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Many geographical sights were scenes of important
historic events. The mountains in the area of Al-Madinah
Al-Munawwarah witnessed significant events in Islamic history.
Among these mountains isMount Uhud, which was the scene of the famous Battle of Uhud.
Mount Uhud is located 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) north of Madinah. Uhud has an
attractive look. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
felt relieved on seeing it, and the people of Madinah also loved
it very much.
Mount Uhud extends from east to west with a slight slope towards the north.
It is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in length and from 2 to 3
kilometers (1.2 to 1.9 miles) in breadth. Most of its stones are
of red granite, and some parts of it are almost dark green and
black. It contains some natural cavities (called maharis) where
rain water is collected. The rain water remains throughout the
year, for these cavities are not exposed to the rays of the sun.
Close to MountUhudthere are some small mounts, like Thawr and `Aynayn.
MountThawris located northwest of Uhud, while `Aynayn is situated to its
southwest.
In 3 A.H. Mount Uhud was the scene of the famous
Battle of Uhud. The battlefield was the space between the
southwestern base of MountUhud and Mount `Aynayn Mount, a distance of about 1 kilometer (0.6
miles).
Mount Uhud is also called the Archers’ Mount because it was the field where
the steadfast archers in the Battle of Uhud were killed. The
people of the Quraysh, upset at their defeat in the Battle of Badr
in 2 A.H., wanted to avenge their dead. In coalition with some
other tribes, they gathered a large force to attack the Muslims in
Madinah. They positioned themselves near the hills of Uhud.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
marched out with the Muslims to confront them. The Prophet (peace
and blessings be upon him) took up his position below the hill. He
(peace and blessings be upon him) arrayed the army in fighting
formations, and fifty archers were posted on Mount `Aynayn under
the leadership of `Abdullah ibn Jubayr to guard the army from any
attack from the rear. They had strict orders not to leave their
post, whatever the outcome of the battle.
The two armies engaged in fighting. The Muslims
seemed to have won victory over the Makkans, who fell back in
disorder after paying a heavy toll. The Muslims started gathering
the booty. Thinking that the fight was over, the majority of the
Muslim archers left their posts to gather the spoils, disregarding
the orders of their leader to stay in their positions.
On seeing the archers leaving their posts, Khalid
ibn Al-Walid, who had not yet embraced Islam, seized the
opportunity and gathered a group of the Quraysh fighters, killed
the rest of the archers, and launched a furious attack from the
rear. The Muslims were taken so much by surprise that they did not
know what to do. In the general melee their ranks got
disorganized. Seventy of the Prophet’s Companions, including
Hamza ibn `Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle (may Allah be
pleased with them), were killed.
After the battle was over, the martyrs were buried
in the field of the battle. The Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) would visit their graves and pray for them.
The Muslims have followed in the footsteps of the
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in that regard.
Mount Uhud had a special place in the heart of the Prophet (peace and
blessings be upon him). There were many hadiths reported regarding
that.
`Abbas ibn Sahl reported from Abu Humayd who said:
We went out along with Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be
upon him) in the expedition of Tabuk. We proceeded until we
reached the Valley of Al-Qura and Allah’s Messenger (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “I am going forth, so he among you
who wants to move fast with me may do so; and he who likes to go
slowly may do so.” We proceeded until Madinah was within our
sight, and he said, “This is Uhud, the mountain which loves us
and which we love.”
Qatadah reported from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be
pleased with him) who said: Allah’s Messenger (peace and
blessings be upon him) said, “Uhud is a mountain which loves us
and which we love.”
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