The Key of the Ka’bah at the Conquest of Mecca

On the occasion of the Conquest of Mecca, whilst the Holy Prophet (sa) was sat in Masjid al-Haram, Hazrat Ali (ra) presented himself before the Holy Prophet (sa) and gave him the keys to the Ka‘bah. He submitted, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah, assign us the duties of providing water during the days of Hajj as well as overseeing the opening and closing of the door of the Ka‘bah.” The Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “Where is Uthman bin Talha?” Subsequently he was called for and the Holy Prophet (sa) stated, “O Uthman! This is your key. Today is the day of virtue and loyalty.” The Holy Prophet (sa) then stated to Hazrat Ali (ra), “I shall not give you something as a result of which you will be burdened with hardship and difficulty; rather, I will give you that which is better for you and a source of blessing. And nor will I give you something which you yourselves have a desire for”, i.e. he would not bestow it because he had asked for it.

(Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, Dukhul al-Rasul al-Haram [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2001], 744)