Grade 7 History Book (PDF) - Shia Multimedia

According to Arab custom, there was single combat before the battle began. Three famous
warriors, Utbah bin Rabiyyah, Shaybah bin Rabiyyah and Walid bin Utbah challenged the
Muslims. The Holy Prophet (S) then sent ‘Ubaydah, Hamzah and Imam Ali (A). Ubaydah faced
Utbah, Hamzah faced Shaybah and Imam Ali (A) faced Walid. Hamzah and Imam Ali (A) soon
killed their opponents, but Ubaydah was badly hurt and later died. Imam Ali (A) then killed Utbah.
The Quraish were disturbed to see the skill of the Muslim warriors and began to attack together.
The Holy Prophet (S) held back his small army and ordered them to fire arrows at the enemy.
This organized attack broke up the ranks of the Meccans and, seeing their confusion, the Holy
Prophet (S) ordered a general attack. The Muslims began to fight with confidence and the valley
of Badr rang with the sounds of battle. Then Imam Ali (A) tore into the heart of the Meccan army,
killing enemy soldiers with terrifying ease. His power and skill with the sword struck terror into the
hearts of the Meccans, who began to flee.
Before long, the battle was over and the Muslims had achieved a great victory, despite being
outnumbered. The Muslims lost 14 men, while 70 Meccans, and others were killed. Out of these,
Imam Ali (A) battled with and was victorious over 36 men himself and helped in fighting several
others.
4.4 The Battle of Uhud
In this battle, the Prophet organized his men and assigned a group to take position at a strategic
hilly side where, if attacked from that side, the Muslim army would be most vulnerable. The
prophet made it clear that whatever happens in the battlefield, the group members must never
leave their positions, even if the Muslim army is losing and they need help. However, when this
group saw the Muslim army winning the battle, all members of the group except for a few
deserted their positions and ran to the battle field to get a share of the spoils.
It was in this battle that the reputation of Imam Ali (A) was confirmed and he was acknowledged
as a master in the field of sword fighting. He fought so hard that his sword broke. The Holy
Prophet (S) then gave him own sword "Dhulfiqar". In appreciation of the bravery of Imam Ali (A)
the voice of the angel Jibrail (A) was heard from above saying, "There is no warrior except Ali;
there is no sword except Dhulfiqar."
In this battle, Muslims lost 70 men and 70 wounded. Imam Ali (A) was also heavily wounded. The
Meccans lost 22 warriors, 12 of them at the hands of Imam Ali (A).
24 Grade 7 History