The Incident of Slumber at the Battle of Uhud
Hazrat Zubair bin Awwam (ra) relates, “During the Battle of Uhud, when the situation of the battle changed dramatically, I was near the Holy Prophet (sa). At the time, we were stunned and in a state of shock, when a state of sleep descended upon us. It was such a state that it felt as if we had been overtaken by slumber. There was not a single one of us whose chin was not resting on their chest,” i.e., their heads were lowered in this state of sleep and drowsiness. “By God, it felt to me as though I had heard the voice of Mu’attib (ra) bin Qushair in my sleep and he was saying to me that if it was up to us to decide, we would never die here in this manner.” Hazrat Mu’attib (ra) bin Qushair was an Ansari Companion who participated in the pledge at Aqabah and the battles of Badr and Uhud. “I committed to memory the words I had heard in my state of slumber. With regard to this occasion, God Almighty revealed the following verse:
ثُمَّ اَنۡزَلَ عَلَیۡکُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِ الۡغَمِّ اَمَنَۃً نُّعَاسًا یَّغۡشٰی طَآئِفَۃً مِّنۡکُمۡ ۙ وَ طَآئِفَۃٌ قَدۡ اَہَمَّتۡہُمۡ اَنۡفُسُہُمۡ یَظُنُّوۡنَ بِاللّٰہِ غَیۡرَ الۡحَقِّ ظَنَّ الۡجَاہِلِیَّۃِ ؕ یَقُوۡلُوۡنَ ہَلۡ لَّنَا مِنَ الۡاَمۡرِ مِنۡ شَیۡءٍ ؕ قُلۡ اِنَّ الۡاَمۡرَ کُلَّہٗ لِلّٰہِ
‘Then, after the sorrow, He sent down peace on you – a slumber that overcame a party of you – while the other party was anxious concerning their own selves, thinking wrongly of Allah like unto the thought of ignorance. They said, ‘Is there for us any part in the government of affairs?’ Say, ‘All government belongs to Allah.’’ [Surah al-e-Imran, Ch.3: V.155]
Hazrat Ka‘b bin Amr Ansari (ra) states, “On the day of the Battle of Uhud, I was with 14 of my fellow tribesmen alongside the Holy Prophet (sa). Thereafter, we were overtaken by a state of slumber which granted us peace,” i.e., the slumber brought about tranquillity in them. “Although we were still in the midst of a battle, yet this slumber granted us contentment. There was not a single person from among us who one could not hear the sound of snoring from.” At times, one can enter into a state of deep sleep.
He further says, “I witnessed the sword of Bishr bin Bara bin Ma‘rur (ra) (i.e., the companion being mentioned) fall out of his hand, but he was completely unaware of this, all the while, the idolaters were advancing towards us.”
(al-Sirat al-Halabiyyah, Vol. 2, p. 310, Dhikr Maghaziyah, Ghazwah Uhud, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2002) (Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 4, p. 432, Mu’tab bin Qashir (ra), Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2003)
Nonetheless, it may well be that he perceived the sword to have fallen, because despite their state of slumber, they were used to gripping their weapons firmly or they would feel a sudden jerk if it began to slip out of their hands. The word used in this verse is nu‘as and Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) has explained its meaning in great detail in one of his lectures. He said that analysing all the various meanings of the words “Amantan nu‘asan”, they can be summarised in this verse to mean, “After your sorrow, such a tranquillity was sent down upon you which can be termed as a form of sleep, or such a slumber which bestowed peace”; or that God sent down upon them peace and tranquillity, which had similar effects to that of sleep. Hence, this is the meaning of “Amantan nu‘asan”.
Slumber also means to momentarily lower one’s head when overcome with sleep. However, this meaning of nu‘as does not apply here, rather the meaning in this context is a state that is between one being awake and asleep.
Prior to falling asleep, there is a state where all of one’s nerves and every part of the body experiences a state of calm, and this indeed is a state of complete contentment. If this state is prolonged, then one falls asleep. If one is walking whilst they experience such a state, they will fall over, or at the least, they will feel a sudden jerk and then realise what state they had just experienced. However, if one falls asleep, they do not have voluntary control over their nerves and parts of the body.
Nonetheless, it could be the case that Bishr bin Bara (ra) experienced this state of deep sleep, but it was sleep that was peaceful. Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a battle, he experienced a state of tranquillity which results in one’s muscles to completely relax. For this reason, if we accept this to be the case, it was therefore owing to this state that his hands became slightly relaxed and his sword fell down. Nevertheless, this is such a state that one quickly realises that they are about to fall into deep sleep and owing to a sudden jolt, they wake up. Thus, God Almighty states that He sent down peace upon them, which was similar to that of sleep, but not deep sleep whereby one loses voluntary control over their senses. It granted them peace and tranquillity, but did not render them ineffectual.
In a hadith of Bukhari, Hazrat Abu Talha (ra) narrates, “On the day of Uhud, we were overcome by slumber at the peak of the battle.” This was the slumber that was referred to earlier. Hazrat Abu Talha (ra) further states, “My sword would constantly slip out of my hand, but then I would grip it firmly again.” Thus, from this hadith it shows that it was not such deep sleep whereby the possessions in their hands would drop, or that they would fall over whilst walking. Although it was a state of tranquillity, they had full control over their senses. [He says:] “When the sword would slip, I would grip it firmly.” Thus, it was not the case that slumber suddenly overcame them, rather this was a state that descended over them for a short while.
In Tirmidhi, Abwab-ut-Tafseer, Hazrat Abu Talha (ra) narrates, “During the Battle of Uhud, I looked around and saw that every single person was slouched behind their shields in a state of slumber.” This was owing to them remaining awake or due to tiredness, but the companions were in a difficult condition. God Almighty then caused a state of peace and tranquillity to descend upon them. It was not a state that is usually experienced by soldiers who become tired after a battle, rather Hazrat Khalifatul Masih IV (rh) has stated that it was as if something suddenly descended from the heavens upon all the Companions (ra) alongside the Holy Prophet (sa), who were engaged in fighting against the enemy, and this state then overtook the Companions (ra). At the time, they were in dire need of this source of peace. They needed to refresh and awaken their senses, but there was no time to take any rest. When someone experiences this and is tired to such an extent, this state can be experienced.
Nonetheless, if everyone suddenly falls in a state of slumber such as this, when the battle is at its peak and one is fearful of an attack by the enemy, then this is a miracle and not a coincidence. This can happen to certain people and this did not take place by chance, rather it was a miracle and God Almighty sent down this state of peace upon them at that time.
(Ma‘khuz Dars al-Quran biyan farmudah Khalifatul Masih al-Rabi‘, 6 Ramadan al-Mubarak, 17, Feb 1994)