The Battle of Uhud 

Now the Quraysh had two humiliating episodes to live down. Badr and Qardah were bitter losses, and it was time to channel all their anger and hatred into a military strike against the Muslims. Preparations began at a furious pace as the Quraysh launched a recruitment drive and admitted voluntary soldiers and anyone with a personal grudge against the Muslims, especially those who had lost fathers, sons or brothers at Badr. 

Bards were brought in to incite the people with their songs of vengeance. Subsidiary tribes who owed allegiance to the Quraysh were also made to join the army. Women went with them to boost their morale and prevent them from taking flight. The Quraysh ultimately mustered an army of 3000 soldiers with 300 camels, 200 horses and 700 coats of mail. Abu Sufyan was the commander-in-chief of the Makkan army, and the valiant fighters of Banu Abdul Dar were appointed its standard bearers.

 The proud and fearsome Makkan army advanced towards Madinah. On Friday, the 6th of Shawwal, 3 A.H., they reached the outskirts of the city and camped in an open field in the valley of Qanah below Mounts Ainain and Uhud.

 The Prophet had been expecting the enemy for a week. He had already set up a patrol system around Madinah to ensure the city’s safety and had declared a state of emergency.

When the Makkan army arrived, the Prophet sought the counsel of his Companions regarding further defensive measures. His plan was to remain in the city, with the men facing the enemy at the entrance of lanes and alleys, and the women attacking from the rooftops of their houses.

 When the plan was outlined before the community, the Hypocrites among them, were happy not to be out on the battlefield. Their leader, Abdullah bin Ubayy, supported the plan since he could then sit safely at home without being accused of falling back from the battle. Some of the young men, however, were eager to meet the enemy in open combat, and pressed for a direct military encounter. The Prophet agreed to their demands, and accordingly, he divided his army into three squads – one squad consisted of the Muhajireen (migrants) with Mus’ab bin Umayr as the standard bearer, another comprised of the Aus tribe with Usayd bin Hudair as the standard bearer, and the third unit consisted of Khazraj with Hubab bin Mudhir as the standard bearer.

 After Asr’ prayer, the Prophet set out toward Mount Uhud and inspected his troops at Shaykhayn. He decided to send back the youths among them in his desire to keep them safe. However, he later allowed Rafi bin Khadij to stay on, for he was a good archer whose skills would prove useful. Up came Samura bin Jundab pleading to be retained also. After all, wasn’t he stronger than Rafi” And hadn’t he thrown Rafi in several wrestling bouts? Samura begged for a trial bout and made good his claim, so the Prophet allowed him to go into battle as well.

 At Shaykhayn the Prophet offered his Maghrib (sunset) and ‘Isha (evening) prayers. He spent the night there, and appointed fifty watchmen to guard the troops. In the stillness of the night, he then departed, going on to Shaut, where he prayed Fajr at dawn. Just as things seemed to be going reasonably smoothly, the Hypocrites struck the first blow. Abdullah bin Ubayy chose to rebel against the Prophet at this point and withdrew with his

300 companions. His action sent Banu Salma and Banu Harith reeling. Surprised and dismayed, they reacted to the news so badly that they themselves considered retreating. 

Ultimately, the Prophet’s counsel and Allah’s grace renewed their resolve, but the Muslim army of 1000 had shrunk by almost a third to 700. 

Heading the truncated army, the Prophet marched towards Uhud through a short route leaving the enemy forces in the western part of the area. He descended into the valley of Mount Uhud, all the while keeping his back to the mountain. Thus the enemy stood between the Muslims and Madinah. 

Then the Prophet drew up his troops for battle. On Mount Ainain, which later became known as Mount Ramaah, he formed a unit of fifty archers under Abdullah bin Jubaur AlAnsari , and instructed them to hold back the enemy and guard the backs of the Muslim troops. He stressed that under no circumstances were they to withdraw. They were to await his instructions regardless of which way the battle went. 

