Conquest of Makkah
The conquest of Makkah is the most significant and glorious
event in the history of Islam. The objective given to the
Prophet (sws) and his companions immediately after migration
was that they were to purify the House of God against the
filth of idolatry and dislodge the polytheists who were in its
possession. The Muslims had been informed that this would not
be an easy milestone to reach. The path to it was extremely
hard. At every step, difficulties would be encountered and
they would have to suffer loss of property and life in order
to overcome those obstacles. They would stumble, but those who
believed in God and were steadfast would, ultimately, be the
winners. Then, in just the same manner that Surah Fath was
revealed after the treaty of Hudaybiyyah and declared the
treaty to be a clear victory and predicted that it would
certify victory over Makkah, Surah Nasr was revealed before
the conquest of Makkah and it gave the news that Makkah would
be conquered with God’s full support and polytheists would
accept Islam in large numbers. After this supremacy of Islam
over polytheism, the Prophet’s mission would be complete. It
is surprising that books of history and biographies depict
this most important turning point in Islamic history as that
the Prophet (sws) had made this mission a huge secret and had
even kept it from his most trusted companion, Abu Bakr (rta).
The Quraysh who were directly impacted by this mission
remained so ignorant of this mission that the Prophet (sws)
surprised them with an army of 10,000 and they were unaware.
Then, the entry into Makkah has been related such that our
jurists have still not been able to decide whether Makkah was
conquered after a battle or whether it was won without any
fighting. Perhaps the unusual preferences of biographers find
it satisfying that they present the glorious and successful
culmination of the Prophet’s mission in such an unrealistic
style.
Preparations to attack Makkah
After refusing to accept Abu Sufyan’s request to maintain the
treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the Prophet (sws) began to prepare for
a final blow upon the Quraysh. He ordered Muslims in and
around Madinah to be ready and also sent his ambassadors to
all allied tribes and those who had recently converted to
Islam, to prepare people for a war. We have said earlier, in
the context of the mission of Hudaybiyyah, that many Bedouin
tribes had refused to join the Prophet (sws) for the journey
to ‘umrah because they considered it to be going to their
death. When Surah Fath was revealed after signing of the
treaty of Hudaybiyyah, in addition to exposing the weakness
and doubtful faith of these tribes, it also gave the
information that when opportunities for war booty arose in a
mission to come in the near future, those people would want to
participate in it and they were not to be given permission.
However, after that, conditions for a more important mission
with a stronger enemy would develop and then those people were
to be called to demonstrate their loyalty to the cause. The
mission that came in the near future was the Battle of Khyber,
in which only the companions who had taken the Bay‘t-i ridwan
were allowed to participate. The bigger mission and facing the
harder enemy was to happen at that time. The Quraysh were the
strongest force in the country and conquering Makkah was a
difficult task. The Prophet (sws) took steps according to
instructions in Surah Fath as follows:
Say to the desert Arabs who lagged behind: “Ye shall be
summoned [to fight] against a people given to vehement war:
then shall ye fight, or they shall submit. Then if ye show
obedience, Allah will grant you a goodly reward, but if ye
turn back as ye did before, He will punish you with a grievous
Penalty.” No blame is there on the blind, nor is there blame
on the lame, nor on one ill [if he joins not the war]: But he
that obeys Allah and his Messenger,- [Allah] will admit him to
Gardens beneath which rivers flow; and he who turns back,
[Allah] will punish him with a grievous penalty.” (48:16-17)
According to
narratives, the Prophet (sws) sent companions belonging to the
same tribes, to Bedouin tribes of Aslam, Juhaynah, Ghifar,
Banu Damrah, Banu al-Husayn, Ashja‘, Muzaynah, Banu Sulaym and
Banu Ka‘b, to motivate the people to join the effort and tell
them that whoever believed in God and the Day of Judgement was
to reach Madinah during Ramad@an. The names of the companions
are given in biographies, and to repeat them here would be of
no use.
The special effort to send ambassadors to convince Bedouins to
participate in jihad is seen only during this mission.
Obviously, this was carried out in obedience to orders from
God. Prior to this mission, a battle had been fought at Mu’tah,
but neither did the Prophet (sws) participate in it, nor did
it require fighting in large numbers that Bedouins were
invited. But for conquering Makkah, the Qur’an itself shamed
Muslims by asking them that if they did not stand up at that
stage, when would the time to do so come again?
