Al-Baiẓāwī, the commentator, says 3,000 angels fought for the Muslims on the battle-field of Badr.
Muḥammad was received in triumph at al-Madīnah, but his joy was interrupted by the death of his daughter Ruqaiyah, the divorced wife of ʿUtbah ibn Lahab, but who had been afterwards married to Us̤mān ibn ʿAffān. On his return to al-Madīnah (A.H. 3), Muḥammad found his position much strengthened, and from this time the Qurʾān assumes a rude dictatorial tone. He who at one time only spoke as a searcher after truth, now demands unhesitating obedience from the whole country of Arabia.
The Jews, however, were still unimpressed and were slow to acknowledge Muḥammad, although he claimed to be but the teacher of the creed of Abraham. Muḥammad sought but a plausible excuse for a rupture with the sons of Israel, and an opportunity soon presented itself. A Muslim girl was insulted by a youth of a Jewish tribe, and, taking advantage of the circumstance, the whole tribe was attacked, proscribed, and banished. Their houses and lands were confiscated and divided amongst the Faithful. In the course of the same year, Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf, a Jew, was assassinated because he annoyed the Muslims with his verses. About this time, Muḥammad married his fourth wife, Ḥafṣah, the daughter of ʿUmar the celebrated K͟halīfah. In the early part of the year, al-Ḥasan, the son of Fāt̤imah and ʿAlī, was born.
The tidings of the defeat at Badr aroused the bitterest feelings of the Quraish. They advanced upon al-Madīnah 3,000 strong. In ten days the Makkan army reached Ẕū ʾl-ḥalfah, four miles south of al-Madīnah, and then moving northwards, they encamped at Uḥud, an isolated mountain three miles north-east of the city. Muḥammad, clad in armour, led out his army of 1,000 men, and halted for the night; and at early dawn advanced on Uḥud. He was soon abandoned by ʿAbdu ʾllāh, the chief of the Hypocrites [[MUNAFIQUN]] with 300 of his followers.
K͟hālid ibn al-Walīd, a name afterwards famous in Muslim history, commanding the right wing of the Quraish, attacked the Muslims, and raised the cry, “Muḥammad is slain!” The confusion of the Faithful was great, and defied all the efforts of Muḥammad to rally them. The Prophet himself was wounded in the face by two arrows. The Muslims were completely defeated, but the retreat was ably conducted by Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and ʿUs̤mān, and the victorious Quraish did not attempt a pursuit.
Abū ʾl-Fidāʾ gives the following quaint account of the battle:—
“When the two armies engaged and approached each other, Hind, daughter of ʿUtbāh, the wife of Abū Sufyān, arose with the women that were with her, and they beat upon the tabors as they followed the men to battle. And Hind said, ‘Well done, ye sons of ʿAbdu ʾd-Dār, well done! Strike ye with every weapon ye possess.’ And Ḥamzah, the Prophet’s uncle, fought most valiantly that day; and he slew Artah, the standard-bearer of the unbelievers.”
“And Abū Kamiyah, the Lais̤ite slew Muṣʿab, the standard-bearer of the Muslims, and when Muṣʿab was slain, the Prophet gave the standard of Islām to ʿAlī, the son of Abū T̤ālib. Now, the archers were too eager for the spoil, and they left the position in which Muḥammad had posted them. And K͟hālid, the leader of the unbelievers, came with the cavalry to the rear of the Muslims, and raised a cry that Muḥammad was slain. So the Muslims were overcome by the unbelievers, and the Quraish gained the victory. The number of martyrs in the cause of Islām who fell at Uḥud was seventy. The number of the slain amongst the unbelievers was twenty-two. The enemy even struck Muḥammad. Their stones hit him and he fell. His foreteeth were struck out, and he was wounded in the face. Two nails of the helmet entered the face of Muḥammad. And Abū ʿUbaidah pulled one of the nails out of his face and one tooth dropped out; and he pulled out another nail and another tooth dropped out. And when Abū ʿUbaidah was taking out the teeth, Sunān Abū Saʿīd sucked the blood from Muḥammad’s face and swallowed it. Upon which the Prophet said, ‘Whosoever toucheth my blood, him shall the fire of hell never touch.’
“Then Hind and her companions fell on the Muslims who were slain, and cut off their noses and their ears. And Hind cut a slice from Ḥamzah’s liver and ate it. Then Abū Sufyān, the husband of Hind, stuck his spear into Ḥamzah’s body, and cried with a loud voice, ‘The fortunes of war are uncertain! The day of Uḥud for the day of Badr! Let the idol of Hubal be exalted!’ Then Muḥammad sought for the body of his uncle, and he found it lying on the ground with the belly ripped open and the ears and nose cut off. And the Prophet said, ‘God hath revealed to me concerning the Quraish. Verily, retaliation shall be made on thirty of them for the death of Ḥamzah, and verily Ḥamzah is now in the seventh heaven.’ Then Muḥammad prayed for Ḥamzah, and went to each of the bodies of the slain and prayed for them. Some of the Muslims wanted to carry their dead to al-Madīnah, but the Prophet said, ‘Bury them where they fell.’ ”
There is an allusion to the defeat at Uḥud in the third Sūrah of the Qurʾān: “What befell you when the two armies met by God’s permission. Count not those who are killed in the way of God as dead. They are living with their Lord.”