The Army in the Mountain Pass

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave his instructions to al-ʿAbbās to hold Abū Sufyān back from leaving, and to have him wait at the mountain pass. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted al-ʿAbbās to hold back Abū Sufyān for a reason, and he wanted him to wait at the mountain pass for a reason: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted to demonstrate to the leader of the kuffār the strength of the Muslims. When Abū Sufyān saw the overwhelming forces the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had brought together to invade Makkah, that would stop, and bring to an end, any willingness or desire to resist. Because even though Abū Sufyān had become Muslim, he was a new Muslim, and he was a leader of Quraysh, and he might have some interest there, and the people of Quraysh might want to fight. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted these people — Abū Sufyān and those with him — to see with their own eyes, because hearing something is not like seeing it; to see with their own eyes the ten-thousand-strong army of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want bloodshed in Makkah, he wanted them to see how strong the Muslims were, so that they would just surrender.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) had divided the army into battalions, and every battalion had a rāyah, a banner, and they were divided according to their tribes: Banū Sulaym were separate, Ghifār were separate, Muzaynah. And they were passing through this mountain pass, because it is a narrow area; they were passing one after the other. And whenever one of these battalions moved through the mountain pass, Abū Sufyān would ask al-ʿAbbās: who are they? And al-ʿAbbās would tell him: this is Ghifār. Abū Sufyān would say: mā lī wa li-Ghifār — I have nothing to do with Ghifār. And then Sulaym: I have nothing to do with Sulaym. Muzaynah: I have nothing to do with Muzaynah.

Until one battalion passed, and it caught the attention of Abū Sufyān. Subḥān Allāh, one can sometimes sense the strength of what one sees. So Abū Sufyān saw this particular battalion, and it caught his attention, and he told al-ʿAbbās: who are these? Al-ʿAbbās told him: these are the Anṣār. And the banner of the Anṣār was with Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah, who was the leader of al-Khazraj. When Saʿd saw Abū Sufyān, he told him: yā Abā Sufyān, al-yawmu yawmu al-malḥamah, al-yawma tustaḥallu al-Kaʿbah — today is the day of the great battle; today is the day the sanctity of the Kaʿbah will be violated.

Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah was a great Ṣaḥābī of the Messenger of Allah, a leader of the Anṣār, one of the men who gave nuṣrah, support, to the Messenger of Allah; however, at that particular moment, enthusiasm probably led him to speak out and utter these words. Abū Sufyān and al-ʿAbbās and others — and it even says ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — carried these words of Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah to the Messenger of Allah. So the Messenger of Allah said: kadhaba Saʿd — Saʿd lied. Now the word lie in this context means is mistaken; it does not literally mean that he lied; it means that he is mistaken. Saʿd is mistaken. Kadhaba Saʿd, wa lākin hādhā yawmun yuʿaẓẓimu Allāhu fīhi al-Kaʿbah — Saʿd has lied; rather, this is a day in which Allah will glorify the Kaʿbah (al-Bukhārī 4280). The sanctity of the Kaʿbah will not be violated.

And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ordered that the banner be taken from Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah and given to his son, Qays ibn Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah. This was for two reasons. The first reason: the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah to have authority, as this would probably lead him into bloodshed in Makkah. One can see that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted to avoid shedding blood in Makkah, so he did not want the banner to remain in his hands. But at the same time, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not want to anger or upset Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah. Saʿd ibn ʿUbādah was going to accept the orders of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) no matter what; but there would probably be something in his heart; he might be upset that the banner had been taken from him. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave it to his own son.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) entered peacefully; there was no resistance. But in the area through which Khālid ibn al-Walīd came in, there was resistance from Banū Bakr and Hudhayl. Banū Bakr and Hudhayl are tribes that live on the outskirts of Makkah; they do not live in Makkah itself. They put up a fight; Khālid ibn al-Walīd just destroyed them, so they all just ran away. They gave up, and that was the end of the resistance.

Therefore there is a difference of opinion among the scholars: hal futiḥat Makkatu ṣulḥan am ʿanwatan? Was Makkah opened by force, or was it opened through agreement? What are the implications of this difference of opinion? The implications are in matters of fiqh. Because when a land is opened by force, everything that belongs to the kuffār becomes the property of the Muslims — even they themselves. So everything in the land and on the land becomes the property of the Muslims if that land was opened by force: the population could be enslaved, and all of their property could be taken and divided among the Muslims. This is if it was opened by force. However, if it was opened ṣulḥan, by agreement, then the kuffār can have some right of ownership, and they are not enslaved, and they remain free. So there is a difference of opinion among the ʿulamāʾ about Fatḥ Makkah: some scholars say it was opened by force, and some of them say it was opened by agreement. And the implications of this — the reflection of it — concern the property that exists in Makkah.