Will ye not fight people who violated their oaths, plotted to
expel the Messenger, and took to agression by being the first
[to assault] you? Do ye fear them? Nay, it is Allah Whom ye
should more justly fear, if ye believe! (9:13)
It is obvious
that it was the Quraysh who had not tolerated the presence of
the Prophet (sws) in Makkah and he was forced to migrate. The
Quraysh had fought with all their strength during the battles
of Badr, Uhud and Ahzab to destroy Muslims. After this, when
the treaty of Hudaybiyyah had been signed, it was the Quraysh
who broke their promises and were guilty of violating the
agreement. The verse spells out their crimes in order to
motivate Muslims so that they were not overwhelmed by the
strength of the Quraysh and faced the enemies of Islam with
only the fear of God in their hearts. These verses can refer
to no group except the Quraysh.
In presence of
this clear instruction in the Qur’an and the the Prophet (sws)
sending his ambassadors to Bedouin tribes, the narrative in
biographical books that the Prophet (sws) had kept the mission
secret from Muslims does not seem to be correct. When the
Qur’an itself was stimulating Muslims, why would the Prophet (sws)
act in opposition and refrain from developing fervour and
enthusiasm for jihad among them? The Qur’an was not only
encouraging Muslims for jihad but also giving predictions for
the Muslim’s victory in the mission.
Fight them, and Allah will punish them by your hands, cover
them with shame, help you [to victory] over them, heal the
breasts of Believers and still the indignation of their
hearts. For Allah will turn [in mercy] to whom He will; and
Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (9:14-15)
In the presence
of these verses, in our opinion, the narratives that tell us
that the Prophet (sws) ordered people to prepare for jihad and
made it clear to them that he was intending to attack Makkah
are preferable. Imam Dhahabi writes in the section of al-Maghazi
of his History of Islam:
Then the Prophet (sws) ordered for preparation for war; he
also asked his relatives in his house to do the same and told
people that he intended to attack Makkah.
It is said in
the Zad al-ma‘ad:
He informed
people that he was going to Makkah and that they should take
the matter seriously and prepare for it.
Similar
narratives are given in the History by Tabari and in Al-Kamil
fi Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir.
Some biographers
have written that the route taken by the Prophet (sws) to
reach Makkah was an unknown one so that others could be kept
in the dark. Facts belie this statement. Not only did people
know of the destination, they had been informed of the
complete timetable and intermediary stops. This is why, when
the mujahidin started towards Makkah on 10th Ramadan, 8th AH,
they were 7,500 in number. In between the stopovers between
Madinah and Makkah, Muslims from other tribes joined them
until they numbered 10,000 by the time they reached Marra al-Zahran,
close to Makkah. The tribes that joined them on the way
included Ghifar, Ashja‘, Banu Khuza‘ah and Banu Damrah. Even
in ordinary life, if people are not informed ahead of time
about the schedule after careful planning, their participation
cannot be ascertained. This was a matter of attacking a
powerful enemy. How could it be expected that tribes living
along the route would join the army while being kept ignorant
of the time schedule, given that the complete journey took 7-8
days?
Further, the
scale of preparation for destruction of an army was
unprecedented in the history of Arabia. Tribes were mobilized
to participate in the mission by sending 18-24 representatives
to them. Verse number 17 of Surah Fath tells us that it was
made mandatory for every able Muslim not to stay behind. Only
sick and crippled men were exempted. For thousands of men from
various regions and tribes to gather at specific dates was an
extraordinary event that could not have been hidden. By its
very nature, such an event becomes known far and wide and
people against whom action may be taken become particularly
sensitive.
Reasons for the Idea of Secrecy
There are two
things which may have made the biographers get the idea that
the attack on Makkah was undertaken with secrecy. One was the
letter from Hatib bin Balta‘ah (rta) to the Quraysh leaders,
which was being taken by a woman to Makkah and was apprehended
and Hatib was called for an explanation. The second was the
prayer to God by the Prophet (sws), that He make the Quraysh
blind and deaf so that the Muslims could get them unawares.
The Prophet (sws) had prayed for this, much before setting off
for the battle while still in Madinah.
The matter with
Hatib was that his relatives were still in Makkah. There was
no one there who would support them. When he came to know of
the planned attack, he wrote to some of his friends, informing
them of the Prophet (sws)’s coming with a large army to attack
them that would cover them like the night and wash them away
like a flood. Even when the Prophet (sws) was alone, God
helped him. Now, He was going to fulfill His promise of
support and victory, so they were to get ready to defend
themselves. When this letter was caught, Hatib (rta) was
questioned and he clarified that his purpose in sending the
letter was for the Quraysh to become beholden to him so that
they would not harm his relatives. Hatib (rta) was forgiven at
this explanation. In our view, Hatib’s incident in itself is
proof of the fact that people in Madinah were aware of the
proposed attack on Makkah. This plan had not been kept secret.
