Thaqif

Thaqif, the tribe of Ta'if, Quraysh's ally in the sacred town — the Islamic state besieged it until it surrendered in 630 CE on special terms — the last great tribe to enter Islam.

Ta'if had heard the Prophet abused there before Yathrib — stoned by slaves and fools — then fought at Hunayn with its ally Hawazin; at the siege of Ta'if they were asked to drop al-Lat and break its sanctuary ¹. That same year saw the famous delegation in which Thaqif bargained over the prayer — refused "no prostration" — and over keeping al-Lat for three years — they were answered with refusal, and surrendered on negotiated terms ².

In the Rashidun era Ta'if's Thaqafis became viziers and conquest leaders — among them al-Mughira ibn Shu'ba and al-Hajjaj's family ³.

Thaqif is, for historians, the model of "negotiated Islam": it became Muslim under siege on terms — proof that the latecomers' joining was not always sheer defeat, but a bargain that ended in shared interest ³.