The Conquest of Makkah — History and Significance

In 8 AH (630 CE) the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Makkah at the head of 10,000 men. Twenty-one years earlier the same city had boycotted his clan into starvation and plotted his assassination. The conquest is remembered less for the military operation than for what did not happen afterwards.

The breach

The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (6 AH) had fixed a ten-year truce and allowed tribes to ally with either side. When Banu Bakr, allied to Quraysh, attacked the Prophet's allies Banu Khuza'ah with Qurayshi support, the truce was void. Abu Sufyan travelled to Madinah to repair it and failed.

The march

The Prophet mobilised in secrecy and ordered 10,000 separate campfires lit outside Makkah — a display of strength intended to make resistance appear futile and thereby avoid a fight. Abu Sufyan, brought to the camp by al-Abbas, accepted Islam that night. The Prophet declared safety for anyone who entered the Sacred Mosque, entered Abu Sufyan's house, or stayed indoors.

The entry

The army entered from four directions; only Khalid ibn al-Walid's column met brief resistance. The Prophet entered with his head lowered to his mount in humility, not triumph. He circled the Ka'bah, destroyed the 360 idols reciting "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished" (17:81), and had the interior images erased.

The amnesty

Standing at the door of the Ka'bah, he asked the Quraysh what they expected. They answered: "A noble brother, son of a noble brother." He replied with Yusuf's words: "No blame upon you this day" — go, you are free. Even Hind bint Utbah, who had mutilated Hamzah, and Wahshi, who killed him, were pardoned. Bilal, once tortured in that city's sun, climbed the Ka'bah to call the adhan.

Significance

• The Sacred House was returned to monotheism.
• A model was set for victory without vengeance, later cited in Islamic law of war.
• Tribes across Arabia entered Islam in the following two years — the "entering in crowds" of Surah al-Nasr.

References across the schools

• Qur'an: 17:81, 48:1, 48:27, 110:1–3.
• Sunni: Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Maghazi (Fath Makkah); Sahih Muslim 1780.
• Shia: al-Ya'qubi, Tarikh; al-Mufid, al-Irshad; Bihar al-Anwar vol. 21.
• Salafi/Wahhabi: al-Mubarakpuri, al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, chapter on the Conquest.