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The third and last stage of the life of the
Messenger [pbuh] embodies the fruitful results of his call to Islam, which were the
consequences of long-timed holy fights in the way of Allâh (Jihad), troubles,
toil, disturbances, trials and a lot of bloody conflicts and battles, which lasted for
over twenty years.
The conquest of Makkah was considered the most
serious profit achieved by Muslims during those years. For it affected the course of
events and consequently altered the Arabs’ whole life. It was a decisive distinction
between preconquest and post-conquest periods. For Quraish, at that time, was in the eyes
of Arabs the defenders and helpers of Arabs. Other Arabs are only their ancillaries. The
submission of Quraish is, therefore, estimated to be a final elimination of paganism in
the Arabian Peninsula.
This stage can be divided into two main phases:
The phase of:
holy wars and fighting.
the tribes and people’s race to embrace
Islam.
Being so close and rather inseparable, the two
phases of this stage intervene in such a way that a happening of one phase occurs during
the progress of the other. However, we have preferred — for expository purposes
— to deal with these two phases distinctively. The fighting phase was given the
priority in order, due to the fact that it is more intimate and fit than the other.
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The conquest of Makkah which came forth as a
consequence of a swift blow astounded both the Arabs and other tribes who realized that
they were doomed and had to submit to the new situation as a fait accompli.
Some of the fierce, powerful proud tribes did not submit and favoured resistance. Ahead of
these were the septs of Hawazin and Thaqif. Nasr, Jashm and Sa‘d bin Bakr and people
of Bani Hilal — all of whom of Qais ‘Ailan. They thought that they were too
mighty to admit or surrender to such a victory. So they met Malik bin ‘Awf
An-Nasri
and made up their mind to proceed fighting against the Muslims.
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When Malik bin ‘Awf — the general leader
— decided to march and fight the Muslims, he made his countrypeople take their
wealth, women and children with them to Awtas — which is a valley in Hawazin land and
is quite near Hunain. It differs from Hunain in its being adjacent to Dhi-Al-Majaz which
is around ten miles from Makkah in ‘Arafat’s direction. [Fath Al-Bari 8/27,42]
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As soon as they had camped in Awtas, people crowded
round Malik. The old sane Duraid bin As-Simmah, who was well-known as a war-experienced
man, and who was among those who gathered round Malik, asked: "What valley are we
in?" "In Awtas," they said. "What a good course it is for horses! It
is neither a sharp pointed height nor a loosed soiled plain. What? Why do I hear
camels’ growling, the donkeys’ braying, the children’s cries and the sheep
bleating?" asked Duraid. They said: "Malik bin ‘Awf had made people bring
their women, properties and children with them." So he called Malik and asked him
what made him do such a thing. Malik said that his aim was to have everybody’s family
and properties around them so that they fight fiercely to protect them." "I
swear by Allâh that you are nothing but a shepherd," answered Duraid, "Do you
believe that there is anything whatsoever, can stand in the way of a defeated one or stop
him from fleeing? If you win the battle you avail nothing but a man with a sword and a
spear; but if you lose you will bring disgrace on your people and properties," then
he resumed his talk and went on wondering about some septs and their leaders. "O
Malik, thrusting the distinguished people of Hawazin into the battlefield will avail you
nothing. Raise them up to where they can be safe. Then make the young people mount their
horses and fight. If you win, those whom you tarried will follow you, but if you were the
loser it would be a loss of a battle, but your kinsmen, people and properties would not be
lost."
But Malik, the general leader, refused this
suggestion. "By Allâh," he said, "I will not do such a thing. You must
have grown a senile. Hawazin have to obey me, or else I will lean my body against this
sword so that it penetrates through my back." He rejected any sort of contribution of
Duraid’s in that concern.
"We obey you," said his people, Duraid
consequently said: "Today is a day that I have not missed but surely I will not be
tempted to witness."
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The spies that Malik had already dispatched to spy
Muslim forces, returned with their limbs cut off. "Woe unto you! What happened to
you?" Said Malik. They said: "We have seen distinguished people on spotted
horsebacks. What you see, would not have happened if we had been firmly together."
