The Madinan Period, Part 10: The Martyrs of Uḥud
Section 7 of 15 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Madinan Period
Up the Mountain
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) retreated to the mountain of Uḥud itself, to a crevice where he withdrew. Climbing up the mountain was difficult for him, so Ṭalḥah ibn ʿUbaydullāh had to carry him, because the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was injured. When they climbed up the mountain, that is when the battle stopped, because Quraysh dared not pursue the Muslims up the mountain — and their cavalry could not fight on such terrain, so it would have had to be their foot soldiers, and this was something the enemy was not ready or prepared to do. So now the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and the Muslims were up on the mountain of Uḥud, and Abū Sufyān approached them and called out, "Is Muḥammad alive?" He heard no answer. He asked, "Is Abū Bakr alive?" No response. "Is ʿUmar alive?" No response. So Abū Sufyān was pleased, and told his people that these men had been killed. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb could not stand hearing Abū Sufyān say that, so he called back, "The three men you named are alive" — to upset him. Abū Sufyān answered, "A day for a day, as with Badr. Warfare goes in cycles — one day you win, one day we win. You will find some bodies mutilated; I did not order that, but it does not trouble me. Raise up Hubal, raise up Hubal" — and they began chanting, "Raise up Hubal." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Are you not going to answer them back?" They asked what they should say, and he told them: say, "Allah is higher and more glorious" — which rhymes with what Abū Sufyān had said. Abū Sufyān said, "We have al-ʿUzzā, and you have no ʿUzzā." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) told them to respond, "Allah is our master, and you have no master."
۞ إِذْ تُصْعِدُونَ وَلَا تَلْوُۥنَ عَلَىٰٓ أَحَدٍ وَٱلرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ فِىٓ أُخْرَىٰكُمْ فَأَثَـٰبَكُمْ غَمًّۢا بِغَمٍّ لِّكَيْلَا تَحْزَنُوا۟ عَلَىٰ مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا مَآ أَصَـٰبَكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ خَبِيرٌۢ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
“When you were going away, not even turning to look at anyone, and the Messenger was calling you from behind you. He awarded you sorrow for sorrow, so that you should not grieve (in future) over what you lost, or for what you suffered. Allah is All-Aware of what you do.” (3:153)
Allah describes the climbing of the Muslims up the mountain this way: they fled and climbed the mountain without looking aside at anyone, while the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was calling them from behind, so Allah repaid them with distress upon distress, so that they would not grieve for what had escaped them.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا۟ مِنكُمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْتَقَى ٱلْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا ٱسْتَزَلَّهُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
“Surely, those of you who turned back on the day when the two troops faced each other, Satan had but made them slip for some of their deeds. Of course, Allah has forgiven them. Certainly, Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Forbearing.” (3:155)
So Allah is saying that what happened at Uḥud was not because of their sins — it was because of Shayṭān, and Allah had already forgiven them.
ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ٱلْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَغْشَىٰ طَآئِفَةً مِّنكُمْ ۖ وَطَآئِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِٱللَّهِ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ ظَنَّ ٱلْجَـٰهِلِيَّةِ ۖ يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْأَمْرَ كُلَّهُۥ لِلَّهِ ۗ يُخْفُونَ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لَا يُبْدُونَ لَكَ ۖ يَقُولُونَ لَوْ كَانَ لَنَا مِنَ ٱلْأَمْرِ شَىْءٌ مَّا قُتِلْنَا هَـٰهُنَا ۗ قُل لَّوْ كُنتُمْ فِى بُيُوتِكُمْ لَبَرَزَ ٱلَّذِينَ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَتْلُ إِلَىٰ مَضَاجِعِهِمْ ۖ وَلِيَبْتَلِىَ ٱللَّهُ مَا فِى صُدُورِكُمْ وَلِيُمَحِّصَ مَا فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمٌۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ
“Then, after the grief, He poured tranquility upon you - a drowsiness overtaking a group of you. Another group was worrying about their own selves, harboring thoughts about Allah that were untrue - thoughts of ignorance. They were saying, “Is there anything in our hands?” Say, “The whole thing belongs to Allah.” They conceal in their hearts what they do not disclose to you.They say, “If we had any say in the matter, we would not have been killed here.”Say, “If you were in your homes, those destined to be killed would have come out all the way to their (final) resting -places.” (All this was done) so that Allah may test your inner qualities and may purify what is in your hearts. Allah is All-Aware of what lies in the hearts.” (3:154)
Indeed, the matter belongs completely to Allah. The hypocrites conceal within themselves what they do not reveal — they say, "If there was anything we could have done in the matter, we would not have been killed right here." This is what the hypocrites were saying: why did we get ourselves into this trouble, why are we fighting jihād, why are we doing this? Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is saying that they were not killed because they went out to jihād — they were killed because that was the qadar of Allah, and if they had stayed home they would also have been killed. So those who blame the death of Muslims on the ones fighting for the defence of the ummah are wrong, and they are following the footsteps of the hypocrites. When it comes to death, it is a decree of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, that a person dies whenever his time comes, and it makes no difference whether he goes out or stays home — he dies when Allah wills him to die. So the Battle of Uḥud was a test from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for the believers. It should not be blamed for the deaths of the Muslims.