The Sealed Nectar (36 page)

he started pulling one of the two rings out very slowly and carefully with his mouth.

Then he pulled the arrow out by his mouth, too. Consequently, his front tooth fell.

Then I proceeded to pull the second out; but Abu ‘Ubaidah besought me to leave it:

‘O, Abu Bakr, I adjure you by Allâh to let me do it.’ He pulled the second ring very slowly and carefully with his mouth — till it came out. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]

said: ‘See to your brother. He has proved to be worthy of being housed in Paradise.’

We approached Talha to cure him but found out that he had had some ten sword-strokes in his body. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/95] (This showed how efficiently Talha had fought and struggled on that day)."

At those awkward moments of that day, a group of Muslim heroes gathered around the Prophet [pbuh] forming a shield to protect him from the idolaters. Some of them were Abu Dujana, Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, Sahl bin Haneef, Malik bin —

Sinan the father of Abu Sa‘îd Al- Khudri, Umm‘Amara, Nusaiba bint Ka‘b Al- Mâziniya, Qatada bin An- Nu‘man, ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab, Hatib bin Abi Balta‘a and Abu Talha.

The number of idolaters was steadily increasing; and their attacks, naturally, got severer. Their press had increased to an extent that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]

fell into one of the holes dug and designed by Abu ‘Amir Al- Fasiq to be used as traps.

His knee scratched and ‘Ali helped him by grasping his hand up. Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh took him in his lap till he could stand 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 [pbuh]. None of them however hit him.

‘Abdullah, bin Shihab Az- Zuhri said: ‘Guide me to Muhammad [pbuh]! By Allâh, If I didn’t kill him, I would not hope to live.’ Although the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was next to him, alone — but he did not observe 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 [pbuh]) and added that he might be immune to our attempts on his life. He also said that four of them pledged to make a fresh attempt and kill him, but also to no avail. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/97]

The Muslims showed unprecedented rare heroism and marvellous sacrifices. Abu Talha — for instance — shielded the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] 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 [pbuh], 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 [pbuh] would say: "Spread the arrows to Abu Talhah!" Then when the Prophet [pbuh] watched 172

MSA NIU

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."[Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/581]

Abu Dujana stood before the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] 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 [pbuh]) — 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 [pbuh] himself was involved in shooting arrows. In a version by Qatadah bin An- Nu‘man that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] 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 [pbuh] 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 [pbuh]’s cheek till he cleaned it. The Prophet [pbuh] said: "Spit it!". But Malik said: "By Allâh, I will never spit it". Then he set out to fight. The Prophet

[pbuh] 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 striking until her wounds counted twelve.

Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair, in his turn, fought fiercely and violently defending the Prophet

[pbuh] 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 [pbuh] on account of resemblance in appearance. Only then did Ibn Qami’a shout ‘Muhammad [pbuh] has been killed.’[Ibn Hisham 2/73; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/97]

No sooner had Ibn Qami’a uttered that ominous sentence than consternation spread among Muhammad [pbuh]’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.

173

MSA NIU

When Mus‘ab was killed, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] 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 [pbuh] made his way to his encircled army. Ka‘b bin Malik, who was the first one to recognize the approaching Prophet [pbuh], shouted as loudly as he could: "O folks of Muslims, be cherished! The Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] is here." But the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] 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 [pbuh]. With this assembled number of his Companions, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] started drawing a planned withdrawal to the hillocks nearby.

Hostilities of the enemy grew fiercer than ever with the aim of foiling the plan of withdrawal of the Muslims. Their attempts however proved to be fruitless due to the heroic steadfastness of the lions of Islam.

‘Uthman bin ‘Abdullah bin Al- Mugheerah — one of the enemy horsemen —

progressed towards the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] while saying: "Either I kill him (i.e. Muhammad [pbuh]) or I will be killed." The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] moved to encounter him but his mare tripped into some holes. So Al- Harith bin As- Simma combated with the enemy, and struck him on his leg so he went lame, then he finished him off, took his arm and overtook the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh].

But later on another Makkan horseman, called ‘Abdullah bin Jabir, attacked Al- Harith bin As- Simma, and struck him on the shoulder with his sword and he was carried to the camp of the Muslims suffering from serious wounds. Anyway that very idolater did not escape death, for Abu Dujana — the red head- banded hero and adventurer —

struck him heavily and cut his head off.

During this bitter fight, a desire to sleep overwhelmed the Muslims — that was a security and tranquillity to help His slave Muslims as the Qur’ân spoke in this context. Abu Talhah said: "I was one of those who were possessed by a desire to sleep on Uhud Day. On that day my sword fell off my hand several times. Again and again it fell down and again and again I picked it up."[Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/582]

In a regular withdrawal and with great bravery and boldness, the Muslims finally retreated to the cover of Mountain Uhud. Then, the rest of the army followed them to that safe position. In this manner, the genius of Muhammad [pbuh] foiled that of Khalid bin Al- Waleed.

