Chief of the Prophets

Chief of the Prophets — Page 130

Chapter Seven 130 Waḥshī attacked Ḥamzah ra with a small spear from an ambushed position. The hit was so direct and brutal, that Ḥamzah ra fell down and died. Muḥammad sa loved Ḥamzah ra so dearly that when, after the Ghazwah of Ṭā’if, Ḥamzah’s killer Waḥshī came before Muḥammad sa after accepting Islam, Muḥammad sa said, “O Waḥshī! Do not come before me. ” Waḥshī then resolved in his heart not to be content until he had killed some great enemy of Islam, so in the time of the Khilāfat of Abū Bakr ra , he fulfilled his pledge by killing Musailamah the Liar. 1 At the time of the fierce battle, the Muslim women carried out a great service by tending and taking care of the wounded. When the battle was raging at its peak and the Muslims were fighting with their full strength, a brave warrior of Quraish named ‘Abdullāh bin Qam’ah martyred Muṣ‘ab bin ‘Umair, the standard bearer of the Muslims with his repeated blows. The standard was taken by someone else, but since Muṣ‘ab had a resemblance with Muḥammad sa , the disbelievers spread the rumour that Muḥammad sa had been killed. This rumour completely knocked the heart out of the Muslims. According to the traditions, after hearing this rumour, some of the Muslims fled the battlefield, and some sat aside having lost heart, and a third group was incessantly fighting. As the people of the second group found out that Muḥammad sa was still alive, they frantically gathered around him. When the attack of the Quraish would gain intensity, the Muslims around Muḥammad sa would be pushed aside in different directions. At one of these times, a stone thrown by ‘Utbah bin Abī Waqqāṣ, the idolater brother of Sa‘d bin Abī Waqqāṣ, hit the blessed face of Muḥammad sa and broke one of his teeth, and his lip also sustained a cut. A little while later, a stone 1 Bukhārī, Kitābul-Maghāzī (Book of Expeditions led by Muḥammad sa ).