The Sealed Nectar (35 page)

The encompassment of the Muslims revealed three categories of people: The first group were those who were only interested in themselves and they went so mad that they fled. They left the battlefield and did not know what happened to the others.

Some of this group fled as far as Madinah. Some others went up the mountain.

The second Muslim group were those who returned to the battle, but mixed with the idolaters in such a way that they could not recognize one another. Consequently some of them were killed by mistake. On the authority of Al- Bukhari, he states that

‘Aishah [R] said: "When it was Uhud Battle, the idolaters were utterly defeated.

Satan then called out: ‘O slaves of Allâh. Beware the rear (i.e. the enemy is approaching from behind)’. So those who were at the front turned back and fought the ones who were behind."

Then Hudhaifah caught sight of his father ‘Al- Yaman’ about to be killed by other Muslims. So he said: "O servants of Allâh! Beware! This is my father. This is my father." ‘Aishah [R] said: "But they did not part with him till he was killed."

Hudhaifah then said: "May Allâh forgive you." And ‘Urwa said: "By Allâh, from that time on Hudhaifah has always been blessed and wealthy till he died."[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/539, 2/581; Fath Al-Bari 7/351, 362, 363] That was because he forgave them and refused to take any blood- money for his father’s murder but recommended that it be spent in charity.

This Muslim group suffered from great bewilderment, and disorder prevailed among them. A lot of them got lost and did not know where to go. At this awkward time they heard someone calling: "Muhammad is killed." This news made them even more bewildered and almost out of sense. Their morale broke down, or almost did in a great number of individuals. Some of them stopped fighting, slackened, and cast down their weapons. Others thought of getting in touch with ‘Abdullah bin Ubai —

the head of the hypocrites — and seeking his assistance to fetch them a security pledge from Abu Sufyan.

Anas bin An- Nadr passed by those people who were shuddering of fear and panic, and inquired: "What are you waiting for?" They said: "The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]

has been killed." "What do you live for after Muhammad [pbuh]? Come on and die for what the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] has died for." Then he said: "O Allâh I apologize for what these people (i.e. the Muslims) have done; and I swear disavowal of what the idolaters have perpetrated." Then he moved on till he was encountered by Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh who asked him: "Where to, Abu ‘Umar?" Anas replied: "Ah, how fine the scent of the Paradise is! I smell it here in Uhud." He went on and fought against the idolaters till he was killed. Nobody but his sister could recognize his dead body. It had been cut and stabbed by over eighty swords, arrows or spears. It was by the tip of his finger that she — after the battle — recognized him.[Za'd Al Ma'ad 2/93, 96; Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/579]

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Thabit bin Ad- Dahdah called unto his people saying:

"O kinfolk of Helpers, if Muhammad [pbuh] were killed, Allâh is Everlasting and He never dies. Fight in defence of your Faith. Allâh will help you and so you will be victorious." A group of Helpers joined him and all set out and attacked a battalion of Khalid’s horsemen. He kept on fighting till he and his friends were killed.[Ibn Hisham 2/81]

An Emigrant passed by a Helper who was besmeared by blood. He said: "O fellow!

Have you heard of Muhammad [pbuh]’s murder?" The Helper answered: "If Muhammad [pbuh] were killed, then he must have completed the delivery of the Message. So fight in defence of your religion!"[Za'd Al Ma'ad 2/96]

With such boldness and encouragement, the Muslims soon recovered their spirits, came round to senses and desisted the idea of surrender or contacting the hypocrite

‘Abdullah bin Ubai. They took up arms and resumed the fight attempting to make way to the headquarters, particularly after the news of the Prophet [pbuh]’s death had been falsified. The glad tidings nerved them, and helped them to manage quite successfully the break of the military blockade, and concentrate their forces in an immune place to resume a relentless and fierce fight against the polytheists.

The third group of Muslims were those who cared for nothing except the Prophet

[pbuh]. At the head of them were notable Companions like Abu Bakr, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib and others ÑÖì Çááå Úäåã, who hastened to protect the Prophet [pbuh] through unrivalled devotion.

As those groups of Muslims were receiving the blows of the idolaters and resisting instantly, the fight flared up around the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh], who had only nine people around him. We have already mentioned that when the idolaters started their encompassment there were only nine persons around the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh]; and that as soon as he called out unto the Muslims: "Come on! I am the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh]," the idolaters heard his voice and recognized him. So they turned back and attacked him with all their power before any of his Companions ran to his aid.

A violent raging struggle broke out between the nine Muslims and the idolaters during which peerless sort of love, self- sacrifice, bravery and heroism were revealed.

Muslim, on the authority of Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] along with seven Helpers and two Emigrants, was confined to a trap when the idolaters attacked him. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] then said: " He who pushes back those idolaters, will be housed in Paradise." or "He will be my Companion in Paradise." One of the Helpers stepped forward and fought the idolaters in defence of the Prophet [pbuh] till he was killed. Then they attacked the Messenger [pbuh]

again. The same process was repeated again and again till all the seven Helpers were killed. Then the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said to his two Quraishite Companions: "We have not done justice to our Companions."[Sahih Muslim 2/107]

The last of those seven Helpers was ‘Amara bin Yazeed bin As- Sakan, who kept on fighting till his wounds neutralized him and he fell dead.[Ibn Hisham 2/81]

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The Most Awkward Hour in the Messenger’s Life

After the fall of Ibn Sakan, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] remained alone with only those two Quraishites. In a version by Abu ‘Uthman — authorized in
As- Sahihain
—

he said: "At that time, there were none with the Prophet [pbuh] except Talha bin

‘Ubaidullâh and Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas.[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/527, 2/581] That was the most awkward and dangerous hour for the Prophet [pbuh], but it was a golden opportunity for the idolaters who promptly took advantage of it. They concentrated their attack on the Prophet [pbuh] and looked forward to killing him.

‘Utbah bin Abi Waqqas pelted him with stones. One of the stones fell on his face. His lower right incisor
Ruba‘iya
(i.e. the tooth that is between a canine and a front tooth) was injured. His lower lip was wounded. He was also attacked by ‘Abdullah bin Shihab Az- Zuhri who cleaved his forehead. ‘Abdullah bin Qami’a (
Qami’a
means ‘a humiliated woman’), who was an obstinate strong horseman, struck him violently on his shoulder with his sword; and that stroke hurt the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] for over a month — though it was not strong enough to break his two armours. He dealt a heavy blow on his cheek. It was so strong that two rings of his iron- ringed helmet penetrated into his holy cheek. "Take this stroke from me, I am Ibn Qami’a." He said while striking the Messenger with his sword. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] replied

— while he was wiping the blood flowing on his face: "I implore Allâh to humiliate you."[Fath Al-Bari 7/373, 366] (i.e.
Aqma’aka Allâh
). In
Al- Bukhâri
it is stated his incisor broke, his head was cleaved, and that he started wiping the blood off it and saying:

"(I wonder) how can people who cut the face of their Prophet [pbuh] and break the incisor of his — he who calls them to worship Allâh. How can such people thrive or be successful?" About that incident, Allâh, Glory is to Him, sent down a Qur’ânic verse saying:

"Not for you (O Muhammad [pbuh] but for Allâh) is the decision; whether
He turns in mercy to (pardons) them or punishes them; verily, they are the

Zâlimûn
(polytheists, disobedients, and wrong- doers)."
[Al- Qur'an 3:128] [Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/582; Sahih Muslim 2/108]

At- Tabarani states that the Prophet [pbuh] said: "Allâh’s Wrath is great on those who besmear the face of His Messenger," observed silence for a short while and then resumed saying:

"O Allâh, forgive my people for they have no knowledge."
[Fath Al-Bari 7/373]

In
Sahih Muslim
it is stated that the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said:

"My Lord, forgive my people for they have no knowledge."
[Sahih Muslim 2/108]

In
Ash- Shifa
— a book by ‘Ayad Al- Qadi — it is related that the Prophet [pbuh] said:

"O Allâh, guide my people for they have no knowledge."
[Ash- Shifa 1/81]

It is quite certain that killing the Prophet [pbuh] was their primary aim, but the two Quraishites — Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas and Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh, who showed great and rare courage and fought so fiercely and boldly that — though they were only two —

were able to stop the idolaters short of realizing their aim. They were of the best 170

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skillful Arab archers and kept on militating in defence of the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] till the whole squad of idolaters was driven off him [pbuh].

