Story No. 174 – Battle of Uhud (Second battle of Islam)
Since a considerable number of the infidel troops had been killed in the battle of Badr, the next year, the third year after the Hijra, the Quraish prepared for war to take revenge for their defeat in the Badr war. The hatred of Nabi Muhammad (saw), Imam Ali (as) and Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib was a fire that consumed Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan. They proceeded to Medina. They faced the army of Islam in a place called Uhud. Since a number of the Muslims in the war did not fully obey the instructions of Nabi Muhammad (saw), the Muslims did not become victorious in the battle of Uhud as in the battle of Badr.
Patience is better than Retaliation
When the battle of Uhud had concluded, Nabi Muhammad (saw) dispatched Harith ibn Samt to search for the body of his uncle, Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib, amongst the dead. When Harith ibn Samt witnessed that Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib’s liver had been taken out and his body mutilated by cutting off the ears, nose and other parts of the body, he could not bring himself to inform Nabi Muhammad (saw) of this unpleasant occurrence.
As a result, Nabi Muhammad (saw) himself arrived amongst the dead, but when his eyes fell upon the mutilated body of his uncle, he (saw) was immensely disturbed. As he wept, he said: “By Allah! Nothing has disturbed me more than this. If Allah (SWT) grants me dominance over the Quraish, I shall mutilate seventy of their individuals.”
At that moment, angel Gabriel (Jabra’il) descended with the following verse: “And if you take your turn, then retaliate with the like of that with which you were afflicted; but if you are patient, it will certainly be best for those who are patient.” (Noble Qur’an, 16:126)
Whereupon Nabi Muhammad (saw) said: “I shall exhibit patience over this calamity.”
The person who killed Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib was Wahshi – the slave of Jubair – who, upon the orders of Hind bint Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb. Her father, Utbah, had been killed in the battle of Badr, had torn open Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib’s stomach, pulled out his liver and presented it to Hind bint Utbah.
Ahzab (battle of the Trench) or Jung-E-Khandaq (Ghazwah al-Khandaq)Taking the liver she bit into it, but by Divine decree was unable eat it. Arriving at Hamza ibn Abd Al-Muttalib’s body, she went on to mutilate it and then rewarded Wahshi by gifting him her necklace, bracelet and earrings.
Ahzab (battle of the Trench) or Jung-E-Khandaq (Ghazwah al-Khandaq)
In the fifth year of the Hijra, a Jewish tribe called Bani Nazir went to Makkah and incited the Quraish against Islam and the Muslims. The Quraish took advantage of the opportunity, gathered a huge army from different anti-Islamic groups, and started toward Medina.
Salman al-Farsi suggested that a trench should be dug around the city for protection as he has seen in Persia. So, to guard Medina, the headquarters of Islam, from enemy attack the Muslims dug trench / moats all around the city and lined up in front of the enemy army, whose number amounted to 10,000. Imam Ali, peace be upon him, overcame and defeated their commander, Amr ibn Abd Wudd and finally the war ended to the advantage and victory of the Muslims.
Battle of Khaybar
Large numbers of Jews lived in the Khaybar forts and had military and economic relations with the infidels. Since the security of the Muslims was constantly threatened by those antiIslamic Jews, in 7 AH the Muslims started towards Khaybar, which was the headquarters of the enemy, surrounded the fort, and, Imam Ali, peace be upon him, killed Marhab, the chief of the fort. Victorious Muslims, made the Jews submit to the Islamic government.
Battle of Mu’tah
In 8 AH, Nabi Muhammad (saw) sent Harith ibn Umar with a letter to the king of Basra, but his messenger was killed in a place called Mu’tah. At the command of Nabi Muhammad (saw), the army of Islam marched towards the enemy, and in Mu’tah they confronted the army of Marqal, the king of Rome. His army comprised 100,000 Roman and non-Roman fighters. A war broke out between the two armies in which Zayd ibn Harith, Ja’far ibn Abi Talib, and Abdullah ibn Rawahah, the three famous commanders of the army of Islam, were martyred, and the Muslims could not overcome the infidels, so they returned to Medina.