Why Bad Things Happen to Muslims?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

When we asked, "Why bad things happen to Muslims?", remember what happened to the Muslims in the Battle of Uhud.

When the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, mobilized his army for the Battle of Uhud against the disbelievers (kuffar of the Makkan Quraysh), he selected 50 skillful archers that formed a squad and placed them under the command of Abdullah ibn Jubair.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, assigned them positions along the slopes of Mount Uhud, outside of Madinah, to prevent the vulnerable Muslim army from attack at the rear. This strategic decision was meant to protect the Muslim army from being surrounded or encircled by the opposing cavalry.

He clarified the mission of this squad. He said to Abdullah ibn Jubair:

1. Drive the horses away from us with arrows

2. Do not let them attack us from behind (this command is another way of saying number 1 above)

3. Whether we win or lose, stand steadily in your position. (this command is another way of saying number 1 and 2 above)

4. Watch that we are not attacked from your side. (this command is another way of saying the number 1, 2 and 3 above)

Then he told the 50 archers.

5. If you see us snatched in pieces by birds (a sign that the Muslims were killed), do not leave your position until I send for you.

6. If you see that we have defeated the enemy and trodden on them, do not leave your position until I send for you. (There is a wisdom to hold the posts.)

But what did the archers do? When they saw the Muslims had defeated the kuffar badly, and the kuffar were running away from the battlefield, they left their positions to get the booty, i.e. the dunya.

Abdullah ibn Jubair reminded them and said "Have you forgotten what the Messenger told you?" But they did not hear him. Many of the archers disobeyed orders and ran down the hill to claim the spoils of war. This left the Muslim army vulnerable and shifted the outcome of the battle. Ten people including Abdullah stayed behind trying to protect the position. The rest went after the booty. Even with clear instructions from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, they left.

Actually, they had 10 reminders not to leave their positions under any circumstances -- 6 from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, 1 from their leader, Abdullah bin Jubair, and 3 from the kuffar. Khalid bin Walid, the commander of the Makkan Quraysh cavalry, had attempted 3 times to penetrate the Muslims from the rear but unsuccessful because the archers were shooting arrows at them. The archers should have seen this but they suddenly became deaf and blind.

So, Khalid ibn Walid found the opening and seized the opportunity. He rode with his men around Mount Uhud and attacked the flank of the Muslim army through the pass. The Muslims were attacked from the rear and cut off groups from one another. Some engaged in hand-to-hand combat, while others tried to retreat to Madinah. The Muslims were overrun, and many were injured and killed. Abdullah ibn Jubair’s depleted forces tried unsuccessfully to resist the attack.

The fleeing soldiers of the enemy also returned and joined the attack from the front and the scales of the battle turned against the Muslims. The suddenness of these attacks by outnumbering forces, from both the rear and the front, caused great confusion among the Muslim ranks. The enemy forces wanted to either seize Allah’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, alive or kill him, and attacked him from all sides, striking with swords, thrusting with spears, shooting arrows and hurling stones.

Rumors of the Prophet Muhammad's death caused confusion. Many Companions lose courage. Those who defended him fought heroically. Despite the indescribable resistance of the Muslim warriors around the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, defeat seemed inevitable until Ka’b ibn Malik, seeing the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, shouted: ‘O Muslims! Good tidings for you! This is Allah’s Messenger, here!’ The scattered Companions advanced toward him from all sides, rallied around him, and led him to the safety of the mountain, where the Makkan cavalry could not ascend.

If you imagine yourself in Uhud, you might say, "If I am with the 50 archers, I would have followed the command of the Prophet." But you might not. Remember the story of the companion Hudhaifa bin Al Yamman in the Battle of Khandaq. These archers forgot the clear instructions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, because Allah wanted them to forget. But this is not the reason that you should disobey Allah. We have to obey the commands of Allah and His Messenger. We have to plan and take the means to accomplish the plan but we have to know that if you don't achieve the result or if you achieve the result, it is within Allah's plan. Whatever goals we have, it has to be for Allah and through Allah.

The Battle of Uhud is a victory to the Muslims despite 70 companions were killed and many wounded. We have 70 martyrs, that means they are in Paradise with Allah. The kuffar (including many powerful leaders) who Allah knows they were not going to change, were killed in the battle. Muslims who survived, learned a huge lesson, that if you want to do something, you have follow the instructions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. The kuffar who survived, including Hind bint 'Utbah, the wife of Abu Sufyan (who hired Wahshi ibn Harb to kill Hamzah, the Prophet's beloved uncle, and she ordered his stomach to be split open and chewed his liver). Hind, Wahshi, Abu Sufyan (the leader of the kuffar) and Khalid bin Walid embraced Islam later in the da'wah, and they became Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and instrumental in the defending and spreading of Islam.

Khalid bin Walid learned a very important lesson from Uhud and it became his attitude which saved the Muslims. When there is a battle, inevitably there is a point when there is a kind of disturbance, whether the army is defeated or had victory. Khalid would look for this moment and ceased the opportunity to attack the enemy. In many battles in which Khalid led the Muslim army, he used the lesson of Uhud and thus saved the Muslims. He used this in the Battle of Mu'tah, fighting the apostate and Musaylamah al Kadhab, in which Wahshi killed Musaylamah, and in the Battle of Yarmuk, in which Muslims were outnumbered (36,000 Muslims against 200,000 Romans). Abu Sufyan and Hind helped a great deal in Battle of Yarmuk in which the Roman army was defeated and marked the collapse of the Roman empire, the oldest empire in history.

With all that happened at Uhud; 70 Muslims killed, many wounded, the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, raised his hands and thanked Allah. Why? Because he believed in the Divine plan. Ten years later, the Roman empire, the oldest empire in history, was defeated by the Muslims under the leadership of Khalid bin Walid, who led the non-believers at Uhud.

So when we asked, "Why bad things happen to the Muslims?", remember what happened to the Muslims in Battle of Uhud, what Hind did to Hamzah and what Khalid did to the Muslims, and what the Muslims achieved as a result of what happened to the Muslims in this battle. These were but a few wisdoms of Uhud that we know after the fact. We might not be able to see the wisdom of what is happening to the Muslims now but if we live long enough we might be able to see it. But this is not important. What is important is that we obey Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. We cannot be deaf and blind to the commands of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. They have been repeated to us in many different ways. Don't be heedless lest we will perish. And if we want to achieve something we have to look to Allah, not the dunya. If we don't, even if we succeed, it is not a true success.

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً وَهَيِّئْ لَنَا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا رَشَدًا ﴿١٠

Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance. (10) [Al-Kahf 18:10]


رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا ۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦ ۖ وَٱعْفُ عَنَّا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَٱرْحَمْنَآ ۚ أَنتَ مَوْلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرْنَا عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ ﴿٢٨٦﴾

Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people." (286) [Al-Baqarah 2:286]

Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakum Allahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam