Masʿūd and his son. The plot was part of his estate and lay some distance from al-Tāʾif. He asked the Prophet to spare it, and he did. When he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, withdrew from al-Tāʾif to al-Jiʿrānah, near Hunayn, he distributed the spoils there. We have also recounted the remaining events of this campaign in the fourth volume of Kitāb al-Bayān, in the commentary on the Jāmiʿ of al-ʿUtbiyyah, so I have omitted them here for brevity.

In that year, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, performed ʿumrah from al-Jiʿrānah. After completing the distribution of the spoils there, he departed for Mecca to perform ʿumrah. He ordered that the spoils remain behind, and a fifth was set aside near al-Zahrān. When he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had completed his ʿumrah, he appointed ʿAttāb ibn Asīd as governor of Mecca and returned to Medina, entering it with six days remaining of Dhū al-Qaʿdah. He had left Medina when ten days of Ramadan had elapsed. His absence—during which he travelled to Mecca and conquered it, defeated Hawāzin at Hunayn, fought at al-Tāʾif, and performed ʿumrah before returning to Medina—thus lasted two months and fourteen days.

On the day of Hunayn, Mālik ibn ʿAwf, commander of the polytheists’ army, fled in defeat and took refuge in al-Tāʾif while still an unbeliever. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“If he came to me as a Muslim, I would restore his family and property to him.”

When this reached him, he went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who had already left al-Jiʿrānah, and embraced Islam. The Prophet restored his family and property to him and gave him one hundred camels, just as he gave to the others whose hearts were being reconciled to Islam; Mālik was one of them and is counted among them. He appointed him over those of his people and the tribes of Qays who had embraced Islam, and ordered him to raid Thaqīf. He did so, putting them under severe pressure. His adherence to Islam became sound, as did that of the others whose hearts were being reconciled, except for ʿUyaynah ibn Hisn, who remained under a cloud. The others varied in merit. Among them were men whose excellence was unanimously acknowledged, such as al-Hārith ibn Hishām, Hakīm ibn Hizām, ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl, and Suhayl ibn ʿUmar; others were of lesser merit. Allah has given some of the prophets and of His other believing servants precedence over others, and He knows them best.

ʿAttāb ibn Asīd led the people in the Hajj that year. He was the first governor to lead the Hajj in Islam, and he was a good, virtuous, and scrupulously pious man.