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News about the enemy’s marching were conveyed
to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], so he sent out Al-Aslami with orders to mix with
people, stay with them so that he would be able to know their news and to convey it to the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] when he turns back. That was exactly what he managed to do.
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On Shawwal, the nineteenth, the captive day, the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] left Makkah accompanied by twelve thousand Muslims. Ten
thousand of those had previously shared in Makkah Conquest. A great number of the other
two thousand, who were Makkans, had recently embraced Islam. That march was on the
nineteenth day of his conquest to Makkah. He borrowed a hundred armours with their
equipment from Safwan bin Omaiyah. He appointed ‘Itab bin Usaid as a governor over
Makkah. When it was evening time, a horseman came to the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and
said: "I have climbed up so and so mountains and came across Hawazin with their
riding camels, livestock and sheep. Hawazin wholly were gathered together there." The
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] smiled then and said: "They will all be Muslims’
spoils tomorrow, if Allâh will." That night Anas bin Abi Murthid Al-Ghanawi
volunteered to guard. [Abu Da'ud]
On their way to Hunain they saw a great green Nabk
plant, that was called Dhat-Anwat (the one with suspenders). That was because the
Arabs used to hang their weapons on it, slay beasts under it and keep to it. So some of
army members asked the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] to make them a Nabk with
suspenders as the one they had. "Allâh is the Greatest of all!" He said,
"I swear by the One in Whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, that you have just said
what the people of Moses said to him. They said ‘Make us a god as the one they
have.’ Surely you are ignorant people. These are Sunnah, but you will follow
and comply with the modes of life of those who preceded you." [At-Tirmidhi]
Seeing how great in number the army was, some of
them said: "We shall not be defeated." Their statement sounded hard upon the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh].
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On Wednesday night the tenth of Shawwal, the Muslim
army arrived at Hunain. Malik bin ‘Awf, who had previously entered the valley by
night, gave orders to his army to hide inside the valley and lurk for the Muslims on
roads, entrances, narrow hiding places. His orders to his men were to hurl stones at
Muslims whenever they caught sight of them and then to make a one-man attack against them.
At early dawn the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] started
mobilizing his army and distributing posts and flags to people. In the dark and just
before dawn the Muslims moved towards Hunain Valley. They started descending into it
unaware of the presence of an enemy lurking for them inside the valley. So at the moment
they were camping, arrows began showering intensively at them, whereas the enemy’s
battalions started a fierce attack against the Muslims, who had to retreat in disorder and
utter confusion. It was such a shatteringly defeat that Abu Sufyan bin Harb, who had
recently embraced Islam, said that their retreat would not stop till they got to the Red
Sea. Jablah or Kildah bin Al-Junaid commented on that by saying: "Surely magic has
grown inactive today."
The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] turned to the right
and said: "Come on, people! I am the Messenger of Allâh. I am Muhammad, the son of
Abdullah." Those who stoodfast by him were only few Emigrants and some of his
kinsmen. The matchless bravery of the Prophet [R] was then brought to light. He went on
and on in his attempts to make his mule standfast in the face of the disbelievers while
saying loudly:
"Truly saying, I am the Prophet
I am the (grand) son of Abdul Muttalib."
However, Abu Sufyan, who was then holding the rein
of the Prophet’s mule, and Al-‘Abbas, who was holding its stirrup; were
endeavouring to make it halt. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] dismounted and asked his Lord
to render him help.
"O, Allâh, send down
Your Help!"
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The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] ordered his uncle
Al-‘Abbas — who was a sonorous voiced man — to call out on the followers.
As loudly as he could, Al-‘Abbas shouted: "Where are the lancers?" "By
Allâh," Al-‘Abbas said, "Upon hearing my voice calling them back, they
turned round to the battlefield as if they had been oryxes (wild cows) tending towards
their calves."
"Here we are, at your service. Here we
are."[Sahih Muslim 2/100] They said. There you see them trying to stop their camels and reverse to the
battle. He who was unable to force his camel to turn back, would take his armour, fling it
round his neck, and hastily dismount his camel with his weapon in his hand letting his
camel move freely and run towards the voice source. Voices would grow louder and louder
till a hundred of them gathered round the Prophet and resumed the fight.
