Basic HTML Version
124
upright. Nafi‘ bin Jubair said: I heard an Emigrant say: “I have witnessed Uhud Battle and watched
how arrows had been hurled from all directions at the Prophet (Peace be upon him). None o f them
however hit him. ‘Abdullah, bin Shihab Az-Zuhri said: ‘Guide me to Muhammad (Peace be upon
him)! By Allâh, If I didn’t kill him, I would not hope to live.’ Although the Messenger of Allâh (Peace
be upon him) was next to him, alone — but he did not o bserve him. Safwan, a co-polytheist of his,
blamed him (for not translating his words into deeds), but ‘Abdullah swore that he did not see him
[the Prophet (Peace be upon him)] and added that he might be immune to our attempts on his life.
He also said that four of them pledged to maa fresh attempt and kill him, but also to no avail.
The Muslims showed unprecedented rare heroism and marvellous sacrifices. Abu Talha — for
instance — shielded the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) by his body and used his chest to
protect him against the enemy arrows. Anas related that on Uhud Day when people dispersed off
the Prophet (Peace be upon him), Abu Talhah was a skillful sort of archer who would pull arrows so
much that he broke two or three bows that day. When a man passed along with a quiver full of
arrows, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) would say: “Spread the arrows to Abu Talhah!” Then when
the Prophet (Peace be upon him) watched people shooting, Abu Talhah would say: “I sacrifice my
father and mother for your safety. Do not go too close lest an arrow of theirs should hit you. I would
rather die than see you hurt.”
Abu Dujana stood before the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) and used to protect him from
the arrows by his back. Hatib bin Balta‘a followed ‘Utbah bin Abi Waqqas — who broke the
honourable incisor [of the Prophet (Peace be upon him)] — struck him with the sword, cracked his
head and took his mare and sword. Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas was so keen to kill his brother ‘Utbah, but
he could not; however, Hatib could.
Sahl bin Haneef — a hero archer — who had pledged to die in the cause of Allâh, also played a
prominent part in Uhud hostilities.
The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) himself was involved in shooting arrows. In a version
by Qatadah b in An-Nu‘man that the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) shot so many arrows
that the two ends of his bow were flattened. So Qatadah bin An-Nu‘man took it to remain with him
for good. On that day his eye was so hurt that it fell down onto his cheek; but the Messenger of
Allâh (Peace be upon him) reput it in its socket with his hand and it became the better and the more
sharp-sighted of the two.
On that day ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf kept on fighting till his mouth was hurt and got broken. He
sustained over twenty wounds, some in his leg, and that lamed him.
Malik bin Sinan, the father of Abi Sa‘eed Al-Khudri sucked the blood out of the Prophet ’s cheek till
he cleaned it. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: “Spit it!”. But Malik said: “By Allâh, I will
never spit it”. Then he set out to fight. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) then said: “He who wants
to see a man of the people of Paradise, let him look at this one.” No sooner had he resumed fighting
than he was martyred in the thick of the battle.
Umm ‘Amarah participated in the fight too. She encountered Ibn Qami’a in combat, and sustained a
slight wound on her shoulder, but she herself also struck him with her sword several times but he
survived because he was wearing two armours. She, however, went on s triking until her wounds
counted twelve.
Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair, in his turn, fought fiercely and violently defending the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) against the attacks of Ibn Qami’a and his fellows. He was carrying the standard with his right
hand. In the process of fighting, it was cut off, so he grabbed the standard in his left hand till this
was also amputated so he knelt down and shielded it with his chest and neck. Ibn Qami’a then killed
him, mistaking him for the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) on account of resemblance in
appearance. Only then did Ibn Qami’a shout ‘Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been killed.’
No sooner had Ibn Qami’a uttered that ominous sentence than consternation spread among
Muhammad’s followers, and their morale was drastically reduced. Consequently, confusion and a
miserable state of disorder prevailed amongst them. Whilst the rumours managed to adversely act
amongst the Muslims, it alleviated the sharp impact of the assaults of the polytheists who came to
believe that they did really achieve their final objective and so they turned towards mutilating the
dead bodies.
When Mus‘ab was killed, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) delivered the standard to ‘Ali
bin Abi Talib. ‘Ali, in conjunction with the other Companions, went on fighting bravely and set
marvellous examples of heroism, courage and endurance in both defence and attack.
Then the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) made his way to his encircled army. Ka‘b bin
Malik, who was the first one to recognize the approaching Prophet (Peace be upon him), shouted as
loudly as he could: “O folks of Muslims, be cherished! The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him)
is here.” But the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) signed to him to stop lest his position
should be located by the idolaters. Upon hearing the shout, the Muslims immediately raced towards
the source of the shout which brought about thirty Companions to gather around the Prophet (Peace
Click on View to read this book online under free books www.islamicbulletin.com