Factors That Drove the Battle of Uhud
Recall the incidents that took place after the Battle of Badr — in particular, Abu Sufyan's attack on Madinah, minor skirmishes, and the killing of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf. We will now commence with the Battle of Uhud. The Makkans began planning for the Battle of Uhud immediately after the Battle of Badr. The loss and calamity of the Battle of Badr was the immediate cause of the Battle of Uhud. Unlike Badr, Uhud was the first full-out war. They were armed to the hilt. Why are they fighting? 4 reasons:
1. Religious — the Quraysh have developed a religious animosity to the Prophet PBUH and Islam.
2. Social — revenge for their lost relatives. They have lost their leaders, and it was a huge embarrassment for them. Ikrimah, his father Abu Jahal died; Safwan, his father Umayyah died; so they all want revenge.
3. Economic — Madinah geographically intersects the caravan that goes from Makkah to Syria — the Muslims intercepted and blocked off all routes to Syria. The Quraysh's attempt at finding an alternative route has failed. And therefore, effectively, they cannot trade with Syria anymore, and this will literally destroy their economy. The Makkan economy was based on the pipeline between Syria and Yemen. The Quraysh were in charge of it and profited from it hugely. And if you cut off one side of the pipeline, the other side is not going to function. So they are in a desperate situation.
4. Political — the Prophet PBUH is now becoming a political threat to them; the size of the Islamic republic is growing — many tribes are giving their allegiance to Islam.
1. Religious — the Quraysh have developed a religious animosity to the Prophet PBUH and Islam.
2. Social — revenge for their lost relatives. They have lost their leaders, and it was a huge embarrassment for them. Ikrimah, his father Abu Jahal died; Safwan, his father Umayyah died; so they all want revenge.
3. Economic — Madinah geographically intersects the caravan that goes from Makkah to Syria — the Muslims intercepted and blocked off all routes to Syria. The Quraysh's attempt at finding an alternative route has failed. And therefore, effectively, they cannot trade with Syria anymore, and this will literally destroy their economy. The Makkan economy was based on the pipeline between Syria and Yemen. The Quraysh were in charge of it and profited from it hugely. And if you cut off one side of the pipeline, the other side is not going to function. So they are in a desperate situation.
4. Political — the Prophet PBUH is now becoming a political threat to them; the size of the Islamic republic is growing — many tribes are giving their allegiance to Islam.
Combining these reasons, the Quraysh felt a desperate need to launch an offensive against the Muslims.
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Quraysh's Preparation for the Battle of Uhud
Ibn Ishaq tells us that as soon as Abu Sufyan returned to Makkah with the caravan of Badr and the news of the Battle of Badr returned as well, he immediately made up his mind at that point in time that he had to go and fight. Badr took place 17th Ramadan 2 AH; Uhud will take place Shawwal 3 AH. So an entire year of planning went into the Battle of Uhud. Abu Sufyan took with him Safwan ibn Umayyah and Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahal —both had lost their fathers— and knocked on every single door of the Quraysh household that contributed to the caravan of Badr, and told them to return the profits they got from the caravan. (Recall the actual Badr caravan came back to Makkah safe and sound. And now Abu Sufyan is going to each and every person to get the money back.) Allah references this in the Quran, in Surah al-Anfal:
— It is interesting to note that this verse is in Surah al-Anfal which came down right after the Battle of Badr. So here, Allah is prophesying the Battle of Uhud.
The Quraysh decided they needed help. And being the business owners that they were, they had many tribes that were interested in keeping this economic pipeline intact. They reached out to the major tribes such as Kinana (كنانة) and Tihama (تهامة), and said, "Help us out with your money, people, armor, weapons, etc., whatever you can!" And the entire army came out to be 3,000.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ لِيَصُدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ ۚ فَسَيُنفِقُونَهَا ثُمَّ تَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسْرَةً ثُمَّ يُغْلَبُونَ ۗ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ يُحْشَرُونَ
"Surely, the disbelievers spend their wealth to hinder others from the Path of Allah. They will continue to spend to the point of regret. Then they will be defeated and the disbelievers will be driven into Hell" [8:36].— It is interesting to note that this verse is in Surah al-Anfal which came down right after the Battle of Badr. So here, Allah is prophesying the Battle of Uhud.
