Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 152

(Ayah 152) ➊ {وَ لَقَدْ صَدَقَكُمُ اللّٰهُ وَعْدَهٗۤ …:} In the Battle of Uhud, at first Allah’s help was with the Muslims and, by Allah’s command, they were striking down the polytheists forcefully. When the signs of victory began to appear and the polytheists and their women started to flee, the fifty archers whom the Prophet (peace be upon him) had stationed on a hill under the leadership of Abdullah bin Jubair (may Allah be pleased with him), so that the polytheists could not attack from that side, began to argue among themselves upon seeing the spoils of war. Most of the fifty men disobeyed the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) command, left their positions, and rushed towards the spoils of war. Because of this, the polytheists got the opportunity to attack from behind, and the Muslims suffered a great loss. This verse refers to that incident. (Ibn Kathir)
After the battle, when the Prophet (peace be upon him) returned to Madinah, some people began to say, “How did this calamity befall us, even though Allah had promised victory?” Upon this, this verse was revealed, stating that Allah had indeed fulfilled His promise, and what happened afterward was the result of your losing heart, arguing among yourselves, and your disobedience. (Qurtubi)
➋ {ثُمَّ صَرَفَكُمْ …:} That is, after victory, He made you retreat before them, so that you may be tested as to who is a true Muslim and who is weak in faith and false. (Qurtubi)
➌ {وَ لَقَدْ عَفَا عَنْكُمْ:} That is, although you committed a very grave offense by disobeying the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and fleeing from battle, for which you could have been severely punished, Allah forgave all your faults. This expresses the honor Allah bestowed upon the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) despite their shortcomings, by clarifying their mistakes so that they would not repeat them in the future. When Allah has made a general declaration of forgiveness for them, what room remains for anyone to criticize or reproach them? It is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari that a man raised some objections about Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) before Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), one of which was that he fled on the day of Uhud. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) replied: “I bear witness that Allah has forgiven him.” [ بخاری، المغازی، باب قول اللہ تعالٰی : «إن الذین تولوا منکم…» : ۴۰۶۶ ]

152. 1 Some commentators have taken this promise to mean the descent of three thousand and five thousand angels. But this opinion is not at all Sahih; rather, the Sahih view is that the descent of angels was specific only to the Battle of Badr. As for the promise mentioned in this verse, it refers to the general promise of victory and help that had already been made long before for the people of Islam and from its Messenger, to the extent that some verses had already been revealed in Makkah. And according to this, at the beginning of the battle, the Muslims remained dominant and victorious, to which (اِذْ تَحُسُّوْنَھُمْ بِاِذْنِھٖ) 3:152 alludes.

152. 2 By this dispute and disobedience is meant the disagreement among the fifty archers that occurred when they saw victory and dominance, due to which the disbelievers got the opportunity to turn back and attack again.

152. 3 This refers to the victory that the Muslims initially achieved.

152. 4 That is, the spoils of war, for which they left the hill that they had been strictly instructed not to leave.

152. 5 These are the people who refused to leave their post and, according to the command of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, expressed their determination to remain steadfast at that place.

152. 6 That is, after granting you dominance, He then turned you away from those disbelievers by causing you defeat, so that He might test you.

152. 7 In this, the honor and virtue of the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) is expressed, which Allah bestowed upon them despite their shortcomings. That is, by clarifying their mistakes so that they would not repeat them in the future, Allah announced forgiveness for them so that no ill-intentioned person could speak ill of them. When Allah Himself has announced a general pardon for them in the Noble Qur’an, then what room is left for anyone to criticize or reproach? In Sahih Bukhari, an incident is mentioned that on the occasion of Hajj, a person raised some objections against Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) that he did not participate in the Battle of Badr, nor in the Pledge of Ridwan, and that he fled on the Day of Uhud. Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) replied that during the Battle of Badr, his wife (the daughter of the Messenger ﷺ) was ill, during the Pledge of Ridwan he had gone to Makkah as the envoy of the Prophet ﷺ, and the flight on the Day of Uhud has been forgiven by Allah. (Summarized from Sahih Bukhari, Battle of Uhud)

152. Indeed, Allah fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them (the disbelievers) by His permission, until you lost courage and disputed about the order (of the Prophet), and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you love (the spoils of war) [139]. Among you were some who desired this world and some who desired the Hereafter. Then He turned you away from them (the enemy) so that He might test you. And surely, Allah has forgiven you your fault [140], for Allah is Most Gracious to the believers.

