Back to search

Were the Muslims defeated in the Battle of Uhud and did the disbelievers celebrate victory, as Al-Buti mentioned in "Fiqh Al-Sirah," or is there another view?

2 min readAlso available in العربية

The Battle of Uhud took place in Shawwal of the third year of the Hijra, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, set out with three thousand fighters. Then, one third of the army returned with Abdullah ibn Ubayy. The Muslims encamped with their backs to the mountain, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, placed fifty archers under the command of Abdullah ibn Jubayr on the mountain to protect the Muslims' rear, ordering them to stand firm in their positions whether victory was theirs or against them.

The battle began with the Muslims' victory and the polytheists' defeat, and the Muslims started collecting the spoils of war. At that point, most of the archers disobeyed the Prophet's command and left their positions to join the Muslims and gather spoils. Only their leader and a small group remained. Khalid ibn al-Walid (one of the polytheist leaders at the time) exploited the mountain's emptiness of archers, circumvented the remaining archers, and they were martyred. The Muslims were surprised by the attack from behind, their ranks scattered, some were martyred, and many retreated. Only seven Ansar and two men from Quraysh remained with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.

After that, some companions returned to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and resumed fighting until the polytheists retreated. As Abu Sufyan was departing, he shouted: "War is a give and take, a day for a day of Badr, Exalt Hubal!" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, then ordered Umar to respond to him: "Allah is higher and mightier, they are not equal; our dead are in Paradise, and your dead are in Hellfire."

What befell the Muslims was due to the archers' disobedience of the Prophet's command. And Allah has great wisdom in this, such as testing the Muslims and taking martyrs from among them. Allah forgave the Muslims, as He says: "Indeed, those who turned their backs among you on the day the two armies met - it was Satan who caused them to slip because of some [evil] they had earned. But Allah has certainly forgiven them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy