He was at the peak of the part of his struggle that was limited to his own life. Now Makkah, his hometown, where he had not been allowed to convey the message of his religion to people, was being conquered by an army consisting of fully armed ten thousand Muslim soldiers, which was a super army in terms of the conditions of Arabia at that time.

The army had surrounded Makkah. It was nighttime. Makkah mountains were glittering due to the camp fires. Every soldier was ordered to make a fire and Makkah, which was dark, was surrounded by lights at night. Abu Sufyan, who was the archenemy of the Prophet, left the city and went to the Prophet with his little son; he knew the weak point of his fellow citizen.

He said, “I swear by Allah that if you do not forgive me, I will kill this child and myself.”

Abu Sufyan, who had been his archenemy for years, wanted forgiveness by using his life and the life of his son. He was forgiven.

The next day, the army started to move. Makkans were astonished and shocked by the view. Next to Hazrat Abbas, the uncle of Hazrat Muhammad, Abu Sufyan, who was the administrator of Makkah, was watching the Muslim army, which was entering Makkah. He asked Hazrat Abbas about each division and their tribe as they passed before them and he was astonished and fascinated by each answer that he received. After a while, he asked impatiently,

“Has Hazrat Muhammad not passed yet?” In the end, Hazrat Muhammad was seen on his camel, Quswa, in his armor. He bowed his head to show that one can enter a city that Allah declared to be sacred in modesty. He was in a position to praise Allah.

Meanwhile, Sa’d b. Ubada, one of the commanders of Madinah, turned to Abu Sufyan and shouted:

Today is the doomsday. Today is the day of revenge for Uhud. Today is the day of ridiculing the honor of the Quraysh tribe. Today is the day of destruction.”

Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) silenced Sa’d through a sign by his hand and said,

“Today is the day of mercy and compassion. Today is the day of elevating the honor of Quraysh. Today is the day when respect to the Kaaba and Makkah will be at its peak.”

Then the Prophet gave an order and expulsed Sa’d. He appointed his son as the new commander.

Very little blood was shed and Makkah surrendered. It was noon and very hot. His friends asked him,

“Where do you want to rest, O Messenger of Allah?”

A painful smile was seen on his face. He remembered his house. However, that house had been pulled down by Aqil, his cousin, in order to make him sad and depressed. He said,

“Did Aqil leave us any place to rest?”

However, nobody thought of even touching Aqil. Aqil was given a guarantee just like the other people of Makkah. He had immunity.

However, the people of Makkah still could not believe that all kinds of oppression, cruelty, torture and enmity that they inflicted upon Muslims for years would be unreturned. In order to make sure that they would not be touched and punished, they stood before Muhammad, who had just removed the idols in the Kaaba, in front of the door of the Kaaba. They were shy and timid. Hazrat Muhammad understood very well what they meant by bowing down and keeping silent.

He said to them,

“Today, my situation is like the one between Hazrat Yusuf and his brothers. He had said to his brothers, ‘This day let no reproach be (cast) on you: Allah will forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.’ Today, I am saying the same thing to you. You are free.”

All Makkans became Muslims when it was the evening time. The next day, the military forces were withdrawn from the city because they were no longer needed in the city.

However, when it became clear that Makkah was going to be conquered, some people left the city and went away. They were “severe criminals”, who did not know Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and who believed that no power of compassion and pardoning could forgive them.

One of them was Wahshi, the murderer of the uncle of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh). He sent for Wahshi and asked him to become a Muslim. Whashi was timid. He wrote the following in his letter:

“O Muhammad! You said, ‘The torture of a person who kills somebody or attributes partners with Allah is increased on the Day of Judgment; he remains in torture in a despicable state.’ I did all of them. Can there still be a way of salvation for me?”

Upon this answer, the 71st verse of the chapter of al-Furqan was sent. Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) got the verse written and sent it to Wahshi.

“Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into Good and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And whoever repents and does Good has truly turned to Allah with an (acceptable) conversion.”

Wahshi did not regard it sufficient.

He said, “O Muhammad! Repentance, belief and righteous deeds are heavy conditions. I might not be able to do them.”

The 48th verse of the chapter an-Nisa answered Wahshi:

“Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with him; but He forgiveth anything, else to whom He pleaseth.”

Wahshi had not been convinced yet. He wrote another letter:

“O Muhammad! It means ‘Allah will do so if he wishes’. I do not know whether Allah will wish something like that for me.”

Thereupon, the 53rd verse of the chapter az-Zumar was sent down:

Say: "O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Wahshi said,

“Now, it is all right.” Then, he went to Makkah and became a Muslim.

People asked,

“O Messenger of Allah! Are those glad tidings for Wahshi only or for all of us?”

He answered:

“For all of you!”

Safwan b. Umayya, who was one of the notables of Quraysh and who had sent assassins to Madinah to kill Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) in order to take revenge of his relatives killed in Badr, had also left Makkah. Wahb b. Umayr, whom he had sent as an assassin to Madinah was sent to Safwan. Wahb had the turban of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) as a proof of the promise of immunity. Safwan was convinced and returned to Makkah. However, he was not ready to become a Muslim. He stood in the presence of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and said,

“Give me two months. I will think about whether to accept your religion or not.”

Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) answered,

“I will give you four months instead of two!”

Safwan became a Muslim on his own before four months passed.

The third one of those who had left Makkah was Ikrima, the son of Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl, who had been the archenemy of Islam and Hazrat Muhammad until he was killed in Badr, was described as “the Pharaoh of this ummah” by the Prophet. Ikrima did many things against Islam, too. Once, Hazrat Muhammad said about him, “I did not suffer from Abu Jahl as much as I suffered from his son.”

Ikrima’s wife undertook the task of bringing Ikrima back. She found him on the coast of Yemen aboard a ship to go to Africa. She took him back to Makkah. When Hazrat Muhammad was told that Ikrima was about to enter his presence, Hazrat Muhammad warned his friends near him.

“Do not offend him by speaking against his father.”

When Ikrima arrived, the Prophet welcomed him by hugging him and saying,

“O cavalier mujahid, welcome.” He let Ikrima sit beside him. Ikrima, who was shocked by what he saw, heard and experience, made a promise.

“O Messenger of Allah! Be a witness that I will spend at least twice as much effort and money to serve your religion as I spent to prevent it.”

Ikrima kept his promise. He was one of the three mujahids that were martyred during the Battle of Yarmuk, which caused the Middle East to embrace Islam, without being able to drink a drop of water. They counted seventy sword wounds in his body.(