Did the Prophet, may God's prayers and peace be upon him, circumambulate the Kaaba before the Furqan (the sending down of the Quran) and the presence of idols?
The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, circumambulated the Kaaba after the Conquest of Mecca while idols were still present. In Sahih Muslim, he touched the Black Stone and circumambulated the House. When he passed by an idol that was worshipped beside the House, he struck it with his bow and said: "Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished."
Al-Bayhaqi mentions in "Dala'il al-Nubuwwah" (Proofs of Prophethood) on the authority of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, entered Mecca on the day of the Conquest, and there were three hundred and sixty idols around the Kaaba. He began to strike them with a stick in his hand, saying: "Truth has come, and falsehood has vanished; indeed, falsehood is ever bound to vanish."
Ibn Kathir adds in "Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah" (The Beginning and the End), quoting Ibn Abbas, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to point with a rod in his hand to the idols and recite the same verse. He did not point to an idol but that it fell.
Shaykh Munir al-Ghadban pointed out in "Al-Manhaj al-Haraki li al-Sirah al-Nabawiyah" (The Dynamic Approach to the Prophetic Biography) that the first circumambulation during the 'Umrah of Qada' (Compensatory 'Umrah) was peaceful, with the idols present and no ability to touch them. However, during the Conquest of Mecca, he entered as a conqueror, and he had supreme authority, so the first thing he did was to destroy the idols.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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