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Chapter 7
"When comes the Help of Allah and Victory..."
[Quran 110:1]
As stated earlier, two of the tribes of Makkah had entered the Truce of Hudaibiya, the
Khuza'a on the side of the Muslims and the Bani Bakr on the side of the Quraish. These
two tribes had an old feud dating back to pre?Islamic days, which had lain dormant
during the past few years, and it might have been expected that now that they had joined
the truce, peace would prevail between them. But this was not to be. The Bani Bakr once
again took up the thread of the feud. They organized a night raid on the Khuza'a in which
they were secretly assisted by the Quraish, who gave them not only weapons but also a
few warriors, among whom were Ikrimah and Safwan bin Umayyah. In this raid twenty
of the Khuza'a were killed.
A delegation of the Khuza'a at once rode to Madinah and informed the Prophet of this
flagrant breach of the truce. The visitors invoked the alliance between their tribe and the
Muslims and asked for help.
Abu Sufyan had not been directly concerned with the assistance given by the Quraish in
this raid. He was now seriously alarmed as he had not wished to break the truce; and
fearing Muslim retaliation, he travelled to Madinah to negotiate a fresh truce. On arrival
at Madinah he first went to see his daughter, Umm Habiba, wife of the Prophet, but she
gave him the cold shoulder. He next went to the Prophet and spoke to him, proposing a
fresh truce, but the Prophet remained silent and this did more to frighten him and disturb
his peace of mind than any threat could have done.
Not knowing just where he stood with the Prophet, Abu Sufyan decided to enlist the aid
of the important Companions. He went to Abu Bakr with the request that he talk with the
Prophet and urge a fresh truce, but Abu Bakr refused. He next went to Umar who, as
warlike as ever, replied, "By Allah, if I had nothing more than an army of ants, I would
wage war against you." Abu Sufyan then went to the house of Ali, and there spoke first
to Fatimah and then to Ali. "Once the Messenger of Allah has made up his mind,"
explained Ali, "nothing can dissuade him from his purpose."
"Then what do you advise?" asked Abu Sufyan.
"You are a leader of the Quraish, O Abu Sufyan! Keep peace among men." 1
This advice could be interpreted in many ways, but somehow it gave Abu Sufyan more
satisfaction than he had got from the others. Not knowing what else to do, he returned to
Makkah. He had achieved nothing.
Soon after the departure of Abu Sufyan, the Prophet ordered immediate preparations for a
large?scale operation. His intention was to assemble and move with such speed, and
observe such strict secrecy, that the Quraish would not get knowledge of the coming of
the Muslims until the Muslims were virtually knocking at their door. Thus the Quraish
would not have time to organise another alliance with neighbouring tribes to face the
Muslims. While the assembly of forces was in progress, the Prophet came to know that a
woman was on her way to Makkah with a letter warning the Makkans of the preparations
being made against them. He sent Ali and Zubair in haste after her. These two stalwarts
caught up with the woman, found the message and brought back message and messenger
to Madinah.
1. 1bn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 396-7.
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The move of the Muslim army started from Madinah on January 1, 630 (the 10th of
Ramadan, 8 Hijri). Many contingents from Muslim tribes had joined the Prophet at
Madinah, and other contingents fell in on the way. Thus the Muslim army soon swelled
to an all-time high figure of 10,000 warriors. With this force the Prophet arrived at Marr-uzZahran, 10 miles north?west of Makkah, without the Quraish having any knowledge
of his movement. 1 This was the fastest move the Muslim army had ever accomplished.
Abbas, uncle of the Prophet, had about now made up his mind to join the Muslims and
accept the true faith. While the Muslim army was at Juhfa, it met Abbas and his family
on their way to Madinah. The conversion of Abbas was received joyfully by the Prophet,
with whom the relations of Abbas had always been cordial.
When the Muslims got to Marr-uz-Zahran, Abbas became deeply concerned about the
fate of the Makkans. He was afraid that if the Muslims took Makkah by force, the
operation would result in the destruction of the Quraish. He therefore set out on the
Prophet's mule, with the Prophet's permission, to warn the Quraish of the serious
consequences of resistance and persuade them to send envoys of peace to the Muslims.