Those who were called out upon next were Al-Ansar,
the Helpers, "O, folks of Al-Ansar! Folks of Al-Ansar!"
The last group to be called out upon were Bani
Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj. Muslims battalions poured successively into the battlefield in
the same manner that they had left it. The stamina of both parties was superb. Both of
them stoodfast and fought fiercely. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was so eagerly and
furiously watching the battle that he said:
"Now the fight has
grown fierce."
Picking up a handful of earth, he hurled it at their
faces while saying:
"May your faces be
shameful."
Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began
to retreat in utter confusion.
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Few hours had elapsed since the earth-handful was
hurled at the enemy’s faces, when they were shatteringly defeated. About seventy men
of Thaqif alone were killed, and the Muslims plundered all their riding camels, weapons
and cattle.
Allâh, Glory is to Him, alluded to this sudden
change in the Qur’ân when He said:
"…and on the
Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great number but it availed you naught
and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you, then you turned back in flight. Then
Allâh did send down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, and reassurance, etc.) on
the Messenger (Muhammad [pbuh]) and on the believers, and sent down forces (angels) which
you saw not, and punished the disbelievers. Such is the recompense of disbelievers."
[Al-Qur'an 9:25,26]
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After their defeat, some enemy troops headed for
Ta’if, others to Nakhlah and Awtas. A group of Muslims headed by Abu ‘Amir
Al-Ash‘ ari, were despatched to chase the enemy, some skirmishes took place during
which Abu ‘Amir was killed.
A similar battalion of horsemen pursued the
idolaters who threaded the track to Nakhlah and caught up with Duraid bin As-Simmah, who
was killed by Rabi‘a bin Rafi‘. After collecting the booty, the Messenger of
Allâh [pbuh] left for Ta’if to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters.
The booty was six thousand captives, twenty four thousand camels; over forty thousand
sheep and four thousand silver ounces. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] gave orders that
booty should be confined at Al-J‘iranah and ordained Mas‘ud bin ‘Amr
Al-Ghifari to be in charge of it. It was only when he was entirely free from Ta’if
Campaign, that one of the captives As-Shaimâ’, the daughter of Al-Harith
As-Sa‘diya, the Messenger’s foster sister was brought to the Messenger of Allâh
[pbuh], she introduced herself to him. Upon recognizing her by a certain mark, he honoured
her, spread for her his garment and seated her on it. He was graceful and released her and
made her turn back to her people.
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Ta’if Campaign is in fact an extension of
Hunain Ghazwah; that is because the majority of the defeated troops of Hawazin and
Thaqif went into Ta’if with the general commander — Malik bin ‘Awf
An-Nasri
— and fortified themselves within it. So upon finishing with Hunain Invasion, he
gathered the booty at Al-Ji‘ranah in the very month (i.e. Shawwal) and in the eighth
year A.H.
A vanguard battalion of a thousand men led by Khalid
bin Al-Waleed marched towards At-Ta’if. Whereas the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]
proceeded passing through Nakhlah Al-Yamaniyah, Qarn Al-Manazil and through
Laiyah. At
Laiyah there was a castle that belonged to Malik bin ‘Awf, so the Messenger of Allâh
[pbuh] gave orders to have it destroyed. He resumed his march till he got to Ta’if.
There he dismounted, camped near its castle and laid siege to the castle inhabitants; but
not for long.
How long the siege continued, is still a matter of
disagreement. It however stands between 10-20 days. [Sahih Muslim, narrated by Anas [AWS]; Fath Al-Bari
8/45]
A lot of arrow-shooting and rock-hurling occurred
during the siege. For as soon as the Muslims laid siege round the castle, its people
started shooting arrows against them. The arrows were so intense and fierce that they
looked as if they had been locusts on the move. A number of Muslims were wounded and
twelve were killed.
To be far from the arrow-range, the Muslims had to
ascend to a higher location and camped on — i.e. to what is now called At-Ta’if
Mosque. The Prophet [pbuh] set up a mangonel and shelled the castle. Eventually a gap was
made in the castle wall, through which a number of Muslims managed to pass into the
castle, sheltered by a wooden tank, with the purpose of setting fire into it. Anyway, the
enemy poured down molten hot iron on them. Affected by this the Muslims stepped out of the
tank and were again exposed to arrow shooting and consequently some of them were killed.
To force the enemy to surrender, the Prophet [pbuh]
tended to a war policy of burning and cutting the enemy’s crops. His order was to cut
their vineyards and burn them. Seeing that the Muslims started rapidly cutting and burning
their vines, they implored the Prophet [pbuh] to stop and have mercy on them for the sake
of Allâh and out of kinship motives. So the Prophet agreed. When the caller of the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] called out unto people saying "He whosoever descends and
steps out of the castle is free." Twenty-three men came out. [Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/620] One of them was Abu Bakrah who tied
himself to a wall and let himself down by means of a small wheel, that would normally be
used for drawing up water from a well. The way he let himself down made the Prophet
nickname him "Abu Bakrah", i.e. the man with the wheel. The Messenger of Allâh
Õáì Çááå Úáíå æ Óáã set them all free and entrusted each one of them to a
Muslim to care about their living affairs, which was too hard for the castle folkspeople
to bear.
Seeing that the siege lasted too long and that the
castle was immune and could stand any siege (for they had already stored a supply that
suffices for over a year) and that the Muslims were suffering — day by day —
from arrow-shots and heated iron hooks, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] consulted Nawfal
bin Mu‘âwiyah Ad-Daili about that. He said: "They are like a fox hiding inside
its burrow. If you stoodfast at it you would catch it, but if you parted with it, no harm
would afflict you." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] decided to lift the siege and
depart. ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, who was ordered by the Prophet to notify people, said
to them "If Allâh will, we are leaving the castle and going back tomorrow." As
it was too hard for the Muslims to go back and leave the castle unconquered they
complained saying, "Should we go away while the castle is still unopened?" His
reply was: "Then, start fighting in the morning." In the morning they fought and
were wounded. So when he repeated this statement: "If Allâh will, we are leaving the
castle and going back tomorrow", they were pleased and carried out the order
submissively and started moving, which made the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] laugh.
As soon as they mounted and started moving the
Messenger [pbuh] said:
"Say! Here we are
returning, repenting, worshipping (Allâh) and to our Lord we offer praise."
When the Messenger of Allâh was asked to invoke
Allâh against Thaqif, he said:
"O Allâh, guide Thaqif
and bring them to us as Muslims."
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Upon returning and lifting the siege in Ta’if,
the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] had stayed over ten nights at Al-Ji‘ranah before
starting to distribute the booty. Distribution delay was due to the Prophet’s hope
that Hawazin’s delegation might arrive and announce their repentance and consequently
reclaim their loss. Seeing that none of them arrived, he started dividing the booty so as
to calm down the tribes’ chiefs and the celebrities of Makkah. The first to receive
booty and the ones who obtained the greatest number of shares were the people who had
recently embraced Islam.
Abu Sufyan bin Harb was given a hundred camels and
forty (gold) ounces and yet he said, "What about my son, Yazeed’s Share?"
So he was given the same quantity for his son as well. But yet he exclaimed: "And
what about the share of Mu‘âwiyah, my second son?" So the Prophet [pbuh] gave
Mu‘âwiyah as much as he gave his father and brother. Hakeem bin Hizam was given a
hundred camels, but he was given a hundred more when he demanded. Safwan bin Omaiyah was
given three hundred camels - a hundred camels at each time. It is thus mentioned in
Shifâ’ [Ash-Shifa 1/86], Book by
Qadi Iyadh. The Prophet [pbuh] gave Al-Harith bin Harith bin Kilda a hundred camels. He
also gave some chiefs of Quraish and other clans a hundred camels; he gave others fifty
and some others had forty.
Eventually it was spread among people that
"Muhammad grants generously and fears not to grow poor." This made bedouins
gather around him expecting to be given some wealth. They were so many that they forced
the Prophet [pbuh] to seek refuge against a tree and they even took away his garment,
"O people!" He said, "Give me back my garment! For I swear by the One in
Whose Hand is Muhammad’s soul, that if I had as many numerous camels as the number of
Tihama trees, I would distribute them among you. You know quite well that I am neither
mean nor coward or a liar." Standing by his camel he plucked out a hair of his
camel’s hump and held it between his two fingers, lifted it up and said: "O
people, I swear by Allâh that I get nothing but one-fifth of your booty, and this very
fifth goes back to you."
As soon as he had given the new converts, the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] ordered Zaid bin Thabit to fetch the booty and summon people.
Then he ordained shares to people. A footman’s share was four camels and forty sheep,
and a horseman would take twelve camels and a hundred and twenty sheep. This distribution
of booty was based on a wise policy. In this world there are lots of people who know the
truth only when it comes through their stomachs and they do not recognize it if it comes
through their brains. The similitude of such people is as the guidance of an animal to its
herd by means of a bunch of clover held at a constant distance off its mouth. The animal
would try all the time to catch it, so it would eventually go into the herd safely. In the
same way you have to do various kinds of temptations to make certain kind of people
familiarize Islam and be pleased with. [Fiqh As-Seerah p.298,299]
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At first the Prophet’s policy of distribution
was uncomprehended by many a man. Therefore sharp-tongued people started expressing their
objections. The Helpers were among those who were afflicted by this policy. They were
deprived of Hunain gifts though they had been the ones who were summoned at Hunain hard
times and they were the first to rush to fight with the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] and
standfast till the defeat turned into victory. Now here they are watching those who
escaped fill their hands with booty while they are given nothing.
On the authority of Ibn Ishaq: "When the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] had given Quraish and Arab tribes those gifts and allotted
nothing to the Helpers, a group of the Helpers felt so uneasy about it that a lot of
ill-statements against the Prophet [pbuh] were spread among them to an extent that one of
them said: "By Allâh, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was ill-spoken of by his
folksmen!" And those ill-statements went on spreading till Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah
met the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], who in his turn faced his people after a while.
Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah said: "O Messenger
of Allâh, this group of the Helpers are furious at you about the distribution of the
booty that you had won. You have allotted shares to your own kinsmen and forwarded lots of
gifts to the Arab tribes. But this group has obtained nothing." The Prophet
[pbuh]
asked Sa‘d exclaiming: "Sa‘d, what do you think of all that?"
Sa‘d replied: "O Messenger of Allâh. You know that I am nothing but a member of
this group." "Call out on your people and bring them forth to me into this
shed." Said the Prophet [pbuh].
So Sa‘d went out and summoned them. When some
Emigrants came, he let them in but forbade others. When they were all gathered together,
he informed the Prophet saying: "This group of the Helpers have just arrived to meet
you in compliance with your orders." As soon as the Messenger [pbuh] faced them he
thanked Allâh and praised Him, then said to them inquiring, "I have been told that
you are angry with me. Didn’t I come to you when you were astray and Allâh guided
you? You were poor and Allâh gave you wealth. Weren’t you foes and Allâh made you
love one another." "Yes," they said, "Allâh and His Messenger are
better and more gracious." Then he said: "What prevents you from replying to the
Messenger of Allâh, O tribe of Helpers?" They said, "What should be the reply,
O Messenger of Allâh, while to the Lord and to his Messenger belong all benevolence and
grace."
The Prophet [pbuh] again said:
"But by
Allâh, you
might have answered and answered truly, for I would have testified to its truth myself:
‘You came to us belied and rejected and we accepted you; you came to us as helpless
and we helped you; a fugitive, and we took you in; poor and we comforted you’.
You Helpers, do you feel
anxious for the things of this world, wherewith I have sought to incline these people unto
the Faith in which you are already established?
Are you not satisfied, O
group of Helpers that the people go with ewes and camels while you go along with the
Messenger of Allâh ([pbuh]) to your dwellings. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, had there
been no migration, I would have been one of the Helpers. If the people would go through a
valley and passage, and the Helpers go through another valley and passage, I would go
through the valley and passage of the Helpers. Allâh! Have mercy on the Helpers, their
children and their children’s children."
The audience wept until tears rolled down their
beards as they said:
"Yes, we are satisfied,
O Prophet of Allâh ([pbuh] )! with our lot and share."
