The Banner Falls

The Muslims were winning, and the enemy was fleeing the battleground — the Companions could see the jewellery the women of Arabia used to wear on their feet, because they were tucking up their clothes to run away. The enemy was showing the Muslims their backs. Banū ʿAbd al-Dār were the ones given the responsibility of holding the standard of Quraysh, and this was part of the division of offices that existed within Quraysh: one family took care of feeding the pilgrims, one family had the key of the Kaʿbah, one family had the key of the Nadwah, the parliament of Quraysh, and one family — this family — held the banners of war. Banū ʿAbd al-Dār were responsible for it at Badr, and they were also responsible for it at Uḥud. Abū Sufyān — to show the importance of the standard, because probably due to modern warfare one does not really understand the significance of a banner — told Banū ʿAbd al-Dār: "You were in charge of our banner at the Battle of Badr, and you saw what happened to us. Men will only fight for their flags — once it is lost, they withdraw. Either take care of our banner for us, or give it over to us, and we will relieve you of it." That was the rallying point — the indication to the soldier that the army is still in the fight, that his army is still there. Without the banner, the soldier is not going to fight anymore; if the banner falls down, that means the war is lost, and it is time to run away.

This angered Banū ʿAbd al-Dār, and they said, "We give our banner over to you? Tomorrow, when we meet in battle, you will learn how we behave" — which is exactly the response Abū Sufyān wanted, and it charged them up. So they fought under their banner, and Banū ʿAbd al-Dār lost seven of their men, one after the other: one would hold the banner and be killed, the second would come in line, take it over, and be killed, the third, until seven of their men had been killed carrying it. Then one of their slaves, an Abyssinian named Suwāb, took hold of it, and his arms were severed; he was still trying to hug the banner, saying something that sounded like, "Have I done my part?", his Arabic imperfect enough that the words came out mispronounced. After that, the banner fell down and was left on the ground, and that is when Quraysh started to flee the battleground. They were defeated, and they had lost. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, would later say of this: "Allah has surely fulfilled His promise to you when you, with His will, were killing them off…" — so even according to the Qur'an, the Muslims had won the Battle of Uḥud, in its opening phase.