THE OCCASION OF UHUD

Battle of Uhad took place in 625, 3rd year of Hijra. Since the day, the Quresh faced
defeat in Badr, they started a major preparation for another battle in Makkah in which
they invested a huge amount. The Prophet (saw) was in favour of defending and staying
in the city but the young boys insisted on going out and fight. The Prophet (saw) took
one thousand men with him. Muslims were only seven hundred in front of three
thousand well equipped Qurash.
The Prophet (saw) placed 50 archers at an opening which was dangerous. The battle
bagan and Allah fulfilled His promise and the Muslims won the battle. When Muslims saw
this defeat, they started looting booty without asking the Prophet (saw). When the
archers saw this, they left the opening and joined the other Muslims. He saw the
opening without any protection. Muslims were not ready for this attack and it caused
panic everywhere.
In this panic the slave of Hinda got a chance and killed Hamza (ra), the uncle of the
Prophet (saw). The Prophet (saw) was also injured and lost his tooth and seventy
Muslims lost their lives. This is strange that the Quresh had won but they decided to go
back to Makkah and not attacking Madina. Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Quresh
challenged the Muslims to have another fight next year in badr. The Prophet (sw) was
injured and the Muslim army was demoralized, yet the Prophet (sw) chased Makkans.
Apparently, the Quresh won the battle but in reality they could not achieve both of their
targets. Neither they killed the Prophet nor they could open the trade route.
From this battle, Muslims got the lesson that they must not disobey the Prophet (saw)
and the Muslim commander. The Muslims lost the battle due to their greed.
 Battle of trench
When the Jews of Bani Qaynqaa were expelled from Madina because of their trouble
making, their sister tribe, the Bani Nuzayr, were very angry. They became deadly
enemies of Islam and waited for an opportunity to do the Muslims harm.
Once the Holy Prophet (S), together with a few companions, went to the fort of the
Bani Nuzayr. While he waited outside the fort, the Jews sent one of their men to climb
out from inside and kill him by throwing a huge rock on his head. The Holy Prophet (S)
came to know of this treacherous scheme just in time and immediately left the place.
Since the Bani Nuzayr had broken the treaty which they had signed, the Holy Prophet
(S) gave them ten days to leave Madina. After some resistance, they left Madina,
demolishing their houses so that the Muslims could not occupy them. They were
allowed to take away all the possessions that they could carry, except for weapons of
war. Some of them went to Syria and others settled with the Jews of Khayber.
On settling down at Khayber, the Banu Nuzayr became determined to take revenge on
the Muslims. They contacted the Quraish in Makka and 20 leaders from the Jews and
50 from Quraish signed an agreement in the Holy Ka'ba that so long as they lived, they
would fight the Holy Prophet (S). Thereafter, the Jews and Quraish contacted their
allies and sent agents to a number of tribes for help. In this way, 10,000 soldiers
gathered. They then marched upon Madina under the command of Abu Sufyan.
When the news of these preparations reached Madina, the Holy Prophet (S) consulted
his companions. Salman Farsi advised to dig a deep and wide ditch on the unprotected
side of Madina. This plan was accepted and the Muslims were divided into parties of
10, and each party allotted 10 yards to dig.
The Holy Prophet himself participated in this task. The ditch or moat (Khandaq) was
completed in time, just three days before the forces of the enemy reached Madina. The
