In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the book:
Ramadan: Events and Lessons.
The Conquest of Makkah.
The time was the tenth day of Ramadan,
in the eighth year of the Hijrah.
Achieving one’s hopes and the triumph of truth over falsehood
are not matters attained through mere dreams,
nor are they reached in a short span of time,
or by following a path of ease and comfort.
Rather, such a noble objective
requires sincere efforts,
sound and continuous actions,
an extended period of time,
and a generous expenditure of effort accompanied by
hardship and a lack of indulgence.
That is the true ascension
by which the climber reaches the horizons of happy hope.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was driven out,
along with his emigrant Companions, from Makkah,
which was the most beloved of Allah’s lands to their hearts.
They endured the agony of separation,
and thereafter encountered various kinds of hardships,
from fighting the disbelievers,
both the polytheists and the People of the Scripture among them.
The rest of the Arabs attacked them in unison,
and they were prevented from visiting
the Sacred House.
Throughout this, they were not safe from the arrogance of Quraysh
and its pride,
until the day of Hudaybiyyah arrived.
A peace treaty was concluded based on terms,
some of which the Muslims disliked,
yet Allah the Exalted made that very matter
which they disliked a path to what they loved.
In this was a great educational lesson:
that disliked things may lead to beloved outcomes
for those who are patient and seek reward from Allah.
The Muslims remained patient in accepting
all those terms,
in obedience to Allah the Exalted
and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
They did not know that some of those terms
would be a gateway to a great affair,
bringing them security
beyond what they had hoped for.
“Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.” (2:216)
“Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.” (2:216)
Allah knows, while you do not know.
The Dawn of the Conquest.
Among the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was
that whoever wished to enter into a covenant with the Muslims could do so,
and whoever wished to enter into a covenant with Quraysh could do so.
The one who entered was considered part of that faction,
and any aggression against them was considered aggression against that faction.
Thus, the Khuza'ah tribe entered into the covenant of the Muslims,
and the Banu Bakr entered into the covenant of the polytheists.
There were old blood feuds between the two tribes.
One day, some of the Banu Bakr raided
the Khuza'ah with the assistance of Quraysh,
killing a number of them.
'Amr ibn Salim al-Khuza'i hurried to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
crying out for help.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) answered him,
and responded to his call.
When Quraysh realized the consequences of their actions,
they sent Abu Sufyan to Madinah to apologize and renew the treaty,
but he did not succeed in that political visit.
The matter had surpassed the acceptance of political apologies and diplomatic efforts,
so a military solution was necessary
to uproot the problem from its foundations.
Thus, it is known that the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah was the gateway to the conquests,
the conquest of Khaybar and the conquest of Makkah.
Allah the Exalted said:
"And a near victory" — the most correct opinion is that this refers to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.
According to the hadith of Sahl ibn Hunayf (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) on the day of Hudaybiyyah,
and had we seen fighting, we would have fought."
Then 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) came and said:
"O Messenger of Allah, are we not on the truth and they on falsehood?"
He replied, "Yes."
He asked, "Are our dead not in Paradise and theirs in the Fire?"
He replied, "Yes."
He said, "Then why should we accept humiliation in our religion?
Shall we return before Allah has judged between us and them?"
He replied, "O son of al-Khattab,
I am the Messenger of Allah, and He will never let me down."
'Umar went to Abu Bakr
and said to him what he had said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
He replied:
"He is the Messenger of Allah, and Allah will never let him down."
Then Surah al-Fath was revealed,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited it to 'Umar until the end.
'Umar then asked:
"O Messenger of Allah, is it a conquest?"
He replied, "Yes."
The Road to Makkah.
On Wednesday,
the tenth day of Ramadan,
in the eighth year of the Hijrah,
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) left Madinah
with an army of ten thousand fighters.
Here, the hopes of the Muslims began to appear on the horizon,
and the hearts of the Emigrants, in particular, began
to cast off their heavy sorrow
which Quraysh had sown in them throughout the past years.
They were to experience joy in the atmosphere of the glory of faith,
after having lived for a time under the yoke of oppression and sadness.
