Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you, [O Muhammad] - they are actually pledging allegiance to Allah . The hand of Allah is over their hands. So he who breaks his word only breaks it to the detriment of himself. And he who fulfills that which he has promised Allah - He will give him a great reward.
The conquest and our Prophet’s (SAWS) entrance into Mecca occurred before sunrise on Friday, 13th Ramadan in the eight year of the Hijrah. Rasulallah (SAWS) was accompanied by a systematic army made up of ten thousand Muhaacir (emigrant), Ansaar (helper) and other Muslims, which increased by two thousand further on.
Rasulallah (SAWS) stayed in Mecca for 15 days. They camped near the upper side of Mecca and entered Mecca through there. This is also the area where the prayer by the Prophet Ibrahim (AS) for his descendants was accepted and where he invited people for Hajj.
When Rasulallah (SAWS) first entered Mecca he stood at the door of the Kaaba and said:
La ilahe illalahu vahdahu ve nasara abdehu ve hezeme’l-ahzabe vahdehu.
Which means:
There is no God but Allah, He is One, He helped his servent and defeated his enemy by Himself.
And then the Prophet (SAWS) spoke:
The people of Mecca! What do you think I am going to do with you?
And the people replied:
You are going to do well, oh gracious brother and nephew.
To which Rasulallah (SAWS) said:
Go on, go, you are free.
After which the Rasulallah (SAWS) liberated them.
Before the conquest of Mecca people were converting to Islam one or two at a time. After the conquest people came to Islam tide after tide. They were waiting for the conquest of Mecca in order to convert to Islam and believed that:
If he is triumphant over his tribe, he is the true Prophet.
When Mecca was conquered the Bedouin people said:
Allah protected the folk of Mecca from the army of elephants. Seen as though he is triumphant against them, no one can defeat him.
The consecutive groups embraced the religion of Allah (SWT) .
In summary the conquest of Mecca was not just about conquering a town but was also about the conquest of the Kaaba. It was the greatest triumph of all as it opened peoples hearts to the religion of Allah and the gateway to Islam for all humanity.
After the conquest, Islam spread with great speed and the hearts that were closed off because of the denial of the Kureysh misbelievers opened up to Islam with the conquest of Mecca and Taif, soon spreading to the entire Saudi Arabian region and the world.
The tangible and intangible conquests of Islam therefore initially started with the opening of the Kaaba’s door.