The Life of the Prophet Muhammad by Ibn Kathir - Volume 3 of 4

IMAM ABU AL-FIDA' ISMAqL IBN KATH~R 37
In the phih collection of al-Bukhai, there is a hadith traced from 'Abd Alliih
h. Shaddad who quoted 'Ali h. Abii Tdih as follows, "I never heard the Prophet
(SAAS) swear by hoth his parents to anyone except Sacd h. Mdik. At Uhud I
heard him say, 'Sacd, shoot, may my father and my mother he your ransom!"'
Muhammad h. Ishaq stated that it was related to him by a member of Sa'd's
family, Sah h. Kay-,
from Sa'd h. Abii Waqq%., that at Uhud he shot his
arrows from directly in front of the Messenger of God (SAAS). Sacd said, 'T
saw the Messenger of God (SAAS) say, 'Shoot, may my father and my mother
be your ransom!' He even handed me arrows without points, saying, 'Shoot
with this!"'
It is established in hoth sahih collections, from a hadith of Ihrzhim b. Sa'd,
from his father, from his grandfather, that Sacd h. Aha Waqqas said, "At the
battle of Uhud I saw to the right and to the left of the Messenger of God
(SAAS) two men dressed in white who were fighting fiercely; I never saw them
before that, and I never saw them thereafter.'' He was referring to Gabriel and
to Michael, peace be upon them hoth.
Ahmad stated, "'Affiin related to us and Thabit recounted to us, from Anas,
that at the battle of Uhud Aba Td$a was shooting from directly in front of the
Messenger of God (SAAS) who was shielding himself behind him. As he shot,
the Messenger of God (SAAS) would raise himself up to see where the arrows
would strike. At this Abii Talha would say, as he brought his chest up to its full
height, 'Let it be so, may my father and my mother be your ransom, Messenger
of God; no arrow will hit you. My chest will be in the way of yours.' Aha Talha
would position himself directly before the Messenger of God (SAAS) and say,
'I am sturdy, Messenger of God. Direct me according to your needs and order
me to do whatever you want.'"
Al-Bukhari stated that Aha Ma'mar - 'Ahd All& b. 'Amr d-'Aqdi, that is
- related to him, quoting 'Abd al-Waith, quoting 'Ahd al-CAziz (b. Suhayb),
from Anas, who said, "When the battle of Uhud occurred the men fled in defeat
away from the Messenger of God (SAAS). Meanwhile Abii Talha was directly
in front of him, protecting him with a leather shield he had. Abii Taba was a
marksman and a very vigorous man who broke two or three bows that day. As
the man with the leather bag of arrows would pass, he (the Prophet) would say,
'Hand them over to Aha Talha."'
He went on, "The Prophet (SAAS) would rise up to observe the enemy and
Aba Talha would say, 'May my father and mother he your ransom! Don't stand
up! An enemy arrow may strike you. My body shields yours.' And I saw 'A'isha,
daughter of Aha Bakr, and Umm Sulaym with their garments tucked up so that
I could see their anklets, carrying water containers on their hacks that they would
empty into the mouths of the troops, return to refill them and empty them as
before. The sword fell from the hands of Abn Talha twice or thrice."
Al-Bukhsri stated, %halifa told me, 'Yazid h. Zaric related to us, quoting
Sacid, from Qatada, from Anas, from Aba Talha, who said, "I was one of those