Life of Muhammad — Page 163
sa 163 KA ‘ BA CLEARED OF IDOLS The Prophet sa made straight for the Ka‘ba and performed the circuit of the holy precincts seven times, mounted on his camel. Staff in hand, he went round the house which had been built by the Patriarch Abraham as and his son Ishmael as for the worship of the One and Only God, but which by their misguided children had been allowed to degenerate into a sanctuary for idols. The Prophet sa smote one by one the three hundred and sixty idols in the house. As an idol fell, the Prophet sa would recite the verse, "Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Falsehood does indeed vanish away fast. " This verse was revealed before the Prophet sa left Mecca for Medina and is part of the Chapter, Ban i Isr a ’ i l. In this Chapter was foretold the flight of the Prophet sa and the conquest of Mecca. The Chapter is a Meccan Chapter, a fact admitted even by European writers. The verses which contain the prophecy of the Prophet's sa flight from Mecca, and the subsequent conquest of Mecca are as follows: And say 'O my Lord, make my entry a good entry, and make my going out a good outgoing. And grant me from Thyself a power that may help me. ' And, 'Truth has come and falsehood has vanished away. Falsehood does indeed vanish away fast!' (17: 81-82). The conquest of Mecca is foretold here in the form of a prayer taught to the Prophet sa. The Prophet sa is taught to pray for entering Mecca and for departing from it under good auspices; and for the help of God in assuring an ultimate victory of truth over falsehood. The prophecy had literally come true. The recitation of these verses by Ab u Bakr ra was appropriate. It braced up the Muslims, and reminded the Meccans of the futility of their fight against God and of the truth of the promises made by God to the Prophet sa. With the conquest of Mecca, the Ka‘ba was restored to the functions for which it had been consecrated many thousands of years before by the Patriarch Abraham as.