The Day of Uhud

The morning of the battle had come at last. Seven hundred Muslims were standing against a polytheist army of three thousand people. That morning, after the Prayer, the Messenger of Allah sat with his Companions and talked with them lengthily. He advised the believers to behave accordingly to the holy book of Allah, to be mindful of what is permitted and what is not, to be patient and dignified at all times. He commanded them to be unified, work as one, and be cautious of the enemy at all times. Then he asked that his Companions get ready for battle. He personally lined them up in rows and said to them, “No one shall start fighting until I have given permission to do so!”

The Meccan army, full of excessive self-confidence, was waiting for them at Uhud. Khalid ibn Walid was standing on the right side of the army, with his two-hundred horsemen. The Messenger of Allah chose fifty archers and appointed Abdullah ibn Jubayr as their commander.
The he pointed to the horsemen in the polytheist army and firmly instructed them,
“Keep these horsemen away from us; do not let them come from behind and besiege us! Even if, for a moment, it seems as though the victory is on our side, do not abandon your positions! Make sure that we are not attacked from your side. Take your positions and do not leave them for any reason whatsoever! Even if you see that we have defeated them and you see us among their soldiers, do not leave your positions! Even if you see crows hovering over us eating away at our flesh, do not leave your positions unless I have sent word to you! If you see that we are being killed, do not attempt to come to our aid; do not rush to our defense and support! Shoot them with your arrows instead because horses cannot advance when they have arrows being shot at them! And never forget that, as long as you stay in your positions, we will be the conquering side.”
After Allah’s Messenger prayed, “O my Gracious Allah! I make the effort and attack in Your Name only, and only in Your Name do I advance onto the enemies. My struggle with the enemy is for Your sake only! You are my sole power of support and what a wonderful Protector You are,” the battle had finally begun.
It was a ruthless and fearsome battle. Ali and our Prophet’s uncle, Hamza, had gone in through one end of the nonbeliever army and had come out through the other end. The other Companions were also fighting courageously, shouting periodic cries of exaltation to their Lord. Before long, the non-believer army was dispersed and had started to retreat. The clinking of the swords had decreased and a kind of chase had started, so to speak. The polytheists, whose unity had been shattered, were running to save their lives.
On that day of battle, the mounted troops of the Meccan army attempted to attack at three different occasions, and each time they were driven back by the attack of the archers. The horses were unable to advance against the flood of arrows raining on them, just like our Prophet had said. The reason that our Prophet had so insistently warned the fifty archers to not leave their positions was indeed this very fact. However, seeing that the Muslims were chasing the non-believers, the archers atop Mount Uhud left their positions, thinking that they had won the battle. The mounted troops of the polytheist army noticed that the archers had left their position. Without wasting any time, they rushed over and besieged the Muslim army from behind. Without having the arrows raining over them, the polytheist horsemen had taken advantage of the opportunity for easy attack. Thus the Islam army found itself in between the enemy just when it was least expected. When the non-believers who had been running away noticed what had just happened, they turned around and came back to attack as well. Shouts of, “For the sake of Uzza!” and “In the name of Hubal!” rang in their ears. The believers had unexpectedly found themselves in a very tight situation. What seemed like a small act of neglect was about to change the course of everything.
The main goal for the non-believers was, without a doubt, the Messenger of Allah, and, even amongst all this chaos, they had him especially in target. A non-believer named Utba ibn Abi Waqqas had thrown four stones one after the other, and one of them had struck our Prophet’s blessed face. As a result, his lower right tooth had broken and his blessed lips had also been wounded. Taking opportunity of the disorder, the nonbelievers were attacking non-stop. Arrows and stones were raining over the Messenger of Allah. For a moment, Ibn Qamiah’s voice could be heard. “Take this! I am Ibn Qamiah,” he was shouting, and he was attacking Allah’s Messenger with one blow after another. Upon this, our Prophet turned towards him and responded, “Let Allah himself take care of you.”
In the face of another danger, the Messenger of Allah called out, “Who will fight against these?” The response was from a high-pitched but strong voice calling out, “I will, O Messenger of Allah!”