As far as Hatib’s questioning is concerned, it is never
acceptable in military life that the loyalties of any of its
soldiers be with the enemy forces. If such incidents come to
light, it becomes necessary to undertake an inquiry, otherwise
the foolishness of their own soldiers can lead to great
losses. Hatib (rta) had not kept the demands of the
announcement of acquittal from the Quraysh, which have been
explained above with reference to Surah al-Mumtahinah. In any
case, the nature of the contents of the letter was not such
that he was guilty of exposing a military secret. Instead, had
the letter reached its destination, it would have merely
caused fear among the enemy.
The matter
related to the prayer of the Prophet (sws) is that when
efforts made by Abu Sufyan to keep the agreement intact
failed, and he realized that the Muslims were then in a state
of war with the Quraysh, he left Madinah greatly perturbed.
Seeing him go, the Prophet said: “O’ Allah, bandage the eyes
and ears of the Quraysh so that they should see me suddenly.”
The Zad al-ma‘ad presents this prayer as: “O’ Allah, stop
observations and information from the Quraysh until we reach
them in their region.” Acceptance of this prayer is not only
in the form of the Quraysh remaining ignorant for a long time
of the preparations in Madinah and not being aware of the
coming and going of Muslims to the tribes and the jihad
movement. This does not normally happen in practical life.
Not all people within the tribes were Muslims; there were also
polytheists who were sympathetic to the Quraysh. Also, some
allied tribes of Muslims lived so close to the Quraysh that
their movements were well known to them. In our view, the
Prophet’s prayer was accepted, resulting in the Quraysh
looking on with resignation and becoming deprived of the
strength to fight the Muslims. They did not possess the
motivation to prepare and enter the battlefield and confront
the Muslims who were on their way. What could be the reason
for lack of possession of the will to defend themselves while
still retaining their powers of sight and hearing, other than
acceptance of the Prophet’s prayer? This reality was stated by
the Prophet (sws) later when he said that he was helped
through impressing the enemy.
The fact is that
the situation had changed drastically during the two years of
peace. Noted young leaders of the Quraysh: Khalid ibn Walid,
‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās, ‘Uthman ibn Talhah, Mu‘awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan
etc had accepted Islam and migrated to Madinah. Every house in
Makkah was influenced by the call of Islam. During the eight
years of conflict, the Quraysh had gained nothing. All their
top notch leaders were killed in the wars and their reputation
among Arab tribes had been destroyed. When, previously, the
maximum number of Muslims who could be brought to the
battlefield was not more than 3,000, now there was a 10,000
strong army ready to attack Makkah. Had reconciliation been
brought about by Abu Sufyan’s efforts, the Quraysh would have
been able to retain their dignity. But with the failure of
this mission, they had lost their will and their energies were
depleted. As it happened, when the Muslim army reached the
suburbs of Makkah, they did not meet any resistance from the
Quraysh.
Request for Amnesty from the Quraysh
The Muslims army
camped at Marra al-Zahran, one stop away from Makkah. The
encampment of an army of 10,000 was spread over a large area
and when, at night, the mujahidin lit their fires, the lights
reflected an extraordinary capacity to vanquish the enemy.
According to narratives, three leaders of the Quraysh- Abu
Sufyan, Hakim ibn Hizam and Budayl ibn Warqa’ ventured out to
see which tribe was staying here. When they reached Marra al-Zahran,
they thought that these might be the Banu Khuza‘ah, and Budayl
also was of the same opinion. But then they realized that the
Banu Khuza‘ah could not be in such large numbers: they were
surely some other tribes. While they were discussing and
moving about, ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib (rta) came across
them on the donkey of the Prophet (sws). He was searching for
someone who could take a message to the Quraysh that the
Muslim army had arrived. Therefore, it was better if they
contacted the Prophet (sws) directly and thus save themselves.
‘Abbas recognized Abu Sufyan’s voice in the dark and took the
three Makkan leaders to the Prophet (sws). ‘Umar (rta) came
behind them, waving his sword. His demand was that Abu Sufyan
being in their custody, if he was commanded, he would sever
his head. The Prophet (sws) calmed him down and ordered Abu
Sufyan and his friends to spend the night in the camp. They
would talk the next morning.
