Love naturally results in sacrifice, service, and kind treatment. The lover is prepared to forgo any type of comfort so that the beloved remains happy.
But where, in the history of love; will you find personalities that were ready to lay their necks down on the line and sacrifice their lives for the sake of their beloved?
Even in the midst of battle the Sahaabah’s (رضي الله عنهم) concern was not their own selves. It was only, and always, their beloved – Muhammadﷺ.
Perhaps their love had turned into an anesthetic that lessened the feeling of pain. Perhaps in their deep love for him they didn’t perceive pain.
Read about these selfless soldiers who were present at the battle of Uhud…
During the battle of Uhud, Rasūlullāh attempted to ascend a peak of the mountain but due to his weakness and the weight of his double armor he was unable to. At this point Talha (رضي الله عنه) placed himself in submission before Rasūlullāhﷺ. Thus Rasūlullāhﷺ managed to climb up by placing his foot on the body of Talha.
Aa'ishah (رضي الله عنها) narrates that whenever Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) would mention the battle of Uhud he would say: “Every credit for that day goes to Talha (رضي الله عنه).”
On that day more than seventy wounds were counted on his body from spears, arrows and swords. Qays bin Haazim says: “I saw the hand of Talha (رضي الله عنه) that he used as a shield in defending Rasūlullāhﷺ on the day of Uhud. His hand was completely paralyzed.”
Abu Dujaanah (رضي الله عنه) positioned himself behind Rasūlullāhﷺ shielding Rasūlullāh’s back with his own. Multitudes of arrows were hurled into his back until eventually, his back was filled with arrows. Still, he did not move an inch, for fear of an arrow wounding Rasūlullāhﷺ.
On the day of Uhud he stood right in front of Rasūlullāh'sﷺ face and directed his own face towards the enemy as he had no shield which he could make use of. Whenever an arrow headed for the face of Rasūlullāhﷺ he turned his face in its direction so that it would not reach the blessed face of Rasūlullāhﷺ. One of the last arrows that had been launched from the enemy had landed with such force on the face of Qataadah (رضي الله عنه) that it caused his eyeball to pop out. Holding it in the palm of his hand he turned towards Rasūlullāhﷺ. At the sight of this, tears welled up in the eyes of Rasūlullāhﷺ and he supplicated saying: “Oh Allāh, just as Qataadah protected the face of your Nabī, protect his face and restore his eye to a condition better and sharper than what it was.” He then took the eyeball and placed it into its socket. Qataadah (رضي الله عنه) said that his eyesight was restored immediately and it happened to be in a better condition than before.
Anas’ (رضي الله عنه) step father – Abu Talha (رضي الله عنه) was a master archer and had broken two or three bows on the day of Uhud. He was protecting Rasūlullāhﷺ with a shield and whenever Nabīﷺ intended to stick out his head in order to check on the people, Abu Talha (رضي الله عنه) would exclaim: “May my parents be sacrificed for you, Oh Rasūlullāh! Do not stick your head out, for an arrow of the enemy may strike you. Rather my chest than yours.”
Nusaybah bint Ka'b, better known as Umm Ammaarah; was a female warrior who set out at the beginning of the day to check on the condition of the Muslims at Uhud. When the Muslims were attacked and started losing battle she entered the battlefield with a sword and openly began fighting in order to defend Rasūlullāhﷺ. In trying to fend off the Mushrikeen, she sustained many wounds but successfully killed a horseman. Hence Umm Ammaarah (رضي الله عنها) received words of appreciation from Nabīﷺ who said: “Whether it was to the right or to the left, in whichever direction I turned I saw her fighting in my defense.”
Allāhu Akbar! What love! What love! The Sahaabah were ready to sacrifice their own lives for the life of Rasūlullāhﷺ. Such ranks, we will never be able to attain. However we need to do some introspection and pondering. How much of our comforts are we prepared to sacrifice for the Sunnah to remain alive today? How much of the Sunnah are we shielding during these times when it is being murdered? How much of effort are we making to guard the Sunnah of Nabīﷺ, the legacy that he left behind after much battle and toil made by the Sahaabah (رضي الله عنهم) and him altogether?
قال رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم): من تمسّك بسنّتي عند فساد أُمَّتي فله اجر مئة شهيد
Rasūlullāhﷺ said: “Whoever holds firmly onto my Sunnah at the time of corruption of my Ummah, for him will be the reward of one hundred martyrs.”
