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question posed by the door-keeper, 'Amr said he had been ordered by the Prophet peace be upon
him to knock down the idol. The man warned 'Amr that he would not be able to do it. 'Amr was
surprised to see someone still in the wrong, approached the idol and destroyed it, then he broke the
casket beside it but found nothing. The man immediately embraced Islam. Sa'd bin Zaid Al-Ashhali
was also sent in the same month and on the same mission to Al-Mashallal to destroy an idol, Manat,
venerated by both Al-Aws and Al-Khazraj tribes. Here also a black woman, naked with messy hair
appeared wailing and beating on her chest. Sa'd immediately killed her, destroyed the idol and
broke the casket and returned at the conclusion of his errand. Khalid bin Al-Waleed at the head of
350 horsemen of Helpers, Emigrants and Bani Saleem was despatched once again in the same year
8 A.H. to the habitation of Bani Khuzaimah bedouins to invite them to the fold of Islam. He was
instructed to carry out his mission with peace and goodwill. There, the people were not articulate
enough to communicate their intentions, so Khalid ordered his men to kill them and take the others
as captives. He even had in mind to kill the captives but some of the Companions were opposed to
his plan. News of bloodshed reached the Prophet peace be upon him. He was deeply grieved and
raised his hands towards the heaven, uttering these words: "O Allâh! I am innocent of what Khalid
has done," twice. He immediately sent 'Ali to make every possible reparation to the tribes who had
been wronged. After a careful inquiry, 'Ali paid the blood-money to all those who suffered loss. The
remaining portion was also distributed amongst the members of the tribe in order to alleviate their
suffering. Khalid, due to his irrational behaviour, had a row with 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Awf. Hearing
this, the Prophet peace be upon him got angry, and ordered Khalid to stop that altercation adding
that his Companions (meaning 'Abdur Rahman bin 'Awf) were too high in rank to be involved in such
arguments.
That is the story of the conquest of Makkah and the decisive battle that exterminated paganism
once and for all. The other tribes in the Arabian Peninsula were waiting and closely watching the
final outcome of the bitter struggle between the Muslims and idolaters, already convinced that the
Holy Sanctuary would not fall but in the hands of the righteous party. It had been a conviction
deeply established in their minds ever since the elephant army of Abraha Al-Ashram advanced from
Yemen intending to destroy the Sacred House 50 years before.
Al-Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty was the natural prelude to this great victory in which people believed
deeply and over which people talked a lot. The Muslims in Makkah, who had feared to declare their
Faith in public, began to appear and work ardently for this new approach of life. People began to
convert into Islam in hosts, and the Muslim army that numbered 3000 only in the previous
Ghazwah, now came to reach 10,000 in number. In fact, this decisive change provided people with
the keen insight to perceive things and the world around them as a whole in a different perceptive.
The Muslims were then to steer the whole political and religious affairs of all Arabia. They had
monopolised both the religious supremacy and temporal power.
The whole post-Hudaibiyah phase had been well-fledged in favour of the new Islamic movement.
Streams of the desert Arabians began to pour in paying full homage to the Messenger o f Allâh peace
be upon him, embracing the new faith and then carrying it to different quarters for propagation.
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