The Quraysh decided they needed help. And being the business owners that they were, they had many tribes that were interested in keeping this economic pipeline intact. They reached out to the major tribes such as Kinana (كنانة) and Tihama (تهامة), and said, "Help us out with your money, people, armor, weapons, etc., whatever you can!" And the entire army came out to be 3,000.
So with the Battle of Uhud (3 AH), we see that the conflict is *becoming* Islam vs. Kufr. So, as we have seen, initially, the conflict was only between the Quraysh and the Prophet PBUH (i.e., the Battle of Badr — 2 AH); and then, with every conflict, we will see that the circle widens, until finally, it will become all-out Islam vs. paganism in the Battle of Ahzab (5 AH). The animosity against the Prophet PBUH will unite the Arabs for the first time; just like the religion of Islam united the Arabs for the first time. So, we can say that Islam came and made the Arabs into two camps: Those who opposed and those who accepted. Eventually, of course, those who accepted won over, and therefore, for the first time in human history, the Arabs united, under the Prophet PBUH, after the Conquest of Makkah (8 AH).
On the 7th of Shawwal in the 3rd year of the Hijrah —literally a year and a few weeks after the Battle of Badr— the Quraysh set out from Makkah to Madinah. Typically, the journey would have taken 2 weeks; and if you wanted to speed up a little bit, it would be around 10 days; but in their eagerness to fight, they traversed this entire distance in only 7 days. The Quraysh gathered 3,000 men, 200 horses, and 700 armors for men. (Note: Back then, the average person did not have weapons and armor. To invest in armor is a lot of money. Most people simply did not need it, so they didn't have it. Also realize, most of this armor is being imported from Syria, Yemen, etc., so it's even more expensive. Therefore, in the history of battles, one of the most prized items a victorious person would take from the enemy, is their armor, because it was a prized possession.) This time, they also took many of their wives with them, including the famous Hind bint Utbah (هند بنت عتبة) the wife of Abu Sufyan. It is said up to 2 dozen of the women of the Quraysh participated — when you have women, you really have to fight. They would sing their poetry, and it was somewhat sensual in nature, they were encouraging the men to show their manhood, discouraging them from coming back empty-handed, etc. Abu Sufyan was the main leader of the army; on the right flank he put Khalid ibn al-Walid in charge; and on the left flank Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahal.
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News Reaches the Prophet PBUH
(Tangent: Most likely, al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib converted after the Battle of Badr. It's said that Abbas said after the Battle of Badr while he was a captive, "They [the Quraysh] forced me to fight! I didn't want to fight! And I didn't do much in the battle anyway!" To which, the Prophet PBUH said, "He [Abbas] is telling the truth. He didn't want to fight." So from this, we can infer that most likely, Abbas converted after Badr. And then, the Prophet PBUH sent him back to Makkah as a secret Muslim, and he remained there up until almost the Conquest of Makkah in 8 AH. The following incident seems to affirm this theory.)
Immediately after the Quraysh army had left Makkah for the Battle of Uhud, al-Abbas sent a trusted servant to the Prophet PBUH in Madinah to give all the details about the army of the Quraysh: The army size, how many horses, how many arms, etc.
Now, why did Abbas delay sending this information until the army had actually left Makkah? Firstly, perhaps because the Quraysh themselves did not trust al-Abbas — after all, he had not shown his animosity against the Prophet PBUH, unlike Abu Lahab. Or —and this is also a plausible theory— he just couldn't send anybody until the city was empty, or else they would know.