The pagans also drew up their troops towards the battlefield, marching to the songs and cheers of their own women who whipped up their zeal. Moving through the rows and rattling their tambourines, they sang: “If you go ahead, we shall embrace you, and spread carpets; if you retreat, we shall take offense and be estranged.” 

They addressed the standard bearers reminding them of their duty: “Look, Banu Abdul Dar! O defenders of your generation, strike violently with swords.”

Fighting begins

 

When both armies drew near, the standard bearer of the pagans, the most valiant man of the Quraysh, Talha bin Abi Talha Abdari, came forward on his camel and issued a challenge. He was answered by Zubayr bin Awwam . Zubayr jumped on to Talha’s camel, threw him down to the ground and slew him. “Allahu Akbar!” cried the Prophet , and all his men echoed the cry.

After the first ritual encounter, the two armies set upon each other. Khalid bin Waleed, who was then head of the pagan cavalry, attempted three times to reach the rear. Each time he was pushed back by the shower of arrows launched by the Muslim rear-guards.

 The Muslim soldiers concentrated their attack on eleven standard bearers of the pagans until they were all wiped out. As the enemy sank to the ground, the Muslim soldiers hurled themselves against the enemy. They charged into the ranks of the enemy forces and slew them in large numbers. Two Muslims, Abu Dunjana and Hamzah, fought with great prowess, and their heroic feats on the battlefield were to become legendary in Muslim military history. 

Tragically, Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib , the Lion of Allah, was martyred in the same battle he had dominated. He was killed by the javelin of Wahshi bin Harb, and Abyssinian slave, who with that successful throw earned his freedom from his master, Jubayr bin Mutim.

 Hamzah had killed Jubayr’s uncle, Tu’ayma bin Aidy, in the battle of Badr, and the grieving Jubayr promised Wahshi his freedom in return for Hamzah’s head. With his freedom in sight, Wahshi sat behind a rock awaiting his chance to strike. As Hamzah stood deftly beheading Saba bin Arfat, Wahshi launched his javelin. It pierced Hamzah’s abdomen and came out from between his legs. The Lion of Allah had fallen. 

Despite the loss of Hamzah, the Muslims managed to overcome the unbelievers who, faced with yet another defeat, began to flee. The pagan women also scattered as some of the Muslim soldiers gave chase. Some of the Muslim troops set about putting the fallen enemy to the sword and looting the enemy camp. It was at that point of perceived victory that events began unravelling. The archers who had been entrusted with the safety of their brothers in faith disobeyed the Prophet’s explicit orders and deserted their stations to join the looting. Forty of the rearguards descended the mountain and left the Muslims vulnerable to a comeback attack by the enemy.

When Khalid bin Waleed saw the sudden vacuum created by the disappearance of the Muslim rear-guards, he decided it was time to strike again. He and his men wiped out the ten archers guarding the rear. They then went around the mountain and surprised the Muslims from behind. Now that the Muslims were surrounded, Khalid’s cavalrymen raised a war cry and rushed back to retrieve their lost honour.

The Prophet is rumoured dead:

 

Standing at the rear along with seven of the Ansar and two men of the Muhajireen, the Prophet clearly saw Khalid’s cavalrymen appear from behind the mountain, and he called out at the top of his voice, “O servants of Allah, come to me!” The pagans who were positioned closer to him, heard him call out. One of their squadrons followed his voice and charged his way in a bid to finish him off before help could arrive. As the enemy approached, the Prophet said: “Whoever protects me from them deserves Paradise and will be my Companion in Paradise.” A man from the Ansar heard the Prophet’s call for help and rushed to shield him at the expense of his own life. The enemy surged toward the Prophet and drew even closer. The Prophet repeated his call, and another of his Companions advanced on the enemies and made them retreat at the cost of his life. One by one, all seven Ansar fell trying to save the Prophet .

