Entering Makkah

the muslim battalions marched out each in its already drawn route to fulfill the missions they were supposed to carry out. khalid bin al-waleed worked his way into the heart of the town quite successively killing twelve of the ruffians and sustaining two martyrs. az-zubair set out and reached the fixed destination where he planted the banner at al-fath (conquest) mosque and waited there for the arrival of the prophet [pbuh]. a tent was pitched for him where he offered prayers of thanks to the all-mighty allâh, who, out of his immense grace, had granted him a splendid victory. but he did not repose long. he, in the company of the helpers and emigrants, got up and proceeded towards al-ka‘bah, the sacred house, which is an emblem of the oneness and supremacy of allâh. it was unfortunately infested with idols that numbered 360. he knocked them down with his bow while reciting the verse of the noble qur’ân:

"and say: ‘truth (i.e. islamic monotheism or this qur’ân or jihâd against polytheists) has come and batil (falsehood, i.e. satan or polytheism, etc.) has vanished. surely! batil is ever bound to vanish.’" [al-qur'an 17:81]

and allâh further said:

"say (o muhammad [pbuh]): "the truth (the qur’ân and allah’s inspiration) has come, and al-batil (falsehood - iblis) can neither create anything nor resurrect (any thing)." [al-qur'an 34:49]

he then started the usual circumambulation on his ride. he was not in a state of ihram (ritual consecration) then. on completion, he called for ‘uthman bin talhah, the janitor of al-ka‘bah, from whom he took the key. he went in and saw images of prophets ibrahim and ishmael, [aws], throwing divination arrows. he denounced these acts of quraish and ordered that all idols be dismantled, images and effigies deleted. he then entered the sacred hall to face the wall opposite the door and there again performed devout prostrations, and went around acclaiming allâh’s greatness and oneness. shortly afterwards, he returned to the door-way and standing upon its elevated step, gazed in thankfulness on the thronging multitude below and delivered the following celebrated address:

"there is no god but allâh alone. he has no associates. he made good his promise that he held to his slave and helped him and defeated all the confederates along. bear in mind that every claim of privilege, whether that of blood, or property, is under my heel, except that of the custody of al-ka‘bah and supplying of water to the pilgrims. bear in mind that for anyone who is slain, even though semi-deliberately, with club or whip, for him the blood-money is very severe: a hundred camels, forty of them to be pregnant.

"o people of quraish! surely allâh has abolished from you all pride of the pre-islamic era and all conceit in your ancestry, (because) all men are descended from adam, and adam was made out of clay."

he then recited to them the verse:

"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 honourable of you near allâh is that (believer) who has at-taqwa [i.e. one of the muttaqûn: i.e. pious and righteous persons who fear allâh much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which he has forbidden), and love allâh much (perform all kinds of good deeds which he has ordained)]. verily, allâh is all-knowing, all-aware." [al-qur'an 49:13]

he further added:

"o you people of quraish! what do you think of the treatment that i am about to accord to you?"

they replied:

"o noble brother and son of noble brother! we expect nothing but goodness from you."

upon this he said:

"i speak to you in the same words as yusuf (the prophet joseph) spoke unto his brothers: he said: "no reproach on you this day," [al-qur'an 12:92] go your way, for you are freed ones."

as for the door-keeping of al-ka‘bah and supplying of water to pilgrims, the prophet [pbuh] ordered that these jobs remain in the hand of ‘uthman bin talhah and that the key will stay with him and his descendants for ever.

when time for prayer approached, bilal ascended al-ka‘bah and called for prayer. abu sufyan bin harb, ‘itab bin usaid and al-harith bin hisham were meanwhile sitting in the yard. ‘itab bin usaid commented on the new situation (bilal ascending al-ka‘bah and calling for prayer) saying that allâh honoured usaid (his father) having not heard such words. the prophet [pbuh] approached and assisted by divine revelation told them that he had learnt about what they had spoken of. al-harith and ‘itab, taken by incredible surprise, immediately professed islam and bore witness to the messengership of muhammad [pbuh] adding that "we swear by allâh that none had been with us to inform you."

on that very day, the prophet [pbuh] entered ‘umm hani’s house where he washed and offered prayers of victory. ‘umm hani had sheltered two makkan relatives of hers in her house in which act she was granted support by the prophet [pbuh].