Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians - Electric Scotland

THE PRINCE OF MEDINA t 85
The Opening of Mecca
The Quraysh, who had treated Muhammad coldly, even shabbily,
on the occasion of his umra to Mecca in 629, received their harsh
comeuppance soon enough. The ten-year armistice of Hudaybiyya
was of course still in effect, but there were, almost inevitably in
those fluidly moving tribal zones, violations of the truce between
the Bedouin allies of the Quraysh and those of Muhammad. They
were not likely fatal since the dispirited Quraysh appeared willing
to negotiate, but Muhammad would have none of it. The moment
was at hand, he decided, to deal with the Quraysh once and for all.
An expedition was prepared. That fact could not be concealed,
but its destination was, at least till the raiders were already on their
way, this time, unusually, toward the south, toward Mecca. Luck
was with them. Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraysh, was surprised
and captured outside Mecca and was persuaded to save
himself by embracing Islam.
Note: Two late Meccan converts, Abu Sufyan and Abbas, turned out
to be the progenitors of the two great Arab houses to rule Islam as an
empire: Abu Sufyan of the Umayyads (661–750 in Damascus) and
Abbas of the Abbasids (750–1258 in Baghdad). We have no preserved
Umayyad historians so the figure of Abu Sufyan lies largely
unredeemed in the debris of early Islamic history, but the many historians
who wrote under the Abbasids did their best to rehabilitate the
memory of Abbas. As we have seen, Muslim tradition has Muhammad
marrying, Umm Habiba, Abu Sufyan’s daughter, in 628, and
Maymuna, Abbas’ sister-in-law, the following year.
The Muslim troops entered the city with orders to act with restraint.
Little was necessary since resistance seems to have been
negligible. There followed a scene of quiet triumph. Muhammad
entered the Haram and proclaimed, “The truth has come and
falsehood has passed away.” He ordered the numerous idols
burned or smashed to pieces. Pictures were removed from inside