Conquest of Mecca (630): Muhammad Returns to His Home City

The Conquest of Mecca took place in January 630, when Muhammad, at the head of an army of about 10,000 men, entered the city he had left as a refugee eight years earlier. Mecca’s leaders surrendered almost without a fight, Muhammad granted a broad amnesty and the idols of the Kaaba were destroyed. The event ended the long conflict between the Muslims and the Quraysh and made Muhammad the most powerful figure in Arabia.

Background

In 622 Muhammad and his followers had left Mecca for Medina in the Hijra. Years of war with the Quraysh followed, including the battles of Badr, Uhud and the Trench. In March 628 the two sides agreed a ten-year truce in the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, and in 629 the Muslims were allowed to visit Mecca for three days as pilgrims.

The truce allowed Muhammad’s power to grow. Important Meccans, among them the soldier Khalid ibn al-Walid and the politician Amr ibn al-As, went over to his side, and many tribes made alliances with Medina.

The breach of the truce

Under the treaty, the tribe of Khuza’a had allied with Muhammad and the Banu Bakr with the Quraysh. The two tribes had an old feud. In late 629 a section of the Banu Bakr made a night attack on the Khuza’a at a watering place called al-Watir, killing several people. Some Quraysh reportedly helped with weapons and men.

The Khuza’a appealed to Muhammad. Realising the danger, the Quraysh sent Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, their leading man, to Medina to restore the truce, but he returned without an agreement.

The march on Mecca

Muhammad prepared an expedition in secrecy, calling on allied tribes to join. He left Medina early in the month of Ramadan, 8 AH (around the beginning of January 630), with an army that grew to about 10,000 men, the largest force yet seen in the Hejaz.

The army camped at Marr al-Zahran, a valley a short distance north of Mecca, and lit many campfires to show its size. Muhammad’s uncle al-Abbas, who had joined him on the way, brought Abu Sufyan to Muhammad’s camp. Faced with overwhelming force, Abu Sufyan accepted Islam and agreed to the surrender of the city.

The entry into Mecca

The amnesty

Muhammad announced that anyone who stayed in their own house with the door closed, anyone who took refuge in Abu Sufyan’s house and anyone who entered the Sacred Mosque around the Kaaba would be safe. Abu Sufyan returned to Mecca to spread the word, and most of the population stayed indoors.

Four columns

On about 11 January 630 (20 Ramadan 8 AH) the army entered the city from several directions in separate columns. Most met no resistance. The column under Khalid ibn al-Walid, entering from the south, was attacked by a group of Meccans led by Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl and Safwan ibn Umayya, sons of leaders killed at Badr. In the brief clash, the sources report two or three Muslims and roughly 12 to 30 Meccans killed, after which resistance ended.

Cleansing the Kaaba

Muhammad went to the Kaaba and walked around it seven times. He then had the idols in and around the shrine destroyed, including the great statue of Hubal; tradition puts their number at about 360. As they fell, he is reported to have recited a Quranic verse declaring that truth had come and falsehood had vanished. Images inside the building were also removed.

Muhammad returned the key of the Kaaba to Uthman ibn Talha of the clan of Abd al-Dar, the family that had traditionally kept it. Descendants of this family, the Banu Shayba, still hold the key today. Bilal ibn Rabah, the former slave who had been tortured in Mecca for his faith, climbed onto the roof of the Kaaba and gave the call to prayer.

Mercy and exceptions

Muhammad addressed the Quraysh and, according to the sources, pardoned them collectively. The general amnesty was remembered as a striking contrast with the harsh treatment of defeated enemies common at the time.

A short list of people was excluded, usually given as about ten men and women, accused of serious crimes, such as killing Muslims or apostasy after pledging allegiance. Several were later pardoned after relatives intervened, including Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl, and Hind bint Utba, Abu Sufyan’s wife, who had mutilated the body of Hamza after Uhud. A few were executed.

Historians rely mainly on the biographies of Ibn Ishaq (died c. 767) and al-Waqidi (died 823) for these events. They agree on the broad picture of a negotiated surrender with little bloodshed, though details such as the exact list of those excluded from the amnesty differ between accounts.

The people of Mecca then came forward to pledge allegiance to Muhammad. Most leading members of the Quraysh, including Abu Sufyan and his son Mu’awiya, became Muslims.

Key people

• Muhammad (c. 570-632): prophet of Islam and leader of the expedition.
• Abu Sufyan ibn Harb (died c. 653): leader of the Quraysh, who negotiated the surrender and became a Muslim.
• al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (died c. 653): Muhammad’s uncle, who helped arrange Abu Sufyan’s submission; ancestor of the later Abbasid caliphs.
• Khalid ibn al-Walid (died 642): commander of the column that met the only real resistance.
• Bilal ibn Rabah (died c. 640): former slave and first muezzin, who gave the call to prayer from the Kaaba.

Aftermath

The surrender of Mecca did not end all opposition. A few weeks later the powerful Hawazin confederation gathered an army, and Muhammad defeated it at the Battle of Hunayn. The town of Ta’if, besieged without success, submitted voluntarily about a year later.

At Hunayn, fought in a valley east of Mecca, the Hawazin ambushed the Muslim army in a narrow pass and many of the newly joined troops fled before the line was restored. The victory brought large numbers of captives and livestock. Muhammad distributed generous shares of the booty to leading Meccans, including Abu Sufyan, to win their loyalty, which caused some resentment among the Ansar of Medina until he reassured them.

Later in 630 Muhammad led a large expedition north to Tabuk, near the Byzantine frontier, without meeting an enemy army. Treaties with communities along the way extended Medina’s influence towards Syria.

In 630-631, often called the Year of Delegations, tribes from across Arabia sent envoys to Medina to make terms with Muhammad. In March 632 he led the Farewell Pilgrimage to Mecca, and he died in Medina in June 632. His successors of the Rashidun Caliphate went on to lead the Arab conquests beyond Arabia.

Timeline

• 628, March: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah agreed.
• 629, late: Banu Bakr attack the Khuza’a with help from some Quraysh.
• 630, early January: Muhammad leaves Medina with an army of about 10,000.
• 630, about 11 January (20 Ramadan 8 AH): Mecca surrenders; the Kaaba’s idols are destroyed.
• 630, late January or February: Battle of Hunayn against the Hawazin; siege of Ta’if.
• 630-631: the Year of Delegations.
• 632, March: Muhammad’s Farewell Pilgrimage.
• 632, 8 June: death of Muhammad in Medina.

Why it matters

The Conquest of Mecca brought Islam’s holiest site under Muslim control and turned the Kaaba into the centre of monotheistic worship and pilgrimage that it remains today. Its largely bloodless character and broad amnesty allowed the Quraysh, Muhammad’s former enemies, to join the new order, and many of them became leaders of the Islamic state in the decades that followed.