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THE MUSLIMS CONSEQUENTLY GOT ENTRAPPED BETWEEN TWO MILLSTONES.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was then among a small group of fighters — nine in
number at the rear of the army, watching the engagement and braving the Muslim fighters. Khalid
and his men took him by utter surprise, and obliged him to follow either of two options:
1. To flee for his life and abandon his army to its doomed end, or
2. To take action at the risk of his life, rally the ranks of the Muslims again and work their way
through the hills of Uhud towards the encompassed army.
The genius of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him), his peerless and matchless courage
made him opt for the second course. He raised his voice calling out unto his Companions: “Slaves of
Allâh.” He did that though he knew that hisloud voice would be heard by the idolaters before it was
heard by the Muslims. He called out unto them risking his life in this delicate situation.
The idolaters, indeed, recognized him a nd reached his position even before the other Muslims could
do so.
The encompassment of the Muslims revealed three categories of people: The first group were those
who were only interested in themselves and they went so mad that they fled. They left the
battlefield and did not know what happened to the others. Some of this group fled as far as
Madinah. Some others went up the mountain.
The second Muslim group were those who returned to the battle, but mixed with the idolaters in
such a way that they could not recognize one another. Consequently some of them were killed by
mistake. On the authority of Al-Bukhari, he states that ‘Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said:
“When it was Uhud Battle, the idolaters were utterly defeated. Satan then called out: ‘O slaves of
Allâh. Beware the rear (i.e. the enemy is approaching from behind)’. So those who were at the front
turned back and fought the ones who were behind.”
Then Hudhaifah caught sight of his father ‘Al-Yaman’ about to be killed by other Muslims. So he
said: “O servants of Allâh! Beware! This is my father. This is my father.” ‘Aishah (May Allah be
pleased with her) said: “But they did not part with him till he was killed.” Hudhaifah then said: “May
Allâh forgive you.” And ‘Urwa said: “By Allâh, from that time on Hudhaifah has always been blessed
and wealthy till he died.” That was because he forgave them and refused to take any blood-money
for his father’s murder but recommended that it be spent in charity.
This Muslim group suffered from great bewilderment, and disorder prevailed among them. A lot of
them got lost and did not know where to go. At this awkward time they heard someone calling:
“Muhammad is killed.” This news made them even more bewildered and almost out of sense. Their
morale broke down, or almost did in a great number of individuals. Some of them stopped fighting,
slackened, and cast down their weapons. Others thought of getting in touch with ‘Abdullah bin Ubai
— the head of the hypocrites— and seeking his assistance to fetch them asecurity pledge from Abu
Sufyan.
Anas bin An-Nadr passed by those people who were shuddering of fear and panic, and inquired:
“What are you waiting for?” They said: “The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) has been
killed.” “What do you live for after Muhammad (Peace be upon him)? Come on and die for what the
Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) has died for.” Then he said: “O Allâh I apologize for what
these people (i.e. the Muslims) have done; and I swear disavowal of what the idolaters have
perpetrated.” Then he moved on till he was encountered by Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh who asked him: “Where
to, Abu ‘Umar?” Anas replied: “Ah, how fine the scent of the Paradise is! I smell it here in Uhud.” He
went on and fought against the idolaters till he was killed. Nobody but his sister could recognize his
dead body. It had been cut and stabbed by over eighty swords, arrows or spears. It was by the tip
of his finger that she — after the battle — recognized him.
Thabit bin Ad-Dahdah called unto his people saying:
“O kinfolk of Helpers, if Muhammad (Peace be upon him) were killed, Allâh is Everlasting and He
never dies. Fight in defence of your Faith. Allâh will help you and so you will be victorious.” A group
of Helpers joined him and all set out and attacked a battalion of Khalid’s horsemen. He kept on
fighting till he and his friends were killed.
An Emigrant passed by a Helper who was besmeared by blood. He said: “O fellow! Have you heard
of Muhammad ’s murder?” The Helper answered: “If Muhammad (Peace be upon him) were killed,
then he must have completed the delivery of the Message. So fight in defence of your religion!”
With such boldness and encouragement, the Muslims soon recovered their spirits, came round to
senses and desisted the idea of surrender or contacting the hypocrite ‘Abdullah bin Ubai. They took
up arms and resumed the fight attempting to make way to the headquarters, particularly after the
news of the Prophet ’s death had been falsified. The glad tidings nerved them, and helped them to
manage quite successfully the break of the military blockade, and concentrate their forces in an
immune place to resume a relentless and fierce fight against the polytheists.
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