Genesis of Islam and Violence

In second part of this commentary, I have delved into the rich source of violence in the Koran, which forms the most important foundation of the Islamic faith. Koran is the immutable words of the supreme creator of the Universe in Islam whose dicta are eternal and binding on all Muslims. But the contents of the Koran clearly makes the Muslim holy book overwhelmingly a manual of intimidation, vengeance, violence, terror and war, instead of one of peace, tranquility, harmony and justice towards non-Muslims.

Apart from the Koran, the other major foundation of the Islamic faith is the life and actions of Prophet Muhammad − the preacher and founder of the Islamic faith. As Prophet Muhammad is considered the only perfect man for all times in all aspects of a human being by the Muslims, a desire to emulate his life, naturally, remains a universal desire amongst the Muslims. Given this fact, life of the Prophet immensely influences the psyche, thought-process and actions of the Muslims. Hence, it is important to understand the life and actions of Prophet Muhammad in sufficient detail if one seeks to grasp the underlying reasons behind the fast-maturing conflict between the Muslims and the Western values and ways of life. In this section, an attempt will be made to sketch a brief picture of the life and actions of the Prophet in the days of the genesis of Islam. In this part of the commentary, the conflicts with and violence against the pagan of Mecca, the Jews of Medina and with the Christians of the region in the formative days of the Islamic faith would be discussed in sufficient details, since every event of this period influences the Muslims, particularly the true followers (radicals and fundamentalists). Particular emphasis will also be placed on the nature and behavior of these people and on how they were dealt with by the Prophet. This will help the readers to grasp as to where the Westerners stand in the fundamental Islamic doctrine, that is, in the eyes of the Muslims. A clear understanding of this issue is of prime importance in making sense of why this Islam-West conflict in question takes root.

Prophet Muhammad's birth and early days

The Prophet of Islam was born as a fatherless child in about 570 AD (567-572) in the Arabian desert city of Mecca in a Quraish family, the chief tribe of the city. When a child, he was offered to a wandering Bedouin mother Halima who had turned up to his mother Amina's doorstep for traditional begging. Halima, although might have been surprised by the unprecedented offer, accepted Muhammad (possibly thinking the child would be able to support her once he grows up) and raised him alongside her own child Masroud of the same age. Surprisingly again, Halima had returned Muhammad to his mother in Mecca at the age of the 5, when he was almost ready to give her a helping hand. It is learnt that when returning Muhammad back to his mother, Halima had allegedly told that he was divinely possessed. To corroborate that claim, Muhammad was said to have returned with a new mark around his shoulder which was peddled as a seal of divine blessings by Halima. This time, however, he was raised with good care by Amina. Shortly afterwards, Amina had brought Muhammad to Medina where the Khazraj tribe was related to Muhammad through his great-grandmother. His mother had allegedly told his relatives in Medina of his divine possession and had shown them the alleged divine seal. Unfortunately she died on the way back to Mecca when Muhammad waas still 5 years old. Subsequently, Muhammad was raised as an orphan first by his grandfather Abd al Mutallib and his uncle Abu Talib. However, he used to experience neglect and lack of welcome amongst the members of his adopting family as was typically expected of an orphan at the time. He used to spend lonely time grazing animals for his grandfather and uncle at such a tender age.

Muhammad or Masroud? Some skeptics doubt the motive of Bedouin woman Halima's returning Muhammad to his own mother in Mecca at the age of five, when he was almost old enough to give her a helping hand after bearing all the troubles and cost of rearing a child up to the fifth years. Some skeptics suggest that Halima might actually have returned her own son Masroud, who was of the same age as Muhammad's, thinking that he would have a better life in the rich community of Mecca as compared to the harsh and difficult wandering life of the desert.