At about this time Abu Sufyan had come out of Makkah to carry out a personal
reconnaissance and see if any Muslims were in sight. Abbas and Abu Sufyan met while
the former was halfway to Makkah.
"What news do you bring, O Father of Fadhl?" asked Abu Sufyan.
"The Messenger of Allah", replied Abbas, "comes with any army of 10,000 men."
"Then what do you advise us to do?"
"If the Muslims capture Makkah against resistance, they will certainly cut off your head.
Come with me to the Prophet, and I shall ask him to spare your life."
Abu Sufyan mounted the mule behind Abbas and, so mounted, they rode to the Muslim
camp, arriving there after nightfall. It so happened that on this night Umar was the officer
of the guard and was walking around the camp to see that the sentries were vigilant. He
was the first to see and recognise the two visitors and exclaimed: "Ah! Abu Sufyan, enemy
of Allah! Praise be to Allah that you have come into our camp without a safe conduct."
Umar then ran to the tent of the Prophet, and Abbas, guessing Umar's purpose, urged his
mule forward. The three of them arrived at the Prophet's tent simultaneously, and a
heated argument arose between Umar and Abbas. Umar was asking for permission to cut
off the head of Enemy Number One, while Abbas was insisting that he had given
protection to Abu Sufyan, and so he could not be harmed until he had been heard. The
Prophet dismissed all three of them with instructions to come again in the morning.
Abbas took Abu Sufyan to his tent where he spent a sleepless night, wondering what his
fate would be.
The following morning, as Abbas and Abu Sufyan were going to the Prophet's tent, the
latter saw them coming and remarked, "One comes who intends to become a Muslim
but is not a Muslim at heart." As they arrived at the tent, the Prophet asked, "O Abu
Sufyan! Do you not know that there is no Allah but Allah?"
"I have now realised it. If other gods in whom I believed had existed, they would certainly
have helped me."
"And do you not know that I am the Messenger of Allah?"
This was a terrible moment for Abu Sufyan. He was a proud leader of the Quraish, one of
the nobles of the tribe, a descendant of Umayyah. He had always regarded himself as
second to none, and in this he was right. He was virtually the ruler of Makkah-a man all
Makkans held in respect and reverence. Now he stood like a humble supplicant before the
very man whom he had persecuted and fought for years, and for whose destruction he had
strained every nerve.
1. Marr-uz-Zahran is a small valley which in its lower portion becomes the Wadi Fatimah
and crosses the present Jeddah-Makkah highway about 20 miles from Makkah.
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"On this point", replied Abu Sufyan, "there is some little doubt in my mind."
Abbas now turned fiercely on Abu Sufyan. "Woe to you, O Abu Sufyan!" he hissed.
"Submit, or your head will be cut off!"
"I bear witness", said Abu Sufyan hastily, "that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!"
Abbas now had a word with the Prophet out of Abu Sufyan's hearing. "O Messenger of
Allah", he whispered, "Abu Sufyan is a proud man. He has dignity and self-respect. Will
you not be gracious to him and give him some special token of esteem?" 1
At this the Prophet declared, "Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyan shall be safe."
The face of Abu Sufyan lit up. He had been especially honoured by Muhammad. The
Prophet continued: "Whoever locks his door shall be safe. Whoever remains in the
mosque shall be safe."
Abu Sufyan now returned to Makkah where the people had gathered, awaiting news of
their fate. Abu Sufyan addressed the crowd: "O Quraish! Muhammad has come with
power that you cannot match. Submit to him and be safe. Whoever enters my house shall
be safe." This led to an uproar in the crowd. "And how many do you think could fit into
your house?" the people asked with sarcasm. Abu Sufyan then added, "Whoever stays in
his house and locks his door shall be safe. Whoever remains in the mosque shall be safe."
This appeased the crowd but could not appease his wife, Hind. She sprang at him like a
wild cat, slapped his face and caught him by his moustaches. "Kill the fat old fool!" she
screamed at the crowd. "He has turned away from us." Since Hind was no light-weight,
the experience must have been a painful one for Abu Sufyan. However, he managed to
shake her off and walked away to his house.'
The Muslims expected that there would be some opposition to their entry into Makkah.
They could not assume that it would be an entirely peaceful operation although the
Prophet hoped that blood would not be shed. With hardened anti-Muslims like Ikrimah
and Safwan you could never tell. The plan of the Prophet was therefore designed to
conquer Makkah as a military operation.
