In the eight year after Hijrah (8AH), the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and his companions conquered Mecca–without a single sword-swing. 10,000 Muslim warriors arrived at the gates, and the inhabitants of Mecca raised their arms in surrender.
The norm during those days was that when a land is conquered, ALL its people are killed, and its women and children are taken as slaves and property. So when the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) conquered Mecca, the Meccans became frightened. And they should’ve been–this is the man who they slandered, tortured, ridiculed, persecuted, and fought for 21 years.
So what did he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) do when he entered?
He forgave them all.
Translation: And We have not sent you (O Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم)) except as a mercy for the universe. [Suratal Anbiyyah, 21:107]
However, there were certain individuals who were not forgiven–war criminals whose opposition reached such a level of intensity and evil, that they could not be forgiven. The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) gave this list out–these men and women were to be executed, immediately, and there would be no mercy for them–not in this life, and not in the next.
Who were these individuals, Mecca’s war criminals?
- Wahshi, a slave who earned his freedom in Uhud by killing the Prophet’s uncle Hamza (رضالله عنه) in Uhud.
- Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyaan, who ripped out the liver of Hamza’s (رضالله عنه) body, and ate it. Raw. (The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: there was never a day more painful to me then the day I stood over the body of my uncle Hamza.)
- Abu Sufyaan, who–although decided to become Muslim–had to run for his life to the Prophet, because ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضالله عنه) saw him, and chased after him! (Had ‘Umar (رضالله عنه) reached him before Abu Sufyaan (رضالله عنه) reached the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), ‘Umar (رضالله عنه) would’ve killed him! Though, once he said he wanted to become Muslim, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) forgave him.)
- Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, the son of Abu Jahl; all the Arabs considered the ka’ba sacred, it was their sanctuary–yet, even as he was clinging to the curtains of the ka’ba, they were pulling him away to kill him.
- Abdullah ibn Sa’ad
Yet, subhanallah, we see the truth of this ayah–because ALL of these four criminals were forgiven, and all of them accepted Islam. Ikrimah (رضالله عنه) pledged to spend double for Islam what he spent against it; Abdullah ibn Sa’ad (رضالله عنه) became the commander of the Muslim navy; Wahshi killed Musaylimah Al-Kathaab, one of the biggest opponents of Islam during the reign of of Abu Bakr (رضالله عنه).
That’s Islam for you.
Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Shepherd’s Path. University of Ryerson, Toronto. March 2007.
Very nice post, mashaAllah.
Awesome post! but check the 23 year thing you said…
You’re right, jazakumullahu khayran; it’s 21 years (13 in Mecca + 8 in Medinah)
Awesome, ma sha Allah…but I don’t think Wahshi was quite in the same category as (pre-Islam) Abu Sufyaan or Ikrimah. He was just a slave who wanted his freedom, he had nothing against Islam if I recall correctly.
Also, I think he had accepted Islam before fath Makkah, WAllahu alim.
[...] Seeker writes about the conquest of Makkah, and the role of five enemies of Islam who later embraced the faith and played key roles for the [...]
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Wa’salam
Which one didn’t accept Islam/ wasn’t forgivin’?
Im a lil bit confused here.
JazakAllahu Khaira.
Allahu ‘alim, all of them were forgiven.
Assalamu Alaykum,
MaashaAllah, great blog. I don’t understand how Abu Sufyaan’s name was on the list of people who were to be executed when Umar (Ra) had to rush to to the Prophet(saw) to ask for His (saw) permission, while Abbas (ra) ran to ask for Abu Sufyaan’s safety. Umar(ra) would not have hesitated to carry out the command of the Prophet(saw), had the orders been given. Hope you could clarify it.
jazakumAllahu khayran.
After the conquest, Abu Sufyaan was on the list of war criminals. He (Abu Sufyaan) wanted to become Muslim, on the advice of Ibn Abbas; so they decided to go see the Messenger of Allah. On the way there, ‘Umar saw Abu Sufyaan … and ran after him to kill him! They ran for it, and once they reached the Prophet, Abu Sufyaan spoke to him and became Muslim. (Had Allah decided to tell the Messenger of Allah ahead of time that some or all of these people would become Muslim, so not to execute them, things would’ve been different; but instead, they were first put on the war criminals list, and later forgiven on a case-by-case basis.)
salam
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Allah Hafiz