The Life of the Prophet Muhammad

Uhud-Defeat Comes From Disobedience

When the survivors of the defeated Quraysh at Badr to Mecca gatheredto speak with Abu Sufyan. They said, 'Muhammad has best men, so helpus to fight him so that we may avenge those we have lost.' In order to dothis it was agreed that everyone who had had a share in the caravanshould put his profits towards the cost of a new army, which would bethree times as big as the one at Badr. Among those who joined the new the army was an Abyssinian slave called Wahshi; who was known for hisaccuracy with the spear. His master, Jubayr ibn al-Mut'im, said to him,'Go with the army and if you kill Hamzah, the uncle of Muhammad, inrevenge for my uncle's death, I will set you free when Hind, Abu Sufyan'swife heard about this she sent a Wahshi to say that she would clothe himin gold and silk if he would carry out his master's wish, for her, too,wanted Hamzah dead because he had both her father and brother. 

While the Meccans made their plans, the Prophet's uncle, Abbas, onethe few Muslims still living in Mecca, sent a letter of warning to theProphet (pbuh) in Medina. He told him that Quraysh were setting outwith a huge arm for Uhud, a place just outside Medina. On receiving thistimely warning the Prophet (pbuh) gathered his companions around himto discuss what they should do. He thought it would be better to wait forthe enemy inside the city rather than go out to meet them because it wouldbe easier to defend Medinahfrom inside the city walls. But the youngMuslims went out and face Quraysh. They said, '0 Prophet of Allah,lead us out against our enemies, or else they will think we are toocowardly and too weak to fight them.' One of the rulers of Medina, „AbdAllah ibn Ubayy, however, agreed with the Prophet (pbuh) and advisedhim to remain in the city, saying, 'Whenever we have gone out to fight anenemy we have met with disaster, but none has ever come in against uswithout being defeated.' 

But when the Prophet (pbuh) saw that the majority were in favor ofgoing out to meet Quraysh, he decided to do so, and after the Fridayprayer he put on his armor. 

The Muslims then set out with one thousand men in the direction ofMount Uhud which overlooks Medina. The enemy was camped on theplain below the mountain where they were laying waste the crops of theMuslims.'Abd Allah ibn Ubayy was angry that the Prophet (pbuh) had notfollowed his advice and after going part of the way, turned back forMedina, taking one-third of the entire army with him. This left the Prophet (pbuh) with only seven hundred men to meet the enormousMeccan army, which numbered three thousand. 

The remainder of the Mus1ims went on until they reached themountain of Uhud. There the Prophet (pbuh) ordered them to stand inranks in front of the mountain so that they would be protected frombehind. He then positioned fifty archers on top of the mountain, givingthem the following order: 'Keep the Meccan cavalry away from us withyour arrows and don't let them come against us from the rear, whether thebattle goes in our favor or against us. Whatever happens to keep to yourplaces so that we cannot be attacked from your direction, even if you seeus being slain or booty being taken.' When the Muslims were in position,the Prophet (pbuh) held up his sword and said, 'Who will use this swordwith its right?' This was a great honor and many men rose to claim it, butthe Prophet (pbuh) decided to give it to Abu Dujanah, a fearless warrior.Then the battle commenced. The Muslims were well organized and hadthe advantage because although Quraysh had more than four times asmany men, they were tired from their journey and thus not ready to fight.As a result, the Muslims were able to make a surprise attack, led by AbuDujanah, who was wearing a brilliant red turban. As the fightingincreased the Quraysh women, led by Hind, began to beat their drums tourge their men on. They called out poems to encourage their men to bebrave. 'If you advance, we hug you, spread soft rugs beneath you; if youretreat, we leave you. Leave and no more love you.' 

Abu Dujanah said: 'I saw someone urging the enemy on, shouting wildly,and I made for him, but when I lifted my sword against him he screamedand I saw that it was a woman; I respected the Apostle's sword too muchto use it on a woman.' That woman was Hind. As usual, Hamzah, theProphet's uncle fought with great courage, but while leading the Muslimsin a fierce attack, which nearly defeated the Meccans, he was suddenlyand cruelly struck down by the slave Wahshi. Later, Wahshi told how ithappened: 'I was watching Hamzah while he was killing men with hissword. I... aimed my spear until I was sure it would the mark and hurled itat him. He came on towards me but collapsed and fell. I left him thereuntil he died, then I came and took back my spear. Then I went back tothe camp because I did not want to kill anyone but him. My only aim inkilling him was to gain my freedom.' 

The Quraysh warriors were soon scattered and forced to retreat. Itlooked as though they had been defeated! Seeing this, forty of the fiftyMuslim archers on top of the mountain ran down from their position tocollect booty, for the Quraysh army had left many of their belongingsbehind. The archers rushed to take what they could, forgetting the Prophet's orders. Khalid Ibn al-Walid, Commander of the Qurayshcavalry, saw what' happening and quickly turned his men around andordered them to attack the Muslims from behind. The Muslims weretaken completely by surprise. The Quraysh then began attacking fromboth sides at once. Many Muslims were killed and instead of winning, they began to lose the battle. 

To add to the confusion, it was rumored that the Prophet (pbuh) hadkilled. When the Muslims heard this they were at a loss to know what todo. Then a man named Anas called out, 'Brothers! If Muhammad (pbuh)has been killed what will your lives be worth without him? Don't thinkabout living or dying. Fight for Allah. Get up and die the wayMuhammad (pbuh) died!‟ and on hearing these words the Muslims tookcourage. 

There had been several cavalry attacks on the position held by theProphet (pbuh) and his companions and the Prophet's cheek had beenbadly gashed. As the Meccans closed in again he called out, 'Who willsell his life for us?' At this, five Ansar got up and fought until they werekilled, one by one. 

Their places were soon taken, however, by a number of Muslims whodrove off the attackers. Amongst the defending Muslims was AbuDujanah who put his arms around the Prophet (pbuh) and made himselfinto a human shield. Throughout the remainder of the battle he held on tothe Prophet (pbuh), but as the fighting drew to a close he suddenly let go.Abu Dujanah was dead, killed by the many arrows in his back that hadbeen aimed at the Prophet (pbuh). With the defeat of the Muslims,Quraysh was at last avenged. As they left the field of battle Abu Sufyancalled out to his men, 'You have done well; victory in war goes by turns today in exchange for Badr!' When he heard this, the Prophet (pbuh) told„Umar to answer him, saying, 'Allah is Most High and Most Glorious. Weare not equal. Our dead are in Paradise and your dead are in Hell!' TheMuslim soldiers then followed the departing Quraysh part of the way tomake sure they were not going to attack Medinah. 

After the enemy had left, the Prophet (pbuh) made his way around theBattle-field to see the extent of the Muslim losses. Many of the mostfaithful Muslims had been killed. Among the dead, the Prophet (pbuh)found the body of his closest friend and uncle, Hamzah, who had beenkilled by the slave, Wahshi. At the sight of this, the Prophet (pbuh) said,'There will never be a moment as sad for me as this.' Hamzah's sister,Safiyya, came to pray and ask forgiveness for her brother, saying 'Webelong to Allah and to Allah we are returning.' After the Prophet (pbuh) had prayed over the many dead, he said, 'I tell you that no one has beenwounded in Allah's cause but Allah will remember him and on the Day ofResurrection will raise him from the dead. Look for the one who haslearned most of the Qur'an and put him in front of his companions in thegrave.' They were buried where they had fallen as martyrs. 

Of them Allah says: 

"Do not think that those, who were killed for Allah's sake are dead.Nay, they are alive. With their Lord they have provision. Jubilant (arethey) because of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of Hisbounty, rejoicing for the sake of those that have not yet joined thembecause they have nothing to fear or grieve over".(Qur'an 3.169-170) 

It is said that the Prophet (pbuh) swore that no Muslim who had diedfor his beliefs would want to come back to life for a single hour, even ifhe could own the whole world unless he could return and fight for Allahand be killed a second time. The Muslims realized that their defeat hadbeen caused by their disobedience to the Prophet (pbuh). The Qur'an tellsus that the Muslims had been tested by Allah at Uhud and had failed butthat Allah forgave them for their weakness. 

"Some of you there are that desire this world, and some of you thereare that desire the next world. Then He turned you from them, that Hemight try you; and He has forgiven you, and Allah is bounteous to thebelievers". (Qur'an 3.145) 

People living nowadays should learn from the lessons learned by theearly Muslims at Uhud. Disobedience to the Prophet (pbuh) and love forthe things of this world caused their defeat. The same can happen to us aswell. Even if we have no battle like Uhud to fight, we can still die forAllah's sake by fighting what is bad in ourselves. When the Prophet(pbuh) came back from a battle he said to his men, 'We have returnedfrom the lesser war to the greater war.' He meant by this that the strugglethat goes on within every human being to become a better person is themore difficult battle.