Hazrat Umar (ra) in the Battle of Uhud

In relation to Hazrat Umar’s (ra) participation in the Battle of Uhud, it is written that during the battle, Khalid bin Walid attacked the Muslims and owing to the sudden nature of the attack, the Muslims were unable to regroup themselves. Regarding its details, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) has written the following:

“The army of the Quraish had pretty much surrounded them from all four fronts and continued to crush the Muslims moment by moment through repeated attacks. Yet, even after all this, the Muslims would have may well regained themselves shortly thereafter, but the outrage was that a bold warrior from among the Quraish named Abdullah bin Qami‘ah attacked Mus‘ab (ra) bin Umair, the flag-bearer of the Muslims and severed his right hand with the blow of his sword. Mus‘ab (ra) immediately clutched the flag with his other hand and advanced to confront Ibn Qami‘ah, but in his second blow, the other hand was severed as well. Upon this, Mus‘ab (ra) joined both of his severed hands together in an endeavour to keep the Islamic flag from falling and held it to his chest, upon which Ibn Qami’ah struck him a third time, and this time Mus‘ab was martyred and fell to the ground.

“As far as the flag was concerned, another Muslim immediately advanced and took hold of it, but since the size and figure of Mus‘ab (ra) resembled the Holy Prophet (sa), Ibn Qami‘ah thought that he had slain the Holy Prophet (sa). It is also probable that this scheme of his was merely guided by motives of mischief and deceit. In any case, when Mus‘ab (ra) was martyred and fell, Ibn Qami‘ah exclaimed that he had slain Muhammad (sa). At this news, the Muslims lost whatever composure was left in them and their force was scattered completely. Many Companions fled from the field of battle in a state of dismay.

“At the time, the Muslims were divided into three groups. One group was of those who had fled from the field of battle upon hearing news that the Holy Prophet (sa) had been martyred, but this group was the smallest of all. However, as mentioned in the Holy Quran, taking into consideration the special circumstances of that time, and the heartfelt faith and sincerity of these people, Allah the Almighty forgave them […]

“The second group consisted of such people who had not fled, but upon hearing news of the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (sa), had either lost determination or felt that now it was useless to fight. Hence, they had moved to one side of the battlefield, and sat down with their heads hanging low. The third group was of those who continued to fight on without fail. Among them, some consisted of those people who were gathered around the Holy Prophet (sa) and were exhibiting unprecedented feats of valour, and most of them were fighting in the field of battle scattered apart from one another. As these people, and those from the second group continued to discover that the Holy Prophet (sa) was alive, these people would continue to fight and close in around the Holy Prophet (sa) in the likeness of those possessed by madness. […]

“At the time, a very dangerous war ensued, and this was a time of great trial and tribulation for the Muslims. As mentioned, upon hearing news of the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet (sa), many Companions lost their spirit and had thrown in their arms and moved to one side of the battlefield. Hazrat Umar (ra) was also among these people. These people were sitting to one side of the battlefield, when a Companion named Anas (ra) bin Nadr Ansari happened to arrive, and upon seeing them, began to say, ‘What are you doing here?’ They responded, ‘The Holy Prophet (sa) has been martyred. What, now, is there to gain from battle?’ ‘This is the very time for battle,’ replied Anas (ra), ‘so that we may also attain the death, which has been acquired by the Holy Prophet (sa); and then what pleasure is there in life after the demise of the Holy Prophet (sa) anyway?’

“Then Saad bin Muaz (ra) came before him and Anas (ra) said, ‘Saad, I can smell the fragrance of paradise from this mountain.’ After this, Anas (ra) penetrated the enemy ranks and was martyred in battle. After the war, his body was found to have sustained more than eighty wounds, and no one could recognise his dead body. Finally, his sister identified him by a mark on his finger.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), pp. 493-495)

The Holy Prophet (sa), along with a few of his Companions, arrived at the foot of the valley when a group of the disbelievers launched a sudden attack and among them was also Khalid bin Walid. At the time, the Holy Prophet (sa) prayed:

اَللّٰهُمَّ‭ ‬إنَّهٗ‭ ‬لَا‭ ‬يَنْبَغِيْ‭ ‬لَهُمْ‭ ‬أَنْ‭ ‬يَّعْلُوْنَا ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “‘O Allah! do not let these people reach us.’

