Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 67
dispersed, believing they had won. There was no
resistance to this attack by the enemy. Only the
Prophet sa with a handful of guards stood against the
entire enemy and all of them fell down fighting."
"If this is true," said Anas ra , "what use is sitting here
and crying? Where our beloved Master has gone, there
must we go too."
Anas ra had the last date in his hand. This he was
about to put in his mouth but, instead, he threw it away
saying, "O date, except thee, is there anything which
stands between Anas ra and Paradise?"
Saying this, he unsheathed his sword and flung
himself into the enemy forces, one against three
thousand. He could not do much, but one believing
spirit is superior to many. Fighting valiantly, Anas ra at
last fell wounded, but he continued to fight. Upon this
the enemy horde sprang barbarously upon him. It is
said that when the battle was over, and the dead were
identified, Anas's ra body could not be identified. It had
been cut into seventy pieces. At last a sister of Anas ra
identifying it by a mutilated finger said, "This is my
brother's body" (Bukhari).
Those Muslims who made a ring round the Prophet sa
but were driven back, ran forward again as soon as they
saw the enemy withdrawing. They lifted the Prophet's sa
body from among the dead. Abu ‘Ubaida bin al-Jarrah ra
caught between his teeth the rings which had sunk into
the Prophet's sa cheeks and pulled them out, losing two
teeth in the attempt.
After a little while, the Prophet sa returned to
consciousness. The guards who surrounded him sent
out messengers to tell Muslims to assemble again. A
disrupted force began to assemble. They escorted the
Prophet sa to the foot of the hill. Abu Sufyan ra , the enemy
commander, seeing these Muslim remnants, cried aloud,
"We have killed Muhammad sa ." The Prophet sa heard the
boastful cry but forbade the Muslims to answer, lest the
enemy should know the truth and attack again and the
exhausted and badly-wounded Muslims should have