1394 years ago yesterday, Mecca and the Kaaba were cleansed of idols and enlightened with the light of Islam. The Meccan polytheists had not only expelled our glorious Prophet and his followers from Mecca, they had organized three expeditions to drown them in Medina. However, they returned from the battles of Badr, Uhud and Hendek with great disappointment.
Now it was the Muslims’ turn. One year had passed since the Battle of the Hendek. One day, our Prophet told his Companions that he had seen in his dream that they were going to Mecca and circumambulating the Ka’ba. When the Companions heard this, they were very happy. They missed their homeland and Ka’ba very much.
Then the Prophet set out with his Companions with the intention of visiting the Ka’ba-i- Muazzama. There were about one thousand five hundred of them. Since their intention was to visit, they did not take any weapon other than a traveler’s weapon.
Our Prophet sent Bishr bin Sufyân to Mecca to inform them of the purpose of their arrival. However, the Quraysh strongly opposed this request. The Islamic army came to Hudaybiya and stopped. Meanwhile, the Quraysh had dispatched a cavalry force of two hundred men to the area to prevent them. The Prophet sent Hazrat Osman to inform them that they had not come for war but only to visit the Ka’bah.
The Quraysh said that they would never allow the Muslims to enter Mecca, but Osman could circumambulate the Ka’bah. When Hadrat Osman refused this offer, they imprisoned him.
This incident reached the Muslims that Osman had been killed. The Messenger of Allah (sall- Allâhu ‘alaihi wa sallam), who was very saddened, took the bay’ah (an oath of allegiance to a leader) of his Companions that they would not leave without fighting the polytheists. This bay’ah was called “Bay’atürrıdvân”. When the Quraysh learned this, they were alarmed.
They sent Hazrat Osman with a delegation headed by Suhayl bin Amr to make a treaty. After negotiations, the Peace Treaty of Hudaybiyah was signed.
According to the treaty, Muslims were to return without entering Mecca that year, and could come back the following year for ‘umrah and stay in the city for three days.
While the Muslims were circumambulating the Ka’bah, the Meccans were to go outside and not come into contact with the Muslims.
If a Qurayshite crossed over to the Muslim side and went to Medina without the permission of his guardian, he would not be accepted and would be returned. On the other hand, if a Muslim crossed over to the Quraysh side and went to Mecca, he would not be extradited.
The other Arab tribes could become protectorates of whichever side they wished. If one side went to war with a tribe not part of this alliance, the other would not intervene.
The peace was to last for ten years.
Surat-al Fetih
The Muslims performed the sacrifice in Hudaybiya and then returned to Medina. On their way back, Surat-al “Fetih” was revealed. In this surah, it was reported that the Treaty of Hudaybiyah was the beginning of many conquests.
At first glance, the Treaty of Hudaybiyah seemed to be against the Muslims. However, for the first time, the Quraysh took the Muslims as their interlocutors and accepted them as their equals. This situation was very important for the Muslims.
As a matter of fact, Islam began to spread rapidly in the Arabian Peninsula after the treaty. In the two years leading up to the conquest of Mecca, the number of Muslims exceeded the number of Muslims in the previous eighteen years.
On the other hand, according to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, the tribe of Huzaa was under the protection of the Prophet and the tribe of Benî Bekr was under the protection of the polytheists. There was a long-standing enmity between these two tribes. The tribe of Beni Bekr was looking for excuses to cause trouble.
One day, a member of the Beni Bekr tribe attempted to satirize the Prophet by reciting a poem. A young man from the tribe of Huzaa did not approve of this and told the man who recited the satirical poem to give it up. But he did not give up. So he struck him on the head and silenced him.
Upon this incident, the tribe of Benî Bekr gathered together and suddenly attacked the tribe of Huzâ’a at a place called Vetir. They killed some of them. Many of the Khuza’a fled to Mecca and took refuge in the Ka’bah and the haram. Nevertheless, they continued their attack and continued to slaughter them. Twenty-three of the Khuza’a were killed. The polytheists of Quraysh also changed their clothes and helped the tribe of Bani Bekr.
Thus, the Quraysh polytheists violated the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. The Khuza’a tribe sent a delegation of forty people to Madinah and presented the situation to the Prophet with tears and asked for help.
Our glorious Prophet was very saddened by the situation of the Huzaans. He consoled them. He said, “O Amr bin Salim, you will be helped.” He sent them back to their homeland with gifts.
Then he sent a message to the Meccan polytheists and said, “Either pay the blood price of those who were killed from the tribe of Huzâa or give up the protection of the tribe of Benî Bekr. Otherwise, know that you have broken the treaty and we will fight you as a consequence.”
The Meccan polytheists said that they did not accept the offer and that they would prepare for war. Thus, the Treaty of Hudaybiyah was officially broken. However, the Meccans soon became worried and wanted to renew the treaty. Abu Sufyan immediately came to Medina for this purpose, but he could not find anyone’s face and had to return.
