Introduction

The Battle of Uhud is one of the most significant events in the early Islamic history. The battle took place on 23^rd March 625 (7 Shawwal 3 After Hijrah), approximately a year after the first battle between the Muslims and the Quraysh tribe at Badr. Religious factors influenced the timing of the battle, which was further fuelled by cultural (revenge), political hegemony (influence), economic (trade), and military (power) factors. The ultimate desire of the Quraysh tribe was to avenge their loss at Badr and to abolish Islam from the Arabian Peninsula.¹

The Battle of Uhud taught many lessons, where the Quraysh polytheists defeated the Muslims. The majority of Islamic scholars and historians would always talk about some members of the group of archers who did not pay heed to the instructions given by Rasulullah ﷺ when tasked to protect the Muslim army from a flank attack. Even the scholar, Ibn Qayyim, summarised the most important lessons from the battle: "the Battle of Uhud was lost due to the faintheartedness which negates patient perseverance and the disobedience which negates fear of Allah."² The authors believed that there were many other lessons taught by the Battle of Uhud. Findings were presented based on chronological facts from the seerah and the literature. Accordingly, these lessons are still valid and can be applied in organisations and other entities. In Islam, everything happens for a reason. Even if the results appear negative at first glance, there may be hikmah since Allah is the best of planners.

2. The Letter from Abbas RA

Rasulullah was in Masjid e Quba when he received a letter signed by Abbas ibn "Abdal-Muttalib. The letter provided details of the Quraysh polytheists" preparation for a battle in Madinah to avenge their defeat in Badr about a year ago. Abbas described that the Quraysh army consisted of 3,000 men with 200 horses, 700 arms, and 3000 camels with complete weaponry.³

Abbas ibn "Abd al-Muttalib was the uncle and companion (Sahabah) of Rasulullah, who was only three years older than his nephew.⁴ On the orders of Rasulullah, he stayed in Makkah to help the remaining believers and to keep the Prophet informed about what was happening there.⁵ As much as Rasulullah loved and trusted his paternal uncle, he sent Al-Hubab bin Mundzir bin Al-Jumuh to Makkah to confirm the contents of the letter sent by Abbas. Al-Hubab returned, reconfirmed, and informed that women joined forces to sing motivational songs, reminding the Quraysh of their loss in Badr. Rasulullah duly reminded Al-Hubab not to tell anyone in Madinah of what he had seen.

Rasulullah also assigned two brothers, Anas and Mu"nis bin Fadhalah, to get more information on the whereabouts of the Quraysh army. They returned and reported that the Quraysh army led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb was close to Madinah and had released their horses and camels at the orchards on the outskirts of Madinah.⁶

2.1. The Importance of Reliable Information

It is always critical to have up-to-date information about adversaries or competitors, and never reveal what one knows to others without consulting the management. Without accurate, valid, and timely information, people and organisations would make wrong decisions, some of which may be fatal. Thus, there is an adage that information is a source of power and influence.⁷

However today, many businesses realise that the data they collect is unreliable. According to the 2021 Global Data Management Research,⁸ 55% of business leaders do not trust their data. It implies that more than half of business leaders cannot make confident decisions based on their collected information. Management can better understand their intrinsic and extrinsic factors by collecting reliable data and updating existing records. Maintaining data quality may also assist management in staying ahead of the competition. Reliable data maintains the company"s agility. Management would spot trends and industry changes sooner, allowing the organisation to seize new opportunities and overcome challenges before the competitors.

Once the information has been confirmed to be accurate, following up with more detailed data is necessary to ensure that top management can plan how to react accordingly. The leader should capitalise on the information obtained and consider all the possible strategies⁹ before calling his subordinates to discuss and deliberate on other options.

3. The Dream of Rasulullah and the Meeting with Companions

Before the Battle of Uhud, Rasulullah had a dream in which he was driving cows and slaughtering some of them. Additionally, he noticed a dent in his sword. Abu Bakr (RA) interpreted this dream to mean that some of the Holy Prophet"s companions would be martyred in the Battle of Uhud. The dent on the sword meant that one of the Holy Prophet relatives would be martyred.

As the day of the battle approached, Rasulullah gathered his companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to discuss whether they should encamp in Madinah or leave to confront the Quraysh army outside Madinah. Staying in Madinah was preferable to Rasulullah due to the inspiration given by the dream. However, he also wanted to consult his companions in order to take their views. Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the leader of munafiqs, was invited to that meeting for the first time. Most of the notable companions, including Abdullah ibn Ubayy, agreed with the view of the Prophet to stay in Madinah.

