The Battle of Uhud

Extension of the Battle of Badr

The Battle of Uhud was an extension of the Battle of Badr. Smarting under the ignominy of their defeat at Badr, the Quraish of Makkah assembled a large army of 3,000 persons, and marched to Madina to avenge their defeat at Badr. The force was led by Abu Sufyan. The force included every adult among the Quraish. The force was fully equipped with war weapons. The force was accompanied by a considerable number of women. They sang songs to inspire the warriors. They said that if the Quraish won the battle, they would throw open their arms to embrace them, but in case they were defeated, their women would turn away from them. The Quraish were confident that this time they would win and teach the Muslims a lesson.

The Holy Prophet's preparation for the battle

When the Holy Prophet came to know of the intentions of the Quraish of Makkah, he held a council of war. He was personally of the view that in view of the strength of the enemy the proper course for the Muslims was to remain in Madina and let the enemy besiege the city. The idea was that if the enemy besieged the city its force would have to be dispersed in a number of sectors, and the Muslims could strike a blow at the enemy where the enemy's concentration was the weakest. The younger element among the Muslims, however, insisted that the battle should be fought in the open at some distance away from Madina. Their argument was that the enemy should not be allowed to approach Madina at any cost. Though the Holy Prophet believed that the defensive strategy proposed by him was the best in the circumstances, yet in deference to the enthusiasm for the young men to keep the enemy away from Madina, he agreed to meet the enemy in the open outside Madina. The Muslims could assemble a force of one thousand persons only. When the Holy Prophet gave the order for the march to the battlefield, three hundred hypocrites led by Abdullah b Ubayy withdrew and went to their homes. The Holy Prophet was thus left with 700 persons only and this was one fourth of the strength of the enemy.

The Battlefield

Uhud, a few miles from Madina was a great stretch of barren rock rising out of the desert without any growth of vegetation. The Holy Prophet commanded the Muslim warriors to take up their position at Uhud on the rising ground. A band of archers took up position on an adjoining mound behind the main position. The archers were commanded not to abandon their posts under any circumstances, without the approval of the Holy Prophet.

The Duel

As usual the battle began with a duel. Talha bin Abi Talha the standard bearer of the Quraish stepped forward, and challenged the Muslims to a single combat. Ali the standard bearer of the Muslims stepped forward to accept the challenge. Talha b Abi Talha was an expert swordsman among the Quraish, and it was the common belief that no body could beat him. As Talha stepped forward he boasted of his prowess. Talha was the first to attack Ali. Ali warded off the attack on his shield. Talha was wearing a coat of arms. Ali aimed his blows at the legs of Talha. The legs were severed and Talha fell dead. Then another brother of Talha, Abu Shaiba stepped forward to seek a duel with a Muslim warrior. He was done to death by Hamza. Thereafter the third brother, Said b Abi Talha rushed waving his sword and seeking vengeance for his two brothers. He was killed by Saad b Abi Waqas. The murder of the three brothers one after the other made the Quraish furious. Their flag was next held by Irtas b Sharjeel a formidable man. He challenged the Muslims saying that he who coveted death should step forward to measure swords with him. Ali met the challenge, and killed Irtas. Thereupon Asama b Zaid dashed at Ali, with a view to striking a blow at him, before he could adjust himself after killing Irtas. Ali moved his sword right and left and struck a mortal blow on his assailant who reeled and fell down dead. After the death of six warriors from among the Quraish one after the other, no other warrior of the Quraish could dare challenge a duel with the Muslims.

The battle

After the duels, the battle began. The Quraish charged with great force, but the Muslims held fast. Then in a counter attack the Muslims broke the enemy's line, and the Quraish fell back. At this stage, the contingent of the Muslim archers, contrary to the instructions of the Holy Prophet left their position in order to plunder the camp of the retreating Quraish. Khalid b Walid who was still a non-Muslim and was commanding a contingent of the Quraish cavalry rushed with his contingent, and occupied the position vacated by the Muslim archers. That exposed the Muslims to an attack from the rear as well as from the front. That changed the course of the battle. The defenses of the Muslims were broken, and in the confusion that followed many Muslims were martyred. Hamza an uncle of the Holy Prophet fell fighting. His dead body was desecrated by the Quraish as a mark of their fury against the Muslims. Hinda the wife of Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quraish ripped the dead body, took out his liver, and chewed it. It was a barbarity which an unscrupulous woman like Hinda alone could practice. Among the Muslims who were martyred was Mas'ab b Omair. He bore some physical resemblance to the Holy Prophet, and seeing his dead body the Quraish shouted that Muhammad (peace be on him) had been killed.

