Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 144

(Ayah 144) ➊ {وَ مَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلَّا رَسُوْلٌ :} In the Battle of Uhud, some Companions attained the rank of martyrdom, and some began to flee from the battlefield. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was also wounded, and a devil spread the rumor of his martyrdom. The hearts of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) broke from this rumor, and they lost courage, and the hypocrites began to taunt and criticize, saying, "If Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) were truly Allah's Prophet, why would he be killed?!" Upon this, these verses were revealed: «وَ مَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلَّا رَسُوْلٌ » "Muhammad is nothing but a Messenger." In this, there is exclusive restriction, that what you have understood about Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) — that he is Allah, or that he possesses Allah's powers — is not so; he is merely the conveyor of Allah's message. He can be killed, he can die, and before him many Messengers have passed away. Will you abandon Allah's religion if Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), is killed or dies a natural death? You should continue striving in Allah's path. (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi) Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "And by indication, it is established that upon his (peace and blessings be upon him) death, some people will turn back. This is what happened: many people became apostates after him (peace and blessings be upon him), so Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) brought them back to Islam, and some he killed." (Muwadhih)

➋ It is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that (when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed away) Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) came riding on his horse from his house, which was in {’’ اَلسُّنْح ‘‘}, dismounted from his horse, entered the mosque, and did not speak to anyone. Instead, he went straight to Aisha's (may Allah be pleased with her) house and approached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who at that time was covered with a Yemeni striped sheet. He uncovered the face of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), leaned over him, kissed him, then began to weep and said: "May my parents be sacrificed for you! O Prophet of Allah! Allah will not combine two deaths upon you. The death that was written for you, you have now passed away." Abu Salamah says, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) told me that Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came out while Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was speaking to the people. He said, "Sit down." Umar did not accept. He said again, "Sit down." He still did not accept, so Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) delivered a sermon, and now the people turned their attention to him and left Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "As for what follows! Whoever among you used to worship Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then indeed Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has died. And whoever used to worship Allah, then indeed Allah is alive and will never die. Allah the Exalted has said: «وَ مَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلَّا رَسُوْلٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ الرُّسُلُ »" He recited the complete verse. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) says: "By Allah! It was as if the people did not know that Allah had revealed this verse until Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) recited it, and then the people took it from him, so whoever you heard was reciting this verse." It is narrated from Sa'id bin Musayyib that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Allah! When I heard Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) recite this verse, I was stunned, my legs could not carry me, until I fell down." [ بخاری، المغازی، باب مرض النبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ووفاتہ : ۴۴۵۲، ۴۴۵۳، ۴۴۵۴ ]

144. 1 Muhammad ﷺ is only a Messenger — that is, his distinction is also the attribute of Messengership. It is not that he is above human characteristics and endowed with divine attributes such that he would not have to face death.

144. 2 Among the reasons for the defeat in the Battle of Uhud was also this: the disbelievers spread the rumor that Muhammad ﷺ had been killed. When this news spread among the Muslims, it caused some of them to lose heart and withdraw from the battle. Upon this, this verse was revealed: the Prophet ﷺ being killed at the hands of the disbelievers or death befalling him is not something new. Previous prophets (peace be upon them) have also faced death and been killed. If you ﷺ (hypothetically) also face this, will you then turn back from this religion? Remember, whoever turns back will only harm himself; he will not harm Allah in the least. At the time of the Prophet’s ﷺ passing, when Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was, in the intensity of his emotions, denying the Prophet’s death, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) acted with great wisdom, stood by the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and recited these very verses, which affected Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) as well, and he felt as if these verses had just been revealed.

144. 3 That is, those who remained steadfast, who demonstrated patience and perseverance, and practically expressed gratitude for Allah’s blessings.

144. Muhammad ﷺ is only a Messenger. Many Messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels [131] (i.e., abandon Islam)? And whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and Allah will soon reward the grateful.

[131]
The Circumstances of the Battle of Uhud:

When the companions of Abdullah bin Jubair left the mountain pass and became engaged in collecting spoils, Khalid bin Walid (who had not yet embraced Islam and was commanding a contingent of the disbelievers) circled around the hill and attacked the Muslims from that very pass. A hundred horsemen were with him. On the other side, only twelve men remained with Abdullahؓ. How could ten or twelve archers stop the onslaught of a hundred horsemen? They fought with great bravery but all were martyred. The Muslim fighters were assured from their rear, that is, from the direction of the pass, when suddenly this cavalry of the polytheists reached upon them, and the army of the polytheists that had fled from the front also turned back, and the Muslims were surrounded from both sides. A fierce battle ensued, and many Muslims were martyred and wounded.