“After this, Hazrat Umar (ra), along with a few Muhajireen, fought against the idolaters and eventually caused them to flee.”

(Ibn Hisham, Sirat Ibn Hisham [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2001], p. 537)

Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) writes:

“Abu Sufyan took a few of his followers and proceeded to the mountain pass, where the Muslims had gathered and standing next to it, called out, ‘O Muslims! Is Muhammad (sa) among you?’ The Holy Prophet (sa) forbade anyone from responding, and thus, the Companionsra remained silent. Then, he enquired about Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra), but even at this, in accordance with the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), no one responded.

“Upon this, in a most arrogant tone, he called out in a loud voice, ‘All of these people have been slain, for if they had been alive, they would have responded.’ At this, Hazrat Umar (ra) was unable to restrain himself, and uncontrollably said, ‘O enemy of Allah! You lie! We are all alive and Allah shall disgrace you at our hands.’

“Upon recognising the voice of Hazrat Umar (ra), Abu Sufyan said, ‘Tell the truth Umar! Is Muhammad (sa) alive?’ ‘Indeed! Indeed!’ said Hazrat Umar (ra), ‘By the Grace of God, he lives and is listening to your every word.’ In a relatively low voice, Abu Sufyan said, ‘Then, Ibn Qami‘ah has lied because I consider you to be more truthful than he.’ After this, Abu Sufyan, exclaimed:

اُعْلُ‭ ‬هُبَلْ‬‬

“i.e., ‘O Hubl! Exalted by thy name!’ Upon the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), the Companions remained silent, but the Holy Prophet (sa) who ordered silence for his own name, became restless upon hearing the name of an idol in parallel with the name of God the Exalted. ‘Why do you not respond?’ said the Holy Prophet (sa). The Companions submitted, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! How shall we respond?’ The Holy Prophet (sa) said, ‘Proclaim:

اَللّٰهُ‭ ‬اَعْلٰي‭ ‬وَ‭ ‬اَجَلُّ‬‬‬‬‬‬

“i.e., ‘Greatness and grandeur belongs to Allah the Almighty alone.’ Abu Sufyan responded:

لَنَا‭ ‬الْعُزّٰي‭ ‬وَلَا‭ ‬عُزّٰي‭ ‬لَكُمْ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “i.e., ‘We have Uzza, but you have no Uzza!’ The Holy Prophet (sa) instructed the Companions to say:

اَللّٰهُ‭ ‬مَوْلٰنَا‭ ‬وَلَا‭ ‬مَوْلٰي‭ ‬لَكُمْ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “i.e.”, what significance does Uzza have? “‘We have Allah, Who is our Helper, but you have no Helper.’

“After this, Abu Sufyan said, ‘Battle is like a pail, at times, it rises and at times it falls. Consider this day to be a recompense for Badr. You shall find such bodies in the field of battle that have been mutilated. I did not order this, but when I found out about it, I did not find this action of my men displeasing either. Next year, we shall meet again at Badr in the same days.’

“As per the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), a companion responded, ‘Very well then, we shall meet again.’ After saying this Abu Sufyan descended with his followers and quickly thereafter, the army of the Quraish took the road to Mecca.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), pp. 498-499)

After the Battle of Uhud, when the Holy Prophet (sa) arrived in Medina, the hypocrites and the Jews began to rejoice and taunted the Muslims. They claimed, “Muhammad (sa) is desirous of becoming a king and yet no other prophet till this day has incurred such a loss as much as he has. He sustained injuries as well as his companions.” They would also say that if those who had been slain [during the Battle] remained behind with them, they would not have been killed. Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) sought permission from the Holy Prophet (sa) to kill the hypocrites who were uttering such words. The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “Do they not bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah?” i.e. they recite the Kalimah. Upon this, Hazrat Umar (ra) submitted, “Indeed, they do, but alongside this they also speak in a hypocritical manner. They only recite [the Kalimah] owing to the fear of the sword. Thus, their matter has become evident and what was concealed in their hearts has been revealed and Allah the Almighty has exposed the malice they harbour in their hearts. Hence, we ought to punish them.”

The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, “I have been forbidden to kill anyone who recites the Kalimah [declaration of faith].”

(Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah, Ghazwat Uhud, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2002], p. 348)

That is, the Holy Prophet (sa) said that he had been forbidden to kill anyone who recited the Kalimah.