178 lit 1M I"Y>otlffps 0/ (be Propbelthe idols that lay insid e and near the Kaha he was destroying what had, in
the course of centuries., perverted the cult of the Transcendent. With this
act r\'luhammad turned the Kaba into a real mosque, in which henceforth
only the Ooe was to be \urshiped.
The: Quraysh people were gradually coming out of their homes and
gathering inside the sanctuary enclosure. After destroying the idols, the
Prophet exclaimed: "There is no god but God, the One, Who has no part-
ner. He has fulfilled His promise, supported His servant, and routed the
enemy clans; H e alone [has done that].,, 18 Then he turned toward the
Quraysh, told £hem about the ru les of Islam, and recited this verse:
o hwnankind! \'(Ie created you from a male and a female, and made rou
into nations and tribes. that you may know each other. Verily the most hon-
ored among you in the sight of God is the most righttous of you lthc most
deeply a·ware of God's presence). And God has full knowledge and is well
acquainted [with all thingsJ.1 9A fter that, he asked them "how they thought he was going to deal \<; th
them.,, 20 They replied that as a " noble brother, son of a noble brother," he
would certainJy deal with them kindly. 21 At that point, the Prophet recited
the verse that punctuates the SlOry of Joseph when he was reunited with
his brothers, who had wanted to kill him: "This day let no reproach be
[cast] On you: God will forgive you, and }-Ie is thcMost~krciful of thNe
who show mercy."22 T hen he exclaimed: "Go on, you are free!"23 The
Prophet granted his forgiveness to all the women and men who came to
him o r to a Companion. Wahshi ibn H aTh, who had killed Hamzah, was
also forgiven, bm the Prophet asked him to refrain from appearing in his
presence in the future. J\hny Quraysh converted to Islam o n Mount as-
Safa in front of Umar; some years before, the Prophet had been called a
liar on that same spot. When Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl came to the Prophet.
the latter warned his CompanJons: " lkrimah, Abu J ahl's son. is coming to
you as a believer. D o not insult his father, for insulting the dead hurts the
living without reaching the dead." He thus reminded them not only to for-
give bm also to always remember that nobody can be held responsible for
someone else's mistakes. not even their father's, according to the meaning
o f the Quranic verse "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of
another.,,24 Prudence was required, as well as nobleness of soul.