He besieged the city of Taif after the conquest of Mecca. When the siege prolonged, people started to starve to death in Taif. He ended the siege, although the enemy was about to surrender. He was not in favor of capturing a city due to its people starving to death. That city of Taif, years ago, had stoned him and spat on him; they had made him live, with his own words, 'the most bitter day of his life'.