Hadith: Allah, the Almighty, held back the elephants from Makkah, but He enabled His Messenger and the believers to conquer it. Fighting in it was not permitted for anybody before me, nor will it be permitted for anybody after me; it was permitted for me only for a short while during the day. Verily, it is from this moment a sanctuary

عن أبي هُريرة رضي الله عنه قال: «لَمَّا فَتَحَ الله -تَعَالَى- عَلَى رَسُولِهِ مَكَّةَ قَتَلَتْ خزاعةُ رَجُلاً مِنْ بَنِي لَيْثٍ بِقَتِيلٍ كَانَ لَهُمْ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَقَامَ النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ: إنَّ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْ حَبَسَ عَنْ مَكَّةَ الْفِيلَ، وَسَلَّطَ عَلَيْهَا رَسُولَهُ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّهَا لَمْ تَحِلَّ لأَحَدٍ كَانَ قَبْلِي، وَلا تَحِلُّ لأَحَدٍ بَعْدِي، وَإِنَّمَا أُحِلَّتْ لِي سَاعَةً مِنْ نَهَارٍ، وَإِنَّهَا سَاعَتِي هَذِهِ: حَرَامٌ، لا يُعْضَدُ شَجَرُهَا، وَلا يُخْتَلَى خَلاهَا، وَلا يُعْضَدُ شَوْكُهَا، وَلا تُلْتَقَطُ سَاقِطَتُهَا إلاَّ لِمُنْشِدٍ، وَمَنْ قُتِلَ لَهُ قَتِيلٌ: فَهُوَ بِخَيْرِ النَّظَرَيْنِ: إمَّا أَنْ يَقْتُلَ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ يُودِيَ، فَقَامَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْيَمَنِ- يُقَالُ لَهُ: أَبُو شَاهٍ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ الله، اُكْتُبُوا لِي فَقَالَ رَسُولُ الله: اُكْتُبُوا لأَبِي شَاهٍ، ثُمَّ قَامَ الْعَبَّاسُ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ الله، إلاَّ الإذْخِرَ، فَإِنَّا نَجْعَلُهُ فِي بُيُوتِنَا وَقُبُورِنَا، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ الله: إلاَّ الإِذْخِرَ».
[صحيح] - [متفق عليه]

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When Allah, the Almighty, enabled His Messenger to conquer Makkah, the tribe of Khuzā‘ah killed a man from the tribe of Banu Layth in revenge for a person who was killed from their tribe before Islam. So the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) got up and said: "Allah, the Almighty, held back the elephant from Makkah, but He enabled His Messenger and the believers to conquer it. Fighting in it was not permitted for anybody before me, nor will it be permitted for anybody after me; it was permitted for me only for a short while during the day. Verily, it is from this moment a sanctuary; its trees should not be cut down; its grass should not be removed; its thorny shrubs should not be uprooted; and lost items found in it should not be taken except by one who intends to look for its owner. And if somebody is killed, his heir has the option to either kill in retaliation or accept blood money." A man from Yemen named Abu Shāh stood up and said: "Write that for me, O Messenger of Allah", The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Write that for Abu Shāh." Then Al-‘Abbās stood up and said: "O Messenger of Allah, except for lemongrass, for we use it in our houses and graves." The Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Except for lemongrass."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

Explanation

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that after the conquest of Makkah, a man from Khuzā‘ah murdered a man from Hudhayl in retaliation for having killed one of their people before Islam. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and gave the speech mentioned in the Hadīth, wherein he highlighted the sanctity of Makkah and stated that Allah, the Almighty, Who prevented the elephant’s army from entering it, permitted His Prophet to fight and conquer it for only a short time of that day. The word ‘sā‘ah’ here does not mean an hour in the literal sense; rather, it signifies part of the day of the conquest. This was made permissible for the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) from the morning of that day to the afternoon. He then declared that Makkah turned back to its state of sanctity and that it was now impermissible to cut down its trees; remove its grass, except for lemongrass; uproot its thorns; or pick up the lost items found therein, except by one intending to look for its owner.