CONQUEST OF MAKKAH, 8. A.

H
629 AD
For over 20 years, the Quraysh had been a constant source of trouble and misery to the
Muslims. Despite the treaty of Hudaibiya, some men of Banu Bakr, who were allies of Quraysh,
killed one of the men of Banu Khuza'ah, the Muslim allies, in a raid. The Quraysh had not only
supplied the Banu Bakr with weapons, but or two men of their men also took part in this
fighting. The Banu Kaab of Khuza immediately sent a message to the Prophet to ask for his help,
and he vowed to help them. He gave the Quraysh three options: pay the blood money, better
ties with Banu Bakr, or break the treaty of Hudaibiya. The Quraysh chose the third option but
soon after realized their mistake and sent Abu Sufyan to pacify Prophet Muhammad and
perhaps renegotiate the terms of the treaty of Hudaibiya. The Prophet refused. Abu Sufyan
went to ask his daughter Hazrat Umm Habibah who was married to the Prophet, to try and
persuade him, but she refused. Then met Hazrat Abu Bakr and other companions to intercede
on his request for the renewal of the pact, but his efforts was in vain as all the companion stood
firmly behind the Prophet's decision.
A message was sent by the Holy Prophet to all the allies of the Muslims assemble their warriors
and gather outside Madina just before the new moon of the Ramadan rose. The Bedouins
responded faithfully and, when the appointed day came, the Holy Prophet marched out of
Madina with a force of ten thousand men on 10th Ramadan, 8 A.H. When they were halfway to
Makkah, they were met by Hazrat Muhammad's uncle Abbas, his wife Umm Fadl, and their
sons, who joined the campaign. At the next halt, 'Abdullah, the Prophet's aunt's son and half-
brother of his wife Hazrat Umm Salamah, along with Abu Sufyan (the poet) who was Hazrat
Muhammad's uncle Harith's son, came to Hazrat Umm Salamah to intercede on their behalf.
When the Prophet refused to meet with them, Abu Sufyan declared that he would go into the
desert with his son and stay there till they died of hunger and thirst. When the Holy Prophet
heard this, he relented and agreed to receive them in his tent, where they accepted Islam.
Once camped outside Makkah, the Prophet. In order to impress on the Quraysh the strength of
the Muslim force, ordered his men to spread out after dark and fight campfires. As thousands
of campfires were seen burning, news quickly got to Makkah that the Prophet's army was larger
than they had feared. After a consultation, Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraysh, went out
with two companions to speak to the Prophet. They were met by Hazrat Abbas, who quick took
them to the Prophet's camp. After speaking to them, the Prophet asked them to bear witness
that there is no Allah but Allah, and that he, Muhammad was the Messenger of Allah. The two
companions made their profession of faith but Abu Sufyan only testified to the Oneness of Allah
and then was silent. He stayed the night in Hazrat Abbas's tent. At
dawn, when the call to prayer was made he was shaken by it, and
when he saw the believers crowding around the Prophet, he said, he
have never seen such sovereignty as this; he then asked to be taken
tothe Holy Prophet and accepted Islam.
Knowing Abu Sufyan's love for honor and glory, Prophet Muhammad
asked him to return to Makkah, and proclaimed that whoever entered
Abu Sufyan's house in Makkah would be safe, as would those who
sought refuge in the precincts of the Ka’abah.

The Holy Prophet then divided his army into four columns to
simultaneously enter Makkah from all sides. His orders to his men were
to go in peace and fight only in self-defense. Khalid ibn al-Waleed, with
his men, entered Makkah from the south-west route and was the only
one to meet resistance, resulting in the death of a dozen Makkans,
which grieved the Prophet. Oncethe Muslims had entered Makkah, he
then performed tawaf of the Ka’abah and recited from the Qur’an,
“And say, Truth has come and Batil has vanished. Surely! Batil is ever
bound to vanish.”(Al-Isra; 17: 81) Prophet Muhammad broke the three
hundred and sixty idols that filledand surrounded the Ka’abah and
prayed at Maqam-e-Ibrahim, the Station of Ibrahim; then he went to
the Well of Zamzam, where Hazrat Abbas gave him some of its water to
drink.
The Makkans, gathered around the Ka’abah, had witnessed the
destruction of the idols long worshipped and were waiting to see what
their fate would be. Prophet Muhammad addressedthem and asked,
“O you people of Quraysh! What do you think of the treatment that I
am about to accord you?” they said, “O noble brother and son of
noble brother! We expect
nothing but goodness from you”. Upon this the Holy Prophet said, “I
speak to you in the samewords as Prophet Yusuf spoke unto his
brothers; He said, No reproach on you this day. Go
your way for you are freed ones” (Surah Yusuf verse 92). He then
withdrew to the nearby hill of Safa, where he had first preached to the
people of Makkah, and they came again in large numbers, both men
and women, to pay homage to him and to accept the faith of Islam.
The Holy Prophet stayed in Makkah for a brief period during which he
taught about Islam and guided people to piety.
Regarding the unique conquest of Makkah and the triumph of Holy
Prophet, Allah revealed, “When there comes the Help of Allah and the
conquest. And you see that the people enterAllah’s religion in
crowds.” (Surah al Nasr, verses: 1-2) This conquest as a decisive
victory destroyed paganism completely and Arabs were able to
differentiate between truth and falsehood and hastened to embrace
Islam.