When the seventh Ansari was slain, only two of the Muhajireen, Talha bin Ubaydullah and Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas remained with the Prophet . Now the pagans directed their main attack at the Prophet . A rock flew at him, and he fell on his side. One of his lower right teeth was broken, his lower lip was cut, and his helmet was broken, exposing his head and forehead. As an enemy soldier thrust his sword at the Prophet , he caught his bone below the eye, and two rings from the Prophet’s helmet pierced his face. Someone else struck the Prophet’s shoulder with a blow so powerful that it left him in severe pain for about a month. Fortunately, he escaped severe injury because of his double coat of mail.

Even as the Ansar and Muhajireen were risking their own lives to keep the Prophet safe, he had incurred injury. Sa’d bin Abi Waqaas unleashed a volley of arrows at the pagans, and the Prophet kept supplying him with more arrows from his own quiver, saying encouragingly, “Keep shooting. May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.” There was Talha bin Ubaydullah fighting against the whole band of enemies, as if he were the only one on the field. By the end of the battle, he had 35 or 39 injuries. Talha shielded the Prophet from the enemies’ arrows and swords with his hands until his fingers bled profusely and were palsied. As the arrows pierced his fingers, he gasped involuntarily. The Prophet comforted him: “If you had said Bismillah, you would have been lifted by the angels before the very eyes of the people.”

With human efforts faltering, Allah sent down supernatural allies to the rescue of His Prophet. Jibreel (Gabriel) and Mikaeel (Michael) descended and fought on his behalf. More Muslims rushed to the Prophet , and they too defended him fiercely. The first to come to his aid was Abu Bakr along with Abu Ubaydah bin Jarrah. Abu Bakr saw the helmet rings embedded in the Prophet’s face and tried to extract them, but it was Abu Ubaydah who succeeded in pulling out the metal rings with his teeth, losing two of them in the process. Then they advanced together to sustain the severely wounded Talha bin Ubaydullah.

Friend and foe alike gravitated toward the Prophet , who quite naturally was the focal point of the whole scene. Among the Muslims Abu Dujana, Mus’ab bin Umayr, Umar bin Khattab and Ali bin Abi Talib, flanked the Prophet even as the pagan soldiers continued to swarm around him, their attacks penetrating deeper and deeper. The Muslims took all possible measures to beat them back. Some of them were shooting arrows, others putting up defences, some fighting on fiercely while others resorted to deflecting arrows with their hands.

The enemy targeted the Muslims’ standard bearer Mus’ab bin Umayr. Countless swords hacked at his right hand severing it. Mus’ab transferred the standard to his left hand, and he upheld the standard on his knee supported by his breast and neck until his last breath. Since Mus’ab resembled the Prophet to a great extent, his killer, Abdullah bin Qam’a, thought that he had slain the Prophet and jubilantly shouted out that he had killed Muhammad . The news flew around the pagans who, in a surge of complacence, immediately eased the pressure on the Muslims.

Plight of the encircled Muslims

 

When the Muslims saw themselves surrounded, they were overtaken by panic and disorder and failed to chalk out a cohesive plan. Some of them escaped to the south and reached Madinah, while others fled toward the mountain pass and took refuge in a camp. Some of them ran toward the Prophet to protect him from the onslaught of the enemies, as has already been mentioned. Even as the majority of Muslims stood their ground, their efforts were ineffectual simply because they were disorganised.

Disorder prevailed in the Muslim ranks so much so that the first row collided with the rear row. The result was that Yaman, the father of Hudhayfah, was killed at the hands of the Muslims themselves. Once the rumour of the Prophet’s death filtered in, their morale plummeted even lower. Grief stricken and lost, some of them simply abandoned the field, while others were infused with resolve and rallied saying, “Come, let us die for what the Prophet gave his life.”

The crisis receded only when Ka’b bin Malik caught a glimpse of the Prophet , making his way to join the besieged Muslims. Ka’b recognised the Prophet’s eyes although his face was covered with the helmet. He cried loudly, “O Muslims, rejoice! Here is the Prophet.” 

Ka’b’s words galvanised the remaining Muslims, and they streamed to the Prophet’s side. Within a short time thirty companies assembled around him. The Prophet decided against further combat, prudently choosing retreat. He made his way through the rows and successfully led his troops towards the mountain pass. The pagans lost two of their soldiers in a fruitless effort to stop them. 

