Part 6
Pilgrimage of Retaliation
In the first month of the eighth year of the Hijra the apostle sent an expedition to Muta on the borders of Syria and appointed over it Zayd, saying, “If Zayd should be killed, Jafar is to take the command, and if Jafar be slain, then Abdullah b. Rawaha.” The men prepared, and when they were ready to march their number amounted to three thousand.
They marched till they reached Maan in Syria , where they heard that the Byzantine emperor, Heraclius, was encamped at Maab with 100,000 Greek soldiers.
Abdullah b. Rawaha tried to raise the spirits of his men by saying, “What you now recoil from is just what you came in search of, martyrdom. We do not go to fight these people with numbers, strength, or multitudes, but with the religion of Allah! Therefore press on. Only one of two things can happen both good either victory or martyrdom.' The people exclaimed, 'By Allah! The son of Rawaha has spoken the truth!”
Zayd fought holding the banner of the apostle, until he fell to the lances of the enemy. After that, Jafar grasped the banner and fought with it, till he too was slain. Jafar had his arms cut off in the battle and Allah replaced them in paradise with two wings on which he soars.
Conquest of Mecca
The apostle reached Marr al Zahran with an army of ten thousand; the Bedouin tribes, the Sulaym and the Muzayna, each contributed a thousand men, and many of them believers. Not an Emigrant nor a Helper remained in Medina . The Quraysh knew nothing of the apostle's approach, although Abu Sufyan and Budayl constantly sent out in search of news.
The apostle’s uncle al Abbas said to himself, “It will be the end of the Quraysh if the apostle enters Mecca by force. So he rode out, thinking, Perhaps I may meet some wood gatherer who will tell the Meccans where the apostle is encamped, so that they may come out to him and ask for mercy before he has to take the town by force.”
I heard two voices and they were the voices of Abu Sufyan and Budayl. I said, “Woe betide thee, Abu Sufyan! That is the apostle of Allah with his people! All is over with the Quraysh!” He asked, “What is to be done?” and I told him, “If he conquers you, he will strike off your head. Mount behind me on this mule and I will take you to the apostle to ask for mercy.” Umar cried, “Allow me to strike off the head of Abu Sufyan!” but I said “No. I have granted him protection.”
At dawn we went to the apostle, who said to Abu Sufyan, “Is it not yet clear to thee that there is no other god save Allah!” He replied, “Had there been another god he should have proved himself by now and aided me!” The apostle continued, “Is it not yet clear to thee that I am the apostle of Allah?” Abu Sufyan replied, “I still have doubts in my mind as to that.” Then I said to him, “Woe betide thee! Make profession of Islam and say, ‘I testify that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the apostle of Allah,' before he strikes off thy head!” So Abu Sufyan testified to the truth, and made profession of Islam.
As soon as Abu Sufyan reached Mecca he cried aloud to the people, 'Muhammad comes and cannot be resisted; but whoever enters my house, whoever shuts himself up in his own house and whoever enters the mosque will be safe’ Then the people dispersed to their houses and to the mosque.
The apostle had instructed his commanders not to fight against any man except those who attacked. There were, however, some enemies of Allah whom he ordered to be slain even if they were hidden in the curtains of the Kabbah itself. One of these was Abdullah b. Sa’d; the apostle of Allah ordered him to be killed because, after having made a profession of Islam and assisted the apostle in writing the revelations, he had relapsed into idolatry.
Another ordered to be slain was a man who, after becoming a Muslim relapsed into idolatry, and kept two singing women, both of whom sang songs insulting the apostle of Allah, and ordered them to be killed with their master.
Another who had insulted two daughters of the apostle was also killed, and some who had insulted the apostle himself were put to death.
The Kabbah was opened to the apostle, and he entered. There he found a pigeon made of aloe wood, and he broke this idol with his own hand and threw it outside. The other idols stood fixed with lead, and the prophet made a sign with his stick in the direction of the idols, saying, “Truth has arrived and falsehood has gone, because falsehood was perishable.” Not one idol remained standing. The apostle remained at the door of the Kabbah and the people from the mosque surrounded him.
Then the apostle said, “There is no God but Allah alone. He has kept His promise, and aided His servant.”
The apostle of Allah said, “Allah established Mecca as a sanctuary on the day He created the heavens and the earth; therefore it is a sanc¬tuary till the day of the resurrection. No man may shed blood in it or fell a tree in it. It was not permitted to anyone who came before me, nor will it be permitted to anyone after me. It has been permitted to me only during this hour, because of the wrath of Allah towards the inhabitants of Mecca. Allah has made it right for His Apostle but not for you. If anyone is killed, the relative of the murdered man will have the choice between the blood of the murderer or a ransom.”