Muslims could gather only 3,000 men to oppose this huge army. They camped a few
miles outside Madina.
Meanwhile, the leader of Bani Nuzayr met secretly with some Jews who still lived in
Madina. He convinced them to violate the treaty which they had concluded with the
Muslims. Thus, the Muslims were exposed to danger within Madina, and the Jews
began terrorising the women and children. When the Holy Prophet (S) learnt about
what was happening he sent back 500 men to patrol the city.
The enemy was astonished to see the moat because it was a new thing for Arabs.
They tried day and night to cross over, but each time they were repelled by the Muslim
soldiers. The enemy began to shower arrows and stones at the Muslims in their
frustration.
Finally, some of the Quraish's warriors - including the famous Amr bin Abdiwad -
succeeded in crossing the moat at a point where it was not very wide. Amr was one of
the best warriors in all of Arabia. In battle he was considered equal to 1,000 warriors.
He began to challenge the Muslims to fight, but his reputation made them hesitate.
Three times the Holy Prophet (S) urged the Muslims to fight Amr. Each time only Imam
Ali (A) stood up. Finally, the Holy Prophet (S) allowed him to go, giving him his own
sword and tying a special turban on his head. As Imam Ali (A) went to the battle field,
the Holy Prophet (S) exclaimed, "The whole Faith is going to fight the whole Infidelity".
When Amr learnt who Imam's (A) identity, he refused to fight him, saying that Abu Talib
had been his friend and he did not want to kill his friend's son. Imam Ali (A) told him not
to be concerned about his death because if he died he would be blessed with a place
in Heaven while Amr would end up in Hell.
He then reminded Amr that he had once said that if any opponent made three
requests, Amr would always grant one of them. Amr agreed to this. Imam Ali (A) then
invited Amr to accept Islam or to return to Makka or to come down from his horse as
Imam (A) had no horse and was on foot.
Amr agreed to the last request and came down from his horse. A fierce battle followed.
For a time, so much dust covered both warriors that nobody knew what was
happening. Amr sent a murderous blow to the head of Imam Ali (A).
Although Imam Ali (A) blocked it with his shield, Amr's sword broke through and
inflicted a serious cut on his head. Imam Ali (A) then struck a blow to Amr's feet which
brought Amr down. Suddenly the shout of "Allahu Akbar" was heard from Imam Ali (A)
as he chopped off Amr's head. The killing of Amr shocked the other warriors who had
crossed the moat, and they fled away.
The battle was brought to an end because of three factors:
The Holy Prophet (S) signed an agreement of peace with some of the tribes who had
gathered to fight the Muslims.
The enemy was demoralised at the death of Amr ibn Abdiwad.
The severe winter caused the enemies' horses to perish and their food was almost
finished.
Finally, the Holy Prophet (S) went to the place where the Mosque of Victory (Masjid-ul-
Fath) now stands, and prayed to Allah for help. A fierce storm raged which uprooted
the tents of the enemies, sending their belongings flying on all sides, and causing
terror in their ranks. The Makkans and Jews fled away from the battle field. This battle
is known as Ahzab (Battle of the Tribes) or Khandaq (Battle of the Moat) and the
Muslims emerged victorious in spite of their fewer numbers The Holy Qur'an says:
O you who believe! Remember the blessing of Allah unto you when the tribes
came to you. We sent upon them a strong wind and an army that you did not see.
And Allah sees all that you do.
Surah al-Ahzab, 33:9
 Battle of Khyber

