Mouood Mouood English Edition
The Prophet emigrated towards Medina at the same night accompanied by Abu-Bakr.
This event made an epoch in the history of Islam and it was fixed as the Islamic date by the second caliph ‘Umar (The Hijrah).
Imam ‘Ali (as) after managing the Prophet’s home affairs decided to migrate to Medina with Muhammad’s household and other companions of the Prophet, who gave up their concerns and gradually set out to join the Prophet (S).
Following troubles and oppressions that were imposed on the Prophet in Mecca, the idolaters would incite the Jews and the nomads about Medina to kill and pillage the animals and the properties of the Muslims.
Several encounters took place in order to create disorder about Medina but the doers were chased by the companions of the Prophet and they fled away to the mountains and sheltered into the caves until the second year of Hijrah when the great men of Mecca decided to uproot the new ordinance and the believers totally.
The Battle of Badr
Now a well-appointed army including nine hundred and fifty men of experienced warriors made preparations to fight the Prophet. Among them were many of the most obstinate enemies of Islam who were of Muhammad’s (S) cousins.
The Prophet was not ready for such a war. He sent them a message saying: “We have descended from one family and most of you are my paternal uncles and cousins. Leave me alone to encounter the Arabs. It will be your credit if I gain victory against them, but if I fail you will obtain your desire”. He received no answer except a warlike reply and the Muslims were finally involved in the war.
Although the Prophet’s army consisted of three hundred and thirteen men but they were more powerful than one thousand persons because of their faith in God and steadfastness in belief. These men of iron came before the enemy.
Three men of the most revengeful enemies of Islam; Utbah, his son Shaybah and his brother Waleed made an inroad, boasting about their riches and chieftaincy. They challenged three fighters of their rank because it would not fit them to fight common fighters as they thought.
‘Ali (as), his uncle Hamzah and his cousin Ubaydah confronted them.‘Ali (as) encountered Waleed and inflicted a blow on his shoulder so that as the sword came out of his armpit and he ran away towards his father Utbah to seek refuge. ‘Ali (as) chased him and, by another stroke on his thigh, killed him.
Then he went to help his uncle Hamzah, who was facing Shaybah. They had crossed swords with each other for some time to that extent that their swords broke and had started to grapple and punch each other.
Hamzah was a strapping man so that his enemy was not seen behind his back.
‘Ali (as) said: “Mind your head, uncle”. He immediately threw the enemy (Shaybah) down on the ground by a dint of his sword.
Utbah and Ubaydah both were brave and dauntless. When they were crossing swords with one another and the quarrel was still raging when Utbah was killed by a sudden attack but Ubaydah’s leg was seriously injured. He died on his way back to Medina.
At last the two armies attacked each other by swords. High morale and spirit of self-sacrifice were seen among the Muslim so that when the dazzling and lightening of the swords finished, the killed warriors of the enemy were seventy. The history mentioned that half of them were killed by‘Ali’s sword.
The enemy fled away from the field and seventy persons were taken as captives by the Islamic army.
Although the Muslims won the battle but the fate would be different if ‘Ali (as) had not come to the field.
Most of the captives knew reading and writing. The Prophet’s ordered to set free any captive, who would teach ten Muslims how to write and read.
Fraternization among the Muslims
The Holy Qur’an says:
“The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brothers and be careful of (your duty to) Allah that mercy may be had on you.”(49:10).
Therefore the Prophet (S) directed the believers to brotherly, two by two, in an agreement of fraternization. The Prophet (S) fraternized between every two Muslims except ‘Ali, who remained alone. He became depressed for that.
The Prophet said to him: “You are but my own brother and you are to me as Aaron was to Moses, but no Prophet will come after me”. This is mentioned by many historians.3
This reliable tradition was an essential argument of the Shia to prove the immediate succession of Imam ‘Ali (as) after the Prophet’s death.
In the second year of Hijrah Imam ‘Ali (as) got married to Fatima, the only daughter of the Prophet. She, because of her steady belief in God, her chastity and her virtuousness was unique among all classes of people.
The Prophet (S) had a great respect for her. She was requested to give her hand for marriage by some men of importance but Muhammad would not accede to their requests. In reply to the suitors, he used to say: “I am waiting for a call from the Heaven in regard to her marriage”.
Eventually this glory was won by ‘Ali (as).
The Battle of Uhud
In the third year of Hijrah, the battle of Uhud took place. Many encounters happened after the battle of Badr and the Muslims drove the enemy back.
But the clan of Quraysh was always planning to take vengeance on Muhammad (S), therefore an army of five thousand strong warriors headed by Abu-Sufyan left Mecca to attack Medina.
The Prophet’s army in consultation with the companions flew to arms and came out of Medina.
The two armies met near Uhud Mountain six kilometers far away from the city.
The bearer of the idolaters’ banner was a brave man named Talhah ibn Abu-Talhah, who was continuously challenging. ‘Ali (as) came forward and as soon as Talhah saw Imam ‘Ali he said: “Nobody else had courage to fight me except you”.
The historians mentioned that ‘Ali had killed him in the turning of a hand and then his brother lifted the banner and was killed by ‘Ali too. Some other fighters of the same family were killed one by one and finally a huge slave with the intent of avenging his owners challenged. The historians mentioned that ‘Ali (as) had divided him into two halves by the first strike of his sword as his body was still standing on the ground for a few moments.
The enemy, struck with terror, fled away from the field but suddenly an accident drew their attention.
A good few of the Muslims, about fifty persons, were keeping watch on a hilly narrow pass where the enemy might cross the hill and attack from behind the Muslims’ back.
In spite of the Prophet’s recommendations, they left the place to collect spoils when the enemy was running away.
Suddenly they saw that the place was without guardians and then the enemy seized the opportunity and passed along the mountain and made an attack upon the Muslims at the rear. In the meantime somebody cried loudly: “Muhammad was killed”.
Soon after spreading this dreadful rumor the Muslims became struck with terror and drew swords among themselves. They left Muhammad (S) alone and ran away to the mountains except four or six persons, who remained to defend him.
Some of the Sunni historians mentioned: “All of the Prophet’s army, even the great companions, escaped except ‘Ali (as), Al-Zubayr, Talhah and Abu-Dajanah.
‘Ali’s sword was broken because of the sternness of the war. It was said that the sword named Thu’l-Fiqaar was put in his hand by an angel from the invisible world and then an unknown voice proclaimed: “There is no manly youth except ‘Ali and there is no sword like Thu’l-Fiqaar”.4 One of the great fighters of Islam named Hamzah the Prophet’s uncle was killed in this war. This bereavement left a deep impression on the Prophet’s heart.
At last the Muslims were defeated in this battle but the enemy did not continue the war and left for Mecca without occupying the supportless Medina.
It was said that ‘Ali (as) had received ninety sword cuts in this field and in spite of the much tiredness he did not stop his support to the Prophet (S) for an instant.
In the meanwhile Gabriel came down from the Heaven and said to Muhammad: “Look there, how ‘Ali (as) fights in high spirit of sacrifice”. The Prophet answered: “‘Ali (as) is from me and I am from him”. (We both have been brought into existence from the same (one) nature.)
This tradition was mentioned by many Sunni scholars.5