However, the young heroic companions who had not joined the Battle of Badr had heard about the high ranks attained by the martyrs of Badr. Therefore, they felt unfortunate that they did not join the battle. Thus, they wanted to confront the enemy outside Madinah. Based on the consensus (shura) concept, most of the companions desired to face the enemy outside Madinah. Resultantly, Rasulullah chose to follow the wishes of the majority rather than his own. When the companions began to blame themselves to pressurize Rasulullah, he put on two of his suits of chain mail (armour). He refused to take it off because he had accepted the majority"s views.

3.1. Always Discuss your Plans with your Team

A leader should always present his plans to management. However, management may have different opinions and propose a different plan in response. Ultimately, everyone must agree on a specific plan and carry it out accordingly. This is practised in democratic or participative leadership, frequently praised to increase employee engagement. Participative leaders actively seek out and use feedback from their followers. This provides followers a strong sense of worth and job satisfaction since they believe that a leader values their opinions and efforts in decision-making processes.¹⁰ The authors believe there is no point to have meetings when members do not have opportunities to present their views and opinions. Members are either "yes men", or the leader practices autocratic leadership.

At times, some members of the management may feel that they have made a wrong decision and would like to revert to the original plans proposed by the leader. However, once a decision has been made, it must be followed to avoid further complications and doubts. At the same time, a leader should always be prepared for any eventualities, as in the case of Rasulullah, who put on two suits of chain mail (armour) instead of one. One may question why Rasulullah was over-preparing himself. However, facing an enemy with numerical strength and being well-equipped illustrates that the leader should not leave everything to fate, instead should always prepare himself to face the worst.

4. The Betrayal of "Abdallah ibn Ubayy

As a strategy, Rasulullah decided to position his army at Mount Uhud, which is about 14 kilometres away from Masjid an Nabawi. Late on Friday, 6 Shawwal 3AH, about 1,000 Muslims set northward from Madinah towards Mount Uhud. They took position on the lower slopes of Uhud"s terrain the following day, facing Madinah. Mount Uhud is seven kilometres long and two to three kilometres in breadth with an altitude of up to 350 meters. Abdallah ibn Ubayy, chief of the Khazraj, and 300 other men withdrew their support for Muhammad. They returned to Madinah shortly before the battle began, with reports indicating that Ibn Ubayy was unhappy with the plan to march out from Medina to meet the Meccans. Towards the end, Rasulullah only had 700 Muslims under his command to fight against 3,000 fully-armed Quraysh polytheists.

4.1. Be the First to Choose the Battlefield and never be Distracted by Betrayal

In a battlefield, whoever is first and awaits the enemy"s coming would be mentally ready and fresh for the fight.¹¹ The crafty and astute leader imposes his will on the enemy while refusing to allow the enemy"s will to be imposed on him. The leader may cause the enemy to approach his own accord by inflicting damage. He can make it impossible for the enemy to be drawn nearby, holding out to his advantage. This is referred to as the first-mover advantage in management. Hence, a company can outperform its competitors by being the first to market in a new product category.¹²

Betrayal from within, especially during the critical stages, may be demoralising. A betrayal is a breach in honouring an expected behaviour or norm associated with trust.¹³ The most significant threats to modern organisations are betrayal and self-interest¹⁴. Betrayals from within the organisation, done by people trusted by the management, have caused the collapse of businesses and corporations, as in the case of Barings Bank. The bank declared bankruptcy in 1995 after losing £827 million due to fraudulent investments made by one of its trusted Singapore office employees, primarily in futures contracts.

So, how do leaders avoid corporate betrayal? The following six steps wererecommended as per the literature: 1. Conduct periodic reviews of management overrides; 2. Audit reimbursement exceptions; 3. Ensure management compensation is competitive; 4. Review end-of-period accounting activity; 5. Monitor personnel decisions involving executive management; and 6. Conduct random reviews of senior management"s email messages.¹⁵ However, the authors feel that the six steps mentioned above are remedial, that is, the leader should instil a higher level of integrity and religiosity among the workforce so that there is no tendency to betray the organisation. Competency comprises three elements: knowledge, skills, and attitude. Employers tend to focus more on knowledge and skills when interviewing prospective employees and ignore the importance of attitude. Knowledge and skills can be acquired at any time and place, however, attitude is a natural trait that takes a long time to develop.