Makkah lies in the Valley of Ibrahim and is surrounded and dominated by black, rugged
hills which rise in places to over 1,000 feet above the valley floor. The town was then
approached over four routes, each one going through a pass in the hills. These routes
came in from the north-west (almost north), the south-west, the south and the north-east.
The Prophet divided his army into four columns, one to advance on each route. The main
column, which was commanded by Abu Ubaidah and with which the Prophet travelled in
person, would enter Makkah along the main Madinah route, from the north-west, via
Azakhir. The second column, under Zubair, would enter from the south-west, through a
pass west of the Hill of Kuda. The third column, under Ali, would enter from the south,
via Kudai; and the fourth, under Khalid, would enter from the north-east, via Lait and
Khandama.
The advance consisted of convergent thrusts aimed at a single central objective which
would have the effect of chopping up the enemy into small portions and also force
dispersion on him, so that he would be unable to concentrate for battle on any one axis of
advance. Moreover, even if the enemy succeeded in holding up the advance on some
axes, the attackers would have other axes on which to break through and thus enjoy better
prospects of success. All approaches were used to meet this requirement of military
tactics. This was also done to prevent the escape of the Quraish; but later, when vigilance
had been relaxed, some individuals did succeed in getting away.
1. Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, pp. 402-5, Ibn Sad: p. 644; Waqidi: Maghazi: pp. 327-31.
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The Prophet emphasised that there must be no fighting unless there was armed resistance
by the Quraish. He also ordered that there would be no killing of the wounded, no pursuit
of fugitives and no slaying of captives.
The entry into Makkah took place on January 11, 630 (the 20th of Ramadan, 8 Hijri). It
proved a peaceful and bloodless operation except in the sector of Khalid. Ikrimah and
Safwan had got together a band of dissidents from the Quraish and other tribes and
decided to make the Muslims fight for victory. They met Khalid's column at Khandama,
and this was a new and strange experience for Khalid. The two enemy leaders who were
now opposing him in battle had been his dearest friends Ikrimah and Safwan; and the
latter was also the husband of Khalid's sister, Faktah. However, Islam cancelled all
relationships and friendships of the Ignorance, and no one who was not a Muslim could
have a claim on a Muslim for old time's sake.
The Quraish opened up with their bows and drew their swords; and this was all that
Khalid was waiting for. He charged the Quraish position, and after a short and sharp
clash, the Quraish were driven back. Twelve of the Quraish were killed at a loss of only
two Muslims. Ikrimah and Safwan fled from the scene of the encounter.
When the Prophet came to know of this action and the number of infidels killed, he was
displeased with Khalid. He had wished to avoid bloodshed; and knowing Khalid's violent
nature he feared that Khalid may himself have brought on a military engagement. Khalid
was duly sent for and asked to account for his action. His explanation, however, was
accepted by the Prophet, who agreed that Khalid had done the right thing. He had, after
all, merely hit back. It was in the nature of Khalid that whenever he struck, he struck very
hard. There was no moderation in the character of the man.
As soon as Makkah was occupied by the Muslims, the Prophet went to the Kabah and
circumambulated the House of Allah seven times. This was a great moment in the life of
Muhammad. It was more than seven years since he had fled as a fugitive from Makkah
with the Quraish at his heels, thirsting for his blood. Muhammad was no longer the
fugitive. He was no longer a voice crying in the wilderness. Muhammad had returned,
and he had returned as master with Makkah at his feet. The Quraish trembled as they
waited in the mosque, for they knew the savage nature of Arab vengeance.
The Prophet turned and looked at the Quraish. There was a hushed silence as the
assembled populace gazed at him, wondering what their fate would be. "O Quraish!"
called the Prophet. "How should I treat you?"
"Kindly, O noble brother, and son of a noble brother!" the crowd replied.
