Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 144

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.