Victory and After

VICTORY AND AFTER who, they thought, being a close associate of the Prophet, would be in a position to ensure that their relative escaped punishment. Usamah came to the Prophet and pleaded for clemency on behalf of Fatimah Makhzumi. The Prophet was visibly upset when he heard Usamah’s words. “Are you trying to persuade me about limits God has set down?” he asked. The Prophet then called people together and delivered an address. “By the power who controls my soul,” he said, “if my daughter Fatimah were to steal, then I would certainly amputate her hand.” Fatimah Makhzumi received her due punishment, after which she repented and became righteous and upright.157 This shows that no one can forgive wrongdoers when God has prescribed punishment. How did the Prophet forgive people magnanimously after the Conquest of Makkah? The reason was that there is a difference between war crimes and crimes committed under normal conditions. People cannot be accorded remission of punishment for the latter form of crime. Crimes committed during wartime, however, can be forgiven when the perpetrators renounce their antagonism and seek clemency. Crimes committed under normal conditions are nullified when God’s punishment is meted out, while war crimes are neutralized through surrender and an appeal for mercy. The enemies of Islam in Arabia had committed the most heinous crimes against the Muslims. Even so, the Quran announced that what had gone before would be forgiven if they repented.158 Furthermore, if the enemy sues for peace, peace should be