Ghazwa e Uhud | The Battle of Uhud | Uhad Pahar in Madina

Описание: After the humiliating defeat in the Battle of Badr a year earlier, the Quraysh of Makkah made preparations
to muster a great army to fight the Muslims again and take revenge. They assembled an army of 3000
soldiers with 300 camels, 200 horses and 700 coats of mail. Wives and daughters of slained chiefs in
Badr accompanied the army to see with their own eyes the spectacle of the killers being killed. Hind,
the daughter of Utbah was the leader of the womens section and her husband Abu Sufyan was the
commander-in-chief of the Makkan army. Both were not Muslims at the time but bitter enemies of Islam.
The left and right flanks were commanded by Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl and Khalid bin Waleed respectively.
Amr ibn al-As was named the commander of cavalry and his task was to co-ordinate attack between
the cavalry wings. (All three subsequently became Muslims and become great generals of Islam).
The Prophet ( ) left Madinah for the valley of Mount Uhud with a Muslim army of only 700 and drew
up his troops for battle. Zubair bin al-Awwam ( ) was the commander of the right wing and
Mundhir bin Amr ( ) was given the left wing of the army. Hamza ( ), the uncle of the Prophet
( ) was made the advance guard, Mus’ab bin Umair ( ) was chosen as the standard-bearer of
Islam and Abu Dujanah ( ) was fortunate enough to receive the Prophet’s sword (which was
known as Zulfikar).
Before the battle, the Prophet ( ) had put 50 archers under Abdullah bin Jubair ( ) at
a mountainside and ordered them strictly to stay there until further orders, whatever may be the
condition. They were to obstruct the enemy if they attacked the Muslims from the rear.
The two armies set upon each other and a fierce battle ensued. The Muslim soldiers concentrated
their attack on the eleven standard bearers of the pagans until they were all wiped out. As the enemy
standards sank to the ground, the Muslim soldiers hurled themselves against the enemy. Abu Dujanah
( ) and Hamza ( ), fought with great fearlessness, and their heroic feats on the battlefield
were to become legendary in Muslim military history.
Tragically, Hamza ( ), the Lion of Allah, was martyred in the same battle he had dominated. He
was killed by the javelin of Wahshi bin Harb, an Abyssinian slave, who with that successful throw
earned his freedom from his master, Jubayr bin Mutim.
Despite the loss of Hamza ( ), the Muslims managed to overcome the unbelievers who, faced with
yet another defeat, began to flee. The pagan women also scattered as some of the Muslim soldiers
gave chase.
It was at this point of perceived victory that events began unravelling. The archers who had been
entrusted with the safety of their brothers in faith disobeyed the Prophet’s clear orders and deserted
their stations, thinking that the battle was over. Forty of the rearguards descended the mountain and
left the Muslims vulnerable to a counter attack by the enemy.

Khalid bin Waleed saw the sudden vacuum created by the disappearance of the rearguard and his
cavalrymen attacked the Muslims from behind, killing many in the process. When the Muslims saw
themselves surrounded, they were overtaken by panic and disorder and failed to map out a cohesive
plan.
The enemy fought their way close to the Prophet ( ) who was hit with a rock and fell on his side.
One of his front teeth was chipped, his lower lip was cut, and his helmet was damaged. As an enemy
soldier thrust his sword at the Prophet ( ), he caught his bone below the eye, and two rings from the
Prophet’s helmet pierced his face. The blood ran down his face and he wiped it away, saying, “How can
a people prosper who have stained their Prophet’s face with blood while he summoned them to their
Lord!”.
Mus’ab bin Umair ( ), was targeted by the enemy as he was the Muslims standard-bearer and he
was killed. Since Mus’ab ( ) resembled the Prophet ( ) to a great extent, his killer, Abdullah bin
Qam’a, thought he had slain the Prophet ( ) and jubilantly shouted out that he had killed Muhammad.
Rumours of the death of the Prophet ( ) filtered through the Muslims, plummeting their morale. Grief
stricken and lost, some of them simply abandoned the field, while others were infused with resolve and
rallied saying, “Come, let us die for what the Prophet ( ) gave his life.”
The crisis receded only when Ka’b bin Malik ( ) caught a glimpse of the Prophet ( ), making his
way to join the besieged Muslims. K’ab recognised the Prophet’s eyes although his face was covered
with the helmet. He cried loudly, “O Muslims, rejoice! Here is the Prophet!”.
Ka’b’s words galvanised the remaining Muslims, and they streamed to the Prophet’s side. Within a short
time thirty Companions assembled around him. The Prophet ( ) decided against further combat,
wisely choosing to retreat. He made his way through the rows and successfully led his troops towards
the mountain pass.