The servant he sent goes as fast as humanly possible to Madinah in 3 days. It was as fast as possible. The Quraysh did it in 7. So the clock is ticking. And the servant finds the Prophet PBUH in Quba, and he hands the Prophet PBUH the letter, and the Prophet PBUH tells Ubay ibn Ka'b (أبي بن كعب) to read the letter. Ubay tells the Prophet PBUH all the details; and the Prophet PBUH says to Ubay, "Do not tell anybody about this news."
The Prophet PBUH immediately rushes back to central Madinah and speaks to the leaders of the Ansar, in particular, Sa'd ibn al-Rabi' (سعد بن الربيع). After this, he sends out two or three spies to check on the Quraysh *before* he calls a general meeting. This is very interesting. Did the Prophet PBUH doubt al-Abbas? Of course not. He trusts his uncle. Yet still, this is very big news and it will affect everything, so you cannot operate on the presumption of maybe even a genuine mistake. E.g., what if the Quraysh has duped Abbas? So the Prophet PBUH has to confirm the news. The spies go and actually see the 3,000 army close by, and they come back and say, "The Quraysh are grazing at such-and-such a pasture" — which is basically a day or two away from Madinah. So now everything falls into place. (Again, this shows us the meticulous care of the Prophet PBUH — he was not someone who reacted emotionally. He did not just act on the whim or the spur. He is acting very cautiously. The Prophet PBUH told us in many ahadith that, "Acting in predetermined thought is from Allah SWT; and acting in haste is from shaytan." And we should learn from this. The situation is indeed critical, but he doesn't panic. It is better to be sure than to cause panic and then find out that it was a false alarm.)
So probably around 11th Shawwal, our Prophet PBUH confirmed that the Quraysh are indeed close by. And it is said the Quraysh got to the outskirts of Madinah, according to some reports, on the 12th, or according to some other reports, 13th. So the Prophet PBUH has a window of only ±48 hours to do something.
And therefore, he calls a large meeting of the Muslims.
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The Dream of the Prophet PBUH About the Battle of Uhud
There is a dream that has been narrated that the Prophet PBUH saw. According to Ibn Ishaq, the Prophet PBUH told the sahaba about this dream before the battle; but according to Bukhari, he saw the dream in Makkah which he couldn't understand its interpretation until Uhud took place, and then he told the sahaba of the dream after the battle — and this seems to make more sense. What is the dream?
The hadith is in Bukhari: the Prophet PBUH said, "I saw in a dream that I had struck with my sword, but my sword broke — and this is what afflicted the Muslims at Uhud. Then I hit it again, and it came back as good as it ever was — and this was the victory that Allah gave to the Muslims and the coming together of the believers," i.e., after Uhud, there shall be victory. Uhud was a disaster in many senses (as we will come to), but one of the negatives of Uhud was that the Muslims, for the first time, showed open disunity. So the Prophet PBUH is consoling the sahaba that after Uhud, they will gain unity and victory again. And then he PBUH continued narrating his dream, "I saw cows —and Allah is good— and this was the believers on the Day of Uhud." In the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, it is added that the Prophet PBUH said, "I saw myself wearing a protective armor, so I interpreted that to be Madinah" — the dream is telling him to stay with his armor, which means to stay in Madinah.
As we said, Bukhari's version has this taking place after Uhud, which seems to make more sense, i.e., the Prophet PBUH is consoling the sahaba with his dream after he understood its interpretation.
Ibn Ishaq's version basically has him telling the sahaba of the defeat before the defeat, and this doesn't make much sense.
What is the meaning of cows? What does it symbolize? There is a lot of interpretations. Ibn Hajar says the symbolism of a cow is that of the shuhada (شهداء - martyrs) of Uhud. Why? Because a cow is an animal that is useful dead and alive. This is Ibn Hajar's interpretation; and Allah AWJ knows best — the Prophet PBUH did not explain what is the interpretation of the cow.