The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] emptied his quiver of arrows and said to Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas: "Shoot, an arrow Sa‘d. May my father and mother be sacrified for you.[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/407, 2/580, 581]" The Prophet [pbuh] had never gathered his parents except in the case of Sa‘d — a privilege granted to him for his efficiency.[ibid 1/407, 2/580,581]

In a version by Jabir — authorized by An- Nasa’i — concerning the attitude of Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh towards the gathering of idolaters around the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] — when there were only some Helpers with him — Jabir said: "When the idolaters reached him, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] said: ‘Who will suffice us their evils (i.e. fight them back)?’ Talha said: ‘I will.’" Then Jabir mentioned the advance of the Helpers to fight and how they were killed one after the other in a similar way to Muslim’s narration — "When all the Helpers were killed, Talha proceeded forward to fight as much as the other eleven ones did till his hand was hurt and his fingers were cut off. So he said: ‘Be they cut off!’ The Prophet [pbuh] said: ‘If you had said: In the Name of Allâh, the angels would have raised you up before the people’s very eyes.’" Then he said: "Allâh drove the idolaters off them."[Fath-al-Bari 7/361; An-Nasa'i 2/52,53]

In
Al- Ikleel
— a book by Hakim — it is stated that Talha had sustained thirty- nine or thirty- five wounds, and his fingers (i.e. the forefinger and the one next to it — got paralyzed.[ibid 7/361]

In a version by Qais bin Abi Hâzim — authorized by Al- Bukhari, he said: "I saw the hand of Talha paralyzed. That was because he protected the Prophet [pbuh] with it in Uhud Battle."[Sahih Al-Bukhari 1/527, 2/581]

At- Tirmidhi stated that the Prophet [pbuh] then said about Talha: "He who desires to see a martyr walking on the ground, let him look at Talha bin ‘Ubaidullâh."[Mishkat 2/566; Ibn Hisham 2/86]

Abu Da’ûd At- Tayalisi on the authority of ‘Aishah [R], said: "Whenever Uhud Day (i.e. battle) was mentioned, Abu Bakr used to say: ‘That was Talha’s day (i.e.

battle)’.[Fath Al-Bari 7/361] Abu Bakr recited a verse of poetry about him: ‘O Talha bin

‘Ubaidullâh! Paradise is due to you as water- springs are due to deer to drink out of.’

[Mukhtasar Tareekh Damishq, 7/82] At the awkward and most delicate circumstances, Allâh, Glory is to Him, sent down His invisible Help. In a version by Sa‘d — cleared and authorized in
Sahih Al- Bukhari
and
Muslim
— he said: "I saw the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh] on Uhud Day with two men — dressed in white defending him fiercely — I have never seen similar to them neither before Uhud nor after it." In another version: "He means to say that they were Gabriel and Michael".[Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/580]

All those events happened in no time. If the Prophet [pbuh]’s elite Companions had realized the grave situation immediately, they would have rushed on the spot and would not have left him sustain these wounds. Unfortunately, they got there after the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] had been wounded and six of the Helpers killed, the seventh was staggering under the brunt of wounds and desperately militating in defence of the Prophet [pbuh]. However as soon as they arrived they encircled the Messenger with their bodies and weapons and were alert enough to prevent the enemies from reaching him. The first one who returned to give help, was his cavemate Abu Bakr As- Siddiq [R].

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In a version by ‘Aishah [R] recorded in Ibn Hibban’s
Sahih
, she narrated that Abu Bakr had said:

"When it was Uhud Day and at the time that the Prophet [pbuh] was left behind, I was the first to go back and see him. Before him I saw a man fighting to shield him from the enemies. I said to myself: ‘I wish he were Talha. Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. (O Allâh) Let him be Talha! Let my parents be sacrificed for you!’ On the way, I was overtaken by Abu ‘Ubaidah bin Al- Jarrah, who was then moving as swiftly as a bird. We both rushed to dress the Prophet [pbuh]’s wounds.

There we found Talha suffering from serious wounds before the Messenger of Allâh

[pbuh]. The Prophet [pbuh] said: ‘See to your brother. His deed entitled him for an abode in Paradise.’ I noticed that two rings of the iron- ringed helmet had penetrated his cheek. So I set out to take them out; but Abu ‘Ubaidah demanded: ‘By Allâh, O

Abu Bakr — I beseech you, let me do it myself.’ Fearing to hurt the Prophet [pbuh]