64/48. Chapter:
Sahih Bukhari 4286 — Ibn Khatal on the Day of Conquest
Where did the Prophet (saws) fix the flag on the day of the conquest of Makkah?
Ibn Khatal Hadith: A Specific Report from the Day Makkah Was Conquered
Sahih Bukhari : 4286
Sahih BukhariHadith Number 4286
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ قَزَعَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكٌ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم دَخَلَ مَكَّةَ يَوْمَ الْفَتْحِ وَعَلَى رَأْسِهِ الْمِغْفَرُ، فَلَمَّا نَزَعَهُ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ ابْنُ خَطَلٍ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِأَسْتَارِ الْكَعْبَةِ. فَقَالَ " اقْتُلْهُ " قَالَ مَالِكٌ وَلَمْ يَكُنِ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِيمَا نُرَى وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُحْرِمًا.
Anas bin Malik Narrated from:
On the day of the Conquest, the Prophet (ﷺ) entered Mecca, wearing a helmet on his head. When he took it off, a man came and said, "Ibn Khatal is clinging to the curtain of the Ka`ba." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Kill him." (Malik a sub-narrator said, "On that day the Prophet (ﷺ) was not in a state of Ihram as it appeared to us, and Allah knows better.")
Reference : Sahih al-Bukhari 4286In-book reference : Book 64, Hadith 319USC-MSA web (English) reference : Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 582
Summary of Sahih Bukhari Hadith 4286
This Ibn Khatal hadith reports a serious moment from the day of the Conquest of Makkah. Anas bin Malik says the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم entered Makkah wearing a helmet. After he removed it, a man came and said that Ibn Khatal was clinging to the curtain of the Kaaba. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم then gave the order mentioned in the text. Malik, the sub-narrator, added that as far as they saw, and Allah knows best, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was not in a state of Ihram that day. The wording should be treated carefully. The hadith reports a specific event and a specific person during the conquest. It is not worded here as a general permission for private people to act on their own.
What we learn from this hadith
- The hadith records a specific case from the Conquest of Makkah.
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم entered Makkah prepared, as shown by the helmet.
- The report preserves the narrator’s caution with the phrase Allah knows better.
- Specific historical reports should not be turned into personal action without authority.
