The arrangement was full of wisdom. When Muslims were persecuted in Mecca, Bilal(ra), one of their targets, was dragged about the streets by ropes tied to his legs. Mecca gave no peace to Bilal(ra), but only physical pain, humiliation and disgrace. How revengeful Bilal(ra) must have felt on this day of his deliverance. To let him avenge the savage cruelties suffered by him in Mecca was necessary, but it had to be within the limits laid down by Islam. Accordingly, the Prophet(sa) did not let Bilal(ra) draw the sword and smite the necks of his former persecutors. That would have been un-Islamic. Instead, the Prophet(sa) handed to Bilal's(ra) brother the standard of Islam, and charged Bilal(ra) with the duty of offering peace to all his former persecutors under the standard borne by his brother. There was beauty and appeal in this revenge. We have to picture Bilal(ra) marching in front of his brother and inviting his enemies to peace. His passion for revenge could not have lasted. It must have dissolved as he advanced inviting Meccans to peace under a standard held aloft by his brother.
While the Muslims marched towards Mecca, the Prophet(sa) had ordered Abbas(ra) to take Abu Sufyan(ra) and his friends to a spot from where they could easily view the Muslim army, its behaviour and bearing. Abbas(ra) did so and from a vantage-point Abu Sufyan(ra) and his friends watched the Arab tribes go past on whose power the Meccans had banked all these years for their plots against Islam. They marched that day not as soldiers of disbelief but as soldiers of belief. They raised now the slogans of Islam, not the slogans of their pagan days. They marched in formation, not to put an end to the Prophet's(ra) life, but to lay down their lives to save his; not to shed his blood, but their own for his sake. Their ambition that day was not to resist the Prophet's(ra) Message and save the superficial solidarity of their own people. It was to carry to all parts of the world the very Message they had so far resisted. It was to establish the unity and solidarity of man. Column after column marched past until the Ashja tribe came in Abu Sufyan's(ra) view. Their devotion to Islam and their self-sacrificing zeal could be seen in their faces, and heard in their songs and slogans.
"Who can they be?" asked Abu Sufyan(ra).
"They are the Ashja tribe."
Abu Sufyan(ra) looked astonished and said, "In all Arabia, no one bore greater enmity to Muhammad(sa)."
"We owe it to the grace of God. He changed the hearts of the enemy of Islam as soon as He deemed fit," said Abbas(ra).
Last of all came the Prophet(sa), surrounded by the columns of Ansar and Muhajirin. They must have been about two thousand strong, dressed in suits of armour. The valiant Umar(ra) directed their marching. The sight proved the most impressive of all. The devotion of these Muslims, their determination and their zeal seemed overflowing. When Abu Sufyan's(ra) eyes fell on them, he was completely overpowered.
"Who can they be?" he asked.
"They are the Ansar(ra) and the Muhajirin surrounding the Prophet(sa)," replied Abbas(ra).
"No power on earth could resist this army," said Abu Sufyan(ra), and then, addressing Abbas more specifically, "‘Abbas(ra), your nephew has become the most powerful king in the world."
“You are still far from the truth, Abu Sufyan(ra). He is no king; he is a Prophet(sa), a Messenger of God," replied Abbas(ra).
"Yes, yes, let it be as you say, a Prophet(sa), not a king," added Abu Sufyan(ra).
As the Muslim army marched past Abu Sufyan(ra), the commander of the Ansar, Sa’d bin Ubada(ra) happened to eye Abu Sufyan(ra) and could not resist saying that God that day had made it lawful for them to enter Mecca by force and that the Quraish would be humiliated.
As the Prophet(sa) was passing, Abu Sufyan(ra) raised his voice and addressing the Prophet(sa) said, "Have you allowed the massacre of your own kith and kin? I heard the commander of the Ansar, Sa’d(ra) and his companions say so. They said it was a day of slaughter. The sacredness of Mecca will not avert bloodshed and the Quraish will be humiliated. Prophet(sa) of God, you are the best, the most forgiving, the most considerate of men. Will you not forgive and forget whatever was done by your own people?"
Abu Sufyan's(ra) appeal went home. Those very Muslims who used to be insulted and beaten in the streets of Mecca, who had been dispossessed and driven out of their homes, began to entertain feelings of mercy for their old persecutors. "Prophet(sa) of God," they said, "the accounts which the Ansar have heard of the excesses and cruelties committed by Meccans against us, may lead them to seek revenge. We know not what they may do."
The Prophet(sa) understood this. Turning to Abu Sufyan(ra), he said, "What Sa’d(ra) has said is quite wrong. It is not the day of slaughter. It is the day of forgiveness. The Quraish and the Ka’ba will be honoured by God."
Then he sent for Sa’d(ra), and ordered him to hand over the Ansar flag to his son, Qais(ra) (Hisham, Vol. 2). The command of the Ansar thus passed from Sa’d(ra) to Qais(ra). It was a wise step. It placated the Meccans and saved the Ansar disappointment. Qais(ra), a pious young man, was fully trusted by the Prophet(sa).
