{"id":15671,"date":"2019-01-23T18:53:21","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T15:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/forgiveness-or-revenge\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T14:16:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T10:46:39","slug":"forgiveness-or-revenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roshd.com\/en\/forgiveness-or-revenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Forgiveness or Revenge?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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One of the most important reasons people were drawn to Islam was the noble character of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family).<\/p>

This noble character encompassed qualities such as magnanimity, contentment, patience, and forgiveness.<\/p>

Below, we explore one of the instances of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him and his family) forgiveness as recorded in history.<\/p>

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family), accompanied by an army of ten thousand, set out from Medina toward Mecca with the aim of conquering it. At night, near the outskirts of Mecca, he instructed his soldiers to each light a torch and hold it aloft. At the same time, Abu Sufyan, a resident of Mecca who, during the years of Islam\u2019s emergence and subsequent growth, had spared no effort in opposing Islam and preventing its spread\u2014including leading the polytheists in repeated battles against Islam and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family)\u2014sent an envoy to assess the situation outside the city. When the envoy did not return after a long time, Abu Sufyan himself went to investigate.[1]<\/a><\/p>

Upon seeing that the polytheists had not prepared an army to resist and realizing that their defeat was inevitable, he heeded the advice of one of his companions and mounted a steed to personally seek a truce from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family). The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) granted him protection until morning. The following day, Abu Sufyan was brought before the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) once more. Finally, in order to secure his safety, Abu Sufyan uttered the declaration of faith (Shahada).<\/p>

After Abu Sufyan recited the Shahada, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said to him:
“Return, for you are safe, and whoever is in your house is also safe. Announce that anyone who stays in their home with the door shut is under protection.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>

Thus, when the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) entered Mecca, his measures to keep the polytheists unaware of the movement of the Islamic army ensured that the polytheists were caught off guard and retreated to their homes. Only a small number came out to fight, but because the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) had ordered, \u201cDo not fight unless they initiate the fight,\u201d the Muslim army conquered Mecca with minimal skirmishes.<\/p>

Reflecting on the story of the conquest of Mecca reveals that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) sought to achieve victory with the least amount of conflict and bloodshed. He even granted protection to Abu Sufyan, who had directly participated in the expulsion, killing, and persecution of Muslims and the Prophet\u2019s (peace be upon him and his family) kin. While alternatives such as execution or imprisonment of Abu Sufyan were viable, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) forgave those who had remained in their homes despite their previous hostilities against Islam. In prior years, these individuals had been invited to embrace Islam, yet they had refused.<\/p>

When the Muslims reached Mecca, some chanted the slogan, \u201cToday is the day of slaughter.\u201d Upon hearing this, the Prophet of Mercy (peace be upon him and his family) became displeased and corrected them: \u201cToday is the day of mercy and forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>

This was not the first instance of the Prophet\u2019s (peace be upon him and his family) forgiveness that the people witnessed. Other examples during those years included his kindness to slaves, forgiving wrongdoers, showing goodness to those who treated him poorly, and avoiding revenge.<\/p>

This act of forgiveness led to:<\/p>