The Battle of Uhud
Motives of the battle:
What happened is that Quraysh decided to avenge for those who were killed in the
battle of Badr, but actually this was not their real motive for the battle of Uhud. It was
that Quraysh found out that its leadership became in danger and that the power of
Muslims was continuously increasing; more and more tribes began to listen to the
Prophet (SAWS), which meant that he (SAWS) was about to be the leader in the Arabian
Peninsula.
Moreover, Quraysh began to worry about its trade and interests. All what the Prophet
(SAWS) wanted was to be left on his own to talk to people. However, Quraysh was
obstinately refusing to leave him alone; it was their source of living that the Prophet
(SAWS) wanted to deprive them of – as they thought. Allah (SWT) described them in
the Holy Qur’an in , “And making your provision (for livelihood) that you cry lies?” (
56:82). While many people nowadays fight the truth for their living; many others are
ready to fight to death for their cause in order to deliver their message.
Under the pretext of taking revenge for their defeat in the battle of Badr, Quraysh
started the fight this time. They went out in 3000 soldiers. The Prophet (SAWS) knew
this piece of news earlier, through the “Islamic intelligence” represented in Talha (RA)3
and Said Ibn-Zaid (RA).
An Introduction to the battle:
The Prophet (SAWS) saw a vision in his sleep. He (SAWS) saw that he was wearing a
strong shield, his sword was broken and some cows were being slaughtered. He (SAWS)
interpreted this vision that the strong shield signified Madinah; the broken sword
signified that one of his relatives was going to be killed; and the slaughtered cows
signified that some of his companions were going to be killed. In other words, the
signification of this vision was that the Prophet (SAWS) should take shelter in Madinah
and should not come out of it. However, the Prophet (SAWS) gathered the people and
consulted them. Now, who says that Islam opposes democracy?!
While the young wanted to go and fight the enemy outside Madinah, the elderly
preferred to stay in Madinah, and that was supported by the Prophet (SAWS). He
(SAWS) said, “We shall stay in Madinah and fight from here. When we succeed to drag
them here, men are going to fight them in the streets and women are going to fight
them from the roofs of their houses”. Even while planning for the battle, the Prophet
(SAWS) did not forget the role of women. Now again, who says that the role of women
in Islam is minor?!
The Prophet (SAWS) did not impose his opinion, though visions of Prophets are always
true; yet, counsel in Islam is of a very important value. If he (SAWS) had told his
companions about the vision, he (SAWS) would have suppressed their opinions. The
majority of the companions agreed to meet the enemy outside the town, and thus the
Prophet (SAWS) complied with the opinion of the majority.
After the Prophet (SAWS) got ready for war, some of the companions told him, “It
seems that you are not satisfied with this decision. We can change our minds in order to
please you”. The Prophet (SAWS) got angry and told them, “There is no way that a
prophet who puts on the suit of war can take it off until the fight between him and his
enemy is over. When you are resolved, then put your trust in Allah”. He (SAWS) shows
us here the value of counsel, democracy and respect for the opinion of the majority. It is
not because he (SAWS) was the leader that his opinion should always be obeyed.
A thousand Muslims went out to meet the army of the disbelievers. On the Muslims
way to Uhud, Abdullah Ibn-Ubay Ibn-Salul – the chief of hypocrites in Madinah –
withdrew from the Muslim army along with 300 soldiers, expressing his anger because
the Prophet (SAWS) listened to the opinion of the young and ignored that of the elderly,
including himself (SAWS). This man was going out to the battle in the first place so as to
discourage Muslims and pull their spirits down. After this soldier-withdrawal, the
Muslims’ self-confidence began to shake; so, Allah (SWT) reassured them in ,
“(Remember) as two sections of you were about to be disheartened, and Allah is their
Ever-Patronizing Patron; and on Allah let the believers then put their trust” ( 3:122).
One day, the Prophet (SAWS) was standing on Uhud, together with Omar (RA), Othman
(RA) and Abu-Bakr (RA). The mountain began to tremble for the passion it carried
towards the Prophet (SAWS) and his companions (RA). The Prophet (SAWS) said, “Calm
down, Uhud. You have on you now a Prophet, a sincere man and two martyrs”. The
mountain clamed down.
Back to the battle itself, Quraysh’s army came from the far mountains. The Prophet
(SAWS) met them on the battlefield, as Madinah – being surrounded by mountains – had
no entries but this one.
The plan of action:
Look how great the strategic military-planning of the Prophet (SAWS) was! He wanted
to force Quraysh to meet his army face to face, instead of being flanked. Thus, the plan
was to secure the left wing by making his army stand one line in the narrow space
between Mount Darters and Mount Uhud, so that the first soldier in the Muslim army
stood adjacent to the mountain. The right wing was secured by placing 50 of the
companions (RA), led by Abdullah Ibn-Jubair, on top of Mount Darters so as they would
not get flanked from their back.
As for Quraysh, the left wing consisted of 700 soldiers, led by Ikrima Ibn-Abu-Jahl. The
right wing consisted of 300 horsemen, led by Khaled Ibn-al-Walid. The middle wing
consisted of 2000 soldiers, led by Abu-Sufyan. Quraysh’s army was more than thrice as
much as the Muslim army.