 

However, Muhammad's marriage at the age of 25 with an older 40 year-old wealthy businesswoman, named Khadeija, changed his fortune and greatly increased his social standing. In fact, Muhammad was employed to run her businesses and he was known to be good at running the business profitably. During this time, Ms. Khudeija became impressed by the intelligent man, 15 years younger than her and proposed to marry him. It should be known that as widow Khudeija was looking for an able agent to run her business, her nephew Khuzaima met Muhammad when on his uncle Abu Talib's business trip and spotted his business talent, which he had mastered whilst accompanying his uncle on business trips to various destinations. Subsequently, Khuzaima introduced him to Khadeija for employing him to run her substantial businesses.

Khadeija had an aging cousin, named Waraqa ibn Nofal, a man of flexible faith who had found monotheism more sensible to polytheism and had changed his religion from paganism to Judaism to finally Christianity. Khudeija whilst having close interactions with her cousin Nofal, had also become impressed by the monotheistic Christian faith. It is known that Muhammad, who used to follow all the pagan rituals like his Quraish relatives until his marriage. After his interactions with Nofal and Khadeija, Muhammad apparently became impressed and interested in monotheistic Jewish and Christian theology. During this period, it is learned that Muhammad started spending time in a cave, called Hira doing mediation. This is the same cave in which his loving grandfather Adb al-Muttalib used to retire for meditation in the holy month. Such retirement to caves for meditation was a common practice amongst the Hanifs − a monotheistic sect of the region. Muslims claim that Muhammad used to spend time in the Hira cave meditating for God's revelation − an idea similar to Moses' story of meditating in a cave of Mount Sinai described in Jewish Torah and Muhammad was likely inspired the that story. However, it is also being said that Muhammad used to spend long time there, not alone but his wife Khadeija and Nofal also used to join him from time to time. It is also being said that Muhammad, through Nofal's connection, used to meet Jewish rabbis and Christian priests frequently during late parts of this period and early days after his alleged reception of revelations. Skeptics believe that Muhammad was trained in the scriptures of monotheistic Jewish and Christian theology during those years, often in the cave of Hira. The likely purpose was to prepare him for the mission of preaching the oneness of God of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism and Christianity) to the dominantly polytheistic idolaters of Mecca.
 

Receiving the Revelation from God

With this background and for about 15 years of preparation (memorizing the Torah and Bible?) in the cave of Hira, on one fine day Muhammad claimed God has talked to him through angel Gabriel (he was 40; 610 CE). The first person to believe him was his wife Khadeija and Nofal, who are also known to have persuaded a confused Muhammad saying that it was indeed angel Gabriel who had talked to him. Yet Nofal never became a Muslims and died a Christian in the same year of Muhammad's receiving the revelation. At the beginning, he preached the alleged messages from God secretly to his close associates, friends and family members for about 3 years before going public about it in 613 CE. As he started preaching it openly, he demanded that Ka'ba − considered the house of God − was actually the house of his own God (Allah) and that it was founded by Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, who was to be considered a highly respected prophet in Islam. Here is how Muhammad had articulated the claim of Ka'ba as house of his God, Allah:

[Q 3:94] And whoever shall invent a falsehood after that concerning Allah, such will be wrong-doers.

[Q 3:95] Say: Allah speaketh truth. So follow the religion of Abraham, the upright. He was not of the idolaters.

[Q 3:96] Lo! the first Sanctuary (Ka'ba - the-then Pagans' house of God) appointed for mankind was that at Becca (Mecca) a blessed place, a guidance to the peoples;

[Q 3:97] Wherein are plain memorials (of Allah's guidance); the place where Abraham stood up to pray; and whosoever entereth it is safe. And pilgrimage to the House is a duty unto Allah for mankind, for him who can find a way thither. As for him who disbelieveth, (let him know that) lo! Allah is Independent of (all) creatures.

This naturally had caused an amount of hostility amongst the devoutly religious pagans of Mecca and majority of them adamantly refused to accept his religion. After about 13 years of preaching, Muhammad could only obtain a handful of converts (~150) to his new religion (Islam) in Mecca before he was allegedly driven out from there to Medina.

Were Pagans of Mecca Cruel and Uncivilized?

