The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page ccl
GENERAL INTRODUCTION 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. The Prophet 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 Abu Bakr 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. With the conquest of Mecca, the Ka'bah was restored to the functions for which it had been consecrated many thousands of years before by the Patriarch Abraham. The Ka'bah was again devoted to the worship of the One and Only God. The idols were broken. One of these was Hubal. When the Prophet smote it with his staff, and it fell down in fragments, Zubair looked at Abu Sufyān and with a half-suppressed smile reminded him of Uḥud. "Do you remember the day when Muslims wounded and exhausted stood by and you wounded them further by shouting, 'Glory to Hubal, Glory to Hubal'? Was it Hubal who gave you victory on that day? If it was Hubal, you can see the end it has come to today. " Abū Sufyān was impressed, and admitted it was quite true that if there had been a God other than the God of Muḥammad, they might have been spared the disgrace and defeat they had met with that day. The Prophet then ordered the wiping out of the pictures which had been drawn on the walls of the Ka'bah. Having ordered this the Prophet said two rak'ats of prayer as thanks-giving to God. He then withdrew to the open court and said another two rak'ats of prayer. The duty of wiping out the pictures had been entrusted to ‘Umar. He had all the pictures obliterated except that of Abraham. When the Prophet returned to inspect and found this picture intact, he asked 'Umar why he had spared this one. Did he not remember the testi- mony of the Quran that Abraham was neither Jew nor Christian, but a single- minded and obedient Muslim? (3:68). It was an insult to the memory of Abraham, a great exponent of the Oneness of God to have his picture on the walls of the Ka'bah. It was as though Abraham could be worshipped equally with God. It was a memorable day, a day full of the Signs of God. Promises made by God to the Prophet, at a time when their fulfilment seemed impossible, had been fulfilled at last. The Prophet was the centre of devotion and faith. In and through his person, God had manifested Himself, and shown His face, as it were, again. The Prophet sent for water of the ccxxiv