5. Choosing Uhud as the Battleground

Rasulullah considered and chose the best location to confront the advancing enemy. There were only two choices, that is, to either meet them in an open battlefield (which would have been disastrous due to the 1:4 ratio) or in a constrained area that the Muslims are more familiar with than the enemy (there is an advantage because of the layout of the land). By choosing the lower slopes of Uhud as the battleground, Rasulullah maximised the effectiveness of a small army (see Figure 1).

The strategy was to face Madinah with Mount Uhud behind the Muslim army. Uhud was also chosen since it is a series of hills over one mile long, thus preventing an attack from the rear. Rasulullah had 50 archers stationed on the small mountain of Jabal al-Rumah, standing in front of Mount Uhud with strict instructions not to move under any circumstances to protect the Muslim army from a flank attack. Abdullah ibn Jubayr was appointed as the leader of the archers.¹⁶ Rasulullah told them to stay on the hill and also said, "drive off the horses from us, lest we should be attacked from the rear. Whether we win or lose the battle, stand steadily in your position. See that we will not be attacked from your side." This indicates that Rasulullah knew there was only one strategic weakness in the entire link and that is the stretch of land protected by the archers.

Figure 1. The Battle Ground at Mount Uhud¹⁶

Rasulullah then divided the Muslim army into three main groups: the Muhajirun under the leadership of Mus"ab ibn Umayr, the Aws under Usayd ibn Hudayr, and the Khazraj under al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir. This is a logical arrangement as the tribes would be more comfortable to have a leader from within. Hence, the Muslim army was now ready for the battle with the Quraysh polytheists.

5.1. Maximising the Advantage of a Small Group

The one with the best strategies would win the war, particularly if the army is united and follow the instructions based on a carefully laid out plan. In any battle, the bigger army would favour a frontal attack, where head-to-head fights might be advantageous due to numerical strengths. According to military doctrine, a successful frontal attack requires three times more power than the opponent, as in the case of the Battle of Uhud.¹⁷

Based on Figure 1, the Quraysh army can only attack from one narrow passage to confront the Muslim army surrounded on three sides. Two sides of Uhud protect the Muslim army as the Quraysh army cannot come from behind due to the mountain. In contrast, the third side is open but with a small mountain, Jabal al-Rumah. However, the 50 Muslim archers on Jabal al-Rumah forced the Quraysh army to fight within a narrow passage (see Figure 1), thus negating the numerical supremacy. Rasulullah"s ingenuity to formulate a military strategy without any academic or military training illustrates his wisdom (fatanah) worthy to lead others.

6. The Muslims were Winning

Under the command of Abu Sufyan, Ikrimah Abu Jahal (left flank), and Khalid Ibnu Walid (right flank/cavalry), a 3,000-strong Quraishi army was assembled at the narrow passage, facing 700 Muslim armies. Back then, the first issue in any battle was always the one-on-one (mubaraza), where the best fighters from opposing forces would face-off in a hand-to-hand fight.

The mubaraza occurred between Talha ibn Abi Talha, representing the Quraysh and Ali ibn Abi Talib, representing the Muslims. "Who will fight me?" Talha exclaimed as he emerged first. "I will!" Ali exclaimed as he stood up. Talha was fully armoured, including the hands and limbs, while Ali was completely unprotected. Talha swung as soon as they were within striking distance, however, Ali was faster; he took the full blow of the sword on the shield. Before Talha could remove the sword from the shield, he retaliated with lightning speed. Talha was attacked below the thigh because his entire body was covered in armour down to his thighs. Furthermore, Ali severed Talha"s leg with such force that he collapsed.

The defeat of the Quraysh champion motivated the Muslims as the two forces clashed immediately after the mubaraza. The Quraysh army was driven by revenge and a desire to eliminate Rasulullah and his companions. However, the Muslims have a different set of motivations that ranges from defending Rasulullah, their religion, and themselves to having the opportunity to seek martyrdom (shaheed). These motivational factors make Muslims fearful opponents. If they win, they would be victorious in life (Dunya) and if they lose, they would be victorious in the afterlife (Akhirah). The Muslim army"s drive to seek shahadah through a Holy War (jihad) resulted in heavy casualties among the Quraysh army that forced them to retreat. Khalid Ibnu Walid was frustrated as he and his cavalry could not go through the congested narrow passage and could not execute a flank attack due to the presence of 50 Muslim archers.

6.1. Spiritual Motivation is Most Superior

Spiritual motivation brings a sense of purpose that mobilises human potential in obedience to God"s guidance.¹⁸ The authors believe that the Islamic concept of motivation is managing ourselves or our souls (nafs). The framework is built on an understanding of human creation"s existence and purpose. This is because the goodness of a man is based on Rasulullah"s guidance (sunnah), Islamic law, and work ethics which would impact the nafs.¹⁹ Muslims are driven by tawhid implementation, faith, and struggle to seek Allah"s blessings and gain goodness in this world and the hereafter, which is the ultimate goal of Islamic motivation.²⁰

In Islam, intention (niyyah) is the root of any action. The niyyah to seek shahadah in jihad is the ultimate reward for a Muslim, albeit jihād can be in numerous forms other than a Holy War. A synthesised model of Islamic motivation is presented in Figure 2. The motivated behavioural outcome (outcome of the action) consists of reward and punishment in Dunya and Akhirah and the classical categorisation of nafs (ammarah, al-lawwamah and mutmainnah). The antecedents of motivated behavioural outcome are belief (imān) and actions (amal), which influence various attitudinal factors and the Tauhidic principles. Various contextual factors are also presented to show their influence on the process flow.

Figure 2. A Synthesised Model of Islamic Motivation¹⁹

7. When Desires Take Hold

The Muslims were victorious in the first phase of the battle. When the Quraysh army fled, some companions became so relaxed that they dropped their weapons and collected the war booty (ghanimah). Some 50 archers still stationed at Jabal Al-Rumah wanted to collect the ghanimah. The Muslim army pushed the enemy towards their base camp. Good weapons and armour were the most prized possessions because the Arabs were not the best ironsmiths; they had to import weapons, making them very expensive.

If the enemy flees, the ghanimah left behind is shared among the entire army, that is, seizing and hiding it is a major sin in fiqh. The ghanimah should be gathered, piled, and distributed according to the Islamic rules. The sad part is that those eager to collect the ghanimah in Uhud did not even get that share, and worse, they caused the results to be reversed, that is, they did not receive the ghanimah or the battle victory.

The archers saw that the Quraysh had fled and that at least a good 20 minutes had passed. They were waiting and waiting but no one sent them any message. Meanwhile, other Muslim foot soldiers were collecting the ghanimah, causing some archers to feel neglected and began arguing amongst themselves. At the end, 40 archers descended Jabal Al-Rumah, leaving only ten others manning the post.

Khalid ibn al-Walid recognised this as an opportunity. Even though he was fleeing, he looked back cautiously to see what he can do. Khalid saw that 40 archers had descended the mountain. He saw from afar what was going on and carved his way in from the right side where there was a ditch beneath the land that the Muslims could not see from ground level and surprised the remaining ten archers on Jabal Al-Rumah. After dispatching the archers, he gathered his cavalry of 100-150 to create an envelopment which is an offensive manoeuvre. The main attacking force passed around or over the enemy"s main defensive positions to secure objectives to the enemy"s rear.²¹

7.1. The Importance of Quality Attributes

Trust or Amanah is sacred. It is a psychological agreement between a leader and his followers that the former would do everything in his power to guide, protect, and treat the latter with justice. There are several characteristics of a trustworthy follower in Islam. In Islamic leadership, the first attribute of a quality follower is obedience, the willingness to do what someone in authority has told. In order to achieve their common goal, reliable followers show allegiance and obedience to their leader. Disobedience to the leader, on the other hand, could be disastrous, as illustrated in the battle of Uhud, where 40 archers" momentary disregard to Rasulullah"s order resulted in tragedy.²² The Muslims recognized the bad consequences of disobedience and the danger of not following the instructions. This is because Rasulullah had already ordered the archers to maintain their position and not to vacate Jabal al-Rumah..²³

Another desirable attribute among reliable followers is courage, a quality of the soul. Courage is the heart"s strength against shock and composure when experiencing fear.²⁴ The earliest followers of Islam were trustworthy, truthful, and courageous. They established themselves as independent and critical thinkers with trustworthiness in their knowledge and wisdom.²⁵ Followers should be courageous in supporting their leader and willing to contribute whatever is required to ensure their leader"s and the organisation"s success. This ultimately results in the success of the situation or the realisation of the vision.

Finally, another important attribute required to be a good follower is the "Jihadist mentality". The jihadists take up arms to combat tyranny and aggression and eradicate evil from human society in the name of Allah. Fighting for the sake of fighting is not Jihad in Islam; the noble goal elevates it to a sacred pursuit, similar to devotion and prayer. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Musa Ash"ari that once a man asked Rasulullah "Who among them is the fighter for Allah"s cause? One fights for the sake of war spoils, the other for fame and glory, and the third for the sake of displaying his courage and skill". Rasulullah responded, "He who fights for the sole purpose of making Allah"s word supreme is a mujahid in the cause of Allah."²⁶ Resultantly, a mujahid is a noble person who sacrifices his life for the sake of noble goals. He is motivated by human considerations. Furthermore, he raises his arms not out of rage or vengeance but out of will, forethought, tenacity, and compassion for his fellow men. His actions bear the imprints of the human intellect, sympathy, and sense of justice.

The Jihadist mentality is the purest form of quality followership, encompassing all the positive attributes. For this reason, a leader supported by followers with the Jihadist mentality would forever be victorious as they have certain ingrained principles. These principles include steadfastness in the face of the enemy, total reliance on the help of Allah and remembering him much, unity of purpose and solidarity, full awareness of the lofty purpose before a battle as well as not being proud and boastful in attitude and behaviour.²⁷ Moreover, victory could be in Dunya or Akhirah or both.

8. The Change of Tide

Khalid ibn Al-Walid"s cavalry surprised the Muslim army from behind and caused considerable panic and disarray.²⁸ The retreating Quraysh army under Abu Sufyan stopped the withdrawal to their base camp. It started to attack the advancing Muslim army, knowing that they had developed the military envelopment manoeuvre with Khalid sandwiching the Muslim army. The Muslim ranks were thrown into chaos due to the surprise attack. Some had not regrouped; others were in small groups, and many turned their backs and fled to Madinah because they were not adequately armed. During the chaotic moment, Rasulullah was with Sa"ad ibn Abi Waqqas, Talha ibn Ubaydillah, and seven other Ansars. The decision was to run into the mountains, find shelter, and hide before Khalid and his cavalry arrived. The Ansars were more familiar with the terrain.

Rasulullah was wounded in two instances. Firstly, when stones were thrown, they hit him and injured his lips. Another incident was when a Quraysh horseman approached Rasulullah and raised his sword to strike him. Talha ibn Ubaydillah shielded Rasulullah, however, it did not deflect completely. It softened the blow but still struck Rasulullah"s helmet. Rasulullah"s helmet was damaged and penetrated his cheekbone due to the force of the sword.

Mus"ab ibn Umayr was a companion who had the same skin colour as Rasulullah and his facial features were said to be similar to those of Rasulullah. He was also said to be wearing a cloak given to him by Rasulullah. When Abdullah ibn Qami"a from the Quraysh army killed Mus"ab, he mistook him for the Prophet. He began screaming at the top of his lungs, "I killed Muhammad!! I killed Muhammad!!" The news spread like wildfire among the remaining Quraysh and the small groups of Muslims, further motivating the Quraysh polytheists whilst demoralising some of the Muslim armies.

The casualty rate among the Muslim army immediately increased. Among the notable Shaheeds were Husayl ibn Jabir, Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib, Mus"ab ibn Umayr, Hanzala ibn Abi Amir, Anas ibn al-Nadr, and Al-Usayrim Amr ibn Thabit.

8.1. In times of Crises and Anarchy, the Ultimate Objective is to Save the Leader

Even though, word had spread that Rasulullah had died, some of the companions began to look for him. In contrast, many others kept on fighting to achieve shahadah and join Rasulullah in Jannah if he was truly dead. Even when wounded, one should fight till the very end. Rasulullah was first recognised by Ka"ab ibn Malik, who yelled, "Rejoice, Muslims! Because Rasulullah ﷺ is still alive!". However, the Prophet advised him to keep quiet because it was not the best idea to let everyone know where he was then. Therefore, Ka"ab gave Rasulullah his armour so that people would not recognise him, and he wore Rasulullah"s armour to mislead the enemy. According to reports, he had received over ten stab wounds by the end of the battle.

It took a while for a sufficient number of Muslims to rally in support of Rasulullah due to the difficulty of the Uhud terrain. By then, the Quraysh army had achieved a decisive military victory. The Muslims were quite disappointed that they had let the Prophet down by not fighting well for their faith, however, this taught them an important lesson.

