Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
2. The Life of the Prophet Muhammad
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The battle, in which the Makkans were seriously outnumbered,
began on Friday the 17th of Ramadan. The fighting lasted only a
few hours, during which the Prophet prayed continuously for divine
succour. God then sent angels to help the Muslims who emerged
victorious. The Quraysh suffered a total rout.
The defeat, however, did not teach the Quraysh a lesson, but
further enraged them. Determined to wipe out the blot of this
humiliation, they now began preparations for a second attack, on a
much bigger scale. They raised an army of more than 3000
warriors and mad with revenge, marched to Madinah led by Abu
Sufyan.
The Battle of Uhud took place in 624 A.D. The enemy
numbered 3000 while the Prophet’s men numbered only 700. But
with God on their side, the Muslims successfully repulsed the
attack. The enemy started retreating, leaving behind large
quantities of booty. Victory was eminent for the Muslims, when
forty archers whom the Prophet had assigned to the hillside to
guard the pass, saw the retreating army and thought that if they
remained on the hill, they would lose their share of the booty.
Therefore most of them abandoned their posts. This left the way
open for a counter attack.
When Khalid bin Walid, still a non-Muslim, saw the pass
undefended, he led his men behind the hill and killed the few
archers who still stood guard. Then he fell upon the Muslims from
the back. Seeing this, the fleeing Quraysh leaders turned back. The
Muslims were thrown into utter confusion. The Prophet himself