This narrative
is as unrealistic and unnatural as it is famous. Firstly, the
Banu Khuza‘ah were so closely connected with the Quraysh that
none of their actions could have been hidden from them. If
thousands from the Banu Khuza‘ah had been preparing for a
mission, the Quraysh would have come to know of it during the
early stages. Thus, their initial thought that the army
belonged to the Banu Khuza‘ah is very unnatural. Secondly, the
leader of the Banu Khuza‘ah, Budayl, was among the group. Did
he not know what his tribe was up to that day? And was the
tribe so conceited that it would be ready to fight an enemy
without prior knowledge of its leader? Thirdly, leaders of a
nation and commanders of its army do not go on a
reconnaissance mission themselves. There are always other
people who are sent, so that if any problems arise, major
losses can be prevented. In this narrative, there are two
leaders of the tribe and one very important member of the
Quraysh elite. And the three ventured out, unarmed, to look
into the movements of an unknown group at night? Such a
possibility is contrary to tradition and habit. Fourthly,
‘Abbas (rta) had accepted Islam just three days before and
joined the Muslim army. Obviously he, himself was a stranger
to the army. He could be recognized only by the muhajirun.
Moving around within the encampment fearlessly was something
which could not have been done by a newcomer. It stands to
reason that three new persons would not have been able to
wander freely within the camp. Was there no tradition to mount
guards among the armies of Muslims? Fifthly, the action which
‘Abbas (rta) was planning to carry out was seemingly against
the purpose of the Prophet’s mission. The Prophet (sws) was
aiming to defeat the people of Makkah, whereas ‘Abbas (rta)
was trying to protect them secretly from the attack. If Hatib
ibn Abi Balta‘ah can be reprimanded for writing a letter, the
situation regarding ‘Abbas (rta) would be even more serious,
in the sense that he came out to provide military information
to the Quraysh on his own. But there is no mention of his
being questioned anywhere. Sixthly, how could a thinker like
‘Umar (rta) be ready to kill without knowing why the three
leaders had come? Had his aim been to kill Abu Sufyan, this
could have been achieved when the latter had gone to Madinah
with a request to maintain the treaty of Hudaybiyyah and had
not been heard. He had met Umar (rta) himself. Thus, in our
view, the actual situation was not one as has been presented
in this narrative. Instead it was totally different, but it
was so obscured by the more famous but unrealistic narrative
that it is now difficult to retrieve the original. In any
case, indications to the original are as follows:
1. The words
in a narrative of the Kitab al-Maghazi of Ṣahih Bukhari are:
“In the year of the conquest, when the Prophet (sws) departed
from Madinah and the Quraysh found out, Abu Sufyan, Hakim ibn
Hizam and Budayl ibn Warqa’ left Makkah to gather more
information about the Prophet’s movements. When they reached
Marra al-Zahran, they saw fires being lit everywhere, over a
large area, just as was done in the ‘Arafat. Then, the guards
of the Prophet (sws) spotted them and they were arrested and
taken to the Prophet (sws).”
This narrative
tells us that the Quraysh were not totally ignorant of the
aims of the Muslims. They had been informed about the army
coming from Madinah. They did not see the lights of Marra al-Zahran
from Makkah, but only saw them when they had reached the
valley. The army of the Prophet (sws) was not camping with
such abandonment that they were unaware of anyone who wandered
in, but it was guarded so that unrelated people could not
enter it. ‘Abbas (rta) did not take the Makkan leaders to the
Prophet (sws) with him, but the guards arrested them, taking
them to be strangers and gave them over to the Prophet (sws),
as was the requirement of military discipline.
2. In the
history he has written, Tabari has referred to a letter from
Hisham ibn ‘Urwah (rta), in which the latter had written
details about the conquest of Makkah in answer to questions
from Khalifah ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. According to this, the
Quraysh had put together a delegation of two persons, Abu
Sufyan and Hakim ibn Hizam to assess the plans of the Prophet
(sws). They decided to take Budayl ibn Warqa’ with them when
they departed. These people reached Marra al-Zahran, met the
Prophet (sws) and accepted Islam. The Prophet (sws) sent then
back to Makkah so that they could call the rest of their
people to Islam. As a sign of this, whoever entered the homes
of Abu Sufyan or Hakim ibn Hizam, or would close the doors of
his house and would not pick up arms would be given amnesty.