Abu-Sufyan planned, indeed, to flank the Muslims from their back, however, his plan
failed due to the intact planning of the Prophet (SAWS) for the right and left wings.
Whenever Khaled Ibn-al-Walid tried to move towards Mount Darters, the darters
attacked him and his army, so he was obliged to stay where he was. As for the right
wing, the only way for Ikrima Ibn-Abu-Jahl to attack the Muslims was to go around
Mount Uhud, which was a very large distance – about 23 km. Thus, just as the Prophet
(SAWS) planned, Abu-Sufyan was forced to meet the Muslim army only with the middle
wing.
The flag-bearer in the Muslim army was Mos’ab Ibn-Umair (RA). The commander of
operations was Hamza Ibn-Abdul-Muttalib (RA), who had two assistants: Ali Ibn-AbuTaleb (RA) and Az-Zubair Ibn-al-Awwam (RA). On the other hand, the flag-bearers in
Quraysh army were the family of Abdud-Dar, who were of nine members.
The battle begins:
The Prophet (SAWS) gave specific and strict instructions to the darters, “If you saw us
triumphant and gathering booty, do not follow us. If you saw us defeated and killed,
don’t try to support us. Stay where you are whatever happens”. Look how far-sighted
the Prophet (SAWS) was! He (SAWS) knew that this was the only weak point through
which Quraysh could get to them.
The Prophet (SAWS) wanted to pull the spirits of the Muslims up; so, he (SAWS) carried
his sword and asked the Muslims,
– “Who wants to take my sword?”.
– “I am, Prophet of Allah”, all of them replied.
– “Who is going to be worth of taking it?”, he (SAWS) asked them.
– “How can one be worth of taking it?”, they asked him.
– “He who strikes the heads of disbelievers with it”, he (SAWS) replied.
Look how serious and determined in war time this kind and passionate Prophet (SAWS)
can be!
“I can take it and be worth of it”, Abu-Dojana, one of the Prophet’s companions said.
– “I traced him during the battle, and I saw him striking disbelievers strongly, until he
came to a masked horseman, whom he was going to strike, but it turned out to be a
woman. He refused to strike her, as the Prophet (SAWS) never hit a woman, and so
should his sword do”, Az-Zubair Ibnul-Awwam said.
Abu-Dojana was worth of the Prophet’s sword, indeed.
Hamza Ibn-Abdul-Muttalib, the Lion of Islam, stood in the middle of the battlefield
putting a feather in his chest, as if he wanted to say that he was not afraid. He began to
march in a bragging way. The Prophet (SAWS) said, “Allah hates this walk, except in
such a situation”. We have the right to boast and brag, not in front of our people, but in
front of our enemy.
The Prophet (SAWS) pulled the spirits of the army up and the army began to move.
Hamza (RA) penetrated Quraysh’s army to and fro many times. Ali (RA) and Az-Zubair
(RA) imitated him so courageously. Hamza decided to kill the flag-bearer. He started by
killing the first one, so another one carried the flag, so he killed him, and so on until he
killed all nine. Look how 700 are triumphant over 3000! You see how the power of faith
can be?
It was clear that the Muslims were the triumphant party just after only half an hour of
the beginning of the battle. However, Allah (SWT) has His own enactment in the
universe. He (SWT) does not favor anyone; whoever makes a mistake is responsible for
its consequences.
Thinking that the battle was over, the darters decided to leave their positions on the
mountain and look after their share the booty. Only Abdullah-Ibn-Jubair and ten of the
darters refused to move in obedience to the order of the Prophet (SAWS), whereas all
other 40 broke the Prophet’s orders. Consequently, the Muslim army was defeated.
Now, think for a minute! What if a whole nation broke the orders of the Prophet
(SAWS)? What happens then? The phrase “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger” is
repeated in the Qur’an more than 30 times. However, his orders (SAWS) are still
broken!
Khaled, too, thought that the battle was over and the plan failed; so, he decided to
withdraw the army. When he saw the darters leaving their positions on the mountain,
he returned in order to flank the Muslim army from their back. He managed to kill the
ten darters, who stayed in their places. Then, he stood on Mount Darters crying loudly,
“Glorified be Hobal”4
, so that Abu-Sufyan would know that their plan succeeded.
The spirits of Quraysh were pulled up, while the spirits of the Muslims began to be
pulled down. Abdullah Ibn-Qame’a, one of Quraysh’s army, was fanatic against
Muslims. He went out to war just to kill the Prophet (SAWS). He attacked Mos’ab IbnUmair (RA), thinking he was the Prophet (SAWS). He cut Mos’ab’s right arm, so Mos’ab
carried the flag in his left arm. Then he cut the left one, so Mos’ab carried the flag on his
chest, so that the flag of Islam remains high as long as he lives, until he was killed in the
end. The man cried, “I killed Muhammad! I killed Muhammad!”.
The Muslims began to throw their weapons and run away towards Madinah.
Meanwhile, the Prophet (SAWS) remained in the battlefield with just 20 of his
companions, among whom was a woman – Om-Emara, Nosaiba Bint-Ka’b.