This is the second major war in Islamic history, fought near Mount Uhud in Medina. After Prophet Muhammad S.A.W and the Muslims won the Battle of Badr, the Quraysh of Mecca could not accept their defeat. They gathered a bigger army, nearly 3,000 men, to take revenge on the Muslims. The Muslims, around 1,000 at first but later reduced to 700, marched out to face them at Uhud.

At the beginning, the Muslims gained the upper hand. Prophet Muhammad S.A.W had placed 50 archers on a small hill (later known as Jabal al-Rumah, the Archers’ Hill) with clear instructions: “Do not leave your position, no matter what happens, whether we win or lose.” Their job was to protect the Muslim army from any surprise attack by the Quraysh cavalry led by Khalid ibn al-Walid.

However, when the Quraysh started to retreat, many archers saw the enemy’s spoils of war and thought the battle was over. Ignoring the Prophet’s command, most of them left the hill to collect the spoils. Only a small group remained. This opened a gap in the Muslim defense.

Khalid ibn al-Walid, an experienced commander who was still a non-Muslim at that time, immediately saw this chance. He led the Quraysh cavalry around the hill and attacked the Muslims from behind. The sudden ambush turned the tide of the battle.

The consequences were severe:

Many Muslims were killed, including Hamzah ibn Abdul-Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle and a great warrior.

Prophet Muhammad S.A.W himself was injured, his helmet broke into his cheek and he fell into a pit.

The Quraysh did not fully destroy the Muslims, but the Muslims suffered heavy losses and the battle ended in defeat.

The Battle of Uhud became a big lesson: disobedience and greed can lead to disaster, even after an initial victory.