In the confusion that followed, the Holy Prophet was wounded, and he fell in a pit over the dead bodies of his followers. Ali charged the Quraish with unprecedented fury, and killed many men of the enemy. He received no less than sixty-one wounds. When the Quraish continued shouting that the Holy Prophet had been killed, and Ali could no longer see the Holy Prophet where he was stationed, he rushed to the spot where the Holy Prophet lay wounded. He took the Holy Prophet from out of the pit, and with the aid of other companions including Abu Bakr and Umar escorted the Holy Prophet to a safer place. Ali fetched water in his shield, and dressed the wounds of the Holy Prophet, taking no heed of the wounds that he himself had received in the battle. As in the meantime, the Quraish continued shouting that the Holy Prophet had been killed, and no contradiction was made from the Muslim camp. The Muslim warriors engaged in combat with the Quraish were demoralized. They felt that if the Holy Prophet had been killed, there was no point in fighting the battle. At this juncture, at the instance of the Holy Prophet, Umar shouted back at the Quraish to say that the Holy Prophet was very much alive. On regaining consciousness, the Holy Prophet charged Ali to launch a counter attack against the Quraish. Ali rallied the Muslim, exhorted them to fight for the glory of Islam, and fell upon the enemy with the ferocity of a lion. Ali broke into the lines of the enemy, and caused great havoc in the ranks of the enemy. So great was the slaughter caused by Ali in the ranks of the enemy that his sword broke down. Thereupon the Holy Prophet sent Ali his own sword, and with this sword Ali caused further havoc among the ranks of the Quraish. He held the flag in his right hand, and when his right hand was wounded he held the nag in his left hand. Ali drove back the enemy. Because of the prodigies of valor performed by Ali, the Quraish could not take advantage of the victory that they had won at an earlier stage of the battle. Abu Sufyan accordingly commanded the Quraish to return to Makkah. He, however, shouted in a boastful mood that the Quraish had taken the revenge for their defeat in the Battle of Badr. Abu Sufyan declared that the Quraish would soon have another confrontation, when the Muslims would be annihilated.

When after the battle Ali returned to the camp his entire body was covered with so many wounds that Umm Salim and Umm Atiya, the Muslim nurses, did not know how to dress the wounds of Ali. The Holy Prophet washed and dressed the wounds of Ali himself, and said that God in whose cause Ali had received the wounds would heal them. Ali said, "

May God grant me the patience to bear this suffering. It was indeed a favor of God that He gave me the courage to stand and fight in spite of these wounds, and not to leave the field". For his marvelous bravery, the Holy Prophet conferred on Ali the appellation "Asad Allah", the lion of God.

Assessment of the Battle of Uhud

The Battle of Uhud is an important battle in the annals of Islam. In the early stage the battle went in favor of the Muslims, but because of a tactical mistake made by the archers, the tide of the battle was reversed, and the Quraish came to have the upper hand. The Muslims were thoroughly demoralized and practically lost the will to fight. It was at this stage that Ali took the command and prevented the Quraish from taking advantage of the victory that they had won earlier. The battle that would have otherwise ended in the annihilation of the Muslims concluded as a drawn battle. The Quraish could gain no booty; they could not make any Muslim a captive. True, many Muslims died as martyrs, but the casualties in the ranks of the Quraish were larger still.

Ali played the role of a hero in the battle. His services were highly appreciated by the Holy Prophet and the Companions. Some Muslim poets composed verses in the honor of Ali. Extolling his bravery one of the poets said: "There is no sword better than the sword of Ali; and there is no young man superior to Ali."

There is some controversy about the number of unbelievers killed by Ali at the Battle of Uhud. According to some accounts the number was about two hundred. According to more conservative accounts the number was about two dozen. We need not enter into any controversy about the number of persons killed. The basic point is that Ali played the role of a great hero at the Battle of Uhud, and he succeeded in averting a crisis which was fraught with great danger for the Muslims.