The Sacrifices of the Companions
The real name of Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها was Nusaybah. When she saw the Muslims fleeing and saw the polytheists gathering around the Prophet ﷺ, she became deeply concerned. She quickly reached the Prophet ﷺ and began fighting the enemy with a sword.
When she became wounded while fighting with the sword, she took up a bow and began shooting arrows at the polytheists.
At that moment, she saw the polytheist Ibn Qami’ah approaching. He was saying:
«“Tell me… where is Muhammad? If he survives today, then consider that I will not survive.”»
By saying this, he meant that either the Prophet ﷺ or he himself would remain alive that day.
When he came near, Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها and Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه blocked his way.
At that moment, he attacked Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها, wounding her shoulder. Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها also struck him several times with her sword, but he was wearing armor, so he remained protected from her blows.
Seeing her efforts, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“May Allah bless your household.”»
Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها said:
«“O Messenger of Allah! Please pray for us that we may be with you in Paradise.”»
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“O Allah, make them my companions and fellow-members in Paradise.”»
At that moment, Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها said:
«“Now I do not care what happens to me in this world.”»
The Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
«“On the day of Uhud, whenever I looked to my right or left, I saw Umm ‘Umarah fighting the enemy with all her might to protect me and keep me safe.”»
In the Battle of Uhud, Hazrat Umm ‘Umarah رضي الله عنها received twelve wounds. Some were caused by spears and others by swords.
That day, Hazrat Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه also made his body a shield for the Prophet ﷺ. Whenever an arrow came toward the Prophet ﷺ, he would stop it with his back.
In other words, he kept his face turned toward the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and took all the arrows on his back so that the Prophet ﷺ would remain safe.
As a result, many arrows became embedded in his back.
Similarly, Hazrat Ziyad ibn ‘Amarah رضي الله عنه was also receiving wounds courageously while protecting the Prophet ﷺ, until he collapsed from his wounds.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Bring him close to me.”»
Look at his great fortune: he was brought close to the Prophet ﷺ. When he was laid on the ground, he placed his face and cheek upon the blessed feet of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and passed away in that condition.
What a blessed death it was!
Similarly, Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه was martyred at the hands of Ibn Qami’ah while protecting the Prophet ﷺ.
In fact, Ibn Qami’ah thought that Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه was the Prophet ﷺ because his appearance resembled that of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Therefore, after killing him, he went to the leaders of Quraysh and informed them that he had killed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whereas in reality he had martyred Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه.
During this time, Ubayy ibn Khalaf advanced toward the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Several Companions came in his way, but the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Let him come toward me.”»
Then the Prophet ﷺ moved toward him, saying:
«“O liar! Where are you running?”»
The Prophet ﷺ then took a spear from the hand of one of his Companions and very lightly touched the point of the spear against the neck of Ubayy ibn Khalaf.
The spear was touched so lightly that not even blood came out, but even this slight scratch caused him severe distress, and he ran away screaming:
«“By Allah! Muhammad has killed me!”»
The polytheists tried to stop him and said:
«“You have turned out to be extremely faint-hearted! You have lost your senses. You carry arrows at your side and fight with them, and you have not even suffered a serious wound. Yet look how much you are screaming! It is merely a small scratch. We would not even say ‘ouch’ over such a scratch.”»
Ubayy ibn Khalaf groaned in pain and said:
«“By Lat and ‘Uzza! The pain I am suffering right now is so severe that if it were distributed among all the people at the fair of Dhu al-Majaz, every one of them would die.”»
The actual background was that in Makkah, Ubayy ibn Khalaf used to say to the Noble Prophet ﷺ:
«“O Muhammad! I have an excellent horse. I feed it twelve times every day and am making it strong and well-fed. I will ride it and kill you.”»
Upon hearing this nonsense, the Prophet ﷺ would say:
«“Insha’Allah! I will kill you myself.”»
Now, when he received even this slight wound at the hands of the Prophet ﷺ, its unbearable pain forced him to scream.
He repeatedly rolled about in agony and groaned like a slaughtered bull.
Seeing his suffering, some of his companions took him with them toward Makkah, but he died on the way.
A Hadith states:
«“The person whom a prophet has killed, or who has been killed on the command of a prophet, will continue to be punished from the time of his death until the Day of Judgment.”»
Another Hadith states:
«“The person who receives the most severe punishment is the one whom a prophet himself has killed.”»
Before the Battle of Uhud began, a troublemaking disbeliever named Abu ‘Amir had dug pits in various places so that the Muslims would unknowingly fall into them and suffer harm.
This man was the father of Hazrat Hanzalah رضي الله عنه—the very Hanzalah رضي الله عنه whom the angels bathed.
The battle was continuing when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ fell into one of these pits.
Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه saw the Prophet ﷺ fall. He immediately moved forward and lifted him with both hands.
Hazrat Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah رضي الله عنه then lifted the Prophet ﷺ upward and brought him out of the pit.
When the Prophet ﷺ fell into the pit, Ibn Qami’ah threw stones at him. One of these struck the Prophet ﷺ on his side.
‘Utbah ibn Abi Waqqas also threw a stone at the Prophet ﷺ. The stone he threw struck the blessed face of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The blessed face of the Prophet ﷺ was injured, and his lower lip was cut.
Hazrat Hatib رضي الله عنه says:
«“When I saw ‘Utbah throwing a stone at the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, I rushed toward him. I pursued him and eventually caught him. I immediately struck him with my sword. The blow killed him.»
«“I immediately took possession of his sword and horse and went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I informed him that I had killed ‘Utbah.”»
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Allah is pleased with you. Allah is pleased with you.”»
In this attack, the Prophet ﷺ himself suffered injury to his metal helmet, his blessed face was wounded, and both of his cheeks had also been injured by Ibn Qami’ah’s attack.
Two links of the helmet had become embedded in the blessed cheek of the Prophet ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ supplicated against Ibn Qami’ah:
«“May Allah disgrace you and destroy you.”»