Islam > Hadiths > Jurisprudence and juristic principles > Allah, the Almighty, held back the elephants from Makkah, but He enabled His Messenger and…
Authentic hadithUpdated on 24 September 2026 at 12:34 AM
📖 1 min readعن أبي هُريرة رضي الله عنه قال: «لَمَّا فَتَحَ الله -تَعَالَى- عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مَكَّةَ قَتَلَتْ خزاعةُ رَجُلاً مِنْ بَنِي لَيْثٍ بِقَتِيلٍ كَانَ لَهُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَقَامَ النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ: إنَّ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْ حَبَسَ عَنْ مَكَّةَ الْفِيلَ، وَسَلَّطَ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولَهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّهَا لَمْ تَحِلَّ لأَحَدٍ كَانَ قَبْلِي، وَلا تَحِلُّ لأَحَدٍ بَعْدِي، وَإِنَّمَا أُحِلَّتْ لِي سَاعَةً مِنْ نَهَارٍ، وَإِنَّهَا سَاعَتِي هَذِهِ: حَرَامٌ، لا يُعْضَدُ شَجَرُهَا، وَلا يُخْتَلَى خَلاهَا، وَلا يُعْضَدُ شَوْكُهَا، وَلا تُلْتَقَطُ سَاقِطَتُهَا إلاَّ لِمُنْشِدٍ، وَمَنْ قُتِلَ لَهُ قَتِيلٌ: فَهُوَ بِخَيْرِ النَّظَرَيْنِ: إمَّا أَنْ يَقْتُلَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يُودِيَ، فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ- يُقَالُ لَهُ: أَبُو شَاهٍ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ الله، اُكْتُبُوا لِي فَقَالَ رَسُولُ الله: اُكْتُبُوا لأَبِي شَاهٍ، ثُمَّ قَامَ الْعَبَّاسُ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ الله، إلاَّ الإذْخِرَ، فَإِنَّا نَجْعَلُهُ فِي بُيُوتِنَا وَقُبُورِنَا، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ الله: إلاَّ الإِذْخِرَ».
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that after the conquest of Makkah, a man from Khuzā‘ah murdered a man from Hudhayl in retaliation for having killed one of their people before Islam. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and gave the speech mentioned in the Hadīth, wherein he highlighted the sanctity of Makkah and stated that Allah, the Almighty, Who prevented the elephant’s army from entering it, permitted His Prophet to fight and conquer it for only a short time of that day. The word ‘sā‘ah’ here does not mean an hour in the literal sense; rather, it signifies part of the day of the conquest. This was made permissible for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) from the morning of that day to the afternoon. He then declared that Makkah turned back to its state of sanctity and that it was now impermissible to cut down its trees; remove its grass, except for lemongrass; uproot its thorns; or pick up the lost items found therein, except by one intending to look for its owner.
Categories : Jurisprudence of Acts of Worship · Hajj and ‘Umrah · Jurisprudence and Juristic Principles · Rulings of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam, the Prophet's Mosque, and the Aqsa Mosque