الْفَتْحُ وَتَمَامُ الدِّين

Ramaḍān, 8 AH

Quraysh broke the treaty, and ten thousand came down on Makkah — and it was taken with almost no blood. He entered with his head bowed so low over the saddle that his beard nearly touched it. He cleared the idols from around the House, reciting: truth has come and falsehood has vanished. Then he stood at the door of the Kaʿbah before the men who had tortured his companions and driven him out, and asked what they expected of him. They said: a noble brother, and the son of a noble brother. He said: go — you are free.

دَخَلَ ﷺ مَكَّةَ فَاتِحًا فِي عَشَرَةِ آلَافٍ، وَرَأْسُهُ مُطَأْطِئٌ تَوَاضُعًا لِلَّهِ، فَكَسَرَ الْأَصْنَامَ وَهُوَ يَقُولُ: جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ لِقُرَيْشٍ: اذْهَبُوا فَأَنْتُمُ الطُّلَقَاء.

لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ، اذْهَبُوا فَأَنْتُمُ الطُّلَقَاء

No reproach upon you this day. Go — you are the freed ones.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Ibn Hishām · al-Bayhaqī

The day of the opening

When the time of prayer came he told Bilāl رضي الله عنه to climb onto the roof of the Kaʿbah and call. The man who had been dragged over the stones of that city by boys — in that city, above its House, calling its people to prayer.

أَمَرَ بِلَالًا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنْ يَعْلُوَ ظَهْرَ الْكَعْبَةِ فَيُؤَذِّنَ، فَأَذَّنَ فَوْقَهَا يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي كَانَ يُعَذَّبُ فِي رِمَالِ تِلْكَ الْبَلْدَة.

Ibn Hishām · Ibn Saʿd

Shawwāl, 8 AH

Hawāzin ambushed twelve thousand Muslims in a narrow valley and the army broke; he ﷺ stayed on his mule facing them. The day turned. He then gave the whole spoil to the new Makkan Muslims and nothing to the Anṣār, and when word of their hurt reached him he gathered them alone and asked: are you not content that the people go back with sheep and camels, and you go back with the Messenger of Allah? They wept and said: we are content.

انْهَزَمَ النَّاسُ يَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ وَثَبَتَ ﷺ عَلَى بَغْلَتِهِ يَقُولُ: أَنَا النَّبِيُّ لَا كَذِبْ. ثُمَّ قَسَمَ الْغَنَائِمَ فِي الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ، وَقَالَ لِلْأَنْصَارِ: أَمَا تَرْضَوْنَ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ النَّاسُ بِالشَّاةِ وَالْبَعِيرِ وَتَرْجِعُوا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ إِلَى رِحَالِكُم.

‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏

Allah has already given you victory in many regions and [even] on the day of Hunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you at all, and the earth was confining for you with its vastness; then you turned back, fleeing.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim

Rajab, 9 AH

The hardest expedition: six hundred miles north in the heat of high summer, at harvest, against the reported muster of Rome. Two men shared one date a day. ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه equipped a third of the army. No battle was fought. Three companions stayed behind with no excuse and told the truth about it, were shunned by the whole city for fifty nights until the earth grew narrow for them, and were forgiven in the Qur’an.

خَرَجَ ﷺ إِلَى تَبُوكَ فِي حَرٍّ شَدِيدٍ وَعُسْرَةٍ مِنَ الزَّادِ وَالظَّهْرِ، وَجَهَّزَ عُثْمَانُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ جَيْشَ الْعُسْرَةِ، وَتَخَلَّفَ الثَّلَاثَةُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا فَتَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم.

‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏

And [He also forgave] the three who were left behind [and regretted their error] to the point that the earth closed in on them in spite of its vastness and their souls confined them and they were certain that there is no refuge from Allah except in Him. Then He turned to them so they could repent. Indeed, Allah is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · Ibn Hishām

9 AH

The tribes had been waiting to see how Makkah settled it, and once it was settled they came — delegation after delegation into Madinah from every corner of Arabia. He received the Christians of Najrān in his own mosque and let them pray in it. Twenty-three years after one man was told to read in a cave, the peninsula was one community.

قَدِمَتْ وُفُودُ الْعَرَبِ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ بِالْمَدِينَةِ مِنْ كُلِّ نَاحِيَةٍ حَتَّى سُمِّيَ عَامَ الْوُفُودِ، وَأَنْزَلَ وَفْدَ نَجْرَانَ فِي مَسْجِدِهِ وَأَذِنَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يُصَلُّوا فِيه.

‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏

When the victory of Allah has come and the conquest, And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes,

Ibn Saʿd, aṭ-Ṭabaqāt · Ibn Hishām

Dhū al-Ḥijjah, 10 AH

A hundred thousand and more went with him. He stood at ʿArafah on his camel and gave the sermon that closed the age he had been sent into: your blood and your property are sacred to you; every claim of blood from the days of ignorance is under my feet; no Arab has any merit over a non-Arab except by God-consciousness; fear Allah regarding women; I have left among you what you will not go astray after — the Book of Allah. Then: have I conveyed? And the whole valley answered yes. And he said: O Allah, bear witness.

حَجَّ ﷺ حَجَّةَ الْوَدَاعِ وَخَطَبَ النَّاسَ بِعَرَفَةَ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَأَمْوَالَكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ حَرَامٌ، وَاسْتَوْصُوا بِالنِّسَاءِ خَيْرًا، وَتَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ مَا لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدَهُ: كِتَابَ اللَّهِ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَلَا هَلْ بَلَّغْتُ؟ قَالُوا: نَعَمْ. قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ اشْهَد.

‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏‏ ‏‏ ‏‏‏‏‏ ‏‏‏‏ ‏

Prohibited to you are dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah, and [those animals] killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a head-long fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten, except what you [are able to] slaughter [before its death], and those which are sacrificed on stone altars, and [prohibited is] that you seek decision through divining arrows. That is grave disobedience. This day those who disbelieve have despaired of [defeating] your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.

Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the ḥadīth of Jābir on the Ḥajj