The historic event underscores the importance of early action, mercy and spiritual leadership, offering timeless lessons for contemporary society

The Conquest of Makkah took place eight years after the Muslims migrated from Makkah to Madinah. In 630 AD, the Prophet (SAW) and ten thousand of his Companions returned to Makkah and took control, facing little resistance. The impulse for the conquest was a breach of the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyya, signed two years prior. Under the provisions of the treaty, there would be ten years of peace, during which time any aggression could be met with retaliation. One of the terms of the treaty was that any tribe outside of Makkah or Madinah was allowed to choose to ally themselves with the believers or with the Quraysh. However, if any of these tribes had altercations, neither the believers nor the Quraysh could support their allies against the other’s allies. Banū Khuza’ah aligned themselves with the Muslims and accepted Islam, while Banu Bakr chose to side with the Quraysh. Within just two years, the Quraysh not only violated the treaty by secretly supporting Banu Bakr to fight Banu Khuza’ah but they also participated in killing 20 Muslims amongst them, including a person who fled and sought refuge in the sacred area around the Ka‘bah. The sanctity of the House of Allah had been violated, and the treaty was broken.
When the Quraysh and their allies violated the treaty provisions and killed twenty men of Banū Khuzā‘a, members of the tribe sought support from their Muslim allies. When the news of this reached the Prophet (SAW), he demanded the Quraysh to pay the blood money for Banu Khuza’ah and terminate their alliance with Banu Bakr, otherwise, the treaty would become null and void. They refused these terms but still sent Abu Sufyan to Madinah to negotiate, but he was turned away. Aishah (RA) narrated that she had never seen the Prophet (SAW) angrier than when he heard the news of the atrocities that had taken place in front of the Ka’bah.
The Prophet (SAW) retaliated by preparing for war to conquer Makkah. He instructed the Sahabah (RA) to keep the plans a secret to take the Makkans by surprise, which would prevent further bloodshed. The Muslim army set out on the 10th of Ramadan in the year 8 (AH) and was joined by many other tribes new to Islam. Their numbers reached 10,000 by the time they reached Makkah. The conquest of the city is one of the most significant moments in the history of Islam. If the Battle of Badr bookends the beginning of the establishment of the nascent Muslim community, the Conquest of Makkah signifies its culmination.
Before the Muslims entered Makkah, the Prophet (SAW) informed Abu Sufyan that anyone who took refuge in their homes or in the Sacred Masjid would be safe. The city was conquered without any bloodshed, and the sanctity of the Ka’bah was honoured.
The Prophet (SAW) then addressed the very people who had oppressed and slandered him and who persecuted and killed his companions. He asked them what they thought he would do with them, to which they replied, ‘You are our noble brother, son of our noble brother! We expect nothing but goodness from you.’ The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘I say to you as Yusuf (Joseph) said to his brothers, “No blame upon you today. Allah will forgive you, for He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.”’ [The Noble Qur’an, 12:92]
In another narration, the Prophet (SAW) said to them, ‘Go, you are free.’ The Prophet (SAW) even forgave Hind bint Utbah who had conspired to kill his beloved uncle Hamzah (RA) at the Battle of Uhud.
The Conquest of Makkah was a day of mercy and forgiveness. The people all embraced Islam.
It is no coincidence that both events occurred during Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of victory, and there is much to consider in what lessons the victory of the Conquest of Makkah has to offer—and not only for politics. The Conquest also teaches us loyalty the Prophet (SAW) took very seriously the agreement he had with his allies; humility the Prophet (SAW) entered with his head lowered, thanking Allah, without claiming credit for the victory nor displaying might as was the custom of conquerors; and mercy and forgiveness, a general amnesty, was offered to the Kufars of Makkah.
All these themes link closely to Ramadan’s larger purpose of suppressing the ego and reorienting toward the Divine.
With the Conquest, the Muslims suddenly became in charge of a major metropolis. For the first time, in parts of Arabia, it became easier to become and remain a Muslim than it was to do otherwise. Numerous people embraced Islam, including previously staunch enemies of Islam. Allah alludes to this shift in Sūrat al-Naṣr in the following words:
“When the victory of Allah and the conquest [of Makkah] have come; And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes; Then exalt the praise of your Lord and ask His forgiveness. Indeed, He is ever accepting of repentance” (Qur’an 110:1-3)
Even though many people joined the community of the faithful after the Conquest, these newcomers were never able to catch up in rank to those who had come earlier. The ones who had become Muslim before the Conquest had done so at a time when the position of the Muslims was politically and economically insecure; prolonged poverty and pitiless persecution were all but guaranteed for many of them. To have recognized Islam’s truth and to have embraced it in this precarious phase was qualitatively different from having done so when it was the prevailing norm. It was only fair that the sacrifice of the pioneers was recognized and honoured.
Many of the later converts were members of the political and economic elite; once they were Muslim, it was important that their worldly authority did not translate into religious authority. Thus ‘Umar as caliph ensured that the leaders of Quraysh did not assume superiority and that the early companions were honoured for their service. Once, Bilāl and Ṣuhayb—former slaves and non-Arabs, yet early converts—came to stand at ‘Umar’s door just as the leaders of Quraysh, among them Abū Sufyān and al-Ḥārith b. Hishām also came to meet the caliph. When Umar (RA) emerged, he first granted an audience to Bilāl and Ṣuhayb, keeping the leaders of Quraysh standing at the door. At this, some expressed their anger that former slaves were being shown preference over the most distinguished of the Arabs. They were told: “You were invited to Islam at the same time that they were invited. They quickly embraced it, but you delayed. You have no one to blame but yourselves.”
The point is that individuals such as Bilāl and Ṣuhayb achieved such a high rank because they entered Islam before these leaders of Quraysh. Precedence in good deeds made all the difference. The former slaves, in other words, gained a higher social status than their former masters as a result of accepting Islam in its days of struggle. Allah affirms their superiority when He says:
“No equal among you are those who spent and fought before the conquest [of Makkah and those who did so after it]. Those [who came earlier] are greater in degree than those who spent and fought afterwards” (Qur’an 57:10)
In this same verse, Allah promises the best of rewards for both groups: they will all succeed and prosper at the end. Yet those who came before the Conquest will forever be the select few. Some of the later Companions regretted that they had not entered Islam earlier, despite having had the opportunity. Ḥakīm b. Ḥizām was a close friend of the Prophet (SAW) in the pre-Islamic era and a nephew of Khadija. Upon receiving the message, the Prophet (SAW) invited him repeatedly to Islam, but Ḥakīm showed little interest. Nonetheless, he was a noble and generous man and among the leaders of Quraysh. When the Prophet (SAW) returned to Makkah during the Conquest, Ḥakīm converted. At that point, he felt a certain sense of remorse: given his proximity to the Prophet (SAW) and therefore the early date on which he received the invitation to Islam, he could have been one of the very first Muslims. He could have been another Abū Bakr, another ‘Umar.
How do we apply these lessons today? The distinction between pre-conquest and post-conquest no longer exists—we are all post-conquest individuals—but there are more general situations that exhibit the same principle. Frequently, certain aspects of religious practice are difficult and not well-established in society. If we stick to such actions, we become pioneers. There will soon come a day when the action will become mainstream; at that point, it will still be rewarded, but the later people will not be able to surpass the early ones. In fact, all the actions performed by the later people will also be rewarded to the early people because they became an indirect means for the later ones to come into this practice. Forging the path forward when it comes to religious practice is therefore often difficult but always extremely rewarding.
We can use the lesson of precedence that the Conquest of Makkah offers to think about our actions. Are we people who are making the most of this special time of the year despite larger society’s distractions? Are we setting a positive precedent for future generations? Or are we complacent, waiting for that day to come when society as a whole will be imbued with spirituality, making it easy for us to follow along? That day will surely come, but those who act now will achieve a rank unattainable to those who act later.
To be able to become a part of as-sābiqūn al-awwalūn (the first to lead the way), as Allah describes the early Companions, is not a gift given to all. When it is offered, as it is frequently in these turbulent times, we must seize it.
The writer is a Formal Attorney at Law, J&K High Court; presently a Government Law Officer and is pursuing an MA in Political Science through Indira Gandhi National Open University. He can be reached at [email protected]

Mudasir Mushtaq Khan