Then the Prophet [pbuh] left the gathering and the
people also dispersed. [Ibn Hisham 2/499,500; and like this quoted by Bukhari 2/620, 621]
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Hawazin’s delegation arrived a Muslims just
after the distribution of spoils. They were fourteen men headed by Zuhair bin
Sard. The
Messenger’s foster uncle was one of them. They asked him to bestow upon them some of
the wealth and spoils. They uttered so touching words that the Messenger of Allâh
[pbuh]
said to them: "You surely see who are with me. The most desirable speech to me is the
most truthful. Which is dearer to you, your wealth or your women and children?" They
replied: "Nothing whatsoever compares with kinship." Then when I perform the
noon prayer, stand up and say: "We intercede with the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] to
exhort the believers, and we intercede with the believers to exhort the Messenger of
Allâh [pbuh] to forego the captives of our people fallen to their lot." So when the
Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] performed the noon prayer, they stood up and said what they had
been told to say. The Messenger [pbuh], then, said: "As for what belongs to me and to
the children of Abdul Muttalib, you may consider them, from now on, yours. And I will ask
my folksmen to give back theirs." Upon hearing that the Emigrants and the Helpers
said: "What belongs to us is, from now on, offered to the Messenger of Allâh
[pbuh]." But Al-Aqra‘ bin Habis said, "We will grant none of what belongs
to me and to Bani Tamim,"; so did ‘Uyaina bin Hisn, who said: "As for me
and Bani Fazarah, I say ‘No’." Al-‘Abbas bin Mirdas also refused and
said: "No" for Bani Saleem and him. His people, however, said otherwise:
"Whatever spoils belong to us we offer to the Messenger of Allâh ([pbuh].)"
"You have undermined my position." Said Al-‘Abbas bin Mirdas spontaneously.
Then the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said: "These people have come to you as Muslims.
For this I have already tarried the distribution of the booty. Besides, I have granted
them a fair option but they refused to have anything other than their women and children.
Therefore he who has some of theirs and will prefer willingly to give them back, let them
do. But those who favours to keep what he owns to himself, let them grant them back too,
and he will be given as a recompense six times as much from the first booty that Allâh
may provide us." People then said, "We will willingly offer them all for the
sake of the Messenger of Allâh." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said: "But in
this way we are not able to find out who is content and who is not. So go back and we will
be waiting for your chiefs to convey to us your decisions." All of them gave back the
women and children. The only one who refused to comply with the Messenger’s desire
was ‘Uyaina bin Hisn. He refused to let an old woman of theirs go back at first.
Later on he let her go back. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] gave every captive a garment
as a gift.
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Having accomplished the distribution of the spoils
at Al-Ji‘ranah he left it while wearing Al-‘Umrah clothes and proceeded
to Makkah to perform Al-‘Umrah. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] turned back
from there to Madinah after appointing ‘Itab bin Usaid on Makkah as governor. His
arrival to Madinah was by the last six nights of Dhul-Qa‘dah, in the year 8 A.H. On
this occasion Muhammad Al-Ghazali said:
"What a great change it is between the
victorious period of Muhammad at present which Allâh has towered with a manifest
conquest, and that period of the past during which Muhammad first arrived at this town,
eight years ago."
When he first came to Madinah, he was pursued and
wanted. He was seeking a secure shelter. He was a lonely stranger who sought companionship
and comfort. The people of Madinah welcomed him, gave him residence and aided him and
embraced the light of Islam, which had been sent down upon him. They, for his sake, did
not care about the enmity of other peoples. Here he is entering Madinah again, after the
lapse of eight years of that first visit. Madinah, the town that had received him once,
when he was a frightened Emigrant; it receives him once again when Makkah has become in
his hands and at his disposal. It is Makkah that has got rid of its pride and Jahiliyah
(i.e. pre-Islamic period and traditions). It is now proud again and mighty in Islam.
The Messenger of Allâh forgave all the errors and wrongs of its people.
"Verily, he who
fears Allâh with obedience to Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by
performing righteous good deeds), and is patient, then surely, Allâh makes not the reward
of the good-doers to be lost." [Al-Qur'an 12:90] [Fiqh-us-Seerah 303; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/160-201; Ibn Hisham 2/389-501; Sahih
Bukhari: Chapter Fath Ghazwal, Hunian, Awtas and At-Ta'if 2/612-622. Fath Al-Bari 8/3-58]
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