The Battle of Uhud
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In the month of Shawwal, in the third year of the Hijrah, the Quraish left
Makkah with three thousand warriors and two hundred horsemen to effect their
reprisals against the Muslims. This news reached the Messenger of Allah (Peace
be upon him), so he sought the counsel of the Sahaabah (his Companions; a
companion is defined as one who saw the Prophet, Peace be upon him, in his
lifetime and died a Muslim). Some of them advised him to lure them to Madinah
and strike them on the roads, especially since the people of Madinah were
familiar with their own roads. Others, who had gained experience in city
fighting, attained from the long years of strife between Al-Aous and Al-Khazraj,
inclined the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) to that view. The rest of
them, eager for Jihad (striving in the cause of Allah), requested that the enemy
be met outside of the city and insisted on this position. The Prophet (Peace be
upon him) finally responded favourably to this last plan. The Muslims left the
city and advanced to Mount 'Uhud. In the road, they met the leader of the
hypocrite Makkans, 'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salool, and three hundred of his
followers, so they retreated to Madinah. Subsequently, they moved forward to a
district near Mount Uhud. They grouped in an area between Mount Uhud and a
smaller mountain near it called Mount 'Ainain (also known as Mount Roomaat). The
Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) stationed the archers on Mount 'Ainain
and gave them strict orders not to quit that location until they received his
specific orders to do so. This had a very important impact on the outcome of the
battle. He positioned the remainder of his warriors in two lines in opposition
to the polytheists. When the battle started, two of the Makkan horsemen under
the leadership of Khalid bin Al-Waleed, attempted to penetrate the ranks of the
Muslims from their left side, their real objective being the archers. The
infantry attacked and the two sides were engaged in battle. The Makkan flag was
felled by the Muslims, after killing ten of the polytheist flag bearers, one
after another. Their infantry rushed into panic and began to flee, with some of
the Muslims pursuing them in the confusion that ensued.
The Muslim archers upon seeing this thought the battle was over to their
advantage, the majority of them abandoning their positions in order to pursue
the fleeing polytheists and to gather the spoils of the battle. They neglected
to survey the entire battlefield and they forgot the exhortative orders of the
Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him). The Makkan leader, Khalid bin Al-Waleed,
acted upon these conditions and used them to his advantage. He circled around
the Muslims with his horsemen and came from behind Uhud to take the remainder of
the archers on the mountain by surprise. He slayed them and then attacked the
rest of the Muslims from the rear position. The fleeing Makkan polytheists
seeing this, returned to the fray and turned the balance of the battle in their
favour. The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) retreated, encircled by a
group of the Sahaabah (Allah be pleased with all of them) to an area close to
Mount Uhud. The polytheists attempted to reach them, but were unsuccessful.
Despondent by not attaining the best result and achieving their goal, the
polytheists quit the battle. They withdrew, riding their camels to return to
Makkah, feeling threatened by further assaults. The Muslims gathered and buried
their martyrs (those who died in the cause of Allah), the number of whom were
sixty-nine. Among them were Hamzah bin 'Abd Al-Muttalib (Allah be pleased with
him) the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him), (whose
corpse was mutilated and defiled by the Quraish woman, Hind bint 'Utbah)
and Mus'ab bin 'Umair (Allah be pleased with him).
