Battle of Uhud

Battle of Uhud
	Part of the Muslim-Quraysh Wars
Date	23 March 627
Location	The valley that is located in front of the mountain of Uhud, and it is located about 5 miles (8 km) from Medina
Result	Draw/Stalemate
Belligerents
Muslims	Quraysh-led coalition
Commanders and leaders
Muhammad; Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib †	Abu Sufyan; Khalid ibn al-Walid; Ikrimah ibn Abi-Jahl
Strength
700-1000 infantry,; 2-4 cavalry ,50 Archers	3,000 infantry,; 200 cavalry3000 Camels
Casualties and losses
62-75	22-35

The Battle of Uhud (Arabic: غزوة أحد) was fought on 23 March 625 (7 Shawwal 3 AH of the Islamic calendar) at Mount Uhud, in what is now north-western Saudi Arabia.^[1] It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by Prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan from Mecca, the town from which many of the Muslims had previously emigrated (hijra). The Battle of Uhud was the second military encounter between the Meccans and the Muslims, after the Battle of Badr in 624, where a small Muslim army had defeated the larger Meccan army.

For the Muslims, the battle was a big setback.

Background

Prophet Muhammad had preached the religion of Islam in Mecca from 613 to 622. He had attracted a small community of followers, but also had opposition from the rest of the Quraysh, the clan that ruled Mecca and to which he belonged. The Muslims fled Mecca in 622 after years of persecution and established themselves at Medina (formerly known as Yathrib). They considered themselves to be in a state of war with Mecca and raided Meccan caravans that had Muslim belongings left in Mecca. The Meccans sent out a small army to punish the Muslims and stop their raiding. At the Battle of Badr in 624, a small Muslim force had defeated the much larger Meccan army.^[2]

Many Muslims considered this battle's victory a proof that they had been favored by God (Arabic: Allah), and believed they were assured such victories in the future.^[3]

Battle

Quraysh soldiers met the Muslims at Uhud. Abu Sufyan and his Army flanked the Muslims, 'Amr ibn al-'As was leading the Muslim Cavalry then he fought against them, Muslim archers threw rocks at the Quraysh, they were forced to go back. The person who holds the Quraysh Flag was charging and he fought Ali ibn Abi Talib and then he was hit in the shoulder. Then Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib came in and fought many people.^[4]

Bibliography

Books and journals

Firestone, Rueven (1999). Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-512580-0.
I. Ishaq and A. Guillaume (October 2002). The Life of Muhammad. Oxford University Press, USA; New Impression edition. ISBN 0-19-636033-1.
Nafziger, George F.; Walton, Mark W. (2003). Islam at War: a history. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-98101-0.
Peters, F.E (1994). Muhammad and the Origins of Islam. Albany: SUNY Press. ISBN 0-7914-1875-8.
Watt, M Montgomery (1964). Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-881078-4.
Watt, M Montgomery (1981). Muhammad at Medina. Oxford Univ Pr; New Ed edition. ISBN 0-19-577307-1.

Encyclopedias

Robinson, C. F. "Uhud". In P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Islam Online. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 1573-3912.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)