"Then go! You are forgiven." 1
The Prophet now entered the Kabah and saw the idols arranged along its walls-idols of all
shapes and sizes. In and around the Kabah there were 360 idols carved of wood or hewn
out of stone, including a statue of Ibrahim holding divining arrows. The Prophet had a
large stick in his hand, and he set about smashing these idols to pieces. When the task
was finished he felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. The Kabah had
been cleansed of the false gods; now only the true Allah would be worshipped in the
House of Allah. The Prophet's joyous cry (a Quranic verse) rose above the Kabah:
"Truth has come and falsehood has vanished!" 2
The next few days were spent in consolidation and reorganisation. Most of the people of
Makkah accepted Islam and swore allegiance to the Messenger of Allah.
Before his entry into Makkah, the Prophet had announced the names of 10 persons-six
men and four women-who were to be killed at sight, even if they took shelter within the
Kabah. These 10 were what we would today call 'war criminals'. They were either
apostates or had taken part directly or indirectly in the torture or betrayal of Muslims. At
the head of the list was Ikrimah, and Hind also was one of them.
1. Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 412.
2. Ibid. Vol. 2, p. 417; Quran: 17:81.
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When he withdrew from the engagement with Khalid, Ikrimah hid in the town, and as the
Muslims relaxed their vigilance, he slipped out and fled to the Yemen with the intention
of taking a boat to Abyssinia. Ikrimah's wife, however, became a Muslim and pleaded her
husband's case with the Prophet, who agreed to spare his life. This woman travelled in
haste to the Yemen, where she found her husband and brought him back. On arrival at
Makkah, Ikrimah went straight to the Prophet and said, "I am one who has erred and now
repents. Forgive!" 1 The Prophet accepted his submission, and Ikrimah joined the
brotherhood of Islam.
Safwan bin Umayyah, though not on the war criminals' list, feared for his life and fled to
Jeddah with the intention of crossing the Red Sea and seeking refuge in Abyssinia. A
friend of his, however, asked the Prophet to spare his life and accept his submission. The
Prophet had in any case no intention of killing Safwan and let it be known that he would
gladly accept the return of Safwan. This friend then went to Jeddah and brought Safwan
back. The man submitted to the Prophet, but it was a personal and political submission.
As for Islam, he asked the Prophet to allow him two months in which to make up his
mind. The Prophet gave him four months.
Of the war criminals actually only three men and two women were killed. The remainder
were pardoned, including Hind, who became a Muslim.
Having destroyed the idols in the Kabah, the Prophet sent out small expeditions to the
neighbouring settlements where other idols were known to exist in local temples. Khalid
was sent to Nakhla to destroy Uzza, the most important of the goddesses. He set out with
30 horsemen. 2
It appears that there were two Uzzas, the real Uzza and a fake. Khalid first located the
fake and destroyed it, then returned to the Prophet to report completion of duty. "Did you
see anything unusual?" asked the Prophet. "No." "Then you have not destroyed Uzza",
said the Prophet. "Go again."
Angry at the mistake that he had made, Khalid once again rode to Nakhla, and this time
he found the real Uzza. The custodian of the temple of Uzza had fled for his life, but
before forsaking his goddess he had hung a sword around her neck in the hope that she
might be able to defend herself. As Khalid entered the temple, he was faced by a naked
black woman who stood in his way and wailed. Khalid did not stop to decide whether she
was there to seduce him or to protect the idol, but drew his sword and with one powerful
stroke cut the woman in two. He then smashed the idol, and returning to Makkah, gave
the Prophet an account of what he had seen and done. "Yes," said the Prophet, "that was
Uzza; and never again shall she be worshipped in your land." 3
On or about January 20, 630 AH, after the destruction of the idols, occurred the
unfortunate incident of the Bani Jazima. The Prophet sent a number of expeditions to the
tribes living in the neighbourhood of Makkah to call them to Islam, and instructed the
commanders not to fight those who accepted the call. Here again the Prophet's intention
was to avoid bloodshed.
The expedition to the area of Tihama, south of Makkah, was commanded by Khalid. It
consisted of 350 horsemen from several tribal contingents, the largest number being from
the Bani Sulaim, and included a few Ansars and Emigrants. The objective of this force
was Yalamlam, about 50 miles from Makkah. (See Map 4.)
When Khalid reached Al Ghumaisa, about 15 miles from Makkah on the way to
Yalamlam, he met the tribe of Bani Jazima. The tribesmen saw the Muslims and took up
their weapons, at the same time calling, "We have submitted. We have established
prayers and built a mosque."
"Then why the weapons?" asked Khalid.
