءَ الۡحَـقُّ وَزَهَقَ الۡبَاطِلُ‌ؕ اِنَّ الۡبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوۡقًا.   ۞               

“Truth (i.e., Islamic Monotheism or this Qur’an or Jihad against polytheists) has come and Batil (falsehood, i.e., Satan or polytheism) has vanished.

Surely, Batil is ever bound to vanish.” [Al-Isra ’17:81]   

According to the Hadith of Jabir (رضي الله عنه)We entered Makkah with Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) and in or around the House there were three hundred and sixty idols which were worshipped instead of Allah. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) commanded that they were all to be made to fall on their faces, and then he said:

“Truth (i.e., Islamic Monotheism or this Qur’an or Jihad against polytheists) has come and Batil (falsehood, i.e., Satan or polytheism) has vanished.

Surely, Batil is ever bound to vanish.” [Al-Isra ’17:81]

According to Al-Bukhari, when Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)came to Makkah, he refused to enter the House when there were gods in it. He ordered that they should be brought out, and they brought out (statues of) Ibrahim and Isma’il with Azlam (arrows for seeking good luck or for decision-making) in their hands. Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)said:

“May Allah curse them (Quraish), for by Allah they knew that they (Ibrahim and Isma’il) never draw lots with these arrows.”

Then he entered the House, proclaimed Allah’s Greatness in each corner, but he did not pray inside.[87]The correct view,however, is that he did pray inside the Ka’bah, as it says in the Hadith of Ibn ‘Umar(رضي الله عنه)  reported by Al-Bukhari[88] After the Prophet(ﷺ)had prayed inside the Ka’bah, he walked about inside the House, proclaiming the Greamess and Oneness of Allah. Then he opened the door, and Quraish had filled the mosque and stood there in rows, waiting to see what hebwould do. He stood holding onto the sides of the doorway,with them standing below him, and said:

“None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, He has no partner or associate. He has made good His Promise and helped His slave. He alone put to flight the Confederates. Every claim of privilege or blood or property is abolished by me except the custody of the sanctuary and the watering of the pilgrims. The unintentionally slain in a quasi-intentional way by club or whip, for him the blood money (Diyah) is more severe; a hundred camels, forty of them to be pregnant. O Quraish, Allah has taken from you the pride of the Jahiliyah and its pride in ancestry. Man sprang from Adam and Adam sprang from dust.”

Then he recited the Verse:

يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اِنَّا خَلَقۡنٰكُمۡ مِّنۡ ذَكَرٍ وَّاُنۡثٰى وَجَعَلۡنٰكُمۡ شُعُوۡبًا وَّقَبَآئِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوۡا‌ ؕ اِنَّ اَكۡرَمَكُمۡ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ اَ تۡقٰٮكُمۡ‌ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيۡمٌ خَبِيۡرٌ

“O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e.,he is one of the Muttaqun (the pious)]. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” [Al-Hujura(49:13)]

Then he said: “O Quraish, what do you think I am going to do with you?” They said: “Good, for you are a noble brother,son of a noble brother.” He said: “I say to you what Yusuf(Joseph) said to his brothers:

  لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْيَوْمَ

‘No reproach on you this day.’ [Yusuf 12:92]

Go, for you are free.”

Then Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)gave the keys of the Ka’bah back to ‘Uthman bin Talhah, whom he had commanded to bring them.

[82: Yaqut said: this place was a station twelve miles from Al-Madinah on the way to Diyar Sulaim.]

[83: Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (6/521).]

[84: Seerat lbn Hisham (4/37).]

[85:8 AH.]

[86: Mana’ihul-Karam, 1/485,486.]

[87: Al-Bukhari (1601)]

[88: AI-Bukhari(1599).]

▶️The People’s Oath of AlIegiance to Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)

After the conquest, the people gave their oath of allegiance to Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)sat at Qarn Masqalah[89] and the people came to him, young and old,men and women, and gave their oath of allegiance based on faith and the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah.

When the Prophet(ﷺ)had finished receiving the men’s oath of allegiance, he accepted the women’s oath of allegiance whilst he was atop As-Safa, with ‘Umar(رضي الله عنه) sitting beneath him, receiving their oath of allegiance on behalf of the Prophet(ﷺ) They gave their oath of allegiance based on the pledge that they would not associate anything with Allah, they would not steal, they would not commit adultery, they would not kill their children, they would not utter slander intentionally forging falsehood (i.e., by making illegal children belonging to their husbands), and they would not disobey him (the Prophet(ﷺ) in any Ma’ruf (Islamic monotheism and all that which Islam ordains), [cf Al-Mumtahanah 60:12]

[89:This is a place-name. Masqalah was a man who lived there during the Jahiliyah.]