The Cause of Temporary Defeat and the Muslims’ Distress at the Rumor of the Messenger’s Death:

During this time, Ibn Qami’ah threw a heavy stone at you, which broke your front tooth and wounded your blessed face. Due to the severity of this blow, you fell unconscious, and Ibn Qami’ah or someone else shouted from afar, “Muhammadﷺ has been killed.” As soon as the Muslims heard this, they lost their senses and their feet faltered. Some Muslims left the battle and sat down, saying, “What is the use of fighting now?” And some weak-hearted Muslims thought to go and seek protection from the leader of the polytheists, Abu Sufyan, and in this state of panic, some even began to think that since Muhammadﷺ has been killed, they should return to their former religion. This was the time when the hypocrites began to speak insolently, saying, “If Muhammadﷺ were Allah’s Messenger, he would not have been killed.” At that moment, Anas bin Malikؓ’s uncle, Anas bin Nadrؓ, said, “If Muhammadﷺ has been killed, the Lord of Muhammad has not been killed. What use is your living after him? Give your life for the same cause for which he gave his life, and die fighting.” Saying this, he plunged into the ranks of the disbelievers and, displaying great valor, was finally martyred. Meanwhile, the Messenger of Allahﷺ regained consciousness and called out: «الي عباد الله انا رسول الله» (O servants of Allah! Come here, I am Allah’s Messenger), and Ka’b bin Malikؓ recognized you and shouted, “O Muslims! The Messenger of Allahﷺ is here.” Consequently, the Muslims began to gather around you. About thirty companionsؓ came close to you and defended you, dispersing the army of the polytheists. On this occasion, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas and Abu Talhahؓ displayed great courage and devotion. Regarding this event, this verse was revealed, meaning: Muhammadﷺ is not Allah, after all, who is Ever-Living and Self-Sustaining; he is only a Messenger; before him, all Messengers have passed away. If he dies or is killed, will you then turn back on your heels? Will you abandon the protection of the religion and jihad in the way of Allah? You must never do so, and whoever does so will only harm himself. He will not harm Allah in the least.

The Sermon of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr at the Death of the Prophetﷺ:

It should be noted that after seven and a half years of the revelation of this verse, when the Prophetﷺ actually passed away, the Muslims were so shocked that they lost their senses. Let alone the other companionsؓ, even a jurist and statesman like Umarؓ stood up and began to declare that whoever says Muhammadﷺ has died, I will cut off his head. At that moment, Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ arrived and asked Umarؓ to sit down. But in the heat of his speech, he paid no attention to this. Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ stood apart and began to address the people, and they turned their attention to him. After praising Allah, he said: Whoever among you worshipped Muhammadﷺ should know that Muhammadﷺ has indeed passed away, and whoever worshipped Allah, then Allah is Ever-Living and never dies. Then he recited this very verse
﴿وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ اِلَّا رَسُوْلٌ .....الشّٰكِرِيْنَ ﴾
up to this point. Ibn Abbasؓ says it seemed as if people did not know that Allah had revealed this verse. Until Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ recited this verse, then people learned this verse from Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ. Then whoever you saw was reciting this very verse, and Umarؓ himself says: By Allah! It was as if I had never heard this verse before Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ recited it, and when I heard it, I was stunned. My legs would not carry me out of fear; I fell to the ground, and when I heard Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ recite this verse, then I realized that the Messenger of Allahﷺ had indeed passed away.
[بخاری، کتاب المغازی، باب مرض النبی]
Then also consider that this verse was revealed at the time of the Battle of Uhud, and Umarؓ and likewise the other noble companionsؓ must have recited it hundreds of times. But the true understanding of this verse came to them only when the Messenger of Allahﷺ actually passed away. Not before. And this is the meaning of Allah’s statement:
﴿وَلَمَّا يَاْتِهِمْ تَاْوِيْلُهٗ﴾
And from this, the true meaning of the word “ta’wil” can also be understood.

Sayyiduna Abu Bakr’s Jihad Against the Apostates:

Then, when at the field of Uhud, some of the weak in faith thought of abandoning Islam and returning to their former religion, similarly, after your passing, indeed many Arab tribes became apostates. They thought that all the glory of Islam was tied to your person. Then, when you were no longer there, Islam would automatically vanish. Thus, Abu Bakr Siddiqؓ fought jihad against such apostates and inflicted a crushing defeat upon them. Some of them were killed, and the rest returned to the religion of Islam. In other words, those people only harmed themselves. Islam, by the grace of Allah, remained exalted.