—especially the younger men among them and those who had not fought at Badr—pressed that he go out to confront them. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) therefore entered his house, put on his coat of mail—his battle armor—then came out and ordered the march to Mount Uhud.

They met at Uhud. The Prophet arrayed his Companions in the finest of battle ranks, and he stationed the archers—fifty skilled bowmen—on the mountain, appointing ʿAbd Allah ibn Jubayr (may Allah be pleased with him) as their commander. He instructed them, “Do not leave your post; remain where you are, whether the battle turns in our favor or against us.”

When the two lines engaged, the idolaters broke and fled, and the Muslims began gathering the spoils. The archers on the mountain said, “Come down and collect the spoils with the people.” Their commander reminded them of the Prophet’s order that they stay in their place, whatever the outcome. But they thought the affair was over, for they saw the idolaters in retreat and only a few of them remained. When the cavalry of Quraysh realized that the mountain was now empty of archers, they wheeled round upon the Muslims from behind and mingled with them. Thus occurred what the Mighty, the All-Wise had decreed: seventy Muslims were martyred, among them Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (may Allah be pleased with him), the uncle of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the Lion of Allah and His Messenger.

Struck by this great calamity, the Muslims said, “How could this be? How can we be defeated while the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is with us? We are the soldiers of Allah, whereas they are accompanied by devils—the soldiers of Satan.” Allah Most High answered them: “So when a calamity befell you after you had inflicted twice as much, you said, ‘How can this be?’ Say, ‘It is from your own selves.’” (Āl ʿImrān 3:165)—that is, from you.