By retreating, the Prophet managed to save his army from further losses, losses that had come about from simple disobedience of his orders. Disobedience had changed the Muslim victory into catastrophe, but with Allah’s help the Muslims were pulled back from the precipice.

In the ravine

 

 When the Muslims came out of the siege and holed themselves up in the ravine, some individual skirmishes continued between the Muslims and pagan soldiers. The pagans chose to engage in small strikes rather than start another large-scale battle. They would remain in the battlefield for short periods, men and women alike hunting for their fallen Muslim enemies and mutilating them, Abu Sufyan’s wife, Hind bint Utbah, had thirsted for Hamzah’s blood since she had lost her kinsmen to Hamzah’s sword. When she saw Hamzah’s body, in a gruesome act of vendetta she cut out his belly, extracted his liver, and chewed it, but as she could not swallow it, she spat it out.

Ubayy bin Khalaf made another effort to kill the Prophet , but was himself struck down. The Prophet used his lance to unhorse Ubayy, who bellowed like a wounded ox as he rolled down from his mount. He died at Sarf near Makkah trying to go back to his lines. 

A few more men of the Quraysh came headed by Abu Sufyan and Khalid bin Waleed. They scaled the mountain at different points to overtake the Muslims at several places. Umar, along with a band of Muhajireen, fought them back and forced them to descend. According to some sources, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas shot three of their men dead with his arrows.

 Abu Sufyan and Khalid bin Waleed decided after the last abortive attempt to defeat the Muslims that it was time to return to Makkah. They were satisfied at the damage they had wrought. Even though they had lost twenty-two of their own, they had killed a great number of Muslims. The Muslim body count stood at seventy. Forty-one of the martyrs were from the Khazraj tribe, twenty-four from the Aus, and four from the Muhajireen. A Jew was also killed.

 At the Muslim camp, it was time to rest and take stock. When the Prophet finally sat down to rest, Ali fetched water for him to drink from Mehra, a stream in Uhud. The water smelled so unpleasant, the Prophet couldn’t drink it. However, he washed his face with it and the rest he poured over his head. His wound started bleeding again, and Fatimah burnt a piece of matting and dressed her father’s wounds with the ashes to stop the bleeding. Muhammad bin Muslimah fetched fresh water that the Prophet drank gratefully. Because of his wounds, he prayed Zuhr sitting, and his Companions adopted the same posture.

 The Muslim men were joined by their women who tended to the injured. Among them were Aishah, Umm Ayman, Umm Sulaym and Umm Sulayt who fetched drinking water in leather flasks, and served it to the wounded.

Dialogue and resolution:

 

Both sides were in a mode of retreat. When the pagans were poised to return to Makkah, Abu Sufyan appeared on Mount Uhud and shouted, “Is Muhammad among you?” Nobody responded from the Muslim side. Abu Sufyan then shouted: “Is Abu Bakr, the son of Abu Qahafa among you?” Once more he was met with silence. He shouted a third time: “Is Umar bin Khattab among you?” This call also went unanswered because the Prophet had forbidden the Muslims to make any reply. 

The silence satisfied Abu Sufyan, who called out jubilantly, “We have finally been relieved of those three.” Hearing these words Umar impetuously roared: “O enemy of Allah, all whom you named are alive, and Allah Almighty has more disgrace in store for you.” 

Abu Sufyan said, “Your slain have been mutilated. I neither ordered it nor disliked it.” After that he cried, “Glory to Hubal.” The Prophet instructed his Companions to counter, “Allah is the Highest and Most Majestic.” Abu Sufyan then shouted, “We have Uzza while you have none.” 

The Prophet bade his followers answer, “Allah is our Lord but you have none.” 

Abu Sufyan reminded the Muslims of their loss, saying, “What a glorious deed we have wrought. This is our revenge for Badr. Victory in war goes by turns; one wins today and the other tomorrow.” 