Muslims claim that the people of Mecca were an uncivilized people and were extremely cruel and harsh on Muhammad in order to justify the prophet's destruction of the pagans' religion. Muhammad himself has repeatedly called the pagans of Mecca Kaffir, meaning cruel, as evidenced in the Koran and Hadiths. However, it is very hard to substantiate this claim of cruelty on part of the Meccans. The Meccan pagans, confronted with the helpless arid environment and hardship of the days, used to be a deeply religious people. Ka'ba was considered the "house of God" by them in which they had assembled allegedly 360 idols for worshipping. Ka'ba used to be held in similar esteem as it is being held by the Muslims today. After Muhammad allegedly received revelation from Allah, he termed the religion of the pagans false and also groundlessly made the claim that Ka'ba is the house of his own God (Allah) built by the Prophet Abraham and hence belonged to him and his Muslim converts. Despite these insulting, offensive and audacious comments and claims, Muhammad and his small gang of converts were allowed to live and preach in Mecca for 13 years. Although there might have been a sense of hostility and opposition to Muhammad's claims, there was no report of any kind of assaults or bodily injury caused to Muhammad or to any of his disciples by the pagans. In stead, the pagans had allowed Muhammad and his gang of followers to say prayers inside the Ka'ba. It is learned that the Muslims used to pray inside Ka'ba three times daily facing the main pagan deity, named Allah. Now, consider a similar situation in present-day context:

Suppose a man from any community from Mecca or elsewhere in Saudi Arabia, or from elsewhere in the world including president of the United States tomorrow goes to Mecca and declares that he has received the true revelation, Islam is false, Ka'ba is the house of his own God and he is the true messenger. The Muslims should hand over Ka'ba to him or at least allow him to say his prayers inside the Ka'ba.

Can anyone figure out what would happen to this person, even if he was an unguarded President Bush? Isn't that person going to be slaughtered into pieces on the spot? Why Ka'ba − even if some non-Muslim person openly makes such claim on any major mosques anywhere in the world, that person would be slaughtered on the spot by the fanatic followers of Islam even in today's world of excellence in civilization, science, humanism, free-speech and human rights. If we compare the fanatic tendency towards violence of the present-day Muslims with those of pagans of Mecca of that so-called barbarian age, who never made any kind of physical assault on Muhammad for almost 13 years, despite Muhammad's continued insult of pagans' religion and his demand on Ka'ba which was of similar reverence to the pagans as it is to the Muslims today. In stead, the pagan allowed Muhammad and his gang of converts to say prayers inside Ka'ba for years. Even in today's civilized world, non-Muslims are not allowed to enter any mosque (forget about Mecca) even for a visit. Such is the fanatic teachings of Islam which had transformed such amazingly tolerant and civilized Arab pagans into such a murderous and intolerant lot - the legacy of which the modern-day Muslims continue to carry forward with the same strain of intolerance and bigotry. Yet, Muhammad used to call those excellent human beings of Mecca Kaffirs and all sorts of names - so do the Muslims of today.

It should also be considered that Muslims even in this civilized world kill anyone who leaves Islam. This is despite the fact that all Muslim countries have signed the Universal Declaration of Human Right of the UN Charter − which ensured one's right to assume or change any belief. But the pagans of the 7th Mecca, termed the age of Jahiliya or ignorance by the Muslims, never caused any sort of harms to those 100-200 people who had chosen to convert to Islam during the first 13 years of Prophet Muhammad's preaching. The truth is: Muslims of today's civilized world are much more intolerant, cruel and uncivilized people as compared to those pagans of the early 7th century.

