Lessons and Moralities in the Battle of Uhd

ibn al-qaiyim has made a pointed reference to the battle of uhud and given full elucidation of the divine benefits and moralities that resulted from it. some muslim scholars, on the authority of ibn hajar, said: the reverse in uhud resulted from the neglect on the part of the archers of the explicit command of the prophet [pbuh], and leaving the spot which they were ordered to safeguard to the end. in other words, the success of the muslims depends upon their obedience to the prophet [pbuh]. as long as they carry out his behests, allâh will help them in facing all kinds of odds. but when they will set aside his commands in their pursuit of worldly riches, they are bound to come to grief. another relevant issue of great significance says that it is customary for prophets to be tried with different adversities; nevertheless, the final outcome is positively in their favour. should the muslims be victorious all the time, great many pretenders to faith will enter the fold of islam, and consequently the clear line of demarcation between true believers and hypocrites will become blurred. contrarily, if the muslims were to be defeated all the time, the final objective of the ministry of prophets will not be effected. it is wise then to combine both success and failure so that sifting between true muslims and hypocrites could be realized.

in the aftermath of the battle of uhud, the hypocrites disclosed their real intentions in words and in deeds, consequently, the muslims got to realize the existence of those wicked elements working secretly in their own homeland; and of course there would be appropriate measures to be taken in due course of time.

a third point in this context refers to purposeful deferment of victory in some areas in order to check the pride of the soul and teach the believers how to observe full patience in times of adversity. trials and tests are provided by allâh in order that the true believers could deservedly occupy their abode in the blessed hereafter. martyrdom, the highest ranks that the true friends of allâh could occupy, is provided by allâh to function as a passport, granted by the lord, leading to paradise. in brief, fight in the cause of allâh is a golden opportunity for the true believers to have their sins effaced, and a divinely-devised event for the disbelievers and enemies of allâh to face destruction and annihilation in recompense for their disbelief, tyranny and transgression. [za'd al-ma'ad 2/99-108]