The Day Sorrow Engulfed The Muslims

 

In the early stages of Islam, the Muslims suffered a lot of setbacks and persecution. But after that, by the will of Allah, they migrated from Makkah to Madinah. It was after the victories at the Battle of Badr and the expedition of Qardah that things were taking a turn for the better. But Quraysh, humiliated on two different occasions, was eager for revenge. And thus the battle of Uhud took place. Today, 7 Shawwal 1446 AH, marks the 1443rd year since the armed conflict. So let us swoop onto the battle!

On 17 Ramadan 2 AH, or 624 CE, the Muslims fought against the pagans of Quraysh at Badr. The battle was decisive, with the Muslims triumphing with the help of Allah. The Muslims numbered around 313 while the Quraysh were around 1000. The battle saw around 70 pagans killed and 70 pagans taken prisoner. This was an utter embarrassment for Quraysh at that time since they were a well-known tribe at that time. Then, in Jumadal Awwal, the Prophet (SAW) dispatched a cavalry unit of 200 men under the command of Zayd ibn al Haritha to raid a Quraysh caravan. Zayd’s forces attacked the caravan near a spring in Najd named Qardah and successfully managed to drive off the men of the caravan and gained around one hundred thousand dirhams (silver coins) in the process. A member of the caravan named Furat ibn Hayyan was captured, and he later on accepted Islam after experiencing humane treatment at the hands of the Muslims. This expedition was a massive economic defeat for the Quraysh, and it further fuelled their resentment towards the Muslims and thirst for revenge.

The Quraysh started their preparation for the battle under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. Poets were brought in to further incite the soldiers with songs of revenge. They also brought many women to boost their morale and stop them from fleeing. The Quraysh army consisted of 3000 men, and the tribe of Banu Abdud Dar was appointed as their standard bearer. Meanwhile, the Muslims were discussing whether to fight in the city of Madinah or to meet the enemy outside the city. They initially planned to fight within the city, and it would have been great for the hypocrites to make it seem like they were fighting while they were actually not. But the younger and more energetic Muslims wanted to fight outside the city, and it was eventually the case. The Muslim army numbered around 1000, but the hypocrites left the army, so it was actually around 700, reduced to almost two-thirds of the original number. The Prophet (SAW) set out with the army, and they set their back to Mount Uhud. The Prophet (SAW) ordered 50 archers under the command of Abdullah ibn Jubayr (RA), to stay on top of Mount Ainain, which was later named Mount Ramah. They had one instruction: not to leave their place, even if they saw giant birds come and take the Muslims one by one.

The battle began with a duel between Talha ibn Abi Talha from the Quraysh, and Zubayr ibn al Awwam (RA) from the Muslims. Zubayr (RA) struck Talha down from his camel and slew him. Then after that the two armies started fighting, and the Muslims were gradually getting the upper hand. The archers atop the hill were preventing Quraysh’s cavalry unit under Khalid ibn Walid (RA) from launching attacks through the rear. The battle was going on when suddenly, the Lion Allah, the uncle of the Prophet (SAW), Hamza (RA), was struck by Wahshi in the abdomen with a lance. Wahshi was an Abyssinian slave owned by Jubayr ibn Mut’im, and he was tasked with killing Hamza (RA) as a revenge for killing Tuayma ibn Adiyy, the uncle of his owner, in the Battle of Badr. Hamza (RA), was thus martyred. Despite the loss of the Lion of Allah, the Muslims started to prevail over the pagans.

Seeing the Muslims winning, the 40 archers from the 50 on top of the hill disobeyed the one order they had, and they left their positions to collect the spoils of war. This was the moment Khalid had waited for, he attacked from the rear and caused a lot of damage to the Muslims. All of the archers were martyred, along with a couple dozen more Muslims. Some Muslims were martyred because of friendly fire. At that time, a companion named Mus’ab ibn Umayr (RA) was martyred. He looked so similar to the Prophet (SAW) that a rumour spread that the Prophet (SAW) was dead. But after some time, the Muslims saw the Prophet (SAW) fighting, and they were assured that he was indeed alive. Some companions were beside the Prophet (SAW) defending him, but the Prophet (SAW) still suffered a few injuries. The Muslims began to retreat into a ravine, with some individual skirmishes here and there. Hind bint Utba, the wife of Abu Sufyan, in an act of vendetta, pierced the chest of Hamza (RA) and chewed it since at the Battle of Badr, Hamza (RA) killed her father, brother, and uncle. After this, both sides were in a kind of retreat, since the pagans only wanted revenge for the Battle of Badr. Abu Sufyan appeared on Mount Uhud, and he, amongst a few other things, mentioned that this was a revenge for the Battle of Badr. Umar responded by saying that the scores were certainly not even, as the dead of the Muslims go to Jannah while the dead of the pagans go to hell. Then Abu Sufyan issued a promise to meet again in the following year, and the army started returning.

As the Muslims were tending to their dead and treating their wounded, the Prophet (SAW) was weeping over the death of his beloved uncle, Hamza (RA). The martyred hero had definitely earned Allah’s pleasure. The next morning, the Prophet (SAW) sent a crier to announce that everyone who had participated at Uhud should prepare to pursue the enemy. The Quraysh were camped at a place around 36 miles from Madinah, and they were debating on whether to attack again or not. The Muslim army reached a place named Hamra ul Asad, and the Prophet (SAW) deceived the Quraysh into going back to Makkah, and the threat of another attack was prevented. The total death count at the Battle of Uhud for the Quraysh was around 30. But sadly, a total of 70 Muslims were martyred, and this battle served as a lesson for the Muslims. Allah mentions in the Qur’an: {So what you suffered on the day the two armies met was by Allah’s Will, so that He might distinguish the true believers} (Surah Ali I’mran: 166).

From this battle, we can ponder upon the importance of following the orders of our superiors, as a single act of disobedience of the archers turned the whole battle around. Allah says in the Qur’an: {O believers! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Should you disagree on anything, then refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. This is the best and fairest resolution} (Surah Nisa: 59). May the current generations of Muslim Ummah take these lessons by heart, and not to repeat such mistakes of disobedience to superiors. May Allah Almighty help and bless us all.


Syed Abdallah Alman Ahmad is a
student in MadrassatunNoor, Dhaka.