Musnad Ahmad

Ubaidullah says that once Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the way Allah helped the Muslims at the time of the Battle of Uhud, He did not help them in this way on any other occasion. We were surprised at this, so he said: Let the Book of Allah decide between those who are surprised at my statement and me. Allah Almighty says regarding the Battle of Uhud: «﴿وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَعْدَهُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَهُمْ بِإِذْنِهِ﴾ [آل عمران : 152]» "Allah fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them by His permission." (The word «حس» means killing) and by this is meant the archers. In fact, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had stationed the archers at one place and said to them: "You will protect us from the rear. If you see us being killed, do not come to our aid, and if you see us collecting the spoils of war, do not join us." So when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gained victory over the enemy and obtained the spoils of war, and the Muslims attacked the army of the polytheists, the archers also left their place and entered the army of the polytheists and began to collect the spoils of war. Thus, the ranks of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) became mixed together—the narrator interlaced the fingers of both hands to demonstrate—and they became confused. Meanwhile, when the place of the archers was left empty, the horses of the disbelievers began to descend from there and advance towards the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). People began to kill each other and became confused, and thus many Muslims were martyred, even though in the morning the field was in the hands of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and seven or nine standard-bearers of the polytheists had also been killed. In any case, the Muslims turned and retreated towards the mountain, but they could not reach the cave that people were talking about; they only remained under something resembling a mortar. On the other hand, Satan spread the rumor that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had been martyred, and no one doubted its truth. While we were in this state, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared between two Companions named Sa'd. We recognized him by his gait and manner. We were very happy and felt such joy as if we had not suffered any hardship at all. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began to ascend towards us, and at that time he was saying: "A great wrath of Allah will descend upon the people who have bloodied the face of their Prophet." Then he said: "O Allah! Do not let them prevail over us," until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reached us. Shortly after, the voice of Abu Sufyan came from below the mountain, in which he was chanting the slogan of victory for his idol Hubal and saying: Where is Ibn Abi Kabsha (the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him)? Where is Ibn Abi Quhafa (Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him)? Where is Ibn al-Khattab (Sayyiduna Umar Farooq, may Allah be pleased with him)? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard this and said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), should I not answer him? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Why not?" So when Abu Sufyan chanted "Victory to Hubal," Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) shouted "Allahu Akbar" and said: Allah is the Most High and the Most Great. Abu Sufyan said: O Ibn al-Khattab! Whether you are hostile or friendly to Hubal, his eyes have been cooled. Then he said: Where are Ibn Abi Kabsha, Ibn Abi Quhafa, and Ibn al-Khattab? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Here is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), here is Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and here I am, Umar. Abu Sufyan said: This is the revenge for the Battle of Badr, whose example is like a bucket, and war is also like a bucket (sometimes it comes into one’s hand and sometimes into another’s). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Even in this, there is no equality; our slain are in Paradise and your slain are in Hell. Abu Sufyan said: That is your opinion; if it is so, then surely we are at a loss and in ruin. Then he said: Among the slain, you will also find some bodies whose noses and ears have been cut off; this was not done by the advice of our chiefs. Then the zeal of ignorance overtook him and he said: In any case, it happened, as if he did not consider it objectionable.