Chapter 44 : The Battle of Uhud III - Opening Moves Flashcards
The Prophet Marches to Uhud
- The Prophet marches to Uhud with 1,000 Soldiers on the morning of the 7th of Shawwal, 3 AH after receiving news that The Quraysh have mobilized an army and are marching towards Madinah
- He asks Abdullah Ibn Umm Maktum [ The Blind Companion ] to lead prayers in Madinah during his absence
- The Prophet divided his army into 3 Main Groups :-
1) Sa’d Ibn Ubadah or Hubab Ibn Mundhir - The Standard Bearer of The Khazraj
2) Usayd Ibn Hudayr - The Standard Bearer of The Aws
3) Mus’ab Ibn Umayr - The Standard Bearer of The Muhajireen
- Narrations tells us that The Prophet gave his own Standard Banner to Ali Ibn Abi Talib
- Before Islam, When The Quraysh waged war on another tribe, they received from the hands of Qusayy the Liwa [ A piece of White Cloth Qusayy had tied to a Lance ]
- During The Prophet’s Lifetime, Flags were indifferently called Liwa and Rayah and less commonly Alam
- One tradition contrasts The Rayah [ The Prophet’s Black Flag ] with his Liwa [ The White Flag ]
- In other traditions, The Liwa and Rayah are synonymous
- The use of Rayah was not exclusive to Muslims since at The Battle of Badr, Talhah carried The Rayah of Pagans
Hanzalah Ibn Abi Amir
- The eve of The Battle coincided with the marriage of Hanzalah Ibn Abi Amir’s wedding to Jamilah [ Daughter of Abdullah Ibn Ubayy ]
- When Hanzala ask’s The Prophet for permissions to continue with the wedding, The Prophet blesses the couple and instructs Hamza not to postpone the marriage
- That night, Jamilah dreams that The Door to Paradise opened to let Hanzala in and then closed behind him
- The next morning, Hanzala leaves to catch up with the rest of the army which has already left for Uhud
- He did not have time to carry out The Ghusl
- He was martyred during The Battle of Uhud
- The Prophet is said to have seen Angels giving Hanzala The Ghusl after his martyrdom
- It is because of this honour, he was given the title of Ghaseel Ul Mala’ika [ The One Washed By The Angels ]
- Interestingly, Hanzala had a son [ Even though he was only with his wife for 1 day ] by the name of Abd Allah Ibn Hanzala
- Abd Allah Ibn Hanzala was the one who commanded The People of Madinah against The Forces of Yazid [ After Yazid took over from his father Muawiyah ]
Abdullah Ibn Amr
- Abdullah Ibn Amr [ Recent Widower ] experiences a dream that he will be martyred on the Battlefield
- Before leaving to The Battle of Uhud, he instructs his only son Jabir Ibn Abdullah to stay behind and take care of Abdullah’s 7 Young Daughters
- Jabir is not the only person disappointed to have to stay behind
- Several other young boys tried to join the expedition but The Prophet did not allow them
Abdullah Ibn Ubayy Forsakes The Prophet
- Shortly after setting out with his men, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy defects with 300 Soldiers and returns to the city :-
” There were 1,000 men. On their way, Abdullah Ibn Ubayy defected with a third of the army. They said ‘ By God we do not understand why we are fighting while these people are his people ? ‘ “
- Abdullah Ibn Ubayy also explains that The Prophet disobeyed his counsel and suggest that his men are not necessary because there will be no actual fighting
- Despite Abdullah Ibn Ubayy’s betrayal, his son Abdullah stays to fight alongside The Prophet
- Indeed, one of the importance of The Battle of Uhud was that it exposed Hypocrites among The Muslims :-
” And let not those grieve you who fall into unbelief hastily, surely they can do no harm to Allah at all. Allah intends that He should not give them any portion in the hereafter and they shall have a great chastisement. Surely those who have bought unbelief at the price of faith shall do no harm at all to Allah and they shall have a painful chastisement. And let not those who disbelieve think that Our granting them respite is good for their souls. We grant them respite only that they may increase in sins and they shall have a disgraceful chastisement. On no account will Allah leave the believers in the condition which you are in until He separates the evil from the good nor is Allah going to make you acquainted with the unseen but Allah chooses of His messengers whom He pleases therefore believe in Allah and His messengers and if you believe and guard [ Against Evil ] then you shall have a great reward. And let not those deem who are niggardly [ Ungenerous with Money, Time, etc ] in giving away that which Allah has granted them out of His grace that it is good for them. Nay, it is worse for them, they shall have that whereof they were niggardly made to encircle their necks on the Resurrection Day and Allah’s is the heritage of the heavens and the earth and Allah is aware of what you do. “
Al Quran [ 3 : 176 - 180 ]
- The Verses above means :-