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Breaking the News to the Muslims
Time was of the essence, the Makkans were already outside a day or two away. The Prophet PBUH, after consulting with the leaders of the Ansar, he called a general gathering. (Side note: Notice this wisdom, subhan'Allah. The difference between a person of responsibility vs. sensationalist. The person who's thoughtful, if some big news comes, he will tell firstly to a core group, then he's going to widen the circle; whereas the sensationalist, he's just going to spread everything, spill the beans all at once. The Prophet PBUH first told the core group around him, to get their counsel, and *then* he opened the floor for everyone. This is a part of hikmah [حكمة - wisdom] and leadership.) It so happened it was Friday anyway, so everyone was gathered, and on top of this, there was a janazah, and these weren't common, so everyone came for the janazah too; so everyone was there. Now the Prophet PBUH tells them everything, and then he asks, "What do you think we should do?" He first gives his own opinion, "I see myself in a protected fortress," i.e., he is saying, "I think we should stay in Madinah," (as he saw in his dream).
As we mentioned, Madinah was a unique city, in that, it had natural protections. On east and west were volcanic rocks: the two harra — al-Harra al-Sharqiyyah (الحرة الشرقية) & al-Harra al-Gharbiyyah (الحرة الغربية) — no one would walk on them. On the north is the large Mountain of Uhud. Towards Quba in the south, there are pockets of date palms — and of course, when you have large date plantations, no army will march on that.
So the Prophet PBUH suggested to stay in Madinah, and avail themselves to the natural fortification of the city. If the Quraysh army would have attacked, it would have resulted in street-to-street fighting; so the Muslims could have easily won, as they could have set up barricades, traps, etc., in the city. And amazingly, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul agreed; not because he appreciated the Prophet PBUH, but because it was the correct opinion. And he was the most seasoned warrior amongst them. He said, "Yes, this is the correct position. Madinah has never been successfully attacked from within (i.e., when we stayed as a city)." He admitted this — and again, not out of respect, but out of correctness of the opinion.
However, there was a group of younger Companions, (many of whom, Ibn Ishaq says, will become shaheed, i.e., they are sincere in what they will say now), they were eager for battle and said, "Why should we remain in our houses like cowards? Rather, we should go out like brave men and fight them on the battlefield!" And these were people who had regretted not participating in Badr. And they continued pressuring the Prophet PBUH to go out, all the while the senior sahaba remained silent. Until finally, when the Prophet PBUH felt that the majority were saying he should go out, he then agreed to this, and he went inside to wear his armor. And as soon as he went inside, the older sahaba opened up; and they began reproaching the younger sahaba, "The Prophet PBUH told us his opinion at the beginning! And yet you persisted in suggesting the opposite until he agreed to your opinion! How could you have done this?!" And the younger sahaba felt very embarrassed at what had transpired, so they sent in Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib to the Prophet's PBUH house to tell him, "We changed our minds." But when Hamzah entered in, the Prophet PBUH had already put on his armor, he had fastened the straps, etc., so the Prophet PBUH said, "It is not possible/befitting once a prophet has worn his armor that he takes it off until he fights the enemy" [Musnad Imam Ahmad et al.] — i.e., it is too late.
However, there was a group of younger Companions, (many of whom, Ibn Ishaq says, will become shaheed, i.e., they are sincere in what they will say now), they were eager for battle and said, "Why should we remain in our houses like cowards? Rather, we should go out like brave men and fight them on the battlefield!" And these were people who had regretted not participating in Badr. And they continued pressuring the Prophet PBUH to go out, all the while the senior sahaba remained silent. Until finally, when the Prophet PBUH felt that the majority were saying he should go out, he then agreed to this, and he went inside to wear his armor. And as soon as he went inside, the older sahaba opened up; and they began reproaching the younger sahaba, "The Prophet PBUH told us his opinion at the beginning! And yet you persisted in suggesting the opposite until he agreed to your opinion! How could you have done this?!" And the younger sahaba felt very embarrassed at what had transpired, so they sent in Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib to the Prophet's PBUH house to tell him, "We changed our minds." But when Hamzah entered in, the Prophet PBUH had already put on his armor, he had fastened the straps, etc., so the Prophet PBUH said, "It is not possible/befitting once a prophet has worn his armor that he takes it off until he fights the enemy" [Musnad Imam Ahmad et al.] — i.e., it is too late.