"We have a feud with certain Arab tribes and have to defend ourselves against them."
1. Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 332.
2. There was the Nakhla Valley, now known as Wadi?ul?Yamaniya, through which ran
the main route between Makkah and Taif; and there was the Nakhla, at which was the
goddess Uzza, and this lay north of the Wadi-ul-Yamaniya. It was about 4 or 5 miles
south of the present Bir-ul-Batha.
3. Ibn Sad: p. 657.
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"Lay down your arms!" ordered Khalid. "All the people have become Muslims and there
is no need for you to carry weapons."
One man from the Bani Jazima now shouted to his comrades: "This is Khalid, son of Al
Waleed. Beware of him! After the laying down of arms there will be a binding of hands,
and after the binding of hands there will be a severing of heads!" 1
There was an old feud between the clan of Khalid and the Bani Jazima. In pre?Islamic
days a small Quraish caravan was returning from the Yemen when it was set upon by the
Bani Jazima, who looted the caravan and killed two important individuals-Auf, father of
Abdur-Rahman bin Auf, and Fakiha, son of Al Mugheerah, an uncle of Khalid. Abdur-Rahman
had later killed the murderer of his father and thus avenged his father's blood,
but the death of Fakiha had not been avenged. All this, however, happened during the
Ignorance.
The people of the Bani Jazima now began to dispute with the man who was warning them
against Khalid. "Do you want to have us slaughtered?" they asked him. "All the tribes
have laid down their arms and have become Muslims. The war is over." 2 After a brief
argument the tribe laid down its arms.
The cause of what happened next is not clear. Perhaps Khalid reverted momentarily to
the tribal vindictiveness of the Ignorance. (He had been a Muslim for only a few months.)
On the other hand, perhaps there was an excess of Islamic zeal in the heart of Khalid and
he doubted the truth of the declaration of faith by the tribe. As the tribesmen laid down
their arms, Khalid ordered his men to tie their hands behind them. He then ordered that
all the captives be put to the sword. Luckily only the Bani Sulaim obeyed the order and
killed the captives in their hands, whose number is not known. Other tribal contingents
refused to carry out the order. There was a strong protest from Abdullah, son of Umar,
and Abu Qatadah, but Khalid rejected the protest. Abu Qatadah immediately rode to
Makkah and informed the Prophet of what Khalid had done.
The Prophet was horrified. He raised his hands towards heaven and exclaimed: "O Lord!
I am not responsible for what Khalid has done." 3 He then sent Ali with a good deal of
money to soothe the feelings of the Bani Jazima and pay indemnity for the blood that had
been shed. Ali carried out the mission with generosity and did not return until the tribe
was fully satisfied.
Khalid was now sent for by the Prophet who demanded an explanation for what he had
done. Khalid said that he did not believe that they really were Muslims, that he had the
impression that they were deceiving him, and that he believed that he was killing in the
way of Allah.
Present with the Prophet was Abdur-Rahman bin Auf. When he heard the explanation of
Khalid, he said, "You have committed an act of Ignorance in the days of Islam."
Khalid now thought that he saw a way out of this delicate predicament, and he replied,
"But I took revenge for the killing of your father." "You lie!" snapped Abdur-Rahman. "I
killed the murderer of my father a long time ago and vindicated the honour of my family.
You ordered the slaughter of the Bani Jazima in revenge for the death of your uncle,
Fakiha."
This led to a heated argument between the two. And this was a mistake on the part of
Khalid, for Abdur-Rahman was one of the Blessed Ten and thus had a position which few
could challenge. Before the argument could get out of hand, however, the Prophet
intervened and said sternly, "Leave my Companions alone, O Khalid! If you possessed
a mountain of gold and spent it in the way of Allah, you would not achieve the status of
my Companions." 4 He was referring, of course, to his early Companions, for Khalid too
was a Companion.
Thus was Khalid put in his place. He was pardoned; but he learnt the important lesson
that he, as a later convert, did not have the same status as the early Companions,
especially the Blessed Ten. He was to keep this lesson in mind on many future occasions.
1. Ibn Sad: pp. 659-60; Ibn Hisham: Vol. 2, p. 429.
2. Ibid
3. Ibid
4. Ibn Sad: Vol. 2, p. 431.