▶️The Length of the Prophet’s Stay in Makkah and some of the Important Things that He did

The Prophet(ﷺ)stayed in Makkah for nineteen days, and during the whole period he shortened his prayers. The place where he stayed and where a tent was pitched for him was Shi’b Abi Talib, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) did many things during the days of the conquest of Makkah, some of which we have mentioned already, such as breaking the idols which were around the Ka’bah, praying inside the House, erasing the pictures that were inside it, affirming that custody of the Ka’bah belonged to Banu Shaibah and that the right to provide water for the pilgrims belonged to Banu ‘Abdul-Muttalib. He also commanded Bilal(رضي الله عنه) to call the Adhan (call for prayer) from atop the Ka’bah; he proclaimed that some of the most bitter enemies were to be killed; he accepted the oath of allegiance from both men and women; he commanded Abu Usaid Al-Khuza’i to renew the boundary markers of the Haram; and he sent out parties to call people to Islam because he knew that the conquest of Makkah would make many of those who had been hostile towards Islam more prepared to accept it.

He also sent out parties to destroy the idols. He sent Khalid(رضي الله عنه)to break the idol of Al-‘Uzza which was in Nakhlah (a place near Makkah). This took place on the twenty-fifth of Ramadan in 8AH. Al-‘Uzza belonged to Quraish and Banu Kinanah, and it was the greatest of their idols. And the Prophet(ﷺ) sent ‘Amr bin Al-‘Aas to break Suwa’, the idol of Hudhail; and he(ﷺ) sent Sa’d bin Zaid Al-Ashhali to break Manat in Ramadan of the eighth year after the Hijrah of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ).

▶️The Ban on the Mushrikun entering Al-Masjid AI-Haram

After Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)returned from the conquest of Makkah, delegations kept on coming to Al-Madinah to announce their Islam. The time for Hajj approached, but the Messenger (ﷺ)could not go out to lead the Muslims on Hajj.Delegations were coming one after another, but there were still people in the Arabian Peninsula who did not believe in Allah and His Messenger(ﷺ) There were still some Kuffar and Jews there, and the Kuffar -as had been the case during the Jahiliyah -were still performing pilgrimage to the Sacred House during the sacred months. The Kuffar were impure, so it was more appropriate that the Messenger(ﷺ)stay in Al-Madinah until Allah completed His Word and until He gave him permission to perform pilgrimage to His House.So, Abu Bakr(رضي الله عنه) went out to lead the people on Hajj.

The Mushrikun were also still performing pilgrimage to the Sacred House of Allah, so it was essential to cleanse the Ka’bah of the visits of the Mushrikun, just as it had recently been cleansed of idols and idolatry.

At the end of Dhul-Qa’dah in 9AH, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq(رضي الله عنه)went out with the permission of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ) to lead the Hajj. He took with him twenty Badanah (camels) to sacrifice on behalf of Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)and fifty on behalf of himself. There were with him three hundred men of Al-Madinah. When he reached Dhul-Hulaifah, seven miles from Al-Madinah, Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)sent ‘Ali bin Abi Talib(رضي الله عنه)after him to tell him to recite Surat Bara’ah (At-Taubah)concerning the Mushrikun, in which it says:

يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اِنَّمَا الۡمُشۡرِكُوۡنَ نَجَسٌ فَلَا يَقۡرَبُوا الۡمَسۡجِدَ الۡحَـرَامَ بَعۡدَ عَامِهِمۡ هٰذَا‌ ۚ وَ اِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ عَيۡلَةً فَسَوۡفَ يُغۡنِيۡكُمُ اللّٰهُ مِنۡ فَضۡلِهٖۤ اِنۡ شَآءَ‌ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيۡمٌ حَكِيۡمٌ ۞ٌ

 “O you who believe (in Allah’s Oneness and in His Messenger Muhammad(ﷺ))! Verily, the Mushrikun(polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and in the Message of Muhammad(ﷺ)are Najasun (impure). So, let them not come near Al-Masjid Al-Haram (at Makkah) after this year; and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you if He wills. out of His Bounty. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise,”[At-taubah 09:28 ]

Allah commanded His believing slaves, who are pure in spiritual and religious terms, to expel the Mushrikun, who are impure in religious terms, from Al-Masjid Al-Haram, and not to let them approach it after this Verse was revealed.

‘Ali(رضي الله عنه)called out on the Day of Al-Adha: “O people! After this year no Mushrik should perform Hajj, no one should perform Tawaf around the House naked, but for those who have a treaty with Allah’s Messenger(ﷺ)they are granted a respite according to the terms of their treaties.’ ’

The people were given a respite of four months after that, to allow each people to return to its land. But from that day no Mushrik performed Hajj, and no one performed Tawaf around the House naked. The Mushrikun started to wonder and asked one another: “What will you do now that Quraish has become Muslim?” Then they too became Muslim.

Book: “History of Makkah”

Prepared by a Group of Scholars under the Supervision of Shaikh Saifur -Rahman Mubarakpuri.

Translated by: Nasiruddin al- khattab.