Battle of Uhud
The Battle of Uhud was fought between the early Muslims and the Quraysh during the Muslim–Quraysh wars in a valley north of Mount Uhud near Medina on Saturday, 23 March 625 AD.
Following the Muslim emigration to Medina, hostilities with the Quraysh intensified, largely due to Muslim raids on Meccan trade caravans. In 624, the Quraysh suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Badr, during which several of their leaders were killed. The following year, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb led a force of approximately 3,000 men toward Medina to avenge the loss. The two sides met near Mount Uhud, just north of the city. At the outset of the engagement, the Muslims gained the upper hand and forced the Meccan lines to retreat. A group of Muslim archers had been stationed by Muhammad on a nearby hill in order to protect the army’s rear and guard against a cavalry attack. However, believing the battle was won, many of them left their positions to collect spoils from the Meccan camp. This lapse allowed the Meccan cavalry, led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, to launch a counterattack from the rear, reversing the momentum of the battle, and disrupting the Muslim lines. The resulting chaos led to heavy losses on the Muslim side, including the death of Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The battle was seen as a significant setback for the Muslims and a minor victory for the Quraysh as they would return with an even larger force in the Battle of the Trench.
Background
initially spread his new religion in Mecca, where he found no opposition from the local people until he attacked their polytheistic beliefs. As tensions with the Meccans increased, Muhammad brought his followers to migrate to Medina after his successful negotiations with Banu Aws and Khazraj to mediate their tribal conflicts. Francis Peters proposes that these raids were probably a quick remedy by Muhammad for the poverty of his people in the new land, who lacked agricultural skills and capital for trade. Tariq Ramadan agrees with this reasoning, but also adds that The Battle of Badr in particular was initiated to impress the Meccans, who were becoming increasingly hostile towards Medina.In March 624, after gaining rich plunder from attacking a caravan at Nakhla, Muhammad received information about a large Quraysh trade caravan containing about 1,000 camels and 50,000 dinars was on its way from Gaza to Mecca, and he ordered his followers to ambush it. The very cautious Abu Sufyan, who led the caravan, got wind of his plan and sent messengers on a quick trip to Mecca for help, with the caravan diverted to another route. The reinforcements then camped at Badr, where they later met up with the Muslims. A battle ensued, and with great charisma and powers of suggestion, Muhammad managed to get his troops to defeat the Quraysh reinforcements, which were larger in number.
This defeat was a major catastrophe for the people of Mecca. A number of its influential and experienced men were killed, including Amr ibn Hisham. Their prestige was shaken. Their old enemies, such as the Hawazin, began to set their sights on them again. On Muhammad's part, this victory drew all eyes to him. He used this victory as proof of his prophethood. Those who supported and participated in his raids were becoming more numerous. Abu Sufyan, who was chosen as the successor of the leader of the Quraysh, vowed vengeance. Several months later, he accompanied a party of 200 men to Medina. There, he met his old friend, the Banu Nadir chief, who then provided him with a meal and some background information about the area, but nothing more. He and his party then left Medina, burning two houses and laying waste to some fields in fulfillment of his vow.
Further skirmishes between the Meccans and the Muslims would occur thereafter. A few months later, Abu Sufyan mobilized an invasion force of over 3,000 men to retaliate against the Muslims for the losses at Badr.
Battle
Meccan march to Medina
At the head of a 3,000-strong army, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb set forth toward Madinah to avenge the Meccans' defeat at Badr. They encamped on the pastures north of the city, hoping that the Muslims would come out to meet them. According to the early Muslim historian Ibn Ishaq, a number of Meccan women are said to have accompanied Abu Sufyan's army to boost their morale, including Hind bint 'Utbah, Abu Sufyan's wife.Muslim encampment at Uhud
A group of approximately 1,000 Muslim men set out northward from Madinah toward Mount Uhud late on Friday, 21 December 624. Early the next morning, they took a position on the lower slopes of the hill of Uhud. Shortly before the battle commenced, 'Abdallah ibn Ubayy, chief of the Khazraj, along with 300 other men, withdrew their support for Muhammad and returned to Medina, with reports suggesting Ibn Ubayy's discontent with the plan to march out from Medina to meet the Meccans. Ibn Ubayy and his followers would later receive censure in the Qur'an for this act.The Muslim force, now numbering around 700 encamped on the slopes of Uhud, facing Madinah, with their back protected by the mountain. Before the battle, Muhammad had assigned 50 archers on a nearby rocky hill at the west side of the Muslim camp. This was a strategic decision in order to shield the vulnerable flanks of the outnumbered Muslim army; the archers on the hill were to protect the left flank, while the right flank was to be protected by the Mount of Uhud situated on the east side of the Muslim camp. Protecting the flanks of the Muslim army meant that the Meccan army would not be able to turn around the Muslim camp, and thus the Muslim army would not be surrounded or encircled by the Meccan cavalry, keeping in mind that the Meccan cavalry outnumbered the Muslim cavalry with 50-to-1. Muhammad ordered the Muslim archers to not leave their positions on the hill unless ordered to do so by him, making it clear by uttering these words to the archers,
"If you see us prevail and start to take spoils, do not come to assist us. And if you see us get vanquished and birds eat from our heads, do not come to assist us."
