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The third group of Muslims were those who cared for nothing except the Prophet (Peace be upon
him). At the head of them were notable Companions like Abu Bakr, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, ‘Ali bin Abi
Talib and others (May Allah be pleased with them), who hastened to protect the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) through unrivalled devotion.
As those groups of Muslims were receiving the blows of the idolaters and resisting instantly, the
fight flared up around the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him), who had only nine people
around him. We have already mentioned that when the idolaters started their encompassment there
were only nine persons around the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him); and that as soon as he
called out unto the Muslims: “Come on! I am the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him),” the
idolaters heard his voice and recognized him. So they turned back and attacked him with all their
power before any of his Companions ran to his aid.
A violent raging struggle broke out between the nine Muslims and the idolaters during which
peerless sort of love, self-sacrifice, bravery and heroism were revealed.
Muslim, on the authority of Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him)
along with seven Helpers and two Emigrants, was confined to a trap when the idolaters attacked
him. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) then said: “ He who pushes back those idolaters,
will be housed in Paradise.” or “He will be my Companion in Paradise.” One of the Helpers stepped
forward and fought the idolaters in defence of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) till he was killed.
Then they attacked the Messenger (Peace be upon him) again. The same process was repeated
again and again till all the seven Helpers were killed. Then the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon
him) said to his two Quraishite Companions: “We have not done justice to our Companions.”
The last of those seven Helpers was ‘Amara bin Yazeed bin As-Sakan, who kept on fighting till his
wounds neutralized him and he fell dead.
THE MOST AWKWARD HOUR IN THE MESSENGER'S LIFE:
After the fall of Ibn Sakan, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) remained alone with only
those two Quraishites. In a version by Abu ‘Uthman— authorized in
As-Sahihain
— he said: “At that
time, there were none with the Prophet (Peace be upon him) except Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh and Sa‘d
bin Abi Waqqas. That was the most awkward and dangerous hour for the Prophet (Peace be upon
him), but it was a golden opportunity for the idolaters who promptly took advantage of it. They
concentrated their attack on the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and looked forward to killing him.
‘Utbah bin Abi Waqqas pelted him with stones. One of the stones fell on his face. His lower right
incisor
Ruba‘iya
(i.e. the tooth that is between a canine and a front tooth) was injured. His lower lip
was wounded. He was also attacked by ‘Abdullah bin Shihab Az-Zuhri who cleaved his forehead.
‘Abdullah bin Qami’a (
Qami’a
means ‘a humiliated woman’), who was an obstinate strong horseman,
struck him violently on his shoulder with his sword; and that stroke hurt the Messenger of Allâh
(Peace be upon him) for over a month— though it was not strong enough to break his two armours.
He dealt a heavy blow on his cheek. It was so strong that two rings of his iron-ringed helmet
penetrated into his holy cheek. “Take this stroke from me, I am Ibn Qami’a.” He said w hile striking
the Messenger with his sword. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) replied— while he was
wiping the blood flowing on his face: “I implore Allâh to humiliate you.” (i.e.
Aqma’aka Allâh
). In
Al-
Bukhâri
it is stated his incisor broke, his head was cleaved, and that he started wiping the blood off
it and saying: “(I wonder) how can peopwho cut the face of their Prophet (Peace be upon him) and
break the incisor of his — he who calls them to worship Allâh. How can such people thrive or be
successful?” About that incident, Allâh, Glory is to Him, sent down a Qur’ânic verse saying:
·
“Not for you [O Muhammad (Peace be upon him) but for Allâh] is the decision; whether
He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the
Zâlimûn
(polytheists, disobedients, and wrong-doers).” [3:128]
At-Tabarani states that the P rophet (Peace be upon him) said: “Allâh’s Wrath is great on those who
besmear the face of His Messenger,” observed silence for a short while and then resumed saying:
·
“O Allâh, forgive my people for they have no knowledge.”
In
Sahih Muslim
it is stated that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) said:
·
“My Lord, forgive my people for they have no knowledge.”
In
Ash-Shifa
— a book by ‘Ayad Al-Qadi — it is related that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
·
“O Allâh, guide my people for they have no knowledge.”
It is quite certain that killing the Prophet (Peace be upon him) was their primary aim, but the two
Quraishites — Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas and Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh, who showed great and rare courage
and fought so fiercely and boldly that — though they were only two — were able to stop the
idolaters short of realizing their aim. They were of the best skillful Arab archers and kept on
militating in defence of the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) till the whole squad of idolaters
was driven off him (Peace be upon him).
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) emptied his quiver of arrows and said to Sa‘d bin Abi
Waqqas: “Shoot, an arrow Sa‘d. May my father and mother be sacrified for you.” The Prophet
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