Umar retorted, “The scores are certainly not even, for our dead have gone to Paradise and yours to Hell.” Taken aback at Umar’s conviction, Abu Sufyan conceded, “Your people consider it so, and if it is true we are losers.” Then Abu Sufyan called Umar closer and said, “Umar, I ask you in the name of Allah if we have killed Muhammad.”

Umar swore, “By Allah, this is not true, and he is listening to what you say.” Abu Sufyan was convinced about the truth of Umar’s words and complimented his enemy, “To me you are more truthful and upright than Ibn Qam’a.” With his parting words, he issued a challenge, “We shall meet again at Badr next year.” At his, the Prophet had a Companion affirm, “Yes, it is an appointment between us.”

The Muslims tend to their own

 

After this exchange, Abu Sufyan went back, and the pagan troops began leaving the area. They rode their camels and kept their horses by their side to indicate the end of the battle and that they were headed back to Makkah. Their inexplicable decision to head back was nothing but a sign form Allah’s grace upon the Muslims, for nothing stood between the pagans and Madinah. Had they pressed on they would have found no opposition in the defenceless city, and the course of history would certainly have been entirely different.

After the departure of the enemy, the Muslims came to the battlefield to take care of the wounded and the martyred. Some of the dead were transported back to Madinah, but the Prophet ordained that the martyrs be brought back to the site of their deaths and that they be buried in battle dress without a bath and funeral prayer. He also buried two to three martyrs in a single grave. In some cases, he directed his Companions to shroud the martyrs in pairs. The martyr who had learned more of the Quran was lowered in the grave first. Paying tribute to their sacrifice in the cause of Allah, the Prophet said, “I shall be a witness unto them on the Day of Resurrection.”

As they retrieved the bodies of their martyred brothers, the people came upon the body of Handhla bin Abu Amr above the earth with water dripping from it. The Prophet explained to his men, “The angels are bathing him.” Apparently, the newly married Handhla had just consummated his marriage, when the call for Jihad was made. Without even stopping to bathe, he left his bride and rushed to the battlefield. Handhla fought heroically and was martyred, so the Prophet explained that the angels were bathing him to purify his body. Handhla was forever remembered as “Ghaseel Al-Malaaika” (one bathed by angels).

It was time to bury Hamzah as well. The dead hero had earned Allah’s pleasure, and that was more rewarding than ostentation of a grand burial. In fact, he was shrouded in a sheet so small that when his head was covered, his feet bared and when his feet were covered, his head was exposed. Some rushes were then put over his feet.

Back to Madinah

 

The martyrs had been buried and Allah’s blessings invoked upon them. Now it was time for the Prophet to return to Madinah. On the way, he stopped to give solace to some women whose relatives had fallen in the field. His invocation of Allah’s blessings upon them comforted them immensely.

Many of the bereaved Muslims bore their losses with patience and took comfort in knowing that their Prophet was safe, although they had lost their own loved ones in the bargain. The following incident illustrates the priority the Muslims placed on the Prophet’s safety. A group of Muslims returning from the battle encountered a woman from the tribe of Banu Dinar. Her husband, brother and father had all been killed at Uhud. When she was told of each of their deaths, she responded each time, “First tell me about the Prophet.” The people replied, “Thanks to Allah he is safe.” But the woman was not satisfied with the men’s assurances and asked to see for herself how the Prophet was. When the people brought her to see him, she said simply, “Now that you are safe, every grief has vanished.”

Back in Madinah the Muslims spent the night on high alert. After all, they were still in a state of emergency. Exhausted and wounded, they were also overcome by deep sorrow and remorse at the actions of a few who had risked the life of the Prophet himself. They all insisted on guarding the Prophet . The Prophet on the other hand, felt that it was far more important to monitor the retreating enemy’s movements carefully. He wanted to be prepared in case of a surprise attack on Madinah.

REFERENCE:

BOOK: WHEN THE MOON SPLIT FINAL.

Compiled by Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri

Edited and Translated by Tabassum Siraj – Michael Richardson Badr Azimabadi