This Is a Mountain That Loves Us

The sight of Mount Uḥud might be expected to bring back bad memories for the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) — sad memories: the defeat, in fact the first defeat of the Muslims, the loss of Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, the dear uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the loss of seventy martyrs, the injury of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself. So all of it is bad memories. But the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was optimistic, and he disliked pessimism, and of Uḥud he said: Uḥud jabalun yuḥibbunā wa nuḥibbuh, "Uḥud is a mountain that loves us, and we love it" (al-Bukhārī; Muslim). So this mountain, rather than bringing sad memories — no, it is a mountain that loves us and we love it. And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says, Uḥud jabalun fī al-jannah: "Uḥud is a mountain in Paradise."^**** So pessimism is put away, and the association of the mountain with sad memories is put away: whenever it is seen, it is love that is remembered, not defeat and hardship and pain — this is a mountain that is loved, and that loves. This is an important lesson: believers should always look at the bright side; believers should always be optimistic.