had once been travelling through the valley of Rābigh in the deep of the night when I suddenly saw a fire blazing ahead of me. I shrank back from it, and then a man emerged from the flames, dragging a chain behind him and crying out, “Water! Water!” Another voice said, “Do not give him anything to drink, for this is the man slain by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—this is Ubayy ibn Khalaf.”

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Zinād related from his father, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtbah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: “The Prophet ﷺ was never helped in any engagement as decisively as he was on the Day of Uḥud.” We found that hard to accept, so Ibn ʿAbbās said, “Between me and anyone who doubts this stands the Book of Allah. Concerning the Day of Uḥud the Exalted says: ‘Allah certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them by His leave’ (Q 3:152)—the word ḥass here means killing—‘until, when you lost heart, disputed about the matter, and disobeyed after He had shown you what you loved…’ This verse was revealed about the archers, for the Prophet ﷺ had stationed them and instructed: ‘Protect our rear. If you see us being killed, do not come to our aid; and if you see us collecting spoils, do not join us.’ When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had taken booty and the idolaters’ camp was in retreat, the archers came down and began plundering. The ranks of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had been locked together—” and he interlaced his fingers—“but they became entangled. Once the archers abandoned the gap they had been guarding, cavalry poured through that opening upon the Prophet’s Companions, so they struck at one another in confusion and many Muslims were killed. Yet earlier in the day victory had been with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his followers, until seven—or nine—standard-bearers of the idolaters had been slain. The Muslims were then driven back toward the mountain, and Satan cried out, ‘Muḥammad has been killed!’—and no one doubted the cry to be true.” He then carried the report forward.

Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah narrated from Qatādah, from Anas, from Abū Ṭalḥah, who said: “I was among those overcome by drowsiness on the Day of Uḥud, so much so that my sword slipped from my hand.”