The voice belonged to Nasiba bint Ka’b. This self-sacrificing woman had mounted her horse and rode to Uhud, to our Prophet’s side, and she was fighting to protect him. Upon hearing the cry of Ibn Qamiah’s challenge against the Messenger of Allah, she and Mus’ab ibn Umayr decided to advance onto him and eliminate him with a few blows with their swords. However, Ibn Qamiah had put on two coats of armor that day and So, the strikes from Nasiba bint Ka’b’s sword could not finish the task.
Mus’ab ibn Umayr was carrying the banner of the Messenger of Allah that day, and he was fighting like a lion. The scattering of the Muslims, for an instant, had saddened him deeply. He was fighting with all his might, with the banner in one hand and his sword in the other. Meanwhile, the non-believer Ibn Qamiah had taken an oath to kill our beloved Prophet. Mus’ab looked very much like our Prophet when inside his coat of armor. So, Ibn Qamiah found Mus’ab and stood against him to fight. After a fearsome struggle between the two, Mus’ab was martyred. After his martyrdom, the banner of Islam did not fall to the ground. An Archangel, in the form of Mus’ab, carried the banner of the Muslims in his place.
Ibn Qamiah, on the other hand, thought that he had killed Allah’s Messenger. He returned to the Quraysh and cried out in joy, “I killed Muhammad!” These words echoed throughout Uhud. This news devoured whatever strength the Muslims had left. There were ones who dropped their swords and cried out frantically when they heard of the news echoing throughout. Amidst the turmoil, Ka’b ibn Malik was the first to see and announce to the believers that the Messenger of Allah was living. He cried with a strong voice, “I saw the Messenger of Allah with these very eyes; there was blood streaking down from under his headpiece but he was alive! O Muslim men and women! Good tidings to you! The Messenger of Allah is right over there,” and announced that our Prophet had not been killed to everyone that he came across.
With these cries of joy, Uhud had found life once again. Everyone turned to where the voice came from and life had filled Uhud once again.
Meanwhile, our Prophet’s headpiece had broken to pieces and two of its rings had sunk into his cheeks. One of his teeth had been broken, and his lips and face were wounded and bleeding. This situation brought unbearable pain to our Prophet’s Companions. Blood was oozing down the face of the Messenger of Allah, for whose sake they were willing to sacrifice their lives. The beloved Prophet of compassion, on the other hand, had opened his hands to the skies and was praying for those who had wounded his head and broken his tooth.
“O my Gracious Lord! Show my people the rightful path! For they do not know,” he prayed. He was so full of mercy and compassion, even towards those who wanted to kill him. There was another great sorrow that awaited our beloved Prophet on that day of Uhud. His uncle, Hamza, had been martyred by a slave named Wahshi. Hamza had been known as “the lion of Allah” when he was alive, and he handed in his soul as “the master of martyrs.”
The Companions of our Prophet were trying to protect Allah’s Messenger with all their might, on one hand, and were retreating towards and gathering at the foothills of the mountain, on the other. This was the first step in turning the battle at Uhud to the advantage of the believers. Following that very challenging and tough period in the battle, Allah the Almighty sent down a feeling of Divine peace and serenity over the Islam army to assure that the believers both reach a state of inner comfort and physical rest. The Archangel, who had taken over Mus’ab ibn Umayr’s duty of carrying the banner of Islam after he had been martyred, continued to wave the banner of Islam in the air at Uhud.
Both sides had suffered great casualties, and the commander of the Meccan army, Abu Sufyan, found it dangerous to attack the Muslims once again. The retreat of the Muslims towards the foothills of Mount Uhud, and the way they gathered together has startled him a bit. Therefore, he called his army to return back to Mecca in order to, at least, not harm the victory they had achieved up to that point. As Abu Sufyan and his soldiers were starting to turn back, the Messenger of Allah wanted to be certain that they were not planning something evil against them. For he was worried that they might enter Medina to harm the women and children on their way back. Thus, he called his leading Companions to his side and instructed them to follow the polytheist army.
“If they mount their camels when leaving, this means they will leave without committing any harm. However, if they leave the camels and mount their horses, this means that they are aiming for Medina! And this would mean none other than explicit plunder. If you notice such an intention, then we will all unite and advance onto them,” he said.