Pagans of Mecca - A peerless example of tolerance and harmony

Given the helpless harsh reality of a desert town of the early 7th century, the pagans of Mecca must have been a very religious people − so much so that Mecca had become the centre of religious activities of the regions and nearby countries. Despite their deep religious devotion, it is tolerance, harmony and accommodation, but not intolerance and hatred towards other religions, that became the hallmark of the so-called barbarian people of the 7th-century Mecca. This is evidenced in the fact that the Ka'ba − despite being the heart of the pagan religion and venerated as the House of God − they never considered it as their sole property. In stead, the Mecca pagans had allowed all the religious sects of the region and neighboring countries − Southern Arabia, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Syria and other places further afar − to place their religious symbols and idols in and around the Ka'ba [Foundations of Islam, Benjamin Walker, Rupa Press (New Delhi), p44]. As Mecca became an important center of trades and stop-over for merchants of the regions, those merchants used to bring their own idols with them to Mecca so that they could worship them during their stay there. The pagans of Mecca were so accommodative, tolerant and sympathetic to these foreign merchants that they had housed these idols inside and around the Ka'ba − so that they remain in a safe hand and those merchants could come to the Ka'ba and pray to their own idols. There was also a symbol of Abraham as well as of Mary with the baby Jesus inside the Ka'ba − representing the faith of the Jews and Christians of the region. Not only that but also the permission to Muhammad and his Muslim converts to say regular prayer to the chief pagan deity, named Allah, inside the Ka'ba also substantiate the accommodative nature of the Meccans. Even the Hindus of India who worshipped very different set of idols seem to have had access into the Ka'ba as Indian traders were said to have brought an idol monolith from Ka'ba to Somnath in India where it was worshipped as the Linga of Shiva, which was destroyed by the Muslim conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni in 1024. These ancient idols from various lands and faiths were believed to have formed a circle of 360 monolithic figures in and around the sacred shrine of Ka'ba.

Given these facts, the Pagans of Mecca were evidently more tolerant, generous, accommodative and civilized people than even the Hindus, Christians and Jews of today. Suppose someone goes to major Hindu temple, Christian church and Jewish synagogue and declare in front of the assembled faithful that he has received true revelation from God, their religion is false, that temple/church/synagogue belongs to his God (like Muhammad's demand on Ka'ba) and they should hand it over to him. What is going to happen to this so-called new prophet? If it happens in any third world country, say in a Hindu temple in India, it is likely that this guy would be immediately assaulted and he might even end up being brutally killed by the Hindu faithful. Nonetheless, one thing can be said for sure is that this so-called prophet will not step onto the backyard of that temple, church or synagogue for a second time − forget about letting him in with his followers for regular prayers.

If compassion, tolerance, accommodativeness and nonviolence are to be the foundation of civility of human beings − the Meccan idolaters must have been many folds more civilized people than the Muslims of even today. The pagans of Mecca had also been of much greater tolerance and harmony than any other religious sect of the modern world. Even the non-theists (atheists) of today would neither allow any religious person to place his/her religious symbols nor allow him/her to say prayers in their property. In a nutshell, the pagans of Mecca − who were so vilified by the Prophet of Islam − had been a peerless example of tolerant people for any time in the known history of mankind.

Was Muhammad Driven out of Mecca?

Muslims have created loads of stories that the Meccans had driven Muhammad and his associates out of city in the year 622. As a result, Muslims ran away to Medina − a journey famously known the as the Hegira. Legends go that the Meccans had sent a group of people to assassinate Muhammad and being forewarned by someone − Muhammad and his associates started off from Mecca. As the Meccan assassins pursued them, they took refuge inside a cave on the way. The pagans came in front of the cave and found that doves had made nests and spiders had spun webs covering the entrance to the cave instantaneously. Thinking that no one might have entered the cave a short while earlier − they left. Thus Muslims were miraculously saved by Allah and subsequently, they left from there to Medina in the darkness of the night.

Despite this popular story of Meccans' attempt to assassinate Muhammad, there are few facts to substantiate this claim. This is because, the exodus of the Muslims were rather common during the first 13 years of Muhammad's teachings. For example, when Meccans' opposition to Muhammad started getting momentum as a result of his increased insult of the pagans' religion and as a result of increased number of pagans' conversion to Islam, Muhammad decided to send some of his men in exile to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). In the early months of 615, Muhammad had sent dozens of his converts to Abyssinia in small groups. Despite the tense situations, there was no real threat of any sort, else those left behind with Muhammad might have faced such consequences. If any tangible threat had existed, Muhammad would have consolidated his force than sending them away. Many of these exiles were known to have returned to Mecca in 6 months to 13 years. A few of them had converted to Christianity there and died Christians in their exiles.

