Conquest of Mecca

The conquest of Mecca (Arabic: فتح مكة‎ fatḥ makkah) was the capture of the town of Mecca by Muslims led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in December 629 or January 630 AD (Julian), 10–20 Ramadan, 8 AH. The conquest marked the end of the wars between the followers of Muhammad and the Quraysh tribe.

Quotes

• [When the Prophet destroyed the idols of Mecca] there came out from one of these two stones a grey haired black woman who was tearing at her face with her nails, naked, pulling at her hair and crying out in her woe. Asked about that, the Prophet said, ‘This is Nā Ô ila who has abandoned hope that she will ever be worshipped in your land again.’ And it is said that the Devil (Iblı̄s) cried out in woe on three occasions: once when he was cursed [by God] and his form was changed from that of the angels; once when he saw the Prophet standing in prayer in Mecca; and once when the Prophet conquered Mecca and the Devil said to his progeny who had gathered to him, ‘Abandon all hope that the community of Muh ammad will revert to shirk after this day of theirs.’
  • account of the Prophet’s destruction of idols around the KaÒba at the time of the conquest of Mecca (al-fath· ) which is narrated by Wāqidı̄ (d. 207/823), quoted in G. R. Hawting - The Idea of Idolatry and the Emergence of Islam_ From Polemic to History-Cambridge University Press (2006) 64

• The Messenger after arriving in Mecca, once the populace had settled down, went to the shrine and went round it seven times on his camel, touching the Black Stone with a stick which he had in his hand. This done, he summoned Uthman ibn Talha and took the keys of the Ka'ba from him, and when the door was opened for him, he went in. There he found a dove made of wood. He broke it in his hands and threw it away. . . . [Accord­ing to another account] the Messenger entered Mecca on the day of the conquest and it contained 360 idols which Iblis (or Satan) had strengthened with lead. The Messenger was standing by them with a stick in his hand saying, “The truth has come and falsehood has passed away.” (Quran 17: 81) Then he pointed at them with his stick and they collapsed on their backs one after another.
  • Ibn Ishaq, quoted in F.E. Peters - Muhammad and the Origins of Islam-State University of New York Press (1994) 236

• When the Messenger had prayed the noon prayer on the day of the conquest (of Mecca), he ordered that all the idols which were around the Ka'ba should be collected and burned with fire and broken up.
  • Ibn Hisham, quoted in F.E. Peters - Muhammad and the Origins of Islam-State University of New York Press (1994) 236