The Prophet, however, was not dead. He was not a man to be shaken by defeat, or to give up when death looked him in the face. He was the example for all believers in all generations. His courage was never in doubt. He stood firm, shouting to his Companions: "Come to me, you who worship God; come back to me; I am God's Messenger."
He even shouted to certain people, calling them by name. Most of his Companions, however, did not even hear him as he shouted to them. A handful of them, not more than ten according to the highest estimates, remained steadfast with him, and gave him their pledges to fight with him until death.
They moved to a position which afforded them a little protection and fought most determinedly.
Aiming to Kill the Prophet
It was mentioned earlier that the Quraish aimed, if war broke out, to try to kill as many of the leading Muslim figures as possible. Now it went for the highest prize of all: Muhammad himself.
A determined attack was launched with the single aim of killing the Prophet. The Quraish realized that the Muslims would not be able to survive if they were to be deprived of the guidance the Prophet provided.
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The Prophet stood firm, with a handful of his Companions exerting every effort to defend him, and ready to die in order to protect him.
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Their sense of nationhood was not yet strong enough to weather such a storm as the killing of the Prophet would bring about. Thus, by attacking the Prophet personally, the Quraish indeed went for the one aim which would be the realization of all it had been hoping for.
The Prophet himself stood firm, with a handful of his Companions exerting every effort to defend him and ready to die in order to protect him.
The best show in this defense was put up by one of the Muhajirin called Talhah ibn Ubaid Allah. He was only 15 or 16 years old when he adopted Islam in the very first week of the Prophet receiving God's revelation. Now a man of 30, he was continuing his unblemished record of devoted service to the cause of Islam.
At Uhud, he surpassed himself. He fought as hard and as determinedly as anyone could imagine. He carried his sword and dashed here and there in front of the Prophet, or behind him, or to his left, or to his right, beating off whatever danger was approaching.
He walked round the Prophet, making his own body a shield, protecting the Prophet from the swords and spears of his attackers. He continued to do so until the Quraish attack was beaten off.
Indeed, no one was as effective as Talhah in protecting the Prophet that day. For this reason the Prophet praised him and said: "Talhah has made it a must." What the Prophet meant was that Talhah had made it inevitable that God would admit him to heaven because of his determined defense of the Prophet.
The Muslims recognized the role played by Talhah in Uhud and that he alone did the work of a whole unit. Abu Bakr himself, the Prophet's closest Companion and one of those who stood firm when the Muslims were badly shaken, used to say of the Battle of Uhud: "That day belonged totally to Talhah."
Shammas ibn Uthman of the Makhzum clan of the Quraish was another man who defended the Prophet well. Every time the Prophet looked right or left, he found Shammas fighting in that direction.
Apparently the attackers came very close to the Prophet, so that a few of his defenders had to shield him with their own bodies.
One of those was Shammas, who dug his feet into the ground as he shielded the Prophet, until he was killed. The Prophet said: "I have never seen the like of Shammas except in heaven."
Abu Dujanah, who was seen earlier taking the Prophet's sword "for its proper value" was "to fight the enemy with it until it was bent". He was one of those who shielded the Prophet with their own bodies.
This action is credited to only three of the Prophet's Companions: Talhah, Shammas, and Abu Dujanah. The last of the three received numerous hits with arrows on his back as he bent his body over the Prophet to protect him.
Other Companions of the Prophet tried to repel the attack by fighting extremely hard. Two of them were among the best marksmen with arrows.
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"I would rather receive the arrow aimed at you in my own neck or face."
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One of them, Abu Talhah, a man from the Ansar, put down all his arrows in front of the Prophet and used them one by one. When the Prophet saw any of his Companions with a bag of arrows, he would ask him to give it to Abu Talhah. The Prophet followed every arrow Abu Talhah threw to see whom it hit.
Abu Talhah used to say to him: "Prophet, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Do not look lest one of their arrows hit you. I would rather receive the arrow aimed at you in my own neck or face."
Saad ibn Abi Waqqas was perhaps the best marksman among the Muhajirin. He also remained steadfast with the Prophet, trying to repel the attackers with his arrows. The Prophet himself handed him the arrows, and every time he did so he said to him: "Throw it, Saad, let my father and mother be your ransom." He would even give him an arrow without a head and Saad would use it.
This expression of sacrificing one's parents for another person was a common expression used by the Arabs. It was not meant literally, but it signified a great degree of love and devotion. The Prophet did not use that expression with anyone except Saad ibn Abi Waqqas, who was related to the Prophet's own mother.
Indeed, the Prophet used to take pride in Saad and say: "This is my uncle, let everyone show me his uncle." It should be mentioned that Saad was more than 20 years younger than the Prophet.
In Defense of the Prophet
One cannot truly appreciate the strength of the attack mounted by the Quraish against the Prophet himself unless one realizes what sort of fight his Companions had to put up in his defense.
A woman, Nusaibah bint Kaab of the Ansar, went out with the Muslim army carrying water to give the soldiers a drink. When she realized that the Prophet was being attacked so determinedly and that most of the Muslims were in a state of total confusion, she put down her water and took up a sword. Tying her dress up around her waist, she fought harder than any man and received at least thirteen wounds.
One of them, in her shoulder, was so deep that it would never heal. It was inflicted by a man called Ibn Qamiah, who tried hard to be the one who killed the Prophet. The Prophet said of her: "I saw her defending me every time I looked right or left."
Al-Hubab ibn Al-Mundhir also stood like a rock as he fought off a full unit of the Quraish. Eventually, they overwhelmed him, and those who witnessed this felt that he could never come out alive. However, he managed to fight his way out before taking the role of the attacker. Those fighting him were soon fleeing.
