Detailed Account of the Thaqif Delegation

Nearly a year after the siege of Ta'if, the Thaqif tribe sent a delegation to Medina to negotiate their acceptance of Islam. They initially tried to secure concessions: permission to keep their idol al-Lat for three years (then two, then one, then one month), exemption from prayer, and permission to keep their interest-based transactions and wine. The Prophet refused every request regarding worship, though he did not force them to destroy the idol with their own hands. He sent Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah to destroy al-Lat. When al-Mughirah struck the idol, the Thaqif women came out wailing, believing disaster would follow. When nothing happened, the people were convinced. The Prophet appointed Uthman ibn Abi al-As, the youngest member of the delegation but the most eager to learn Islam and the Quran, as their leader. This delegation marked the end of organized pagan resistance in the Hijaz.