The Battle of Uhud (4)

The Prophet is rumoured dead

Standing at the rear along with seven of the Ansar and two men of the Muhajireen, the Prophet clearly saw Khalid’s cavalrymen appear from behind the mountain, and he called out at the top of his voice, “O servants of Allah, come to me!” The pagans who were positioned closer to him, heard him call out.

One of their squadrons followed his voice and charged his way in a bid to finish him off before help could arrive. As the enemy approached, the Prophet said: “Whoever protects me from them deserves Paradise and will be my Companion in Paradise.” A man from the Ansar heard the Prophet’s call for help and rushed to shield him at the expense of his own life. The enemy surged toward the Prophet and drew even closer. The Prophet repeated his call, and another of his Companions advanced on the enemies and made them retreat at the cost of his life. One by one, all seven Ansar fell trying to save the Prophet .

When the seventh Ansari was slain, only two of the Muhajireen, Talha bin Ubaydullah and Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas remained with the Prophet . Now the pagans directed their main attack at the Prophet . A rock flew at him, and he fell on his side. One of his lower right teeth was broken, his lower lip was cut, and his helmet was broken, exposing his head and forehead. As an enemy soldier thrust his sword at the Prophet , he caught his bone below the eye, and two rings from the Prophet’s helmet pierced his face. Someone else struck the Prophet’s shoulder with a blow so powerful that it left him in severe pain for about a month. Fortunately, he escaped severe injury because of his double coat of mail.

Even as the Ansar and Muhajireen were risking their own lives to keep the Prophet safe, he had incurred injury. Sa’d bin Abi Waqaas unleashed a volley of arrows at the pagans, and the Prophet kept supplying him with more arrows from his own quiver, saying encouragingly, “Keep shooting. May my mother and father be sacrificed for you.” There was Talha bin Ubaydullah fighting against the whole band of enemies, as if he were the only one on the field. By the end of the battle, he had 35 or 39 injuries. Talha shielded the Prophet from the enemies’ arrows and swords with his hands until his fingers bled profusely and were palsied. As the arrows pierced his fingers, he gasped involuntarily.

The Prophet comforted him: “If you had said Bismillah, you would have been lifted by the angels before the very eyes of the people.”