The Battle of Uhud : The Story of the Pit in Which the Prophet Fell

قصة الحفرة التي سقط فيها النبي بأحد وكيف أسعفه “أبو عبيدة”؟

The Story of the Pit in Which the Prophet Fell at Uhud and How Abu Ubaidah Helped Him

Translation by: Reza Ervani bin Asmanu

This story of the Battle of Uhud falls under the category of Sirah Nabawiyah (the biography of the Prophet).

حملت غزوة أحد العديد من المشهد الصعبة على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وصحابته رضوان الله عليهم، ففيها قتل حمزة بن عبد المطلب عم النبي، وفيها قتل معصب بن عمير أشبه الناس برسول الله، وفيها شج رأس رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وكسرت رباعيته، وغرزت أسنان خوزته في وجنتيه .. فماذا حدث له في يوم أحد صلى الله عليه وسلم.

The Battle of Uhud brought many hardships upon Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions i. During this battle, Hamzah bin Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle, was martyred. Mush’ab bin Umair, whose appearance most resembled the Prophet ﷺ, was also killed. The Prophet’s head was injured, one of his incisors was broken, and fragments of his helmet were lodged in his cheeks. What exactly happened to the Prophet ﷺ on the day of the Battle of Uhud?

قبل معركة أحد قام أحد الكفار بحفر حفره وجلس أيام يحفر فيها ويقول : لعل محمد يمر من عندها ويسقط فيها، أو يمر عليها أحد أصحابه فتؤذيه.

Before the Battle of Uhud, one of the disbelievers dug a pit. He spent days digging it and said, “Perhaps Muhammad will pass by it and fall into it, or one of his companions will pass over it and be injured.” ¹

ولما جاءت غزوة أحد والرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم فى أثناء المعركة لم ير الحفرة من هول ما حدث في المعركة، حينما اشتد وطيسها بعد أن نزل الرماة من على الجبل والتف المشركون حول المسلمين وحاصروهم.

When the battle ensued, the Prophet ﷺ, amidst the chaos of the fighting, did not notice the pit due to the intense circumstances of the battlefield. This occurred after the archers descended from the hill, leaving the Muslims surrounded and besieged by the polytheists.

وبالفعل سقط النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم في الحفرة، فارتطم وجهه الشريف بالحجر والصخر المتواجد بها، فكسرت أسنانه و سال الدم على وجهه وتألم ظهره وكان صلى الله عليه وسلم يلبس خوذه على رأسه فأراد أن يخرج من الحفرة.

Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ fell into the pit. His noble face struck the stones and rocks within, causing his teeth to break, and blood flowed from his face. His back was also hurt. Wearing a helmet at the time, the Prophet ﷺ tried to climb out of the pit.

ولما رآه أحد الكفار وهو ابن قمئه وقيل عتبة بن أبى العاص، فضرب النبى بسيفه مسطح أى بالعرض على رأسه ويمين ويسار على وجهه الشريف فدخل حديد الخوذة فى وجه النبى فبدأ الدم يخرج أكثر.

When one of the polytheists, Ibn Qami’ah—or, according to some reports, Utbah bin Abu Al-Ash—saw the Prophet ﷺ, he struck him with his sword. He used the flat side of the blade to hit the Prophet’s head and face repeatedly, causing the metal of the helmet to embed further into his cheeks, making the bleeding worse.

فأقدم الصحابه عليه صلى الله وعليه وسلم وأشيع بأن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قتل ، وأول من هرول ناحيته أبوبكر ويقول فديتك نفسى يا رسول الله ، ويقول أبوبكر: حاولت فك الخوذة من وجه النبى فما استطعت ، 

Hearing rumors that the Prophet ﷺ had been killed, the companions rushed to him. Abu Bakr was the first to reach the Prophet ﷺ, saying, “I would sacrifice my life for you, O Messenger of Allah.” Abu Bakr attempted to remove the metal fragments lodged in the Prophet’s face but was unable to do so.

فتقدم أبوعبيدة بن الجراح فقال : أقسمت عليك يا أبابكر أن تترك النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لى فتقدم أبو عبيدة فأخرج النبى من الحفرة ، فأراد خلع الخوذة من على وجه النبى فما استطاع ، 

Then, Abu Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrah approached and said, “I swear to you, Abu Bakr, leave the Prophet ﷺ to me.” Abu Ubaidah then helped the Prophet ﷺ out of the pit and attempted to remove the metal fragments. However, he could not do so with his hands.

فظل يعضها بفمه وكان كلما أمسك الحديد بفمه تسقط منه سن حتى تكسرت أسنانه وكان همه فك الحديد من على وجه النبى الشريف صلى الله عليه وسلم. فخلع أبوعبيدة الخوذة من على وجه النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم.

Abu Ubaidah resorted to using his teeth to remove the metal fragments from the Prophet’s face. Each time he bit down on the metal, one of his teeth broke, until all his front teeth were broken. His sole focus was to free the Prophet ﷺ from the fragments of his helmet. Finally, Abu Ubaidah successfully removed the metal from the Prophet’s face.

يقول الصحابة:

The companions later remarked:

لما رأينا ابوعبيده سقطت أسنانه والله لقد رأينا جمالا فى وجهه لم نره من قبل ، إكراما من الله له لأنه هو الذى استطاع خلع الخوذة من وجه النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم.

“When we saw Abu Ubaidah’s broken teeth, by Allah, we noticed a beauty in his face that we had never seen before. It was an honor from Allah because he was the one who removed the helmet from the Prophet’s face.” ²

وجلس النبى يمسح الدم من وجهه الشريف والصحابه حوله ، فرفع عليه الصلاة والسلام أكفه الى الله

The Prophet ﷺ sat, wiping the blood from his noble face, surrounded by his companions. He then raised his hands to the heavens.

يقول أبوبكر : فخشيت أن يدعو على أمته فتهلك ، فالتفت إلى النبى وإذ هو يقول : 

Abu Bakr recounted, “I feared that the Prophet ﷺ might supplicate against his people, which would result in their destruction. I turned to him and found him saying:

{ اللهم أهدي قومي فإنهم لا يعلمون }.

‘O Allah, guide my people, for they do not know.’”

Source : https://amrkhaled.net/

1. In Sirah Ibn Hisyam, it is narrated from Abu Sa’id Al Khudri that the one who dug this pit was Abu ‘Amir
2. This event is mentioned in several reports, including one narrated by Imam Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, Hadith no. 4371