The believers set out,
driven by a great longing to enter the Sacred City
and to raise the banner of Tawhid (monotheism) over it,
after the banners of polytheism had been raised there for a long time.
They marched, burning with rage against those who had driven the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
out of his secure city,
harmed him, and attacked the Muslims during the Makkan period,
and obstructed the path of Allah for nearly twenty years.
They set out toward it with a force the likes of which the Muslims had never gathered before,
nor could Quraysh withstand, no matter how many they gathered.
Indeed, the Muslims this time
did not doubt the conquest and the entry into Makkah,
and the erasing of the idols of paganism therein.
They proceeded with certainty in the help of Allah the Exalted to realize that beautiful dream
which had haunted them for many years.
It was necessary to send a psychological message to Makkah before entering it,
so that it might desist from its transgression this time,
and surrender the leadership of Makkah to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
to spread the light of guidance through it to the east and the west.
Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) conducted
military displays of the Islamic army,
with Abu Sufyan present, witnessing it.
He had already announced his Islam at that time,
and he was awestruck by what he saw of the Islamic power.
He returned to Makkah to warn them against opposing the Messenger of Allah and those with him.
His words were received with belief by the wise among them,
although there was a faction of Quraysh overcome by recklessness,
so they stood on some of the roads of Makkah
and skirmished with the Islamic army briefly,
where some were killed and the rest fled,
allowing Makkah to open its heart to mercy for the entry of the sacred march,
which would cleanse Makkah from the filth of polytheism and the authority of its people.
The Entry into Makkah.
On the twentieth day of Ramadan in the eighth year of the Hijrah,
the vanguards of the army of faith entered Makkah from various directions,
and it continued to flow in groups,
until Makkah embraced that entire pure army.
How great and beautiful those moments were in the souls of the believers,
and how difficult they were in the souls of the polytheists,
the day they saw Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah entering the Sacred Mosque,
with the Emigrants and the Ansar around him.
He touched the Black Stone,
performed the circumambulation of the House,
and struck the standing idols with his bow until they fell.
For with this conquest, the truth had come,
and falsehood had vanished.
“And say: Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished away. Lo! falsehood is ever bound to vanish.” (17:81)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ascended into the Ka'bah,
prayed there,
and remembered Allah, declared His oneness, and magnified Him,
announcing the end of the authority of paganism in this blessed spot,
and the beginning of raising the banner of Tawhid therein.
While the Muslims were surrounded by happiness from every side,
the polytheists were awaiting the judgment of the Messenger of Allah regarding them.
What would he do with those who had obstructed His path,
tortured his Companions, killed those they killed,
and committed against them various acts of warfare and harm?
There is no doubt they were living in a terrifying psychological state,
under his authority and in his presence.
Then the noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appeared,
holding the doorframe of the Ka'bah,
and declared the testimony of Tawhid.
He trampled the vestiges of the Age of Ignorance and its misguided customs under his feet,
and explained that the arrogance of the Age of Ignorance had vanished,
and that the only scale is the scale of piety.
Then he announced his final judgment regarding Quraysh,
which was the moment everyone was waiting for.
He sent forth, through his truthful voice, words of pardon and forgiveness.
The clouds of fear cleared from Quraysh,
and they acknowledged once again the nobility of Muhammad ibn 'Abdullah,
and the greatness of his character.
They returned to blaming themselves for opposing him.
It was only moments later
that Bilal ibn Rabah raised the call to prayer loudly,
announcing the beginning of a new era in the House of Allah.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) descended to pray,
and the people prayed with him.
In this event are lessons:
First, that Allah’s choice for His believing servant
is better than the believer’s choice for himself,
so let him submit the matter to Him in what he loves and what he dislikes.
Second, there is no prohibition against establishing truces with warring disbelievers
if it does not involve compromising the fundamentals of the religion.
Third, forgiveness when one has the power to punish,
if it leads to benefits that return with good for Islam and the Muslims,
is better than exercising the hand of vengeance.
Fourth, people submit to the rule of power,
but how beautiful the matter is if that power is just.
Fifth, the call of truth needs power to support it and defend it against its enemies,
and through this, it spreads and its people remain steadfast upon it.
Ramadan: Events and Lessons.