[139]
The Reason for Defeat:

Bara’ bin Azib ؓ says that on the day of Uhud, the Prophet appointed Abdullah bin Jubair ؓ as the commander of fifty foot soldiers and strictly instructed: “Do not leave your position, even if you see birds snatching us away, until I send for you. And if you see that we have defeated the enemy and crushed them, still do not move from here until I send for you.” In the beginning, the Muslims routed the disbelievers. I myself saw the polytheist women running away, lifting their clothes and exposing their shins. Seeing this situation, the companions of Abdullah bin Jubair ؓ said: “Now seize the spoils of war, your companions have prevailed. What are you waiting for now?” Abdullah bin Jubair ؓ said: “Have you forgotten what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ told you?” They replied, “By Allah! We will go to the people and seize the spoils of war.” When they (left the pass and) went to the people, (Khalid bin Walid attacked from behind) and the disbelievers turned the faces of the Muslims and they began to flee in defeat, while the Messenger of Allah was calling them from behind. At that time, no one remained with him except twelve men, and the disbelievers martyred seventy of our men, whereas on the day of Badr, the Muslims had inflicted a loss of one hundred and forty on the disbelievers: seventy were captured and seventy were killed.

After the end of the battle, Abu Sufyan’s slogan and questions and answers: At that time, Abu Sufyan called out three times: “Is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) among the people (alive)?” But the Prophet forbade the companions from answering. Then he called out three times: “Is the son of Abu Quhafah present?” Then he called out three times: “Is the son of Khattab present?” Then, turning to his companions, he said: “They have all been killed.” Hearing this, Umar ؓ could not restrain himself and said to him: “Enemy of Allah! You lie. All those you named are alive, and your bad day is yet to come.” At that time, Abu Sufyan said: “Well, today is in retaliation for the day of Badr, and battle is like a bucket (sometimes this way, sometimes that way). You will see mutilation among your dead, for which I did not give the order, but I do not disapprove of it either.” Then he twice raised the slogan “Glory to Hubal!” So the Prophet said to the companions: “Why do you not answer him?” The companions asked: “O Messenger of Allah! What should we say?” He said: “Say, ‘Allah is the Highest and the Greatest.’” Then Abu Sufyan called out: “We have ‘Uzza, but you do not.” The Prophet ﷺ said: “Why do you not answer him?” The companions asked: “What should we say?” He said: “Say: ‘Our Protector is Allah, but you have no protector.’”

[بخاری، کتاب الجہاد، باب دواء الجرح باحراق الحصیر و غسل المراۃ]

The Treatment of the Prophet’s ﷺ Wounds:

2. Sahl bin Sa’d Sa’idi ؓ says that the wound the Prophet received in the Battle of Uhud was treated as follows: Ali ؓ was bringing water in his shield, and Fatimah ؓ was washing the blood from his face, and a mat was burned and its ashes were filled into his wound.

[بخاری، کتاب الجہاد، باب ایضاً]

[140]
In the End, the Field Remained with the Muslims:

In this battle, initially, the Muslims achieved complete victory and Allah fulfilled His promise of help. Then the companions of Abdullah bin Jubair ؓ openly disobeyed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, as a result of which the Muslims had to face defeat. However, Allah Almighty forgave the Muslims for this fault, and as a result, the battle ended on equal terms. In fact, the detachment sent by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in pursuit of the disbelievers shows that in the end, the field remained in the hands of the Muslims, and this was only because Allah Almighty had forgiven the sin of disobeying the Messenger. Had the fault not been forgiven, it was quite possible that after conquering the field of Uhud, the polytheists of Mecca would have turned towards Madinah and killed or captured the wives and children of the Muslims, or made them slaves. It was only due to Allah’s grace and His forgiveness that Allah Almighty saved the Muslims from such humiliation; otherwise, the humiliation that befell the polytheists of Mecca at Badr would have been far surpassed.