Again in 619, when the Meccan pagans slapped a social exclusion and economic blockade against the Muslims − Muhammad decided to find a sanctuary elsewhere and went to Tayif. He had already insulted the Tayifites' chief deity, Allat and yet, they did not resist his stepping into their community. However, once there − he asked people of Tayif to leave their religion in favor of Islam and more importantly sought to incite Tayifites' rivalry against the Meccans on whom the Tayifites heavily depended for trades. Muhammad stayed there for 10 days and as his pestering preaching became too annoying − the tribal elders order him out of Mecca. Even then the pagans of Mecca did not show any serious hostility towards him and he returned to Mecca without any difficulty.

Given this early event of Muhammad attempt to relocate to Tayif under no serious threat and his sending the converts to Abyssinia also under no tangible threat, it is inconceivable that the Meccans had tried to assassinate him and as a result he had to leave for Medina. More incredibility is added to this assassination claim by the following story:

During the pilgrimage of 621, Muhammad started preaching his religion to pilgrims from Medina and six pilgrims from there had pledged allegiance to his new faith at place called Akaba. In the following year, another 75 Medina pilgrims were to accept Islam at the same. These new converts while returning had urged Muhammad to come to Medina where they assured him of safety and protection at the cost of their flesh and blood. After the Medina converts had left, Muslim converts of Mecca started leaving for Medina over the next few months in small groups. Finally Muhammad left with Abu Bakr and a few other converts.

Given that Muhammad had sought sanctuary in Tayif earlier and that his followers had moved to Medina in small groups over the months before his journey − it is only reasonable to believe that Muhammad was already planning to relocate to Medina. As time became ripe, he just left on his own without any pressure or the alleged attempt of assassination. This assertion is further supported by the fact that after Muhammad had left for Medina, 20 year-old Ali and another convert were still there in Medina who left a few days later without any harm or harassment from the Meccans. Had the Meccans were in pursuit of assassinating the Muslims, Ali and the other Muslims associate could not have escaped. This again proves beyond doubt that Muhammad's claim that Meccans had driven him out of the city is a pure lie. This was most likely designed so as to set people of Medina against the Meccans on an antagonistic term. A similar thing he had tried in Tayif 3 years earlier.
 

Muhammad's campaign of terror against the Pagans of Mecca

Muslims' exodus to Medina turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Muhammad. Yet, it was only expected since sitting in Mecca itself, he got ~80 converts from there in 2 years through his preaching during 11-day long pilgrimage (Hajj). He arrived there to a hero's welcome by the eagerly awaiting Muslims most of whom had reached there already. Soon afterwards more and more, mainly pagans, from the region started joining his mission. It should be recalled here that the Prophet had blood relation with the Khazraj tribe of Medina through his great-grandmother and that he was introduced to the people there in childhood as divinely-blessed by his mother. These events might have had played a positive role in convincing the Medinans of his divine mission. As converts started growing at a faster pace in Medina, the various tribes, especially the Jews became increasingly wary or antagonistic towards him. Possibly sensing a violent confrontation when Muslims were still a feeble force, Muhammad quickly moved into signing treaties with the Jewish tribes with clauses of either party not attacking the other. These covenants also had clauses like either party would help the other if attacked by a third party. Signing of these treaties and this kind of clauses clearly suggest that Muhammad had arrived in Medina with the intent of launching a campaign of terror against the pagans of Mecca some time down the track.

It is suspected that the Jews of Medina initially welcomed Muhammad because he was preaching monotheistic religion like their own to the idolaters. The Medina Jews' welcome of the Muslims and giving them shelter support and signing all kinds of covenants as per the wish of Muhammad turned out to be one of the famous examples of welcoming dangers home on part of the Jews which will be discussed in a later section.

