Entering Makkah as a Humble Man and Not as a Haughty Conqueror

Entering Makkah as a Humble Man and Not as a Haughty Conqueror

The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, entered Makkah wearing a black turban and not in the state of Ihram (ritual consecration). He bent his head down low to show humility to Allah The Almighty who honored him with the Conquest of Makkah to the extent that his chin was about to touch the middle part of the saddle of his riding animal. The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recited the Chapter of Al-Fat’h as he entered Makkah. He was feeling the blessing of the fulfilled conquest, forgiveness of sins, and a great victory. Once he conquered Makkah, the heart of Arabia and its spiritual and political center, he announced all the principles of justice, equality, humility and submission. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, let Usaamah bin Zayd, his freedman, ride behind him but did not allow any other child from Banu Haashim or from among the nobles of Quraysh to ride behind him. This took place on Friday, 20th of Ramadan, 8 AH.
Describing the entry of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, into Makkah, Al-Ghazaali, may Allah have mercy upon him, said,
The Muslim army was advancing and the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, was riding his she-camel and wearing a thick turban around his head. He lowered his head in humility to Allah The Almighty and bent his back on his she-camel, showing great modesty. The large and solemn procession that carried him towards the bottom of the Sacred Precincts and the armored corps that surrounded him both awaited a gesture to act and end the peace in Makkah. This manifest conquest reminded the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, of a very eventful past; how he had been driven out of Makkah and how he returned in victory and support on that day! What a great honor Allah The Almighty bestowed on him! The more the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, felt these blessings, the more humility and bowing he showed on his she-camel.
The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, was keen on insuring the safety of the internal front of Makkah on the day of the conquest. Thus, once he knew about the saying of Sa‘d bin ‘Ubaadah to Abu Sufyaan, “Today will witness a great fight, today the Ka‘bah shall not be sanctified,” the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, replied: “No! Today the Ka‘bah will be sanctified and covered.” He quickly ordered that Sa‘d should be stripped of the standard, and that it should be entrusted to his son, Qays. This wise action guaranteed that there would be no uncalled for fighting. At the same time, he did not make him or Sa‘d furious, because he did not take the standard from a man from the Ansaar (helpers) as Sa’d was, and hand it to another one from the Muhajroon (emigrants); rather, he handed it to his son, and we know that a man does not wish for anyone to have the upper hand over him except his son.
After the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, entered Makkah and the people felt safe, he moved to the Sacred House and performed Tawaf (circumambulation) with a bow in his hand and about three hundred and six idols around the Ka‘bah. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, stabbed them with his bow one by one saying: {Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart.} [Quran 17:81] and said: {The truth has come, and falsehood can neither begin [anything] nor repeat [it].} [Quran 34:49]
The idols started falling down, representing the victory from Allah The Almighty and His great support to His Messenger that once he thrust any of the false deities surrounding the Ka‘bah with a stick in his hand, it fell down into pieces on its face or back. He also ordered some images and statues that he saw around the Ka‘bah to be knocked down. He refused to enter the Ka‘bah until those images had been removed. The Ka‘bah contained an image that was falsely said to be of Ibraaheem and Ismaa‘eel (Abraham and Ishmael), may Allah exalt their mention, holding divining arrows in their hands. Seeing this, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: “May Allah kill them! They knew that they [Ibraaheem and Ismaa‘eel] had never sought decision through divining.”
Then, he entered the House and said: “Allah is Great,” in every corner of it and performed prayer. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him and his father, that the Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, entered the Ka‘bah with Usaamah, Bilal and ‘Uthman bin Talhah, may Allah be pleased with them, closed it and remained therein. Ibn ‘Umar said, “I asked Bilaal, may Allah be pleased with him, when he left about what the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, had done there, and he replied that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, performed prayer, as he stood with two pillars on his left, one pillar on his right and three pillars behind him. The Ka‘bah stood on six pillars at that time.”
The keys of the Ka‘bah were kept with ‘Uthman bin Talhah before he became Muslim, and ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, wanted to hold the keys along with the privilege of providing water for the pilgrims. However, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, returned the keys to ‘Uthmaan, saying: “Today is a day of kindness and faithfulness.” The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, had asked ‘Uthmaan to give him the keys of the Ka‘bah before he migrated to Madinah, but ‘Uthmaan spoke to him harshly and hurt him. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, forgave him, saying: “O ‘Uthmaan! Perhaps you will see these keys in my hands one day, and I will place them wherever I wish.” ‘Uthmaan replied saying that the Quraysh would have to have been destroyed and humiliated by that day. The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said: “Nay, it will rather have been revived and will have become glorious.” This promise greatly affected ‘Uthman bin Talhah and he was sure that this promise would come true. After the Conquest, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, handed the keys to ‘Uthmaan, saying: “Here are the keys, ‘Uthmaan. Today is a day of kindness and faithfulness. Take them forever, and no one will extract them except an oppressor.”
The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not want to keep the keys in his possession or to give them to anyone from the Banu Hashim, although some of them had the audacity to try to take them, since having the keys of the Ka’bah was desirable and meant authority. Such advantages were totally irrelevant to the mission of the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam. This was how the Messenger, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, regarded the great victory; to him it was kindness and faithfulness, even to those who had betrayed, schemed and behaved insolently towards him.
The Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, ordered Bilaal to climb the Ka‘bah and announce the Athan (call) for prayer. Bilaal, may Allah be pleased with him, did, and the people of Makkah attentively listened to that new call as if they were in a dream. The words of the Athan were uttered like thunderbolts that cast horror into the hearts of the devils, who had nothing to do but flee or embrace Islam.
“Allah is the Greatest… Allah is the Greatest… Allah is the Greatest…”
This same voice once whispered under the lashing of a whip, saying, “Allah is One… Allah is One… Allah is One.” However, today it was echoing above the Ka‘bah of Allah The Almighty, saying, “There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” and all the people were attentively and submissively listening.
Source:Reference Link