After being instructed by the Messenger of Allah, the Respected Companions started their pursuit of the enemy. They were so close that they could even hear the things that the polytheists were talking amongst themselves. A group of polytheists wanted to plunder Medina while they had the chance, but others, like Safwan ibn Umayya, said, “Don’t even let the thought cross your mind! Don’t you see how they’ve come back together and how fearlessly they walk into the eyes of death! There is no way that we can reach Muhammad before killing them all. Let’s get out of here before turning our victory into a pathetic defeat.”
And so, the Meccan army mounted their camels for the long journey and set off on the road. The fearlessness and determination of the believers in honor of the cause they believed in had discouraged the Meccan army and forced them to leave Uhud with a rush.
When the non-believers decided not to take the risk of continuing in battle and retreated out of Uhud, the Respected Companions of our Prophet walked back to the battlefield among the bodies of the dead and wounded. The wounded were to be taken and the martyrs were to be trusted over to Mount Uhud. Testifying on account of his Companions who sacrificed their lives for the sake of Allah the Almighty, our beloved Prophet declared, “The Messenger of Allah testifies that in the Day of Judgment you will also be martyrs in the eyes of Allah!”
Then, he turned to the Muslims and said, “O people! Come here to visit them on different occasions! Send greetings to them. I swear to Allah, whose Hand of Power bears possession to myself, that they will accept and respond to the greetings of every believer that greets them until the Day of Judgment.”
After the Muslims returned to Medina, every believer took sanctuary in their own home and started to take care of their wounds. Before long, Bilal shouted the call for the Evening Prayer. Upon hearing the call, the believers gathered in the masjid and performed the Prayer altogether. The Night Prayer was also performed in congregation in the masjid. The Battle of Uhud, which had started in the morning of that Saturday, ended by the Evening Prayer of that very same day.
The believers retreated into their homes to rest and heal their wounds that Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, with the call to Prayer from Bilal, they all gathered again in the Masjid an-Nabawi.
The Messenger of Allah was not sure whether the nonbelievers were going to come back or not because they were returning from the battle with nothing in their hands. It was highly likely that they change their minds while on their way back, and come back to Medina to attack once again. They had to prevent such a possibility from arising. Also, they needed to let everyone know that Medina was the authority once again after the battle of Uhud. Surely, a short while later, our Prophet’s worries were justified. After having advanced a bit on their journey, indeed, the Quraysh evaluated their situation. Talking among themselves,, they decided that it was wrong for them to return empty-handed and that they needed to attack Medina once again, this time to wipe the Muslims out altogether. They had fought but now had nothing in their hands to show that they had won the battle.
Some of them insisted that they go back to fight, but not everyone agreed. Safwan ibn Umayya expressed his own opinion,
“O my tribe! Do not dare to try this! Right now they are much more furious with us than ever before. I am afraid that they will gather up those who were not with them at Uhud, and they will come to attack us all together. The best thing for you to do is be content with what you have in your hands and go back without losing any time. For I am afraid that if you do attack them once again, you will also lose what you already have!”
When the Messenger of Allah heard of this news, he first consulted Abu Bakr and Umar. They decided to follow the non-believers to keep an eye on them.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that there were some who insisted on going back to Mecca, the majority had agreed on the idea to attack Medina once again, and the Meccan army was just getting ready to take off. Just then, news that the Muslims were coming after them reached the army. Seeing that they had been mistaken in thinking that they had heavily beat the Muslims, the non-believers started to panic when they learned that they were being pursued, and so decided to return to Mecca. Even when full of fear, the polytheists did not pass an opportunity to supposedly challenge the believers. They sent word to the Messenger of Allah, through a caravan they ran across on the road, saying, “After gathering up our strength once again, we are going to come back and wipe out you and your Companions!”
When this news reached him, our Prophet merely said, “Allah is sufficient for us and what a wonderful support He is!”
After intimidating the enemy, the Muslims returned to Medina having bandaged the wounds from Uhud. Thus, the victors of Uhud were the Islam army once again.