In February 623 − a few months after arriving in Medina − Muhammad launched his first raid against a Meccan trade caravan passing through a nearby route for looting the booty and harassing the Meccans for revenge. Muhammad led a few more raids and in January 624, he raided a Meccan caravan at place called Nakhla during a holy month when fighting and killing was prohibited. This raid resulted in death of a Meccan and two others were taken prisoner. This fighting and killing in a holy month created great outcry amongst the people of both Medina and Mecca and Muhammad quickly received a revelation to justify his warfare and killing in the holy month:

[Q 2:217] They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.

 

The next and famous raid came two month later in March (623) when Muhammad had planned to plunder a rich Meccan caravan led by Abu Sufian returning from Syria. Muhammad's plan of attack had reached Abu Sufian and he sent a messenger to Mecca to send a force to fight Muhammad's gang, whilst he himself took a different route and safely reached Mecca. Muhammad had planned to ambush the caravan at a place called Bad'r where he filled all the drinking water-wells keeping one only for his own army next to his camp. As Meccan force arrived there tired and thirsty, blood-letting fighting followed. About 700 Meccan fighters fought against 350 Muslim raiders but the thirsty Meccans quickly succumbed and retreated. The Meccans lost 50 men whilst Muhammad lost only 15 whilst the captured prisoners were cruelly slaughtered by the Muslims with Muhammad himself participating.

This famous first battle gave Muslims a great deal of confidence and they soon conducted 3 more raids on the Meccan caravans plundering rich spoils. Exasperated and irate, the Meccan finally decided to take offensive actions. On 23 March 625, 3000 Meccan fighters under the command of Abu Sufian engaged allegedly only 700 Muslim fighters under Muhammad's command at a place called Ohud in Medina. The numerically weak Muslim force quickly caved in and suffered heavy casualties with Muhammad himself got struck by a stone losing a tooth and fallen unconscious. In this battle, Muslims lost 74 fighters against 19 Meccans. As Muhammad had promised earlier that 20 steadfast Muslims will vanquish 200 opponents (Q 8:66), this severe loss of life created great deal of suspicion and hostility against him about his being chosen by God. Muhammad countered this hostile compliant and suspicion by receiving revelation which termed the defeat as test by God (Q 3:120-200).

Muhammad stopped his raids and the Meccans did not follow up with their campaign of Ohud against the Muslims any further thinking that Muhammad and his gang has learnt their lessons. As Muhammad slowly consolidated his power base, increased his converts and material support, he resumed his raids on the merchant caravans in April 626, after a respite of about one year. Increasingly successful raids during this time started making the Muslims very rich in spoils, camels and slaves. It is learnt that other tribes also started joining Prophet Muhammad's raids during this time − both for protection from his raids and for the greed of the booties. Starting in 624, the Prophet also started raiding and evicting the neighboring Jewish clans one after another and by 628, no Jewish settlements were left in Medina which is to be discussed later (to be discussed in detail later).

Eye on Mecca and Ka'ba

Now Prophet Muhammad turned his attention to farther destinations and especially to Mecca for revenge since he was driven out of that city as well as for avenging the defeat in the battle of Ohud 3 years earlier. The capture of Ka'ba − the most house of God to the pagan of Meccans − was also of big economic significance since this house was also the most coveted money-making venture through traditional pilgrimages, namely Omrah and Hajj, during which people from the region and neighboring states used to flock in to Mecca.

