Quran Garden

Session 455

Chapter 3

Verse 122

a continuation

When two parties of you were about to lose heart, although God was their helper and protector – and in God let the believers put all their trust.  (Chapter 3: Verse 122)

When the Muslim army left for the battle of Uhud, the hypocrites under the leadership of Ibn Ubay deserted and went back to Medina, saying to the Prophet: "We are not people of war." The army was now a pure Muslim army, with no hypocrites or disbelievers in their ranks.  In fact, the Battle of Uhud was a purification test for the believers because they and their descendants will carry the message of Islam to the entire world till the Day of Judgment.  Only those with firm hearts, strong spirits, and the ability to resist worldly temptations can be trusted with such a mission. 

Let's look at some of the heroes of Uhud. 

During the battle, our beloved Muhammad was dripping with blood after his front teeth were broken, and two links of his helmet injured his cheek.  A rumor spread that the Messenger of God was killed!  Our tired and injured Prophet needed Talha bin Obaid's help to climb atop one of mount Uhud's rocks.  He, peace be upon him, scanned the faces of the companions and could not find Sa'd bin Al-Rabee.  He said, "Who can go and find out where Sa'd bin Rabee?  Is alive or is martyred?"  A man from the Ansar narrates: "I went to search for Sa'd and found him badly injured clinging to a faint spark of life.  He had over seventy wounds from stabs of a spear, strikes of a sword, to shots of arrows.  I said to him: "O Sa'ad, the Messenger of God is worried about you."  He replied, "I am surely among the dead.  Give the Messenger my Salam and tell him that Sa'd ibn Al-Rabee prays, 'May Allah reward you with the best that He rewards a Prophet for his people!' Sa'd continued, 'And give my people greetings and tell them: 'You have no excuse before Allah if your Prophet is harmed while your eyes can still blink.' Then he passed away."

Sa'd bin Al-Rabee could no longer fight with his weapons, yet he chose to fight with his words.  They resonated and became a legend in the ears of Muslims: "You have no excuse before Allah if your Prophet is harmed while your eyes can still blink." The enemies of Islam pierced Sa'd's body, but they could not even scratch his spirit as they brought him closer to meeting his Lord in paradise.  Such strength is a goal that every believer should aspire to attain.

We also find heroes whom the Qur'an excused from participating in the battle plead to volunteer!  Amr bin Al-Jumouh was lame and walked with a pronounced limb.  God says in the 61 verse of chapter 24,  

There is no blame upon the blind, nor any blame upon the lame, nor any blame upon the sick.

Bin Al-Jumouh had four brave sons who joined the battle, yet he still asked the Messenger, peace be upon him, to allow him to fight.  Amr said, "O Messenger of God!  My sons here want to keep me from God's reward because I am old and frail.  By God, I wish to limb across Paradise with this leg."  Our beloved Muhammad replied, "As for your condition, God has excused you, so jihad is not incumbent on you."  Then he turned towards Amr's sons and said, "Let him join!  Perhaps God would grant him martyrdom."

And here is another believer who said, "O Messenger of God, my son was martyred in Badr; I saw him in my dream saying, 'Dear father, come and join us.'" I ask for your permission to fight.  And so it was until he attained martyrdom.

The magnificence of faith is also evident in Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman's thoughtfulness.  His father was an old Muslim man who spent most of his time at home.  On the day of Uhud, he grabbed his sword and joined the battle hoping for God to grant him martyrdom in his old age.  The Muslims did not know him and killed him, thinking he was from Quraysh.  Hudhaifah said: "He is my father," and they said, "By God, we did not know him." Hudhaifah replied, "God will forgive you, for He is the Most Merciful." Prophet Muhammad came to Hudhaifiaf to pay the blood money due for his father's wrongful death.  Hudhaifah said, "I give it as charity to the Muslim poor."

These events took place in Uhud to show us how adversity brought the best out of the believers and strengthened them to carry the word of God to all corners of the earth.