The Conquest Of Mecca

 

When the Noble Prophet (S) conquered Mecca, he announced a general amnesty for all the people - except a few individuals, who were to be killed whenever found; amongst these were 'Abdullah Ibn Zab'ari, who used to satirize him (S), Wahshi, who had killed his uncle Hamzah in the battle of Uhud9, 'Ikramah Ibn Abi Jahl, Safwan Ibn Umayyah and Habbar Ibn al-Aswad - all of whom he eventually pardoned after they were brought before him (S).

As for Habbar Ibn al-Aswad, he was the person who frightened Zainab - the Noble Prophet's (S) daughter, who had been sent towards Madinah by her husband, Abu al-Abbas Ibn Rabi' - on the way to Madinah as a result of which she suffered a miscarriage. Subsequent to this act of his, the Noble Prophet (S) had declared it permissible to shed his blood.

After the conquest of Mecca he approached the Noble Prophet (S), expressed regret over his misdeed and, seeking forgiveness, said: “O' Prophet of Allah! We were of the polytheists, however Allah, by means of you, guided us aright and delivered us from perdition, so disregard my ignorance and that which you have heard about me, and pardon me!”

The Noble Prophet (S) said: “I pardon you. Allah has exhibited kindness towards you in that He has guided you into Islam; with the acceptance of Islam, bygones become bygones.”

The Poem of Farazdaq

Once, during Hajj time, when Hisham son of 'Abdul Malik was circumambulating the Ka’aba amidst a huge crowd, he tried many times to kiss al-hajar al-'aswad. However, due to the enormous crowd, Hisham did not get a chance and helplessly sat at one corner and glared at the people.
Suddenly he saw a thin, good-looking, divinely-bright personality gradually advancing towards al-hajar al-'aswad. The people respected him and involuntarily moved back so that he could easily reach al-hajar al-'aswad. The people of Syria who were around Ibn 'Abdul Malik asked him: Who is this man ? Hisham, even though he knew that personality very well refrained from introducing Imam and instead lied and said: I don’t know him.

At this moment, a poet by the name of Farazdaq who enjoyed special freedom and liberty un-hesitantly recited some poems and in this way, introduced Imam al-Sajjad ('a) very nicely. Some of the verses of his poem are as follows:

“He is someone who, the soil of Bat-haa is aware of his footprints and Ka'ba, the House and its exterior are well-acquainted with him;
He is the son of the best servants of Allah; He is pious, pure, holy and well-known.
If you are unaware of him, he is the son of Fatima, (daughter of the Holy Prophet (s) ).
Soon, when he will touch al-Hajar-ul-Aswad, it will not release his well-recognized hand.” [7]

The poem of al-Farazdaq had such far-reaching effect that Hisham became wild and angry and immediately ordered for his arrest. When Imam ('a) became aware of this matter, he consoled al-Farazdaq very much.

Imam Husain’s (a.s.) Kindness to the Camel-Driver

Imam Sadiq (a.s.) said:
“A man was trailing a woman when she was busy circling the Ka’bah.  The woman was raising her hands in prayer when the man placed his hand upon her arm; at that moment God glued his hand to the women’s arm.
People thronged to witness this strange happening in such great numbers that all movement was hindered.  A person was sent to the Emir of Makkah to inform him of the incident.  He gathered all the scholars around him and together they tried to settle on a suitable resolution to the problem.  Many ordinary people also assembled, interested to know the sentence that would be pronounced for this crime.
As they all stood perplexed over the issue, the Emir finally said, “Is there anyone from the family of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) here?”
Those around him said, “Yes!  Husain Ibn 'A'li (a.s.) is here.”
That night, the Emir ordered the Imam (a.s.) to be brought before him.  He sought to know the ruling for this incident from the Imam (a.s.).
First, the Imam (a.s.) turned towards the Ka’bah and raised his hands.  He stood in this position for a while, after which he supplicated.  Then, approaching the man the Imam separated his glued hand from the arm of the woman by the power of his Imamate.
The Emir asked the Imam (a.s.), “O’ Husain (a.s.)!  Should I not punish him?”
“No,” replied the Imam (a.s.).