The Battle of Uhud (9)

The Muslims tend to their own

After this exchange, Abu Sufyan went back, and the pagan troops began leaving the area. They rode their camels and kept their horses by their side to indicate the end of the battle and that they were headed back to Makkah. Their inexplicable decision to head back was nothing but a sign form Allah’s grace upon the Muslims, for nothing stood between the pagans and Madinah.

Had they pressed on they would have found no opposition in the defenceless city, and the course of history would certainly have been entirely different.

After the departure of the enemy, the Muslims came to the battlefield to take care of the wounded and the martyred. Some of the dead were transported back to Madinah, but the Prophet ordained that the martyrs be brought back to the site of their deaths and that they be buried in battle dress without a bath and funeral prayer. He also buried two to three martyrs in a single grave. In some cases, he directed his Companions to shroud the martyrs in pairs. The martyr who had learned more of the Quran was lowered in the grave first. Paying tribute to their sacrifice in the cause of Allah, the Prophet said, “I shall be a witness unto them on the Day of Resurrection.”

As they retrieved the bodies of their martyred brothers, the people came upon the body of Handhla bin Abu Amr above the earth with water dripping from it. The Prophet explained to his men, “The angels are bathing him.” Apparently, the newly married Handhla had just consummated his marriage, when the call for Jihad was made. Without even stopping to bathe, he left his bride and rushed to the battlefield. Handhla fought heroically and was martyred, so the Prophet explained that the angels were bathing him to purify his body. Handhla was forever remembered as “Ghaseel Al-Malaaika” (one bathed by angels). It was time to bury Hamzah as well. The dead hero had earned Allah’s pleasure, and that was more rewarding than ostentation of a grand burial. In fact, he was shrouded in a sheet so small that when his head was covered, his feet bared and when his feet were covered, his head was exposed. Some rushes were then put over his feet.