3- Mecca was taken by force, as the three imams maintain, and not through a peace settlement, as al-Shāfiʿī holds.

4- Availing oneself of permissible means of protection is allowed and does not contradict reliance upon Allah the Exalted.

5- The ḥudūd (legal punishments) may be carried out inside the Sacred Precinct, even when they entail execution, for Ibn Khaṭl was put to death after the special license to fight granted at the moment of entry had ended. Allah knows best.

Second ḥadith

ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Mecca through Kadā’, the upper mountain pass that lies in the plain, and he departed through the lower pass.

Unfamiliar terms
• Kadā’: with a fatḥah on the kāf and an extended ā. It is the name of the pass on the northern heights of Mecca—present-day Riʿ al-Ḥujūn. Common speech says “al-Ḥujūl,” which is a corruption.
• The lower pass: a route running between two hills. It begins in the quarter called Ḥārat al-Bāb and is now termed Riʿ al-Rassām, while the lower pass itself is known as Kudā, with a ḍamma on the qāf and a short final ā.

Overall meaning

During his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet ﷺ spent the night before entering Mecca at Dhū Ṭuwā, on the fourth of Dhū al-Ḥijjah. The next morning he entered the city by the upper pass that comes from the direction of Mecca’s cemetery; this was the easiest approach for someone arriving from Madinah. After completing his rites, he left Mecca by the lower route that leads toward Jarwāl.

Choosing different roads for entry and exit appears to multiply the places honored by his acts of worship—just as he did when traveling to and returning from ʿArafah, or when performing the ʿEid and voluntary prayers in spots other than those used for the prescribed prayers—so that the earth will testify to his deeds on the Day it is made to speak. It may also be that these two routes were simply the most suitable for one coming from, and returning to, Madinah. Allah knows best.