An incident of his last days illustrates the piety of his character. Lying on his death-bed, Qais(ra) received his friends. Some came and some did not. He could not understand this and asked why some of his friends had not come to see him. "Your charity is abundant," explained one.
You have been helping the needy by your loans. There are many in the town who are in debt to you. Some may have hesitated to come lest you should ask them for the return of the loans."
"Then I have been the cause of keeping my friends away. Please announce that no one now owes anything to Qais(ra)." After this announcement Qais(ra) had so many visitors during his last days that the steps to his house gave way.
When the Muslim army had marched past, Abbas(ra) told Abu Sufyan(ra) to hasten for Mecca and announce to the Meccans that the Prophet(sa) had come and explain to them how they could all have peace. Abu Sufyan(ra) reached Mecca with this message of peace for his town, but his wife, Hind, notorious for her hostility towards Muslims, met him. A confirmed disbeliever, she was yet a brave woman. She caught Abu Sufyan(ra) by the beard and called on Meccans to come and kill her cowardly husband. Instead of moving his townsmen to sacrifice their lives for the defence and honour of their town, he was inviting them to peace.
But Abu Sufyan(ra) could see that Hind was behaving foolishly "That time is gone," said he. "You had better go home and sit behind closed doors. I have seen the Muslim army. Not all Arabia could withstand it now."
He then explained the conditions under which the Prophet(sa) had promised peace to the Meccans. On hearing these conditions the people of Mecca ran for protection to the places which had been named in the Prophet's(sa) proclamation. From this proclamation eleven men and four women had been excepted. The offences which they had committed were very grave. Their guilt was not that they had not believed nor that they had taken part in wars against Islam; it was that they had committed inhumanities which could not be passed over. Actually, however, only four persons were put to death.
The Prophet(sa) had ordered Khalid bin Walid(ra) not to permit any fighting unless they were fought against and unless the Meccans first started fighting. The part of the town which Khalid(ra) entered had not heard the conditions of peace. The Meccans posted in that part challenged Khalid(ra) and invited him to fight. An encounter ensued in which twelve or thirteen men were killed (Hisham, Vol. 2, p. 217). Khalid(ra) was a man of fiery temper. Somebody, warned by this incident, ran to the Prophet(sa) to request him to stop Khalid(ra) from fighting. If Khalid(ra) did not stop, said this man, all Mecca would be massacred.
The Prophet(sa) sent for Khalid(ra) at once and said, "Did I not stop you from fighting?"
"Yes, you did, O Prophet(sa) of God, but these people attacked us first and began to shoot arrows at us. For a time I did nothing and told them we did not want to fight. But they did not listen, and did not stop. So I replied to them, and dispersed them."
This was the only untoward incident which took place on this occasion. The conquest of Mecca was thus brought about practically without bloodshed.
The Prophet(sa) entered Mecca. They asked him where he would stop.
"Has Aqil left any house for me to live in?" asked the Prophet(sa). Aqil was the Prophet's(sa) cousin, a son of his uncle. During the years of the Prophet's(sa) refuge at Medina, his relations had sold all his property. There was no house left which the Prophet(sa) could call his own. Accordingly the Prophet(sa) said, "I will stop at Hanif Bani Kinana." This was an open space. The Quraish and the Kinana once assembled there and swore that unless the Banu Hashim and the Banu Abdul Muttalib handed over the Prophet(sa) to them to deal with him as they liked, they would have no dealings with the two tribes. They would neither sell anything to them nor buy anything from them. It was after this solemn declaration that the Prophet(sa), his uncle Abu Talib, his family and followers, had to take refuge in the valley of Abu Talib and suffer a severe blockade and boycott lasting for three years.
The place which the Prophet(sa) chose for his stay was, therefore, full of significance. The Meccans had once assembled there and taken the oath that unless the Prophet(sa) was made over to them, they would not be at peace with his tribe. Now the Prophet(sa) had come to the same spot. It was as though he had come to tell the Meccans: "You wanted me here, so here I am. But not in the way you wanted. You wanted me as your victim, one completely at your mercy. But I am here in power. Not only my own people, but the whole of Arabia is now with me. You wanted my people to hand me over to you. Instead of that, they have handed you over to me." This day of victory was a Monday. The day on which the Prophet(sa) and Abu Bakr(ra) left the cave of Thaur for their journey to Medina was also a Monday. On that day, standing on the hill of Thaur, the Prophet(sa) turned to Mecca and said, 'Mecca! you are dearer to me than any other place but your people would not let me live here.'
When the Prophet(sa) entered Mecca, mounted on his camel, Abu Bakr(ra) walked with him holding a stirrup. As he walked along, Abu Bakr(ra) recited verses from the Surah, Al-Fath in which the conquest of Mecca had been foretold years before.