The Status of the Martyrs
As soon as the digging tool struck the foot of Hazrat Hamzah رضي الله عنه, blood began to flow from it.
It was as though his body was still as fresh as that of a living person. Even the blood had not dried, and it was still flowing through the veins in such a way that as soon as the digging tool made slight contact with his foot, blood began to flow from it.
Another thing also became apparent: a fragrance resembling that of musk was coming from these bodies.
This incident occurred approximately fifty years after the Battle of Uhud, while the soil of Madinah Munawwarah is so saline that the process of decomposition in a body begins from the very first night.
It became clear that just as the earth cannot cause any change to the bodies of the Prophets, in the same way, the bodies of martyrs also remain preserved.
Similarly, Hazrat Kharijah ibn Zayd رضي الله عنه and Hazrat Sa‘d ibn al-Rabi‘ رضي الله عنه were buried in one grave. They were cousins.
Some people had taken their martyrs from Uhud to Madinah Munawwarah, but the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered that they be brought back and buried in the battlefield of Uhud itself.
Then the Prophet ﷺ said regarding the martyrs of the Battle of Uhud:
«“I am a witness over all of them. Any wound that a person receives in the path of Allah Almighty, Allah Almighty will recreate that wound on the Day of Judgment in the same condition: its color will resemble the color of blood and its fragrance will be like musk.”»
Among the Companions who were martyred at Uhud was Hazrat ‘Abdullah رضي الله عنه, the father of Hazrat Jabir رضي الله عنه.
The Noble Prophet ﷺ said to Hazrat Jabir رضي الله عنه:
«“O Jabir! Shall I tell you something? Whenever Allah Almighty speaks to a martyr, He speaks to him from behind the veils. But Allah, the Truth, spoke directly to your father and said, ‘Ask Me; I will give you.’”»
He said:
«“O Lord! Let me be returned to the world so that, upon reaching there, I may once again be killed in Your path.”»
Allah Almighty said:
«“It is contrary to My practice that I return the dead to the world.”»
He said:
«“My Lord! Convey this message to those who remain behind me in the world: tell them how the martyrs are being rewarded here with such and such blessings.”»
Upon this, Allah Almighty revealed the following verse:
Translation:
«“And do not consider those who are killed in the path of Allah to be dead. Rather, they are alive and are close to their Lord. They are also provided with sustenance.”»
The Noble Prophet ﷺ came to a woman from Banu Dinar.
Her husband, father, and brother had been martyred in this battle. According to one narration, her son had also been martyred.
When people gave her this news, she immediately asked:
«“How is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?”»
The people told her:
«“Praise be to Allah, he is safe and well.”»
Upon this, the woman said:
«“Let me see him with my own eyes.”»
Then, when she saw the Prophet ﷺ approaching, she said:
«“If you are safe and well, then every other calamity is insignificant.”»
In other words, no grief had any importance anymore.
During the Battle of Uhud, Hazrat Qatadah ibn al-Nu‘man رضي الله عنه received an injury to his eye.
The injury became so severe that the eye protruded and hung out.
People wanted to remove it and asked the Noble Prophet ﷺ about it.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Do not remove it.”»
He then called Hazrat Qatadah رضي الله عنه to him, took his eye in his blessed hand, and placed it back into its position with his palm.
Then he supplicated:
«“O Allah! Make his eye a means of increasing his beauty and excellence.”»
As a result, that eye became even more beautiful and sharper in sight than his other eye.
Whenever Hazrat Qatadah رضي الله عنه experienced pain in one eye, it would occur in the other eye; the affected eye itself would not be affected by that pain.
Another Companion had an arrow embedded in his neck.
He immediately came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ applied his blessed saliva to his wound, and the wound healed immediately.
During the Battle of Uhud, the Islamic army’s standard was in the hands of Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه.
During the battle, his right hand was cut off, so he took hold of the standard with his left hand.
When his left hand was also cut off, he held the standard with both of his severed arms.
At that time, he was reciting the following verse:
Translation:
«“And Muhammad ﷺ is only a Messenger of Allah; many Messengers passed away before him.”»
(Surah Aal ‘Imran: Verse 144)
When, during the battle, he heard someone saying that Muhammad ﷺ had been killed, these words spontaneously came from his tongue.
After this, Hazrat Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr رضي الله عنه was martyred.
In short, the battle ended, and after the martyrs had been buried, the Noble Prophet ﷺ set out toward Madinah.
At that time, the Prophet ﷺ was riding a horse.
He supplicated for the martyrs and their relatives:
«“O Allah! Remove grief and sorrow from their hearts, remove their hardships, and grant the families left behind by the martyrs the best possible successor.”»
Upon reaching Madinah, the Noble Prophet ﷺ saw that Hazrat ‘Ali’s رضي الله عنه sword was stained with blood and said:
«“If you performed well in the battle, then such-and-such people also fought excellently.”»
Approximately seventy Muslims were martyred in the Battle of Uhud.
Different numbers have been reported regarding the number of polytheists who were killed.
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ reached Madinah Munawwarah, the tongues of the hypocrites and the Jews were unleashed because of the Muslims’ apparent defeat.
They began openly insulting the Muslims and celebrating their misfortune.
They also uttered disrespectful words concerning the Noble Prophet ﷺ. For example, they would go around saying:
«“Muhammad is only interested in ruling. No prophet has suffered such a loss as he has suffered today. He himself was wounded, and he also caused so many of his companions to be killed.”»
(May Allah protect us.)
Sometimes they would say:
«“If your companions who were killed had remained with us, they would not have lost their lives in this way.”»
When these statements reached Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه, he became extremely angry.
He said to the Noble Prophet ﷺ:
«“O Messenger of Allah! Give us permission to kill these people.”»
Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Are these people—the hypocrites—not outwardly Muslims? Do they not recite the Kalimah that there is no deity except Allah and that I am His Messenger?”»
Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه replied:
«“Indeed, they do. But they only say this out of fear of the sword. Now their reality has become apparent, and the hatred and corruption hidden in their hearts have come to light.”»
Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ said:
«“I have been forbidden from killing anyone who declares Islam, even if he does so only outwardly.”»
The very next morning after the Battle of Uhud, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent a messenger through Madinah Munawwarah announcing:
«“O Muslims! Prepare yourselves to pursue the Quraysh.”»