The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 327
VIII - Blow of a Misfortune, Law of Inheritance, Prohibition of Alcohol, Treachery of the Disbelievers and Two Tragic Incidents 327 have it, and continued to retort, “If this was a battle I too would have taken part, but this is not battle, it is suicide. ” 1 Now all that remained of the Muslim army was 700 souls, which was even less than a quarter of the 3,000 warriors of the Quraish. Furthermore, with respect to mounts and equipment of war as well, the Muslim army was very weak and insignificant in comparison to the army of the Quraish. The Muslim army only had a hundred men clad in mail, and a meagre two horses. 2 By comparison, the disbelieving army boasted 700 men clad in mail, 200 horses, and 3,000 camels. In this state of weakness, which was strongly felt by the Muslims, the treachery of ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy’s 300 men, had created a state of restlessness and anxiety in the hearts of various weak- hearted Muslims, some of whom began to lose courage. Hence, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān, 3 in this very state of distress and anxiety, two tribes from among the Muslims, the Banū Ḥārithah and Banū Salamah, had even planned to return to Madīnah, but since their hearts still possessed the light of faith, they managed to compose themselves. As far as apparent means were concerned, even as death stared them in the eye, they did not leave the side of their Master. 4 Putting his trust in God, the Holy Prophet sa marched forward and setup camp on a plain at the foot of mount Uḥud, in such a manner that the mountain range fell behind the Muslims, and Madīnah was positioned in front of them, as it were. In this manner, the Holy Prophet sa managed to secure the rear of the army. There was a mountain pass in the valley to the rear from where an attack could be made. Thus, the plan which was devised by the Holy Prophet sa in order to secure it was that he positioned fifty archers from among his Companions at this location under the command of ‘Abdullāh bin Jubair ra , and emphatically instructed them not to leave this place under any circumstances, and that they should continue to shower the enemy with arrows. The Holy Prophet sa was so greatly concerned for the security of this mountain pass that he repeatedly instructed ‘Abdullāh bin Jubair ra : “Look here, this mountain pass should not be left empty under any 1 * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 523, Ghazwatu Uḥud, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) * Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 269, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Uḥudan, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, pp. 63-64, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thālithatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Uḥud, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 3 Āl-e-‘Imrān (3:123) 4 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Idh Hammat Ṭā’ifatāni Minkum. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 4051