1) You should nor grieve on account of those who proceed with increasing haste towards Disbelief. Why should you grieve ? Do you think as if they can do any harm to God ? Certainly you cannot think so because they cannot do any harm to God. They are under complete control of God and He is driving them in their lives journey to their goal where they will be left with no portion and no share in the Hereafter and they shall have a painful chastisement [ Verse 176 ]
2) Allah has said that those who fall into Disbelief hastily can do no harm to God because no unbeliever can do any harm to Him [ Verse 177 ]
3) Allah informs The Unbelievers that they should not be happy with the respite granted to them by God because God through this respite is giving them a chance to pile up sins over sins and behind it all, there is a disgraceful chastisement waiting for them [ Verse 178 ]
4) Allah explains to The Believers that the system of test and trial covers them too in order that they too should reach the stage of completion and The Purified Believer may be distinguished from The Impure, Evil and Wicked ones. Allah also explains that Allah has exclusively reserved the knowledge of the unseen to Himself and some chosen Messengers whom He might acquaint it with. Thus Allah says that there is no escape from this test’s and trial’s and that it is in your interest that you should believe in God and His Messengers so that you may have a great reward[ Verse 179 ]
5) Allah again tells The Unbelievers that the wealth which Allah has granted them out of His grave which they so greedily keep to themselves shall become like Iron Collars around their Necks in the Hereafter [ Verse 180 ]
- Abdullah Ibn Amr [ Father of Jabir Ibn Abdullah ] when he sees Abdullah Ibn Ubayy going away, he rides to him on his horse and says to him :-
” I remind you to fear God and not leave your Prophet or the people at this time when the enemy is about to attack. Did you not promise him that you would protect him and defend him like you defend your own families ? “
- Days later, Surat Al Imran addresses the sudden betrayal :-
” What ! When a misfortune befell you while you had certainly afflicted [ The Unbelievers ] with twice as much, you began to say ‘ Whence is this ? ‘ Say ‘ It is from your own selves, Surely Allah has power over all things. ‘ And what befell you on the day when the two armies met [ At Uhud ] was with Allah’s permission and that He might know The Believers And that he might know The Hypocrites and it was said to them ‘ Come fight in Allah’s way or [ At Least ] defend yourselves. ‘ They said ‘ If we knew fighting, we would certainly have followed you. ‘ They were on that day much neared to The Unbelievers than to Belief. They say with their mouth what is not in their hearts and Allah best knows what they covered. Those who said of their brethren whilst they [ Themselves ] held back ‘ Had they obeyed us, they would not have been killed. ‘ Say ‘ Then ward off death from yourselves if you are truthful. ‘ And reckon not those who are killed in Allah’s way a dead. Nay, they are alive [ And ] are provided with sustenance from their Lord. Rejoicing in what Allah has given them out of His grace and they rejoice for the sake of those who [ Being Left ] behind them have not yet joined them that they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve. “
Al Quran [ 165 - 170 ]
1) Allah instructs The Believers not to be like The Unbelievers by Grieving and Feeling Intense Sorrow for their slain brethren as life and death were exclusively in the hands of Allah and they had no concern in this affair. It would have made no difference whether The Martyr were near them or far from them or whether they had gone forth to fight or remained behind. Then Allah explains that the misfortune that occurred during The Battle of Uhud was caused by their Disobedience [ Of The Archers ] to The Messenger [ Their Commander ] and because they showed a lack of courage and disputed among themselves. Allah also soothes The Believers feelings by making the calamity look less devastating by saying that The Believers suffered only half of what The Unbelievers suffered in The Battle of Badr [ Verse 165 ]
2) Allah says that the misfortune that befell them at The Battle of Uhud was by God’s Permission so that he may separate The Believers from The Hypocrites [ Verse 166 ]
3) Allah intended to persuade them [ The Hypocrites ] to fight and if they do not want to fight then at least defend themselves. Their actions [ They returned to Madinah ] meant that they were closer to The Unbelievers than The Believers [ Verse 167 ]
4) Allah shames The Hypocrites for not fighting and helping their own brothers who were being massacred by the enemy. Allah also challenges them to try and avoid death which is only in Allah’s will [ Verse 168 ]
5) Allah says to The Prophet that those who die in The Way of God are not truly dead but are under Allah’s Sustenance [ Verse 169 ]
6) Allah reiterates that those who are killed in The Way of God continue to receive the news about good believers whom they had left behind [ Alive ] in this world. Allah also says that the reward of The Believer’s deeds are that they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve [ Verse 170 ]
