Shortly afterwards, Mohammad also espoused the widow of Ubaidah, the martyr of Badr. She was a woman whose charity was inexhaustible and earned the surname of "Ummu'l-Masakin," (the Mother of the Poor).
THE BATTLE OF UHUD
(Year III of the Hegira, A.D. 625)
The inhabitants of Makkah could not console themselves for the defeat at Badr. The future seemed to them black indeed. Their caravans dared not venture on the Syrian road, blocked by the Prophet's bold stroke. Ruin and famine were inevitable at an early date. To guard against such impending disaster, they decided to devote the large profits made by their great caravan to arming an expedition which would avenge their dead and grant them commercial security. Allured by offers of money, numerous Bedouins of the vicinity came forward to proffer assistance. Already worked up by the inflammatory satires of the poets Kab ibn Ashraf and Abu Uzd, these tribesmen, called "Habash," or Confederates, were enrolled in the ranks of the army raised by Abu Sufyan.
At the head of these troops, three thousand strong, were Safunah and Ikrimah, sons of Ibn-i-Khalaf and Abu Jahal, two of the mighty dead of Badr, and Khalid ibn Walid, the unconquerable soldier. The women's thirst for revenge was equally ardent; and Hind, the wife of Abu Sufyan, bore along behind her a horde of her companions resolved to stop any warrior who might be tempted to run away.
In the fertile plains, north of Al-Madinah, the fellahs were peacefully engaged in their work of agriculture, or watching over their grazing flocks, when all of a sudden, the soldiers of Abu Sufyan, who had taken the greatest precautions to hide their rapid advance, debouched from the ravines of the western mountains. All resistance being impossible, the ill-fated peasants fled in great haste to escape being massacred, and to warn their fellow-citizens of the invasion of Allah's enemies.
From the top of their ramparts, the dwellers in Al-Madinah looked down on a sight that made their agriculturists' hearts bleed. Like a swarm of gigantic locusts, the camels of the idolatrous army ravaged the verdant meadows, whilst horsemen slaughtered cattle and, madly rushing, the riders trampled down and scattered the golden harvest, with all the disdain of traders for the work of husbandmen.
In the face of this havoc wrought before their eyes, the Faithful found themselves in a state of most irritating powerlessness. The plain afforded commodious space for the man[oe]uvres of their enemies' countless cavalry, and the Believers had no mounted men to put in the field.... Their sole resource was the wisdom of Allah's Apostle; so, ready for any sacrifice, they gathered round him.
Now Mohammad had dreamed that he saw his sword-blade notched; his foes slaughtering his flocks, whilst a breastplate was close to his hand. The Prophet told his followers of his dream and explained what it signified. 'The notched blade means that I shall be wounded. The slaughtered flocks show that a great number of my disciples will die; and the breastplate near me symbolizes the ramparts of Al-Madinah which alone can save us from disaster. Let us shut ourselves up in the city and we shall have nothing to fear from our adversaries. Should they attack, they can easily be repulsed and made to suffer cruel losses; and if they fall back without attacking, they will be crushed in their retreat by the shame of not having dared to fight us.'
Such had always been the tactics of the people of Al-Madinah from time immemorial; but their quality of Mussulmans and their victory at the battle of Badr had changed all their ideas. Thinking that they were now and for ever invincible, they no longer had the patience to remain impassible while their gardens were laid waste. Furthermore, those who had not fought at Badr were burning with desire to show that they too were full of courage. The worst that could befall them was martyrdom to which they sincerely aspired.
Abdullah ibn Abi Salul, chief of the "Hypocrites," was alone opposed to an advance. For once in a way, the Prophet agreed with him. Nevertheless, in the face of the unanimity and the enthusiasm of the true Believers, Mohammad considered that he ought to give way, and resolved to order the march out that he disapproved in his foresight. After having recited the afternoon prayer, Asr, he went back into his house to buckle on his armour.