When after the Battle of the Ditch, the Jews of Banu Quraizah were executed, the
Jews of Khyber promised revenge, and they planned an invasion of Madinah on a
large scale. In the meantime by the treaty of Hudaibiyah , the Quraysh had made a
truce with the Muslims and were no longer free to join the Jews in an attack on
Madinah. Taking full advantage of this favorable situation, immediately on return from
Makkah after signing the Hudaibiyah pact, the Holy Prophet sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam
led a Muslim force to Khyber. About a hundred miles from Madinah on the route to
Syria was an important settlement of the Jews called the Khyber. After their expulsion
from Madinah, most of the Jews of Banu Qainuqah and Banu Nadhir took refuge in
Khyber. They had become an active center of conspiracies against Islam. In the 7th
Hijrah, our Holy Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) got information about the conspiracy
being hatched by the Jews against Muslims in connivance with other hostile elements
of Islam. He(sawaw) decided to take on the challenge.

In a consultative meeting, it was decided by the Muslims to take on the enemy outside
Madina. A force of 1,400 muslim fighters (History of Muslims of the World by
K.A.Hameed) set out of Madina to protect themselves and their homeland against a
Jewish force of more than 14,000 fighters (Allama Tabrisi). Before the start of the
battle, the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) took ill. Imam Ali(a.s.) was also not able to
participate in this battle in the beginning due to a illness in his eyes.

The battle started with the siege of the forts at Khyber. The siege continued for a
period of about one month. Some individual battles were followed by a general assault
from both sides for three continuous days but a decisive result could not be achieved.
This was mainly due to the fact that the Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) was not
commanding the military moves himself as well as because Imam Ali(a.s.) was not
taking part in the battle. The so called “Mujahideen-e-Islam” who always complained of
not being given sufficient chance to show their skills were in charge and no victory was
in sight.

In Tarikh Abul Fada (Vol1 page 187) it is stated that “Due to the illness of Prophet
Mohammad(sawaw), Hazrat Abu Bakr took the banner and went to fight but returned
unsuccessful and then Hazrat Umar took the banner and fought even harder but he as
well returned unsuccessfully. Thereafter, Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) was informed of
this situation”. It is quite clear that the Prophet(sawaw) never awarded the banner to
any of the two, they took it by themselves and went to fight and returned unsuccessful.

After five days of general battle, Prophet Mohammad(sawaw) declared that “Tomorrow
I will award the Standard of the Islamic forces to a man who loves Allah(swt) and his
Prophet(sawaw) and Allah(swt) and his Prophet(sawaw) love him. He is the one who
attacks forcefully and does not run away from the battlefield and he will not return until
Allah(swt) grants victory on his hand”. Every Sahabi was waiting and wishing to be
awarded this honor.
The next day Prophet Mohammad (sawaw) called for Imam Ali(a.s.). People said that
Ali(a.s.) was suffering from a disease in his eyes but the Prophet(sawaw) insisted on
him being called and when he arrived, the Prophet(sawaw) applied his saliva on the
eyes of Imam Ali(a.s.) which cured him instantly and then he prayed to Allah(swt) and
awarded him the standard of Islam. There is not a single Companion for whom the
Prophet of islam had fulfilled the prophecy of Allah's love like that. It was reserved for
Imam Ali(a.s.), and him alone. The Prophet had ascribed in so many words Imam
Ali(a.s.)'s non-compromising attitude to his mission, and Imam Ali(a.s.)'s future life
became a living proof to that. Imam Ali(a.s.) was victorious, he opened the closed gate
of Khyber, and, the conquest of Khyber turned out to be the beginning of a long-lasting
prosperity on the Muslim community.

.
 Battle of Hunain
As its various formations marched out of the city gate, in full panoply of war, Abu
Bakr who was watching, was much impressed, and exclaimed: “We cannot be
defeated this time because of lack of numbers.” In order to reach the fertile valley of
Taif, they had to pass through a narrow defile, called Hunain.

After the conquest of Mecca, the Muslims stayed in the city for two weeks when the
news soon broke out that a big army had been mobilized in the valley of Hunain to
attack Mecca and to undo the victory of the Muslims.

But Allah did pour His calm on the Messenger and on the Believers, and sent down
forces which you saw not’’ Returning from Taif, Muhammad halted at Je'raanah, a
place beyond the outskirts of Mecca, where the entire booty of Hunain had been
collected for distribution.

When the first column constituting the Muslim vanguard, commanded by Khalid Bin
Walid, entered the valley of Hunayn in the south-east of Makkah, the enemy was
already lying in ambush, ready to greet it with his missile weapons.

Come back to him.” The voice of Abbas boomed in the narrow valley and almost
everyone heard it, and it proved effective in checking the flight of the Muslims.

Six thousand captives including women and children, forty thousand sheeps and
goats, four thousand ounces of silver and twenty four thousand camels formed the
booty of Hunain.

Hawazin sharp-shooters, securely hidden; sent forth a murderous rain of arrows,

causing havoc among the Muslims ranks, who took to a wild flight.

