Factors & Preparations Leading towards the Conquest of Mecca (Hazrat Musleh Mau'd's (ra) Narration)
Whilst mentioning the details of this incident, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states,
“The Holy Prophet (sa) once addressed one of his wives and said, ‘Prepare my provisions for a journey.’ She began to make preparations for his travels. He then told Hazrat ‘Aisha (ra) to roast some seeds and grains for him. These were the kind of provisions typically available in those days. Thus, she began to sift out any dust or dirt from the seeds. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) came to visit his daughter at home and saw these preparations and asked Hazrat ‘Aisha (ra), ‘What is happening? Is the Holy Prophet (sa) preparing for a journey?’ She replied, ‘It seems to be so because the Holy Prophet (sa) told us to make preparations for travel.’ Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) enquired if there were plans for a battle, but she replied, ‘I do not know. The Holy Prophet (sa) just told us to prepare for travel and that is what we are doing.’ Two to three days later, the Holy Prophet (sa) called upon Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat ‘Umar (ra) and told them that some men from the Khuza‘ah tribe came and related the details of an incident that took place. The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘God has informed me of the incident beforehand, that they would commit treason and we have made a covenant with them. It would go against our faith to now become fearful and not prepare for combat after witnessing the bravery and strength of the Meccans. We will have to go there, so what is your opinion on the matter?’ Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah, you have entered into a covenant with them and they are your own people.’ In other words, would he fight against his own people?
The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘We will not fight our people, we will fight those who have violated the covenant.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) then asked Hazrat ‘Umar (ra), who submitted, ‘In Allah’s name, I would pray every day that we might see this day when we could fight the disbelievers in defence of the Holy Prophet (sa).’
The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘Abu Bakr is very soft-natured, but Umar is more candid in his speech.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) continued, ‘Make preparations.’ Then, the Holy Prophet (sa) had an announcement made in the surrounding tribes that everyone who believes in Allah and His Messenger (sa) should congregate in Madinah in the beginning days of Ramadan. Thus, they started to gather to the extent that an army enumerating many thousands of men were organised and they set out for war. When the Holy Prophet (sa) was about to depart, he stated, ‘O Allah! I supplicate to You that may You cause a covering upon the ears of the Meccans and upon the eyes of their spies, so that neither they will see us nor hear about us.’ Thereafter the Holy Prophet (sa) departed and despite the fact that there were many hypocrites in Madinah, and an army of 10,000 men had just departed, no news of this reached the people of Mecca. These indeed are the works of Allah the Almighty.”
(Sair-e-Ruhani [7], Anwar al-Ulum, Vol. 24, pp. 260-262)