On the 25th Ramadan, the Prophet dispatched Khalid bin Waleed to Nakhlah at the head of thirty cavalrymen to demolish the temple of Uzza. The idol of Uzza was the biggest, and Khalid smashed it to pieces. In the same month, Amr bin Aas was sent to demolish the idol of Suwa, the chief deity of Banu Hudhayl. Amr arrived at the shrine in Rabat, 150 km north east of Makkah, and razed it to the ground. Its priest saw the inanimate object submit itself to destruction, and he was overcome with the realisation that no creator could be destroyed thus. Once more false god remained, and the Prophet sent Sa’d bin Zayd Ash’hali at the head of twenty cavaliers to destroy Manah, the deity of the Kalb, Khuzaa, Ghassan, Aus and Khazraj tribes. Sa’d broke the idol and demolished its temple, removing one more loathed rival of Allah, the One the Eternal, of whom no likeness can ever be made.

Khalid is sent to Banu Judhayma

Realising the need to instil Islam in the hearts of as many people as possible, the Prophet sent Khalid bin Waleed to Banu Judhayma in the month of Shawwal to preach Islam. He was accompanied by three hundred men of the Muhajireen, Ansar and Banu Sulaym. When Banu Judhayma were invited to accept Islam they cried, “Sabana! Sabana! We have left our religion! We have left our religion!” Their answer reeked of deceit to Khalid, who rounded them up and killed some of them. Later, he ordered every Muslim soldier to kill his captive, but Ibn Umar and his comrades refused to carry out such an unjust order.

On their return the dissenters placed the matter before the Prophet . The Prophet, horrified at what Khalid had done, prayed with his hands raised, “O Allah, do not hold me to account for Khalid’s act.” Then he sent Ali to Banu Judhayma pay blood money to the relatives of those slain and to compensate those whose property had been destroyed. The money that was left over after payment of compensation was also left with the tribe. Khalid’s actions during the expedition earned him criticism from several of the Prophet’s Companions, and there were angry exchanges between him and Abdul Rahman bin Auf . When this altercation was reported to the Prophet , he said, “Khalid, refrain from saying anything harsh to my Companions. By Allah, if Mount Uhud turned into gold and you were to spend it all in the way of Allah, even then you would not equal the morning or evening prayer of any of my Companions.”