Duels
The Meccan army positioned itself facing the Muslim lines, with the main body led by Abu Sufyan, and the left and right flanks commanded by Ikrimah ibn Abu Jahl, son of Amr ibn Hishām and Khalid ibn al-Walid, respectively. 'Amr ibn al-'As was commander of the cavalry and his task was to coordinate the attack between the cavalry wings. They attacked with their initial charge led by the Medinan exile Abu ‘Amir. Thwarted by a shower of stones from the Muslims, Abu ‘Amir and his men were forced to retreat to the camps behind the Meccan lines. The Meccan standard-bearer Talhah ibn Abi Talhah al-‘Abdari, advanced and challenged the enemy to a duel. Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Muhammad, rushed forth and struck Talhah down in a single blow. Talhah's brother, Uthman, ran forward to pick up the fallen banner — the Meccan women willing him on with songs and the loud beating of timbrels. Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib emerged from the Muslim ranks, bringing him to a similar fate as Talhah. It was their family that was responsible for the Meccan army's standard-bearing, and thus one by one, Talhah's brothers and sons went to retrieve the Meccan banner and fight unsuccessfully until they all eventually perished. Following the duels, general engagement between the two armies commenced. Meccan confidence quickly began to dissolve as the Muslims swept through their ranks.Meccan retreat and counter-attack
The Meccan army was pushed back, and repeated attempts by its cavalry to overrun the left Muslim flank were negated by the Muslim archers. Enjoying the best of these early encounters, the Muslims pierced through the Meccan lines, with victory appearing certain. However, it was the detachment of the Muslim archers, disobeying Muhammad's strict orders to remain stationary, that would shift the outcome of the battle, as most of them ran downhill to join in the advance and despoil the Meccan camp, leaving the flank vulnerable.At this critical juncture, the Meccan cavalry, led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, exploited this move and attacked the remaining minority of Muslim archers who refused to disobey Muhammad's orders and were still positioned on the hill. From there, the Meccans were then able to target and overrun the Muslim flank and rear. Confusion ensued, and numerous Muslims were killed. The most notable of the killed Muslims was Hamza, Muhammad's uncle, who had been thrown down in a surprise attack by the javelin of the Ethiopian slave of Jubayr ibn Mut'im, Wahshi ibn Harb. While the Meccan riposte strengthened, rumors circulated that Muhammad too had perished. It emerged, however, that Muhammad had only been wounded—due to missiles of stone which resulted in a gash on his forehead and lip. It is sometimes reported that 'Ali ibn Abi Talib alone remained, fending off the assaults of Khalid's cavalrymen. According to Ibn al-Atheer,
"The Prophet became the object of the attack of various units of the army of Quraish from all sides. Ali attacked, in compliance with Muhammad's orders, every unit that made an attack upon him and dispersed them or killed some of them, and this thing took place a number of times in Uhud."After fierce hand-to-hand combat, many of the Muslims managed to flee and regroup higher up on the slopes of Uhud. Hakim al-Nishaburi, a well known Sunni scholar, in his famous book Al-Mustadrak Alal Saheehayn writes that one of the most notable individuals among those who had run away from the battlefield was Abu Bakr. A small faction was cut off and tried to make its way back to Medina, though many of these were killed. The Meccans' chief offensive arm, its cavalry, was unable to ascend the slopes of Uhud in pursuit of the Muslims, and so the fighting ceased. Hind bint Utba and her companions are said to have mutilated the Muslim corpses, cutting off their ears and noses and feeding them to Muslims; making them into anklets. Hind bint Utba is reported to have cut open the corpse of Hamza, taking out his liver which she then attempted to eat. Abu Sufyan, after some brief verbal exchanges with Muhammad's companion, Ibn Ishaq records this exchange as follows:
Abu Sufyan then decided to return to Mecca without pressing his advantage of re-attacking the wounded Muslims of Madinah.
The battle is believed by some scholars to be a defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred much more losses than the Meccans. Chase F. Robinson, writing in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, states the notion that "the Muslims suffered a disheartening defeat is clear enough." Other scholars such as William Montgomery Watt disagree, noting that while the Muslims did not win, the Meccans had failed to achieve their strategic aim of destroying Muhammad and his followers; and that the Meccans' untimely withdrawal indicated weakness on their part. The battle is also noted for the emergence of the military leadership and stratagem of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who would later become one of the most famous of all Arab generals during the Islamic expansion era, in conquering the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine-held Syria.