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

IMAM ABU AL-FIDB ISMA'IL IBN KATH~R 39
Al-Bukhari also related this in another place. Al-Tirmidhi's fiadith has a
chain of authorities from Abii 'Awana, from Wthmm h. 'Abd All& b. Mawhah.
Al-Umawi, in his military chronicle, quoted Ibn Is&iq as saying, "Y&yZ b.
CAbhad related to me, from his father, from his grandfather, who said, 'I heard
the Messenger of God (SAAS) say, on the occasion when his men had fled
in defeat away from him, some of them going as far as the sandy hillock below
al-A'was, while Wthrnm h. 'Affiin and Sa'd b. Wthman, one of the aviir, had
fled and reached al-Jal'ab, a mountain near Medina, adjoining al-Acwas. They
stayed three nights there, then returned. They claim that the Messenger of God
(SAAS) told them, 'You went there by chance."'
All this shows that at Uhud some of the same things happened as at Badr. One
such is the occurrence of the nu'as, the lassitude, amidst the warfare. This is an
indication of their security of mind in God's help, and the totality of their
reliance upon their Creator and Exculpator.
Comment has been previously made concerning the words of God Almighty
concerning the expedition to Badr: "When He made lassitude overcome you as
a security from Him" (sfirat al-Anfal; VIII, v.11). Regarding Uhud, He stated,
"Then He sent down upon you, after sorrow, a sense of security, a lassitude
overcoming a group of you" (siirat 21-'Imr~n; 111, v.153). The reference here is
to the perfect Muslims. As Ibn Mascad and others of the early authorities stated,
"Lassitude in war stems from faith, while lassitude in prayer stems from
hypocrisy. This is why God stated thereafter, 'another group had been made
anxious by themselves'" (siirat al-Anfal; VIII, v.11). And another similarity is
that the Messenger of God (SAAS) appealed for help at Uhud as he had at Badr,
saying, "If it is Your wish, You will no longer be worshipped on earth."
As Im%n Ahmad stated, "'Ahd al-Samad and 'Affm both related to us, as
follows, 'Hammad related to us, quoting Thahit, from Anas, that the Messenger
of God (SAAS) said at the battle of Uhud, "0 God, if it is Your wish, YOU will
no longer be worshipped on earth.""'
Muslim rela~ed it from Hajjiij h. alShacir, from 'Abd al-Samad, from
Hammad h. Salama.
Al-Bukhzri stated that 'Abd Alliih h. Muhammad related to him, quoting
Sufyiin, from 'Amr, who heard Jiibir h. 'Abd All& say, "At the battle of Uhud
a man said to the Prophet (SAAS) 'If I am killed, where will I then he?' 'In
heaven,' he replied. Thereupon the man threw the dates out of his hand and
fought until he was killed."
Muslim and al-NasPi related this from a hadith of Sufyzn b. 'Uyayna.
And this is similar to the story of Wmayr b. al-Humam, which is given
above relating to the expedition to Badr. May God be pleased with both these
authorities.