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Points of Benefit From the Incident
Subhan'Allah, so many benefits from this incident.
1. The status of shura (شورى - consultation) in the life of the Prophet PBUH. He felt confident staying in Madinah, but he knows —like any good leader knows— that you need the people behind you; and you cannot just impose your will on them. And Allah says, "What is with Allah is far better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord, [those] who avoid major sins and shameful deeds... [those] who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation..." etc. [see Quran, 42:36-39], i.e., the way of dealing with matters is to have shura. Therefore, when the majority of Companions —according to the Prophet's PBUH interpretation— is they want to fight outside Madinah, he gives in to the demand and puts on his armor.
2. Notice the wisdom of the older sahaba. (i) They accepted [or at least wanted to accept] the advice of the Prophet PBUH; (ii) They did not argue with the younger sahaba in the presence of the Prophet PBUH. The height of adab (أدب - etiquette) here is amazing. They could have told the younger Companions then and there, "Can you be quiet, please? We have already made up our minds; he has already made up his mind," etc., but isn't it rude to have this bickering in front of the leader? In front of the Prophet PBUH? They could have had this harshness — but out of respect for the Prophet PBUH, they kept their mouth quiet until he PBUH went out of earshot.
3. It is the sunnah of Allah that young men in particular are always overzealous and rash. Impetuousness, rashness, a little bit of arrogance and cockiness — generally speaking, it's in their nature. This is what makes them 'young men.' And this could work both ways: it could be overzealousness within the religion, it could be against the religion, it could be exaggeration that is not in the spirit of the religion but has a good intention, etc. And Allah mentions in the Quran, 'There were a group of 9 lads who were causing a lot of chaos in the land' [see Quran, 27:48] — they were the ones who did the 'prank' on the She-Camel of God. Also, the As'hab al-Kahf as well were young men [see Quran, 18:13] — they were a group of young men who had strong Iman in Allah SWT. It is human nature that young men, sometimes, they go in the positive direction (e.g., As'hab al-Kahf), sometimes, they go in the wrong direction even with good intentions (e.g., the young sahaba in this incident), and sometimes, they go in the wrong direction with bad intentions (e.g., the 9 lads of Thamud).
4. The fact that the Prophet PBUH said he cannot take his armor off shows that there is a special shariah for the prophets. And we know this from other ayat and ahadith as well. They have a code that they operate by. We know of many such aspects that the Prophet PBUH was able to do that we are not able to do. E.g., the Prophet PBUH would fast for three days (±60 hours) without ever eating or drinking. When the sahaba tried to do it, they fainted — they couldn't do it; and the Prophet PBUH said, "I am not like one of you." So he would do this, and he forbade the sahaba from doing it. And according to Ibn Taymiyyah, it was wajib for him PBUH to pray tahajjud every single night, because Allah says in the Quran, "Stand all night [in prayer] except a little" [73:2]; whereas for the rest of us, it is not wajib. And why regarding the armor? Because taking it off could be interpreted to be defeat, hesitation, cowardice, etc. So it's not befitting for the prophets that once they have worn their armor, they take it off before they fight their enemies.
