The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 332
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 332 the Quraish began to lose footing, and signs of confusion and disarray began to prevail throughout the army. The flag-bearers of the Quraish were slain one after the other, and about nine of them took up the national flag in turns, but one by one, all of them were cut down at the hands of the Muslims. 1 Finally, an Abyssinian slave of Ṭalḥah whose name was Ṣawāb, courageously advanced and took hold of the flag, but he too was met by a Muslim, who stepped forward, and severing both his hands with a single blow, mixed the flag of the Quraish to dust. However, Ṣawāb was a brave and passionate man - he dived to the ground along with it, and attempted to raise the flag with the support of his chest, but that Muslim who knew well the worth and value of a downcast flag, struck his sword from above and finished Ṣawāb there and then. After this, not a single individual from the Quraish could muster the courage and strength to take up the flag. 2 On the opposing end, upon orders from the Holy Prophet sa , whilst calling out slogans of God’s Greatness, the Muslims waged another fierce onslaught. Piercing through and scattering the odd enemy ranks which had remained, they reached the opposite end of the army where the women of the Quraish were positioned. Absolute chaos broke out within the Makkan army, 3 and in no time, the field was more or less cleared; so much so that the Muslims were put to such ease that they became occupied in gathering spoils of war. 4 When the Companions of ‘Abdullāh bin Jubair ra saw that victory had been secured, they said to their Amīr , ‘Abdullāh, “Now victory has been secured and the Muslims are collecting spoils of war. Permit us to join the army as well. ” ‘Abdullāh ra restrained them and reminded them of the strict order of the Holy Prophet sa , but they were becoming heedless in the joy of victory, and therefore, did not abstain, 5 and left their positions saying, “All that the Holy Prophet sa inferred was that the mountain pass should not be left empty until security fully prevailed, and now that victory has been clinched, there is nothing wrong with proceeding forward. ” Hence, except for ‘Abdullāh bin Jubair ra and five or seven Companions, there 1 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, pp. 269-270, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Uḥudan, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 2 As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 532, Sha’nu ‘Āṣimibni Thābit, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 3 Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 65, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thālithatu Minal-Hijrah / Ghazwatu Uḥud, Dārul- Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) 4 Aṭ-Ṭabaqātul-Kubrā, By Muḥammad bin Sa‘d, Volume 2, p. 270, Ghazwatu Rasūlillāhi sa Uḥudan, Dāru Iḥyā’it-Turāthil-‘Arabī, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) 5 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī, Bābu Ghazwati Uḥud, Ḥadīth No. 4043