3. There is a
narrative within the Tabaqat of Ibn Sa‘d that the Quraysh were
very worried about the potential attack from the huge army of
the Muslims. They sent Abu Sufyan to the Prophet (sws) to see
if he could meet him and seek general amnesty.
These narratives
tell us that the Quraysh had themselves formulated the
delegation to go and seek amnesty from the Prophet (sws). When
they reached Marra al-Zahran, they first accepted Islam and
then returned to Makkah with a message to accept obedience to
the Prophet (sws), with the news that every person who would
not pick up arms to fight the Muslim army would be granted
safety. This was general amnesty, but with a condition of not
taking up arms.
In the light of
all of these narratives, it seems that what transpired might
have been as follows. The Quraysh had found out that the
Prophet (sws) was moving towards Makkah at a fast pace with a
huge army. They remembered their own violation of their
agreement and they were aware that at the breaking of this
promise, the Prophet (sws) had adopted a severe attitude
towards them. But now, they no longer possessed their earlier
energy and enthusiasm. Their determination was weak. They
viewed coming out and confronting the mujahidin as equivalent
to committing suicide. Hence the Quraysh leaders made a very
realistic decision. They neither confronted the army of the
mujahidin, nor did they try to stop their progress. Instead,
they sent their commander to the Prophet (sws), to surrender
and seek general amnesty for all. To remove any suspicion of
the action being a personal one of Abu Sufyan and to ensure
that it would be seen to be supported by all Quraysh leaders,
they sent Hakim ibn Hizam and Budayl ibn Warqa’ along. The
Prophet (sws) welcomed them and pondered over their request.
It is possible that he consulted his trusted companions at
night. Then, thinking that perhaps all of the people of the
Quraysh may not be of the same opinion, he gave amnesty only
to those who would not arm themselves and stay inside their
homes. Before the army arrived, the Prophet (sws) sent the
delegation back to Makkah with this message.
This portrayal
of the incident is also supported by the Qur’an. Its
prediction was: “Ye shall be summoned [to fight] against a
people given to vehement war: then shall ye fight, or they
shall submit,” (48:16). The verse uses the word yuslimun, that
is evidence of surrendering and also accepting Islam. Both
these actions took place during the happenings at Marra al-Zahran
and this was demonstrated the next day when the mujahidin
reached Makkah.
The Quraysh Delegation
The composition
of the delegation from the Quraysh was most suitable for the
purpose for which it was formed. Abu Sufyan was the leader of
the Quraysh and the commander of its army. No other person
could have been as interested in the future of his nation as
Abu Sufyan. Whatever decision he took would have been the
decision of the entire tribe, according to Arab tradition. He
was also very realistic. He understood that it was not
possible for anyone to defeat the Prophet (sws) and his
religion anymore. This is why, when the Prophet (sws) sent his
letter asking Heraclius, the king of Rome to accept Islam, Abu
Sufyan had given his opinion of the Prophet (sws) with great
honesty in answer to Heraclius’s queries. Despite his
religious and political opposition, he had not tried to
falsify the image of the Prophet (sws). At this, when the king
had commented that these were the signs of a true prophet and
that the Prophet (sws) would reign over his own kingdom one
day, Abu Sufyan very rightly opined to his companions that Ibn
Abi Kabsha’s (the Prophet’s) situation had gone far ahead; now
even the king of foreigners was in fear of him. Abu Sufyan
had, therefore, decided that it was no longer possible to stop
the spread of Islam’s message. Because he was also the
commander of the army, his surrender meant the surrender of
all people of the Quraysh.
The second
member of the delegation was Hakim ibn Hizam who was a very
balanced representative of the elite of the Quraysh. He was a
nephew of Khadijah (rta) and a friend of the Prophet (sws)
from his childhood days. Budayl ibn Warqa’ was the leader of
the Banu Khuza‘ah and was staying in Makkah. His tribe had a
good opinion about the Prophet (sws) and Muslims from the
beginning. This is why, when the treaty of Hudaybiyyah was
signed, the tribe had declared its affiliation with the
Muslims. The inclusion of Budayl in the delegation was as a
representative of an ally and a recommendation in favour of
the Quraysh. All three members accepted Islam on reaching
Marra al-Zahran and requested amnesty for their people and for
the people of Makkah. What better news could have been given
to the Prophet (sws), than obedience from the people of Makkah
and the entry into the city with peace? Hence, he accepted
their request.
(Translated by Nikhat Sattar)
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