5. [We all know what's going to happen in the Battle of Uhud, and we will see that the opinion of the younger sahaba was not the best opinion, but] what is truly amazing —perhaps one of the most amazing things about the whole incident— is that once the decision has been made, the younger sahaba were not criticized after that for what happened. Nobody came back to them and said, "See? I told you so!" "Look now! Are you happy?!" etc. Nobody. Because, as Allah says in the Quran, "...And consult with them in [conducting] matters. Once you make a decision, put your trust in Allah" [3:159]. And our Prophet PBUH said, "None of you should say, 'If only I had done this, then such-and-such would have happened.' Rather, say, 'Whatever Allah has willed has occurred.' Because saying 'what if' opens up the door to shaytan." i.e., you start doubting, getting waswasa, etc. Therefore, once you make up your mind *properly*, no one should blame anybody else after that. So what does it mean to make up your mind properly? Two things: Islam tells us to (i) pray istikhara; and (ii) get istishara (advice) from people. Any time you have major decisions to make, do these two things. And suppose the outcome turns out to be a disaster, khalas, you did what you thought was best; so put your trust in Allah that He has something better planned — you just don't see it yet. And this is exactly what happened in the Battle of Uhud, as we will see.
6. Ibn Ishaq tells us that the Prophet PBUH wore two suits of armor. This despite the fact that of course Allah has promised to protect him and he doesn't need armor at all. But he did this to show the ummah that if one wants to engage in any sort of endeavor, you have to engage in it properly. You don't act foolishly and say, 'Tawakkal ala Allah!' 'Allah will do everything!' etc. No. You have to do everything possible. And if that means arming yourself to the hilt before you go to the battle as he PBUH did, then so be it. And Allah says in the Quran regarding battle, "Take your precautions" [4:71], and regarding going for Hajj, "Take [necessary] provisions [for the journey]" [2:197]. So whatever you are doing, make sure you do it with Allah in mind of course, but also you have the physical means necessary.
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Muslims' Preparation for the Battle of Uhud
The Prophet PBUH divided the army into three main groups:
1. The Muhajirun under the leadership of Mus'ab ibn Umayr (مصعب بن عمير)
2. The Aws under Usayd ibn Hudayr (أسيد بن حضير)
3. The Khazraj under al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir (الحباب بن المنذر)
Because the situation was dire, they only had a handful of horses, and 100 suits of armor. And the Muslims, in the later afternoon of Friday, after the istishara, made their way to the Mountain of Uhud.
1. The Muhajirun under the leadership of Mus'ab ibn Umayr (مصعب بن عمير)
2. The Aws under Usayd ibn Hudayr (أسيد بن حضير)
3. The Khazraj under al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir (الحباب بن المنذر)
Because the situation was dire, they only had a handful of horses, and 100 suits of armor. And the Muslims, in the later afternoon of Friday, after the istishara, made their way to the Mountain of Uhud.
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Blessings of the Mountain of Uhud
The Mountain of Uhud (جبل أحد - Jabal Uhud) is not just one mountain, it's a whole series of mountains. They are over 1 mile long and located to the north of Madinah.
(Tangent: These days by car it takes less than 10 minutes from the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH to the mountains. Because of the increased inhabitants, the city of Madinah now goes all the way to the mountains — but of course, in the time of the Prophet PBUH, there were big gaps — the city was very small, the entire core of the city fitted inside what is now the entire Masjid of the Prophet PBUH. Thus Baqi' was outside the city. But now Madinah has become so big, so Baqi' and the Masjid of the Prophet PBUH are basically right at the center.)
There are many ahadith about Uhud:
1. The Prophet PBUH said, "Uhud is a mountain of Jannah." Some scholars say this means Uhud is a beloved mountain. Others say Uhud will be transported into Jannah.
2. In one hadith, when the Prophet PBUH 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" [Bukhari]. So it's a sign of Iman to love Uhud.
3. It's narrated in Sahih Muslim that once, the Prophet PBUH was climbing Uhud with Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, and the mountain began to tremble; so the Prophet PBUH tapped it with his feet and said, "Calm down, Uhud! For really there's only a nabi, a siddiq, and two shaheeds on you."
And Uhud is included inside the Haram. Recall Madinah is a Haram, and the boundaries of the Haram of Madinah (as reported in Bukhari) are between the two mountains Thawr and Ayr (north and south), and the two volcanic plains (east and west). Thawr is a small mountain north of Uhud, so Uhud is included inside the Haram.
