Ibn Jurayj also narrated—from ʿAbd al-Karīm, that is, Ibn Mālik al-Jazarī—from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, a report identical, or nearly identical, to the foregoing. Abū Hurayrah likewise transmitted it from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Al-Bukhārī alone recorded it through the first chain, which is mursal, and through the second chain as well.

On the strength of this ḥadīth and others like it, some scholars have argued that Mecca was taken by force (ʿanwatan). They also cite the clash that occurred at al-Khandamah, mentioned earlier, in which nearly twenty people—both Muslims and idolaters—were killed. These texts, they maintain, are clear proof, and this is indeed the view held by the majority of jurists. The well-known position attributed to al-Shāfiʿī, however, is that Mecca was opened by a treaty, because its lands were not apportioned as booty and because of the Prophet’s declaration on the night of the Conquest: “Whoever enters the house of Abū Sufyān is safe; whoever enters the Sacred Precinct is safe; and whoever closes his door is safe.” A full treatment of this question will appear, God willing, in the book al-Aḥkām al-Kabīr.

Al-Bukhārī further related: Saʿīd ibn Shuraybīl told us, al-Layth narrated to us, from al-Maqburī, from Abū Shurayḥ al-ʿAdawī, that he said to ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd while the latter was sending detachments to Mecca, “Give me leave, O governor, to recount words the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke the morning after the Conquest. My ears heard them, my heart retained them, and my eyes witnessed him as he uttered them. He praised Allah and extolled Him, then said:

‘Allah has declared Mecca sacred; people did not declare it sacred. It is not lawful for anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day to shed blood within it or to cut down its trees. If someone seeks a dispensation for fighting there on the grounds that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, fought therein, say to him: Allah permitted it to His Messenger but He did not permit it to you. It was made lawful for me only for one brief hour of the day, and today its sanctity has returned, just as it was yesterday. Let those who are present convey this to those who are absent.’ ”

It was asked of Abū Shurayḥ, “What reply did ʿAmr give you?” He said, “He replied, ‘I know that better than you, Abū Shurayḥ. The Sanctuary does not grant refuge to a sinner, nor to a fugitive murderer, nor to one fleeing with stolen property.’ ”

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim likewise recorded the same report from Qutaybah, from al-Layth ibn Saʿd.

Ibn Isḥāq further related that a man known as Ibn al-Athwaʿ had killed, in the pre-Islamic period, a member of the tribe of Khuzaʿah named Aḥmar Baʾsan. On the day of the Conquest, Khuzaʿah killed Ibn al-Athwaʿ in Mecca; he was struck down by Kharrāsh ibn Umayyah. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, then said:

“O people of Khuzaʿah, stay your hands from killing. Bloodshed has increased, yet of what benefit is it? You have killed a man, and I shall certainly pay the compensation for him.”