[One Ummah] - Battle of Uhud

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Topic:               Battle of Uhud

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Text:  

The Battle of Uhud

(by Sister Rukaiah)

‘This [Uhud] is a mountain that loves us and is loved by us.’ [Narrated
by Anas; bukhari vol. 5 h # 4083]


‘Remember that morning thou [O Prophet] didst leave thy household [early]
to post the faithful at their station for battle…’ [imran 3: 121]

When the pagan Makkans suffered a crushing defeat at Badr [17 Ramadan AH2],
they promised to return the following year to avenge themselves by
destroying Madinah. Under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, the 3000
well-equipped army made its way to it and encamped at Uhud to fulfil their
word. 

Initially the Prophet [s] thought it better to fight the enemy from within
the city of Madinah – making it a fortress, thereby protecting it, but
the young Muslims in their eagerness for jihad [perhaps intoxicated with
the victory at Badr] insisted on meeting the enemy on an open battlefield.
The final decision to march out against the enemy brought out different
reactions among the Muslims, of which some were hypocrites and doubters.

Marching toward Uhud, some 300 men under the leadership of Abdullah ibn
Ubayy, a hypocrite, decided to return to Madinah half way through. He did
not want that lives should be lost when victory could be achieved by
fighting from Madinah itself. However, he was forgetting that when a
Prophet puts on his armor, it ill-befits him if he casts it aside without
using it in war. 

Furthermore, Allah says,

‘Remember two of your parties meditated cowardice; but Allah was their
protector, and in Allah should the Faithful [ever] put their trust.’
[imran 3: 122]

The two parties wavering in their minds were probably the Banu Salamah of
the Khazraj and the Banu Harithah, but they rallied under the Prophet’s
[s] inspiration. This shows that man may be weak, but if he allows his weak
will to be governed by the example of men of God, he may be strengthened.

Left with just 700 to tackle 3000, the battle of Uhud was a great testing
time for the young Muslim community.

Taking their positions for war, the Prophet [s] told fifty archers to take
their places on a rise a little to the left of the main force, saying,
‘Keep their [Makkan] cavalry from us with your arrows. Let them not come
upon us from our rear. Be the tide of battle for us or against us, stay at
this post! If ye see us plundering the enemy, seek not to have a share in
it; and if ye see us being slain, come not to our aid.’ [Ibn Ishaq 560] 

Allah sent down His help to the Muslims and fulfilled His promise. 


Narrated ibn Abbas, ‘On the day of the battle of Uhud, the Prophet [s]
said, "This is Jibril [as] holding the head of his horse and equipped with
war weapons." [bukhari vol. 5 h # 4041]


Quraysh were shattered. They gave way before the Muslim furious attack. The
victory of the Muslims was clearly in sight. However, the battle had not
been won yet when about 40 archers fell to securing the spoils of war. Most
of the archers, believing that the battle had been won, left their covering
post. The Makkan horsemen, under the leadership of Khalid ibn al Walid [who
went on to become one of the greatest Muslim generals] turned round and
attacked the Muslim forces from the back. They overran the remaining
archers too.


Allah says, ‘Behold! ye were climbing up the high ground, without even
casting a side glance at anyone, and the Messenger in your rear was calling
you back. There did Allah give you one distress after another by way of
requital, to teach you not to grieve for [the booty] that had escaped you,
and for [the ill] that had befallen you. For Allah is well aware of all
that ye do.’ [imran 2: 153]

The graves of the martyrs are still shown at Uhud. ‘Think not of those
who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their
sustenance in the Presence of their Lord.’ [imran 3: 169]

Despite the heavy odds, the battle of Mount Uhud would have been an even
greater victory than that at Badr for the Muslims but for the disobedience
of the band of archers. They disobeyed their leader which is the foremost
duty of a follower.

The Prophet [s] was wounded in his head and face, and one of his front
teeth was broken. Had it not been for his firmness, courage, and coolness,
all would have been lost. As it was, the Prophet [s] in spite of his wound,
and many of the wounded Muslims, inspired by his example, returned to the
field next day, and Abu Sufyan and his Makkah army thought it most prudent
to withdraw. Madinah was saved, but a lesson in faith, constancy, firmness,
and steadfastness was learnt by the Muslims.

Allah says, ‘Those of you who turned back on the day the two hosts met-
it was satan who caused them to fail, because of some [evil] they had done.
But Allah has blotted out [their fault]: For Allah is oft-Forgiving Most
Forbearing.’ [imran 3: 155]

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