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Why Did the Prophet PBUH Choose Uhud?
The question arises: Why did the Prophet PBUH go to Uhud? Now that he's agreed to go out and fight, he needs to think about the best location to face the enemy. And there's only one of two options: Either meet the enemy in an open battlefield (which would have been a disaster, because there's 1:4 ratio) OR meet them 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 PBUH is maximizing the effectiveness of a small army (700-1,000) against a large army (3,000). How so?
(Modified from Dr. Zubair Rashid's detailing)
There's only one narrow patch of land —a focused patch— where the enemy has to attack from (side IV); and the Prophet PBUH is protected by three sides (side I, II, & III):
Side I & II: These two sides of Uhud are protecting him PBUH.
Side III: This side is open but there's a small mountain, Jabal al-Ruma (جبل الرماة), and that's where he PBUH puts the 50 archers — so a third side is now blocked.
Side IV: Then there is one open side left where you can concentrate your troops, and the Quraysh are going to have to come from this narrow place.
And therefore, you have maximized the effectiveness of a small army against a large army. That's the advantage of Uhud.
The military genius of the Prophet PBUH, to figure this out without having gone through any academic training or military academy, was truly amazing. Of course, Allah AWJ taught him; this is in his fitrah.
So the Prophet PBUH chooses to go to Uhud. And he PBUH marched out, as we said, on Friday, the 14th of Shawwal in the 3rd year of the Hijrah.
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The Hypocrites Breaking Away
On the way to Uhud, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul and his people slowly began retreating, and then went behind the army, until finally, they literally turned their backs and broke away from the army completely. When this happened, the sahaba rebuked them, "Where are you going?" Abdullah ibn Ubayy said, "He (the Prophet PBUH) listened to some youth, and did not take my advice. Why should we risk our lives when he hasn't listened to us?" So this is the first time he is really showing his colors. And subhan'Allah, one of the main benefits of Uhud —which Allah Himself mentions in the Quran [3:179]— is that Allah wanted to demonstrate the reality of the hypocrites. The Muslims, up until this point, were innocently unaware of how evil the hypocrites were. And they needed to know how evil the hypocrites were in order to make sure they were not stung from the same hole twice. So Allah is saying that He SWT is doing this to, "...separate the filthy from the pure" [Quran, 3:179]. This was one of the main points of Uhud. In this series of incidents, the true colors of the hypocrites were shown.
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Haram (عبد الله بن عمرو بن حرام - the father of the famous Jabir ibn Abdillah [جابر بن عبد الله]), when he sees Abdullah ibn Ubayy going away, he runs to him on his horse and says to him, "I remind you to fear Allah SWT, 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?" — he is referencing the Constitution of Madinah. So he reminds him of Allah and of human morality. And Abdullah ibn Ubayy responded, "If we knew they would fight, we would go with you (we would not leave), but we don't think they are going to attack." And Allah SWT explicitly quotes Abdullah ibn Ubayy in the Quran and calls him a liar; that he knew full well what was going to happen, but he invented an excuse and thought he could get away with it. In verses 166-167, Allah said:
وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ فَبِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَلِيَعْلَمَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَلِيَعْلَمَ ٱلَّذِينَ نَافَقُوا۟ ۚ وَقِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا۟ قَـٰتِلُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ أَوِ ٱدْفَعُوا۟ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَوْ نَعْلَمُ قِتَالًۭا لَّٱتَّبَعْنَـٰكُمْ ۗ هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَـٰنِ ۚ يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَٰهِهِم مَّا لَيْسَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَكْتُمُونَ
"So what you suffered on the day the two armies met was by Allah’s Will, so that He might distinguish the [true] believers and expose the hypocrites. When it was said to them, 'Come fight in the cause of Allah, or [at least] defend yourselves,' they replied, 'If we had known there was fighting, we would have definitely gone with you.' They were closer to disbelief than to belief on that day — for saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. Allah is All-Knowing of what they hide" [3:166-167].— Allah quotes Abdullah ibn Ubayy here in this verse.
