In the eight year after Hijrah (8AH), the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) and his companions conquered Mecca–without a single sword-swing. 10,000 Muslim warriors arrived at the gates, and the inhabitants of Mecca raised their arms in surrender.

The norm during those days was that when a land is conquered, ALL its people are killed, and its women and children are taken as slaves and property. So when the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) conquered Mecca, the Meccans became frightened. And they should’ve been–this is the man who they slandered, tortured, ridiculed, persecuted, and fought for 21 years.

So what did he (صلي الله عليه وسلم) do when he entered?

He forgave them all.

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

Translation: And We have not sent you (O Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم)) except as a mercy for the universe. [Suratal Anbiyyah, 21:107]

However, there were certain individuals who were not forgiven–war criminals whose opposition reached such a level of intensity and evil, that they could not be forgiven. The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) gave this list out–these men and women were to be executed, immediately, and there would be no mercy for them–not in this life, and not in the next.

Who were these individuals, Mecca’s war criminals?

  1. Wahshi, a slave who earned his freedom in Uhud by killing the Prophet’s uncle Hamza (رضالله عنه) in Uhud.

    • Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyaan, who ripped out the liver of Hamza’s (رضالله عنه) body, and ate it. Raw. (The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: there was never a day more painful to me then the day I stood over the body of my uncle Hamza.)
    • Abu Sufyaan, who–although decided to become Muslim–had to run for his life to the Prophet, because ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab (رضالله عنه) saw him, and chased after him! (Had ‘Umar (رضالله عنه) reached him before Abu Sufyaan (رضالله عنه) reached the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم), ‘Umar (رضالله عنه) would’ve killed him! Though, once he said he wanted to become Muslim, the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) forgave him.)
    • Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, the son of Abu Jahl; all the Arabs considered the ka’ba sacred, it was their sanctuary–yet, even as he was clinging to the curtains of the ka’ba, they were pulling him away to kill him.
    • Abdullah ibn Sa’ad
Yet, subhanallah, we see the truth of this ayah–because ALL of these four criminals were forgiven, and all of them accepted Islam. Ikrimah (رضالله عنه) pledged to spend double for Islam what he spent against it; Abdullah ibn Sa’ad (رضالله عنه) became the commander of the Muslim navy; Wahshi killed Musaylimah Al-Kathaab, one of the biggest opponents of Islam during the reign of of Abu Bakr (رضالله عنه).

That’s Islam for you.

References

Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Shepherd’s Path. University of Ryerson, Toronto. March 2007.