—only your principal.”
They asked, “What about wine?” He replied, “It is forbidden,” and he recited to them the verses that prohibit these things. The delegation then rose, withdrew, and spoke privately among themselves. They said, “Woe to you! If we defy him, we fear a day like the day of Mecca. Let us go and write an agreement with him on the basis of what he has demanded.” They returned to him and said, “Yes, you shall have what you asked. Now, what about the goddess—what are we to do with her?” He said, “Demolish her.”
They protested, “Impossible! If the goddess knew what you plan to do to her, or that you intend to demolish her, she would slay her own people.” ʿUmar said, “Shame on you, son of ʿAbd Yalīl—how foolish you are! The goddess is nothing but a stone.” He answered, “We did not come to you, son of al-Khaṭṭāb.”
They then said, “Messenger of Allah, you yourself undertake her demolition, for as for us, we will never demolish her.” He said, “Then I shall send someone to tear her down.” They concluded the written pact with him and said, “Messenger of Allah, appoint a man to lead us in prayer.” He set ʿUthmān in authority over them because he had seen his eagerness for Islam; ʿUthmān had already learned several surahs of the Quran.
Ibn ʿAbd Yalīl said, “I know the people of Thaqīf better than anyone. Conceal from them our acceptance of Islam, frighten them with the threat of war, and tell them that Muhammad demanded things of us that we refused.”
So the people of Thaqīf went out to meet the delegation. When they saw them coming at a steady pace, leading their camels by the nose-ropes and wrapping their cloaks around themselves—looking like men burdened with grief and distress who had brought back no good news—Thaqīf, noticing their faces, said, “Your delegation has not prospered, nor have they returned with any benefit.”
The delegation entered the town and went straight to al-Lat, encamping beside her. Al-Lat was a shrine in the middle of al-Ṭāʾif, curtained off; sacrificial animals were brought to it just as offerings are brought to the Kaʿbah.
Some people of Thaqīf, when the delegation alighted by the shrine, said, “They have never before been allowed to look upon her.” Each man then returned to his home, and his close relatives came and questioned him. They said, “We went to a harsh, severe man who does whatever he wishes. He has prevailed by the sword, subdued the Arabs, and the people have submitted to him. He laid before us stern demands—demolishing…"