Allah also said, "Allah is not going to allow the Muslims to remain in status quo until he separates the filthy from the pure" [see Quran, 3:179]. Indeed, it's only during times of fitna (trial) that one's Iman —or lack thereof— is truly shown. And the incident of Uhud did this very clearly. It is worth noting that large sections of Surah Ali-Imran (and sections of Surah al-Nisa) came down pertaining to the Battle of Uhud.
Now, when the Muslims saw such a large group (~300 people) leaving, two things happened:
1. They started talking amongst themselves what was 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." But Allah reprimanded this: "Why are you [believers] divided into two groups regarding the hypocrites while Allah allowed them to regress [to disbelief] because of their misdeeds?" [Quran, 4:88], i.e., 'Don't disunite in your attitude towards the hypocrites.' This was a positive argument, but Allah gently told the sahaba to stop.
2. Some tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj began wavering. One of the tribes of the Aws, the Banu Harithah (بنو حارثة), and one of the tribes of the Khazraj, the Banu Salama (بنو سلمة), they were almost about to withdraw along with the hypocrites. But eventually, the Muslims among them won over, and they decided to stay with the Prophet PBUH. Allah mentions this as well, "There were two groups about to give up, but Allah is their Protector [so Allah protected them]. And in Allah the people who put their trust should put their trust" [see Quran, 3:122]. So Allah mentions that the Banu Harithah and the Banu Salama were about to go astray, but Allah protected them. (Trivia: So these two groups, forever afterward, they always would boast about this. Why? Because Allah says, "Allah is their Protector." Because of this, these tribes to this day boast regarding this verse.)
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The 700 Muslims
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.
The Quraysh had to double across the entire city of Madinah to reach them. There's an added point here, that the Muslims are tiring them out even more — the Quraysh would have another half day's journey. Indeed, instead of going to the south of the city, the Prophet PBUH went to the north, at Uhud — this was a clear purposeful tactic.
700 Muslims participated in Uhud — therefore, we can infer that in the whole world at this time, there were not more than 1,000 Muslim men. This is the max — because every man above the age of 15, some even at the age of 14, had to fight in this war. So that is all there was. You can add a few dozen here and there (some secret Muslims in Makkah, some maybe in Yemen, etc.), but otherwise, in the whole world, there wasn't even 1,000. And from this small quantity, look at how Allah changed the world. Within 15-20 years, they will be literally wiping away the Persian Empire. Within 50 years, they will be in Andalusia. Within 100 years, from China all the way to basically France. And there are 1.8 billion Muslims today. Subhan'Allah. From an army that didn't even have the weapons, armor, horses, etc... to *this*. The sahaba had something which we don't have, which is the strong tawakkul and Iman in Allah. It was so strong that even the mightiest superpowers in the world could not stand up to this small group of men. Indeed, "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you" [Quran, 3:160].
700 Muslims participated in Uhud — therefore, we can infer that in the whole world at this time, there were not more than 1,000 Muslim men. This is the max — because every man above the age of 15, some even at the age of 14, had to fight in this war. So that is all there was. You can add a few dozen here and there (some secret Muslims in Makkah, some maybe in Yemen, etc.), but otherwise, in the whole world, there wasn't even 1,000. And from this small quantity, look at how Allah changed the world. Within 15-20 years, they will be literally wiping away the Persian Empire. Within 50 years, they will be in Andalusia. Within 100 years, from China all the way to basically France. And there are 1.8 billion Muslims today. Subhan'Allah. From an army that didn't even have the weapons, armor, horses, etc... to *this*. The sahaba had something which we don't have, which is the strong tawakkul and Iman in Allah. It was so strong that even the mightiest superpowers in the world could not stand up to this small group of men. Indeed, "If Allah helps you, none can defeat you" [Quran, 3:160].
[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, May 2024]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, May 2024]
