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When he withdrew from the
engagement with Khalid, Ikrimah hid in the town, and as the Muslims
relaxed their vigilance, he slipped out and fled to the Yemen with
the intention of taking a boat to Abyssinia. Ikrimah's wife, however,
became a Muslim and pleaded her husband's case with the Prophet,
who agreed to spare his life. This woman travelled in haste to the
Yemen, where she found her husband and brought him back. On arrival
at Makkah, Ikrimah went straight to the Prophet and said, "I
am one who has erred and now repents. Forgive!" 1
The Prophet accepted his submission, and Ikrimah joined the brotherhood
of Islam.
Safwan bin Umayyah, though not on the war
criminals' list, feared for his life and fled to Jeddah with the
intention of crossing the Red Sea and seeking refuge in Abyssinia.
A friend of his, however, asked the Prophet to spare his life and
accept his submission. The Prophet had in any case no intention
of killing Safwan and let it be known that he would gladly accept
the return of Safwan. This friend then went to Jeddah and brought
Safwan back. The man submitted to the Prophet, but it was a personal
and political submission. As for Islam, he asked the Prophet to
allow him two months in which to make up his mind. The Prophet gave
him four months.
Of the war criminals actually only three
men and two women were killed. The remainder were pardoned, including
Hind, who became a Muslim.
Having destroyed the idols in the Kabah,
the Prophet sent out small expeditions to the neighbouring settlements
where other idols were known to exist in local temples. Khalid was
sent to Nakhla to destroy Uzza, the most important of the goddesses.
He set out with 30 horsemen. 2
It appears that there were two Uzzas, the
real Uzza and a fake. Khalid first located the fake and destroyed
it, then returned to the Prophet to report completion of duty. "Did
you see anything unusual?" asked the Prophet. "No."
"Then you have not destroyed Uzza", said
the Prophet. "Go again."
Angry at the mistake that he had made, Khalid
once again rode to Nakhla, and this time he found the real Uzza.
The custodian of the temple of Uzza had fled for his life, but before
forsaking his goddess he had hung a sword around her neck in the
hope that she might be able to defend herself. As Khalid entered
the temple, he was faced by a naked black woman who stood in his
way and wailed. Khalid did not stop to decide whether she was there
to seduce him or to protect the idol, but drew his sword and with
one powerful stroke cut the woman in two. He then smashed the idol,
and returning to Makkah, gave the Prophet an account of what he
had seen and done. "Yes," said the Prophet,
"that was Uzza; and never again shall she be worshipped
in your land." 3
On or about January 20, 630 AH, after the
destruction of the idols, occurred the unfortunate incident of the
Bani Jazima. The Prophet sent a number of expeditions to the tribes
living in the neighbourhood of Makkah to call them to Islam, and
instructed the commanders not to fight those who accepted the call.
Here again the Prophet's intention was to avoid bloodshed.
The expedition to the area of Tihama, south of Makkah,
was commanded by Khalid. It consisted of 350 horsemen from several tribal
contingents, the largest number being from the Bani Sulaim, and included
a few Ansars and Emigrants. The objective of this force was Yalamlam,
about 50 miles from Makkah. (See Map
4.)
When Khalid reached Al Ghumaisa, about 15
miles from Makkah on the way to Yalamlam, he met the tribe of Bani
Jazima. The tribesmen saw the Muslims and took up their weapons,
at the same time calling, "We have submitted. We have established
prayers and built a mosque."
"Then why the weapons?"
asked Khalid.
"We have a feud with certain Arab
tribes and have to defend ourselves against them."
1. Waqidi: Maghazi, p. 332.
2. There was the Nakhla Valley, now known
as Wadi?ul?Yamaniya, through which ran the main route between Makkah
and Taif; and there was the Nakhla, at which was the goddess Uzza,
and this lay north of the Wadi-ul-Yamaniya. It was about 4 or 5
miles south of the present Bir-ul-Batha.
3. Ibn Sad: p. 657.
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