and we hate it; it stands at one of the gates of the Fire.”
Al-Suhaylī, seeking to reinforce this ḥadīth, remarked: “It is soundly established that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘A person is with those he loves.’” Yet this is a curious line of reasoning on al-Suhaylī’s part, for that statement pertains to people, whereas a mountain is not called a “person.”
This expedition took place in Shawwāl of the third year AH, as stated by al-Zuhrī, Qatādah, Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, and Mālik (1). Ibn Isḥāq specifies the fifteenth of Shawwāl, while Qatādah says it was Saturday, the eleventh. Mālik adds that the actual clash occurred early in the day.
According to the well-known view, it was on this occasion that Allah revealed:
“[Remember] when you left your household at dawn to station the believers for battle, and Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing (121); when two parties among you were about to lose heart, but Allah was their Protector, and in Allah let the believers place their trust (122); when Allah had already given you victory at Badr while you were weak—so fear Allah that you may be grateful (123); when you said to the believers, ‘Is it not enough for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down?’ (124). Rather, if you remain steadfast and mindful of Allah and they come upon you suddenly, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels, clearly marked…”—and the following verses up to His words: “Allah would not leave the believers in the state you are in until He distinguishes the wicked from the good, nor will Allah disclose to you the unseen” (Āl ʿImrān 3:121–179).
We have discussed the details in our book—and that suffices; all praise and bounty belong to Allah.
Let us here present a summary of the engagement, drawn from the narrative of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq and other scholars of this field.
Ibn Isḥāq said:
Concerning the events of Uḥud, the account was related to me by Muḥammad ibn Muslim al-Zuhrī, Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ḥabbān, ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatādah, al-Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr ibn Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, and others of our scholars—each transmitted a portion of the story of the Day of Uḥud, and I have woven all their reports together. They said (or those of them who said):
When the idolaters of Quraysh who had been thrown into the well at Badr were killed, and the remainder returned to Mecca, and Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb returned with his caravan, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Rabīʿah, ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl, and Ṣafwān ibn Umayyah—together with men of Quraysh whose fathers, sons, or brothers had been slain at Badr—approached Abū Sufyān and those of Quraysh who had capital invested in that caravan. They said:
“O people of Quraysh! Muḥammad has cut you down and killed your nobles. Assist us with this wealth so that we may wage war against him; perhaps we shall take our revenge.” They agreed.
Ibn Isḥāq said (2): Concerning them—so some people of knowledge have informed me—Allah Most High revealed: “Indeed, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to avert [others] from the path of Allah. They will spend it, then it will become a source of regret for them, then they will be defeated; and those who disbelieve will be gathered to Hell” (al-Anfāl 8:36).