He said, “Messenger of Allah, join the custodianship of the Ka‘bah to the provision of water for the pilgrims for our family—may Allah bless you.”

The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, “Where is ‘Uthmān ibn Ṭalḥah?” When ‘Uthmān was summoned, the Prophet said, “Here is your key, O ‘Uthmān; today is a day of kindness and faithfulness.”

Imām Aḥmad reports—through Sufyān, Ibn Jud‘ān, al-Qāsim ibn Rabī‘ah and Ibn ‘Umar—that on the day Mecca was conquered, while the Messenger of Allah stood on the steps of the Ka‘bah, he proclaimed:

“All praise is due to Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and single-handedly routed the confederates. Be aware that in the case of quasi-intentional homicide committed with a whip or a staff, the blood-money is one hundred camels.

“In its aggravated form, forty of those camels must be pregnant and near to calving. Know, too, that every pre-Islamic claim to honour, every blood-claim and”—in another wording—“every property claim is now placed beneath these two feet of mine, except the watering of the pilgrims and the custodianship of the House. I confirm those two duties for their people exactly as they were.”

Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasā’ī and Ibn Mājah transmit the same report through ‘Alī ibn Zayd ibn Jud‘ān, al-Qāsim ibn Rabī‘ah ibn Jusham al-Ghaṭafānī, from Ibn ‘Umar.

Ibn Hishām relates: Some scholars told me that when the Messenger of Allah entered the Ka‘bah on the day of the conquest, he found images of angels and others inside, and saw Abraham—peace be upon him—depicted with divining arrows in his hand. He exclaimed, “May Allah destroy them! They have made our venerable forefather draw lots with arrows! What has Abraham to do with divining arrows? ‘Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian; rather, he was a pure monotheist, a Muslim, and he was not of the polytheists’ (Āl ‘Imrān 3:67).” He then ordered that all those images be erased.

Imām Aḥmad also reports—through Sulaimān, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān, Mūsā ibn ‘Uqbah, and Abū al-Zubayr—from Jābir: “There were images inside the Ka‘bah, and the Messenger of Allah ordered ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb to wipe them out. ʿUmar moistened a cloth and erased them, after which the Prophet entered the Ka‘bah, and not a single image remained.”

Al-Bukhārī relates—through Ṣadaqah ibn al-Faḍl, Ibn ʿUyaynah, Ibn Abī Najīḥ, Mujāhid and Abū Maʿmar—from ‘Abdullāh ibn Masʿūd: “The Messenger of Allah entered Mecca on the day of the conquest, and around the House stood three hundred and sixty idols. He began striking them with the stick in his hand, declaring: ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished! Truth has come, and falsehood can neither initiate anything nor restore it.’ ” Muslim also transmits this report through Ibn ʿUyaynah.