Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 10073

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: Allah Almighty did not grant help in any situation as He granted help at the Battle of Uhud. The narrator says: We objected to this, so Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Book of Allah will judge between what I am saying and whoever denies it. Allah Almighty said about the Battle of Uhud: "And Allah certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them by His permission." Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: Here "hass" means killing. Allah Almighty says: "Until, when you lost courage", up to His words: "And He has certainly forgiven you, and Allah is the Possessor of bounty towards the believers." By this are meant the archers. The reason is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had stationed them at a particular place and then said: "Protect us from behind. If you see us being killed, do not come to our help; and if you see us gaining spoils, do not join us." Then, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gained the spoils and the people overran the camp of the polytheists, all those archers came and began collecting things from the camp. When the ranks merged and the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) became like this (the narrator interlaced his fingers to describe it) and they became intermingled, and the archers vacated the place where they had been stationed, some enemy horsemen came from that place and attacked the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many Muslims were martyred that day. In the early part of the day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions were in a state in which seven, or perhaps nine, of the polytheists' standard-bearers had been killed, and some of the Muslims were around the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). They had not reached the place which people call the cave; rather, they had reached the water spring. Meanwhile, Satan cried out: "Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has been killed!" No one doubted that this was true. We remained in that state, with no doubt that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had been killed, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared walking between two men named Sa'd. We recognised him by his particular manner of walking. The narrator says: We were so happy that it was as if no harm had befallen us. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) climbed up towards us, saying: "Allah Almighty's wrath will be severe upon a people who have bloodied the face of the Messenger of Allah." Once he said: "O Allah! They have no right to prevail over us." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reached us and stayed for a while. Then Abu Sufyan called out loudly twice from the lower part of the mountain: "Hubal is exalted!", meaning his deity. Then he asked: "Where is Ibn Abi Kabshah? Where is Ibn Abi Quhafah? Where is Ibn al-Khattab?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I not answer him?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well." When he said: "Hubal is exalted!", Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah Almighty is Most High and Most Majestic." Abu Sufyan said: "O son of al-Khattab! Its (that is, Hubal's) eye has given approval, so now do not speak ill of it." Then he asked: "Where is Ibn Abi Kabshah? Where is Ibn Abi Quhafah? Where is Ibn al-Khattab?" Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Here is the Messenger of Allah, here is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and here am I, Umar." Abu Sufyan said: "Today is in return for the day of Badr. Days take turns, and war is like a bucket (that is, it has its ups and downs)." The narrator says: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No, it is not equal. Our slain are in Paradise and your slain are in Hell." Abu Sufyan said: "You claim that; in that case we have indeed failed and lost." Then Abu Sufyan said: "You will find among your slain some whose bodies have been mutilated; this was not by the opinion of our leaders." The narrator says: Then the zeal of the days of ignorance (Jahiliyyah) seized him, and he said: "It has happened, and we do not dislike it."
Ahmad recorded it. Its chain contains Abd al-Rahman bin Abi al-Zinad, who has been declared trustworthy despite his weakness.