18. THE BATTLE OF UH.UD (3)

Last Friday I talked about some Qur’ānic verses revealed after the battle of Uh.ud. Today I want to explain the rest of the verses dealing with the battle of Uh.ud. Allah said:
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْا مِنْكُمْ يَوْمَ الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ إِنَّمَا اسْتَزَلَّهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ
بِبَعْضِ مَا كَسَبُوا وَلَقَدْ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
(آل عمران: ۱٥٥)
“Those of you who turned back on the day of the two hosts met,
--it was Satan who caused them to fail, because of some (evil)
they had done. But Allah has blotted out (their fault):
for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Forbearing.”80
This verse talks about the hypocrites led by Abdullah b. Ubay.
Allah says further:
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَقَالُوا لِإِخْوَانِهِمْ
إِذَا ضَرَبُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ أَوْ كَانُوا غُزًّى لَوْ كَانُوا عِنْدَنَا مَا مَاتُوا وَمَا قُتِلُوا
لِيَجْعَلَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ حَسْرَةً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ.
وَلَئِنْ قُتِلْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَوْ مُتُّمْ لَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَحْمَةٌ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا
يَجْمَعُونَ. وَلَئِنْ مُتُّمْ أَوْ قُتِلْتُمْ لَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُحْشَرُونَ.
(آل عمران:۱٥٦-۱٥٨)
“O ye who believe! Be not like the unbelievers, who say of their
brethren, when they are travelling through the earth or engaged
in fighting: ‘If they had stayed with us, they would not have died,
or been slain.’ This that Allah may make it a cause of sighs and
regrets in their hearts. It is Allah that gives life and death, and
Allah sees well all that ye do. And if ye are slain, or die, in the
way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better
than all they could amass. And if ye die or are slain, lo!
it is unto Allah that ye are brought together.”81
These verses mean that believers should not be like unbelievers who said about people travelling for business or fighting for Islam. “If they had been with us, not in their travel or in expedition, they would not have died or been killed, they would have been alive.” Allah does not want us to say so, because He Himself is the One Who gives life and takes life; wherever we go we would not die before its time. Moreover, dying in the way of Allah is better than the wealth we collect, for Allah will reward us. In other words, travelling for business is better than staying at home, but going out and fight in the way of Allah is the best, because Allah will forgive and have mercy on us.
When the Muslims wanted to know the condition of their brothers who fell martyrs in the battle of Uh.ud, Allah revealed:
وَلَا تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ قُتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْيَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ يُرْزَقُونَ. فَرِحِينَ
بِمَا آَتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ وَيَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِالَّذِينَ لَمْ يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ مِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ أَلَّا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ
وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ. يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَفَضْلٍ وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
(آل عمران:۱٦٩-۱٧۱)
“Think not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay,
they live, finding their sustenance from their Lord. They rejoice
in the bounty provided by Allah. And with regard to those who
left behind, who have not yet joined them (in their bliss), the
(martyrs’) glory in the fact that on them is no fear, nor have
they (cause to) grieve. They rejoice in the grace and the
bounty from Allah, and in the fact that Allah suffereth
not the reward on the faithful to be lost (in the least).”82
Therefore the martyrs are alive, rejoicing the bounty of Allah, living on a different plane of life in a different world.
The Meccan army retreated to H...amrā’ al-Asad about 12 km outside Madinah. The next day the Prophet and his companions who joined him in the battle of Uh.ud set out in pursuit of the retreating enemy. When they reached the place the enemy had already left. However, they remained nearby to avoid the impression that they were actually fleeing from the Prophet and the Muslims. During the day the Muslims collected wood and lit many fires at night so that that their force looked larger that it really was. The purpose was to lower the spirit of the enemy. It worked and Abu Sufyān and his army returned Mecca within a day or two. On this occasion Allah revealed the following verse:
الَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِلَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ
الْقَرْحُ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّقَوْا أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ.
(آل عمران:۱٧۲)
“Of those who answered the call of Allah and the Apostle,
even after being wounded, those who do right and
refrain from wrong have a great reward.”83
Long before reaching Mecca, the Meccan leaders must have realized their difficult position, despite their recent victory in the battle of Uh.ud. They had collected all their forces, even with the support of neighbouring tribes. The only way they could raise a stronger army was through the assistance of some nomadic tribes in the east and the northeast. For this purpose, they used any means, such as making propaganda about the Prophet’s weakness, mentioning memories of the prominence of Mecca, promising booty, even giving bribes. These means worked, and with their huge army they attacked Madinah known as the battle of the Trench.

Footnotes:
80. Qur’ān, Al ‘Imrān [3]:155
81. Qur’ān, Āl ‘Imrān [3]:156-158
82. Qur’ān, Āl ‘Imrān [3]:169-171
83. Qur’ān, Āl ‘Imrān [3]:172