The Muslim Army Reacts to Abdullah Ibn Ubayy’s Desertion
- When The Muslims saw such a large group [ Approximately 300 People ] leaving, 2 Things Happened :-
1) They started talking amongst themselves about what is to be done with this group of 300. One group said ‘ We should turn back and fight them as traitors and then come back to Uhud. ‘ Another group said ‘ We will fight The Quraysh first and deal with them later. ‘ Allah then reveals the following Verse in The Quran :-
” What is the matter with you then, That you have become 2 Parties about The Hypocrites while Allah has made them return [ To Unbelief ] for what they have earned ? Do you wish to guide him whom Allah has forsaken to stray ? And whomsoever Allah forsakes to stray, you shall by no means find a way for him. “
Al Quran [ 4 : 88 ]
2) Abdullah Ibn Ubayy’s sizeable defection causes confusion in The Muslim Army. When 2 Other Clans [ Banu Salamah of Khazraj and Banu Harithah of Aws ] consider withdrawing as well, Some Companions remind them of their oath to fight alongside The Prophet. Allah mentions this in The Quran as well :-
” And when you did go forth early in the morning from your family to lodge The Believers in encampments for war and Allah is Hearing, Knowing. When 2 Parties from among you had determined that they should show cowardice and Allah was the guardian of them both and in Allah should the believers trust. “
Al Quran [ 3 : 121 - 122 ]
The Prophet Sets Up Camp
- Now reduced to 700 Men, The Prophet and his Men camp between The Enemy and Mount Uhud
- After Morning Prayer, The Prophet tells his men :-
” Verily this day, you are at a station that is rich in reward and rich in treasure for him who is mindful of what he is about and who devotes his soul to patience and certainty and earnestness and effort. “
- Eventually, 700 Muslims reached Uhud and they set up their camps
- Ibn Ishaq mentions that their backs were facing The Mountain and they were facing The City of Madinah
- Abdullah Ibn Jubayr is chosen to lead 50 Archers at a rise to the left of The Main Army
- The Prophet instructs The Archers to keep The Makkan Cavalry at bay with their arrows whatever the cost :-
” Look here, this mountain pass should not be left empty under any circumstances. Even if you see that we have become victorious and the enemy has fled in defeat, do not leave this place. And if you see that the Muslims have been defeated and the enemy has prevailed upon us, even then do not move from this place. If you see us snatched into pieces by Vultures, do not leave this position of your until I send for you. And if you see that we have defeated the enemy and trodden on them, do not desert your position until I send for you. “
Population of Islam At The Battle of Uhud
- 700 participated in The Battle of Uhud
- Therefore we can infer that in the whole world at the time, there were not more than 1,000 Muslim Men
- That is the maximum because every man above the age of 15 [ Some even above the age of 14 ] had to fight in this war
- You can add a few dozen here and there [ Some Secret Muslims in Makkah, Some in Yemen, etc ] but otherwise, there was not even 1,000 Muslims in the whole world at the time
- From this small group of mostly Ansari Farmers + Muhajireen, within a couple of decades, they will conquer The Persian Empire
- Within 50 years, they will be in Spain
- Within 100 years, they will anywhere from China to Eastern Europe
- Currently, there are over 1.5 Billion Muslims in the world
Why Did The Prophet Go To Uhud
- Now that The Prophet has agreed to fight The Makkans outside of Madinah, The Prophet had 2 options :-
1) Fight in an Open Battlefield
2) Fight in a Constrained Area that you know better than the enemy [ There is an advantage because of the layout of the land ]
- Thus, by going to Uhud, The Prophet is maximizing the effectiveness of a Small Army against a Large Army
- There is only one Narrow Patch of Land [ A Focused Patch ] where the enemy has to attack from and The Prophet is protected from all 3 other sides :-
i) 2 Sides of Uhud
ii) 1 Side which has a Small Mountain [ Jabal Al Rumah ] where The Prophet puts his 50 Archers
iii) 1 Side which is Open where The Prophet concentrates his Troops and where The Quraysh will come from [ A Narrowed Path ]
The Merits of Mount Uhud
- The Mountain of Uhud is not just a Single Mountain, It is a whole series of Mountains that are approximately 1 Mile Long and are situated North of Madinah
- There are a few Narrations about Uhud :-
1) The Prophet has said ‘ Uhud is a Mountain of Jannah. ‘ Scholars say that this could either mean that :-
i) Uhud is a Beloved Mountain
ii) Uhud will be transported into Jannah
2) In One Hadith, When The Prophet came back from an expedition, The first thing he saw was The Mountain of Uhud and he said ‘ Uhud is a Mountain that loves us and we love it. ‘