Six years after his demise from Mecca (628 CE), the Prophet along with his comrades, numbering 2000, headed towards Mecca for the annual pilgrimage or Hajj. As the Meccans learned about Muhammad expedition to Mecca and determined not to enter him into city another time, he was stopped at a place called Hudaibiya. To avoid a blood-letting war, intense negotiations between the two parties resulted in a covenant called Hudaibiya Treaty which stipulated that the Muslims would return this time and Meccans would allow a certain number of pilgrims from the subsequent year. This treaty was supposed to be valid for 10 years. But as Muhammad's Muslim army became much stronger quickly to overrun the Meccan resistance, he decided to break the treaty after 2 years and assembled a massive 10,000-strong army for expedition towards Mecca. Abu Sufian, one of Muhammad's father-in-laws and controller of Ka'ba, learnt about this preparation and quickly set off to meet Muhammad to convince him against attacking Mecca. With an invincible army behind him, Muhammad was neither to listen nor to wait for attacking Mecca to exact revenge. Finally, a disheartened and helpless Abu Sufian, in front of a massive Muslim army, converted to Islam and made an agreement with Muhammad that Meccans would not resist his advance to Mecca and capture of the Ka'ba but in return Muhammad's army must not attack and kill the people of Mecca. On returning to Mecca, Abu Sufian explained to the pagans about the massiveness of Muhammad's army and asked them not to fight a losing battle against the advancing Muslims. In stead, he advised them to stay indoors or take refuse in his own house.

Next morning (630 CE), Muhammad's army advanced through the city of Mecca, captured the Ka'ba and other nearby Temples (al-Uzzha) and utterly destroyed all the idols in front of the helpless pagans who had passionately worshipped those idols for centuries. However, one recalcitrant group of Meccans, who are said to have fallen on the way of Khalid al-Walid’s army, showed a meek resistance and Khalid slaughtered those fallen within his reach and pursued others running for their lives. It is learned that many of the pagans had accepted Islam on the same day of Muhammad's victorious return to Mecca.

Muhammad's Forgiveness for the Meccans

Muslims take a lot of credit for the fact that the victorious Muhammad on his triumphant return to Mecca did not attack the pagans and instead forgave them despite the fact that the Meccans had showed cruelty to him by allegedly driving him out of that city 8 year earlier. They claim that this was an extraordinarily kind and generous gesture on part of the Prophet. But how could Muhammad or any other minimally sensible person could attack a people, who have already agreed not to resist his advance and whose the leader, Abu Sufian had already professed to his religion and Prophethood? It has been explained already that the people of Mecca did never display any excessive cruelty towards Muhammad despite his insulting the pagans' religion for 13 years. Muhammad had even made a claim on the Pagans' most sacred shrine of Ka'ba. In stead, the  Mecca pagans had allowed Muhammad and his Muslim converts to say prayers inside the Ka'ba three times a day. Yet, it is Muhammad who had aggressively launched many plundering raids on the Meccan caravans after relocating to Medina that lead to a number of blood-letting battles and great economic losses on part of the Meccans. More importantly, the Meccans were the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and other blood relations of many Muslims, the Prophet included. Would the thought of putting such close relatives to the sword ever cross the mind of even the most cruel human being on earth?

Despite the claim of Muhammad's display of extraordinary kindness, forgiveness and generosity to the Meccans on his return to the city, it is learnt that Muhammad had ordered some 4-8 men to death who had either abandoned Islam or had caused much torments to him. Given the kind of rather humane treatment people of Mecca had shown to Muhammad against the sort of torment, insult and troubles he had directed at them, none of these Meccans deserved capital punishment from Muhammad in any sort of sensible judgment, especially when they had surrendered unconditionally and accepted Muhammad's supremacy.

Yet on the day of conquering Mecca, the Muslims had committed an extremely cruel human atrocity. After entering Mecca, the Prophet had sent his general Khalid ibn Walid to destroy the pagan temples of the neighboring tribes. Khalid reached the Jazima tribe and asked them to say, "We are Muslims". But they said, "We are Sabians" whereupon Khalid slaughtered the whole tribe. The Jazima tribe people never had given any sort of troubles to the Muslims. Such cruel barbarity is rare in the known history of mankind. Given the way Muhammad had captured the deeply religious pagans' most revered shrine, the Ka'ba and mercilessly destroyed the idols of their gods whom they had worshipped for centuries as well as the complete annihilation of the Jazima tribe on the same day, his conquest of Mecca did not represent an act of forgiveness, kindness and generosity but instead should be termed as a rare instance of cruel barbarity.

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Ref:

1. Foundations of Islam, Benjamin Walker, Rupa Press (New Delhi), p44]