might have been spared the disgrace and
the ground. They received the water in the
defeat they had met with that day.
hollows of their hands to wet their bodies with it; in such reverence did they hold it.
The Prophetsaw then ordered the wiping out
The pagans who witnessed these scenes
of the pictures which had been drawn on
of devotion said again and again that they
the walls of the Ka‘ba. Having ordered this
had never seen an earthly king to whom his
the Prophet
people were so devoted (Halbiyya, Vol. 3, p.
saw
said two rak‘ats of prayer as
thanks-giving to God. He then withdrew to
99).
the open court and said another two rak‘ats of prayer. The duty of wiping out the pictures
The Prophetsaw Forgives His Enemies
had been entrusted to ‘Umarra. He had all the
All rites and duties over, the Prophetsaw
pictures obliterated except that of Abrahamas. When the Prophet
saw
returned to inspect and
found this picture intact, he asked ‘Umar
ra
addressed the Meccans and said: “You have seen how true the promises of God have proved. Now tell me what punishment you
why he had spared this one. Did he not remember the testimony of the Qur’an that Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian, but as
a single-minded and obedient Muslim? (3: 68).
should have for the cruelties and enormities you committed against those whose only fault was that they invited you to the worship of the One and Only God.” To this the Meccans replied, “We expect
It was an insult to the memory of Abraham , as
a great exponent of the Oneness of God to have his picture on the walls of the Ka‘ba. It was as though Abraham could be as
worshipped equally with God.
Signs of God.
By significant coincidence, the Meccans used in their plea for forgiveness the very words revealed ten years before the conquest of Mecca. In this the Prophetsaw was told that he would treat his Meccan persecutors as
Promises made by God to the Prophetsaw, at a time when their fulfilment seemed impossible, had been fulfilled at last. The Prophet
brothers.”
which God had used in the Surah Yusuf,
It was a memorable day, a day full of the
saw
you to treat us as Josephas treated his erring
was the centre of devotion and
faith. In and through his person, God had manifested Himself, and shown His face, as it were, again. The Prophet
saw
sent for water
of the Zamzam. He drank some of it and with the rest performed ablutions. So devoted were Muslims to the Prophet’s
saw
person, that
they would not let a drop of this water fall on
Josephas had treated his brothers. By asking for the treatment which Josephas had meted out to his brothers, the Meccans admitted that the Prophetsaw of Islam was the like of Josephas and as Josephas was granted victory over his brothers the Prophetsaw had been granted victory over the Meccans. Hearing the Meccans’ plea, the Prophetsaw declared at once: “By God, you will have no punishment today and no reproof” (Hisham). While the Prophetsaw was engaged in expressing his gratitude to God and in
