Executions at the Conquest of Mecca
With regard to the accounts in relation to the Conquest of Mecca, which took place in 8 AH, a detailed narration can be found in Sunan al-Nasai about those individuals whom the Holy Prophet (sa) had ordered to be executed on this occasion. Hazrat Mus‘ab bin Saad (ra) relates from his father:
“On the day of the Conquest of Mecca, the Holy Prophet (sa) granted protection to all disbelievers, save four men and two women. The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘Kill these four individuals, even if you find them clinging on to the covers of the Ka‘bah.’ These were Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Abdullah bin Khatal, Maqees bin Subaba and Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarh.
“When Abdullah bin Khatal was seized, he was holding on to the covers of the Ka‘bah. Saeed bin Huraith and Ammar bin Yasir, both rushed toward him. Saeed advanced and killed him. Maqees was caught by the people in the marketplace and killed. Ikrimah ran towards the sea. The people aboard the ship were caught in a storm, upon which they said, ‘Be sincere and truthful, as your gods will be of no avail to you here.’ Hearing this, Ikrimah said, ‘By God! If there is anything that can save me on sea, it is sincerity and truthfulness. Furthermore, it is sincerity and truthfulness alone that can save me on land as well. O Allah! I sincerely pledge to You that if You save me from this storm, I will go to Muhammad (sa) and place my hand in his and I am certain that I will find him forgiving and benevolent.’ Following this, he returned and accepted Islam.”
The more commonly known narration is that before boarding the ship, his wife caught up with him and convinced him to return. This narration will be mentioned later on. Nevertheless, this aforementioned narration was from Sunan al-Nasai.
As for Abdullah bin Abi Sarh, he hid in the home of Hazrat Uthman (ra) bin Affan. Then, when the Holy Prophet (sa) invited people to pledge allegiance, Hazrat Uthman (ra) took him to the Holy Prophet (sa) and said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, accept the pledge of allegiance from Abdullah.” The Holy Prophet (sa) looked up at him three times and refused each time. Eventually, the Holy Prophet (sa) accepted his pledge of allegiance and then later said, “Was there no wise person amongst you who could have killed that man whose pledge of allegiance I was hesitant about accepting?” They replied saying, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! How could we know what was in your heart? Why did you not indicate this to us by signalling with your eyes?” The Holy Prophet (sa) said, “It does not behove a prophet to cast a glance in a deceptive manner.”
This narration is recorded in Sunan Abi Dawood. Although another [similar] narration is also present in Sunan Abi Dawood, the last part about killing him is not mentioned. Thus, in this narration [of Abu Dawood], Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) states that Abdullah bin Saad bin Abi Sarh used to be a scribe for the Holy Prophet (sa), but Satan drove him astray due to which he joined the disbelievers. On the day of the Conquest of Mecca, the Holy Prophet (sa) ordered for him to be killed. Hazrat Uthman (ra) bin Affan sought protection for him upon which the Holy Prophet (sa) granted him protection.
(Sunan al-Nasai, Kitab al-Maharibah, Bab al-Hukm fi al-Murtad, Hadith 2072) (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Hudud, Bab al-Hukm fi man Irtadda, Hadith 2358-2359)
With regard to the statement of the Holy Prophet (sa) saying that Abdullah should have been killed and asking why he was not, one explanation about this is that this narration of the Holy Prophet (sa), in which he says to his Companions that when he had delayed accepting his pledge of allegiance, why had they not killed him is questionable, had the Holy Prophet (sa) not wished to accept his pledge of allegiance and wanted to remain firm on his decision to kill him, then he could have ordered for him to be killed. He was the victor and the leader of the state and the verdict of the death penalty was based upon justice. Thus, it is possible that a narrator added their own views in this narration. Furthermore, this narration is not found in Bukhari or Muslim and another version of this narration on the same subject is found in Abu Dawood related by Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) which has already been referred to earlier, and this also makes no mention of the part about the killing.