They Fulfilled Their Duty
Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه returned, leaving Talhah ibn Abu Talhah behind. The Prophet ﷺ asked him:
«“O ‘Ali! Why did you leave him?”»
He replied:
«“O Messenger of Allah! He begged me for mercy, swearing by Allah.”»
The Prophet ﷺ said:
«“Go and kill him.”»
Accordingly, Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه went and killed him.
After his death, the polytheists’ standard was taken up by his brother, ‘Uthman ibn Abu Talhah. Hazrat Hamzah رضي الله عنه came forward to face him. As soon as he reached him, he struck him with his sword. The blow struck his shoulder, and he fell. With another blow, Hamzah رضي الله عنه finished him.
Then Musafi‘, the son of Talhah, came forward. ‘Asim ibn Thabit ibn Abu al-Aflah رضي الله عنه shot an arrow at him, and he was also killed.
After this, his brother Harith came out onto the battlefield. ‘Asim رضي الله عنه carefully aimed an arrow at him as well, and he too was killed.
The mother of these two was also present in the army. Her name was Sulafah. Both of her sons died in their mother’s lap.
Before they died, Sulafah asked:
«“My son! Who wounded you?”»
One of her sons replied:
«“I heard his voice. Before shooting the arrow, he said, ‘Take this and deal with it; I am the son of Abu al-Aflah.’”»
From these words, Sulafah realized that the archer was ‘Asim ibn Thabit رضي الله عنه. She therefore swore:
«“If the head of ‘Asim comes into my hands, I will drink wine from his skull.”»
At the same time, she announced:
«“Whoever brings me the head of ‘Asim ibn Thabit, I will give him one hundred camels as a reward.”»
‘Asim رضي الله عنه was not martyred in this battle. He was martyred later at al-Raji‘, an event that will be mentioned at its appropriate place, Insha’Allah!
After these two were killed, their brother Kilab ibn Talhah took up the standard. Hazrat Zubayr رضي الله عنه killed him.
After Kilab, his brother Julas ibn Talhah took up the standard. He was killed by Hazrat Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd رضي الله عنه.
Thus, all four of them were killed there, just as their father had been.
Their paternal uncle ‘Uthman ibn Talhah and Abu Sa‘id ibn Talhah were also killed in the same Battle of Uhud.
After this, the Qurayshi standard was taken up by Arta’ah ibn Shurahbil. Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه came forward to face him, and he was killed at the hands of ‘Ali رضي الله عنه.
After this, Shurayh ibn Qariz took up the standard. He too was killed. The narration does not mention at whose hands he was killed.
After this, Abu Zayd ibn ‘Amr took up the standard. He was killed by Hazrat Qazman رضي الله عنه.
After him, their slave Sawab took up the standard. He was an Abyssinian. He began fighting until one of his hands was cut off. He quickly sat down and continued holding the standard with the support of his neck and chest until he was killed by Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas رضي الله عنه.
Now the general battle began.
Both armies attacked one another with all their strength. At the very beginning of the battle, the cavalry of the polytheists attacked the Muslim army three times.
However, the detachment of archers whom the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had stationed on the mountain showered them with arrows each time, forcing them to retreat.
All three times, the polytheists were forced to retreat in confusion.
After this, the Muslims launched a powerful attack upon the polytheists. The attack was so intense that it caused tremendous damage to the strength of the polytheists.
At that time, the battle was at its fiercest.
Among the women accompanying the polytheists was Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan. At that time, she had not yet accepted Islam and was one of the strongest enemies of the Muslims and extremely fierce in temperament.
She took a duff in her hands, and the other women accompanying her also took up duffs. They all began beating the duffs and singing songs.
They did this to encourage and inspire their men to fight.
Meanwhile, Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه had fulfilled the right of the sword that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had given him.
Hazrat Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam رضي الله عنه relates:
«“When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced, ‘Who will fulfill the right of this sword?’ I asked for the sword three times, but despite my asking, he did not grant it to me, even though I was his paternal cousin.»
«“Then, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the sword to Abu Dujanah, I said to myself, ‘Let me see how he fulfills the right of this sword.’»
«“After that, I followed him and stayed close behind him like a shadow.»
«“I saw him take a red-colored strip of cloth from his sock. On one side of the strip was written: ‘The help of Allah and a near victory.’ On the other side was written: ‘Cowardice in battle is a disgrace; whoever flees from the battlefield cannot escape the Fire of Hell.’»
«“He took out this strip and tied it around his head.»
«“When the Ansari Muslims saw this, they exclaimed:»
«‘Abu Dujanah has tied the strip of death around his head!’»
«“Among the Ansar, it was well known that whenever Hazrat Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه tied this strip around his head, he would attack the enemy with such force that no one could stand against him.»
«“Accordingly, after tying this strip around his head, he began fighting with extraordinary ferocity.»
«“He fell upon the enemy like death and struck them down one after another. He killed so many enemies that eventually the sword bent and became curved like a sickle.»
«“At that moment, the Muslims exclaimed:»
«‘Abu Dujanah has truly fulfilled the right of the sword!’”»
Hazrat Zubayr رضي الله عنه says:
«“Among the polytheists, there was a man who would search the battlefield for wounded Muslims and finish them off. When I saw him, I prayed:»
«‘O Allah! Let him now come face to face with Abu Dujanah.’»
«“Allah accepted my prayer, and he came face to face with Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه.»
«“The two began striking at each other with their swords.»
«“Suddenly, that polytheist raised his sword against Abu Dujanah رضي الله عنه….”»