Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 152

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.