Among them were his relatives, and other prominent companions; they were Hazrat
Ali, Abu Sufyan and his brother, Rubiya, Hazrat Abdullah ibn Masood, and Hazrat
Abbas (the uncle of Prophet(PBUH)) and few others.

The pass was narrow, the road was very rough, and the Muslims were advancing
apparently unaware of the enemy's presence.

At first, the issue appeared uncertain but then the Muslims began to press the enemy.

The Prophet asked his uncle, Abbas, to call the fleeing Muslims.

The enemy still fought bravely but was hampered in his mobility by the vast number of
women and children they had had brought with them, which was mainly the part of war
strategy of their leader Malik Bin Auf.

Abbas had a very powerful voice, and he shouted: “O ye Muhajireen and O ye

Ansar! O ye victors of Badr and O ye men of the Tree of Fealty! Where are you
going? The Messenger of God is here.
This time Prophet (PBUH) assembled a force of 12,000 warriors, which included 2000
non-Muslim Meccans.

The leading tribes among them were the Thaqeef, Hawazin, Banu Sa'ad and Banu
Jashm, all fierce warriors, jealous of their independence and proud of their warlike
traditions

Battle of moutah
In 8 AH the Prophet sent Harith bin Umayr Azid as his envoy to the ruler of Basra with
the message of Islam.He was slain on the way by Sharahbeel bin Amr Ghassani.
The Prophet took this killing seriously and raised an army of 3000 under Hz Zayd bin
Harith .He nominated Hz Jafar bin Abi Talib and Abdullah bin Rawaha to take charge
consecutively if Hz Zayd fell. A white standard was given to Hz Zayd. The Prophet
instructed him to first invite Islam then pay Jizzya only then fight. The Prophet escorted
the troops up to Thaniyat Al-Wada and bade them farewell. The army camped at
Ma’an in South of Jordan.There they got to know about the strength of the Roman
army (around 200,000). This created a discontent among the Muslim army. At this Hz
Abdullah delivered a speech saying:
“Men, you evade that, by Allah, for which you came out---
Martyrdom. We do not fight the enemy on the strength of our power. We fight them
with the religion we have been granted by Allah. Come, we shall profit both ways.
Either we win or we court martyrdom.”
This speech boosted the moral of the army and they moved ahead
Fierce fighting broke out in one of most striking yet little mentioned in the history of
Man, when 3000 soldiers of the nascent Muslim state
challenged the might of 200,000 of the mighty Roman empire. The Romans marched
forward but could still not destroy the small but formidable force of the Muslim army. Hz
Zaid bin Thabit who was the standard bearer of the Muslim army kept fighting
ferociously until he was struck down by enemy lances. Hz Jafar then took up the
standard. As the battle surged on to its fiercest and bloodiest point Hz Jafar’s right
hand was cut, at which he held it with his left hand, but soon his left hand was also
hacked off at which he took the standard in his lap to up hold the standard of the
Prophet. Hz Jafar remained on the battle field until more than 90 wounds were inflicted
on his chest so he joined the rest of the Muslim martyr’s .The standard was then taken
up by Hz Abdullah bin Rawaha who pressed on until he too fell. Hz Thabit bin Arqam
who was nearby, protected the standard of the Prophet from falling. After all the
commanders fell the army selected Hz Khalid bin Walid as their commander.
Sitting in Madinah the Prophet got to know about the events the battle, martyrdom of
his commander and Hz Khalid bin Walid taking charge whom he titled ‘Saif-Ul-llah’
(The sword of Allah).
While on the battle field Hz Khalid changed the order of the troops, sending the rear
guard to the front while sending the front line to the back,he also switched the right and
left wing. This made the Romans think that fresh reinforcement had arrived this
dismayed the Romans. Hz Khalid then ordered his troops to retreat, the Romans did
not follow thinking it to be a ruse. They also did not enter the desert as it was
impossible to leave alive.
The Romans at that time could have easily invaded Madinah but the tactical withdraw
led by Hz Khalid bin Walid stopped the Romans from doing so.