After Abu Sufyan’s return, our glorious Prophet consulted with Hazrat Abu Bakr and Hazrat Umar and decided to go to war. All preparations were carried out in secret. The Khuza’a tribe was entrusted with the control of the roads to Mecca. This control was also very meticulous.
Conquest of Mecca
In the first days of Ramadan 630 (January 1), the heroic Islamic army of ten thousand men set out for Mecca. When they reached a place called Merru’z-Zahran, which overlooked Mecca in
the distance, they set up headquarters… In the evening, the Prophet ordered the troops to light fires. Each unit lit fires in front of their tents. When the Meccans saw thousands of fires burning all around them, they were shocked and surprised. They immediately gathered around Abu Sufyan.
Abu Sufyan took three or four men with him and marched towards the Islamic army to find out the situation. As he approached the headquarters, Islamic soldiers caught him. Hazrat Abbas took him and brought him to the presence of the Messenger of Allah. Our Prophet said to him, “O Abu Sufyan! Has the time not yet come for you to say Lâ ilâhe ilâha illallah?” He said to our Prophet, “May my mother and father be sacrificed for you. You are calling me to Hidayet (the true path) after so much suffering, how nice you are and how kind you are. I believe that there is no god but Allâhu ta’âlâ.” When our beloved Prophet said, “Isn’t it time for you to confirm that I am a prophet?” Abu Sufyan became a Muslim by uttering the Word-i shahadah. He asked our Prophet to forgive the Meccans.
The Prophet ordered Abu Sufyan to inform the Meccan polytheists, saying, “Whoever takes refuge in Abu Sufyan’s house, the Ka’bah, Masjid al-Haram and his own house is safe”… Abu Sufyan returned to Mecca and said to the Quraysh who were waiting for him with excitement and anxiety: “O Quraysh, this is Muhammad. He is coming to Mecca with an unbeatable force. Whoever takes refuge in Abu Sufyan’s house, in the Ka’bah or in his own house is safe.”
The polytheists of Quraysh, who listened to Abu Sufyan’s words with excitement, were astonished and some of them went into Abu Sufyan’s house and some went into the Haram. Some of them stayed in their own houses and did not come out. Some of them took their weapons and wandered the streets…
Our Prophet divided the army into four units as they entered Mecca and said, “Do not engage in battle with anyone unless you are opposed and attacked! Do not kill anyone!” He said that only some of the Meccans were exempt from this.
The Islamic army entered Mecca in columns on January 11.
Only a group of polytheists resisted against the unit commanded by Khalid bin Walid.Khalid bin Walid killed thirteen of the attackers and dispersed the others.The Prophet entered Mecca on his camel named Quswa, reciting Surat al-Fatih.He circumambulated the Kaaba seven times on the camel.During the circumambulation, the idols in the Ka’ba fell down as he pointed and touched them with the stick in his hand, and he recited the 8th verse of Surat al-Isra, which reads: “Say, The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished, for the falsehood is doomed to perish”.
Our Prophet then asked for the key to the Ka’bah and had its door opened. After cleaning the inside of the Ka’bah from idols, he prayed two rak’ahs inside the Ka’bah with some of his Companions.
Meanwhile, the polytheists of Mecca were gathered in Masjid al-Haram, anxiously awaiting the verdict and crying in fear. Coming out of the Ka’bah, the Prophet turned to them and said:
“O people of Quraysh! How do you think I will treat you now?” The Quraysh said, “O Rasûlullah, we hope for good, you are a brother of kindness and goodness! We believe that you will do us good and kindness.”
The Prophet said, “I say to you as Joseph said to his brothers: Today you are no longer responsible for the past. Go, you are free.” In response to this mercy and kindness, the Quraysh began to gladly become Muslims. On the second day of the conquest, they made an allegiance to the Prophet on Safa Hill…
The conquest of Mecca is an unprecedented event not only in the history of Islam but also in the history of the whole world. It is one of the greatest favors of Allahu ta’âlâ to our beloved Prophet and the Ashâb-i kirâm who left their homeland because of their faith. With this conquest, the existence of shirk in the form of community and power in the Arabian Peninsula came to an end, the Ka’ba and its vicinity were cleansed of idols, and the belief in tawheed declared its absolute dominance.
With the conquest of Mecca, the first Islamic State was established in the Arabian Peninsula and Islam began to spread rapidly to three continents. The conquest of Mecca is so full of deep meaning and wisdom in Islam that Islamic scholars, saints and commanders who lived in later centuries took this conquest as an example for themselves on various occasions and took it as a measure for their actions and deeds.
REFLECTION
Since the flag of Muhammad was bestowed upon the world Muhammad’s call to religion reached the skies
The universe would not have been created, the heaven and the angel If it were not for Muhammad’s consent.
Cem Sultan
Prof. Dr. Ahmet Şimşirgil
12th January 2024
Türkiye Gazetesi