As mentioned earlier, the most important lesson is the need to abide by the concept of "we hear, and we obey" (sami"na wa ato"na), which is part of a critical quality attribute of a follower: Amanah. The next lesson is separation (tamyiz). Allah says something similar about Uhud in the Quran in Surah Ali "Imran verse 3:179: "Allah will not allow the believers to remain as they are until He separates the filthy (khabith) from the pure (tayyib) for them". The hypocrites (munafiqin) are the khabith of Uhud. Resultantly, we learn from this verse in the Quran that one of the most significant benefits of Uhud is that it allows Muslims to fully comprehend the true nature of hypocrisy (nifāq). The initial perceptions of the Muslims are that the munafiqin cannot be that bad, however after Uhud, the Muslims realised the true colours of the munafiqin and that how evil they are.

The authors believe that there was another form of tamyiz within the Muslim army at Uhud. Those fought as a mujahid and followed through with the instructions without any doubt complied with the concept of sami"na wa ato"na. On the other hand, those who did not follow instructions and sought ghanimah during the ongoing battle did not conform.

9. The Aftermath

At the end of the battle, 85 Muslims were martyred.²⁹ Many companions, such as Abu Dujana and Nasiba, received numerous blows while trying to protect the Messenger of God and their bodies were covered with wounds. Some lost their limbs.

The 85 martyrs had so many wounds that it was difficult to determine their identity. For instance, the Muslims found the body of Anas ibn al-Nadrwith over 80 wounds from the top down. They did not recognise whose body it was until Anas" sister came and recognised him by the tips of his fingers. Worse was the case of Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib, whose stomach had been cut open, and his liver had been removed; his nose and ears had been cut off, and his dead body was in pieces. It was difficult to recognise him.

On the other hand, around 22-25 soldiers of Quraysh army died in the battle. The Quraysh army congratulated themselves on their victory and returned to Makkah. They thought that they had won the war.

9.1. The Many Hikmah from Uhud

There are many hikmah from Uhud. As discussed earlier, disobedience ("isyan) and the love of Dunya (hubb al-Dunya) were the two bitter lessons that caused humiliation and defeat in the Battle of Uhud. The lessons learned made the Muslim army more disciplined than ever. Eighty-five (85) Muslims were martyred. Rasulullah treated all of them as martyrs, since those who died were buried without having to be bathed (kafan) or shrouded (ghusl). This was done to illustrate the wisdom of Rasulullah.

Other than the seven lessons discussed earlier, the battle also taught that Rasulullah was no superhero. He was a regular person who bled like the rest of us. The two suits of chain mail worn by Rasulullah for the battle had proven to protect him from a fatal injury or even death. Rasulullah did it to demonstrate to the ummah that if one wants to engage in any endeavour, one must do so properly and not leave everything to Allah (tawakkal ala Allah).³⁰

10. Conclusion

Many leadership and management lessons from the Battle of Uhud are still relevant today. A united ummah with undivided loyalty and commitment would strike fear in the enemies, even with a small number, as per the reminder from Allah in the Quran at the end of surah Al-Baqarah verse 2:349: "… how often, by Allah"s will, has a small force vanquished a bigger force? Allah is with those who steadfastly persevere…". From this verse, Allah teaches us that those who are victorious steadfastly persevere, and quality is always more important than quantity.

Perhaps, the most important lesson is from surah Ali "Imran verse 3:159, which discussed the greatness of Rasulullah at the end of the Battle of Uhud: "…It was thanks to Allah"s mercy that you (Muhammad) were gentle to them. Had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would surely have scattered away from you. So pardon them, pray for their forgiveness, and take counsel from them in matters of importance. And when you are resolved on a course of action, place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him)…". This verse was revealed to show Muslims that how Rasulullah dealt with these situations, mainly how he dealt with his disobedient troops, and he was patient and gentle. Rasulullah never displayed the "I told you so" attitude and brought up the wrong decisions of the shura. Moreover, Rasulullah never chastised any of the archers who did not follow instructions or those who fled to Madinah after Khalid flanked the Muslim army.

Instead, Rasulullah proceeded with the burial of those who died. Rasulullah ﷺ treated them as martyrs by burying them as is without the ghusl or kafan, some sharing common graves. Rasulullah ﷺ made du"a and asked Allah that whoever dies amongst them should die in the state of iman.³¹ The authors believe this was done to re-establish unity and avoid witch-hunting among the ranks. This would also protect the dignity of the family of those who died. Such is the wisdom of Rasulullah. Ultimately, Allah decides who is a shaheed and who is not, who would go to Paradise (Jannah) and who would not.

Conflict of Interest

The author of the manuscript has no financial or non-financial conflict of interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Data Availability Statement

The data associated with this study will be provided by the corresponding author upon request.

Funding Details

This research was conducted without any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. No financial support was received for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.