Ibn Ishaq related that: "When the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] was going up the hillock, he was followed by Ubai bin Khalaf who was saying: ‘Where is Muhammad

[pbuh]? Either I kill him or I will be killed.’ The Companions of Muhammad [pbuh]

said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, do you mind if one of us combats with him?’ But the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said: ‘Leave him!’ So when he drew nearer, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] took the spear from Al- Harith bin As- Simma. He shivered violently in such a way that made all of them scatter in all directions violently and impulsively. Then he faced him, observed his clavicle through a gap between the wide opening of the armour and the part of his neck enclosed by. He speared him in 174

MSA NIU

that spot. The effect of the stroke was so strong that it made him roll off his horse over and over. When he returned to Quraish, they found that he had only had a small scratch in his neck. So when blood became congested he said: ‘By Allâh, Muhammad has killed me.’ Hearing him say so, they said: ‘By Allâh you are afraid to death. By Allâh, you are possessed by a devil.’ He replied: ‘He had already told me when we were in Makkah: ‘I will kill you.’ By Allâh, had he spate on me, he would have killed me.’ Eventually, the enemy of Allâh breathed his last at a place called Sarif, while they were taking him back to Makkah."[Ibn Hisham 2/84; Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/97] In a version by Abul- Aswad, on the authority of ‘Urwa: He was lowing like a bull and saying: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, if (the pain) I am suffering from now were distributed among the people of Al- Majaz, it would cause them to die."[Mukhtasar Seerat Ar-Rasool p.250]

During the withdrawal of the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] up to the cover of the mountain, a big rock blocked his way. The Prophet [pbuh] tried to mount it, but having worn a short heavy armour, and being seriously wounded — he could not ascend it. Readily enough Talha sat in a position that enabled the Prophet [pbuh] to stand on his back. Then he lifted him up till he stood on it. The Prophet [pbuh] then said: "Talha, after this job, is eligible for the Garden (Paradise)."[Ibn Hisham 2/86]

When the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] settled down in his head quarters in the hillock, the idolaters started their last attack upon the Muslims. Ibn Ishaq related that:

"While the Prophet [pbuh] was on the way to the hillock, a group of Quraishite elite ascended the mountain. They were led by Khalid bin Al- Waleed and Abu Sufyan. So the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] implored his Lord saying: ‘O Allâh, they (i.e. the idolaters) should not be higher (i.e. in position or in power) than us (i.e. the Muslims). Therefore ‘Umar bin Al- Khattab and some of the Emigrants fought the idolaters till they drove them down the mountain.[Ibn Hisham 2/86]

In
Al- Maghazi
— a book by Al- Umawi — it is stated that the idolaters went up the mountain. So the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said to Sa‘d: "Drive them off." "How can I drive them off by myself (i.e. without anyone to assist)." But the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] repeated the phrase three times. Sa‘d then took an arrow out of his quiver, shot it at one of them and killed him. He said: "Then I took another one I know (to be good) and I shot with it another man. Then I took a third I know and killed a third one. Consequently they climbed down the mountain. I said to myself,

‘this must be a blessed arrow.’ I put it in my quiver." He kept it with him till he died.

His children kept it with them ever after. [Za'd Al-Ma'ad 2/95]

Mutilation of the Martyrs

That was the last attack made by the idolaters against the Prophet [pbuh]. Being almost certain of his death, the idolaters returned to their camp and started preparations to go back to Makkah. Some of them involved themselves in mutilating the killed Muslims, and so did their women. Women and men cut off the ears, the noses, the genitals of the martyrs. They even cut open their bellies. Hind bin ‘Utbah

— for instance — ripped open the liver of Hamzah and chewed it; but finding it unpleasant, she spat it out. She even made the ears and noses of Muslims into anklets and necklaces. [Ibn Hisham 2/90]

Two incidents occurred during the last hours of the fight. Which revealed for certain how far the Muslims were ready to fight and sacrifice in the way of Allâh: 175

MSA NIU

1. Ka‘b bin Malik said: I was one of those Muslims who fought in Uhud and witnessed the polytheists’ act of barbarity in mutilating the dead bodies, but I passed them because I couldn’t stand it. Then I saw an armed stout idolater pass through the Muslims and say: "Gather them up and combine them in the way that sheep are gathered and slaughtered." Similarly I saw an armed Muslim waiting for him. I walked towards them till I stood behind him.

Comparing both of them, I found that the disbeliever was better than the other in arms and figure. I kept on watching them till they were engaged in single combat. The Muslim thrust at the disbeliever with his sword that went down his hip and split it into two. When the Muslim unveiled his face, he said:

"What about that, Ka‘b. I am Abu Dujana." [Al-Bidaya wan Nihaya 4/17]

2.

Some Muslim women came to the battlefield when the fight was over. Anas said: I saw ‘Aishah bint Abu Bakr [R] with Umm Sulaim. Their garments were gathered up so I could see their anklets. They carried water bags on their shoulders and emptied them into the mouths of people. [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/403, 2/581] Then they would go back to fill them and come back to do the same.

‘Umar said: "Umm Saleet used to carry water bags to us on Uhud Day." [ibid 1/401]