Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr His Martyrdom at Uhud

The death of Mus’ab ibn Umayr at the Battle of Uhud.
How he approached death and the manner in which he was killed.
His loyalty and commitment to Islam.

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• Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr , the first ambassador of the Prophet ﷺ , was very successful in giving da’wah. Men and women, the young and the old, the powerful and the weak all accepted Islam at his hands. The course of the history of Yathrib (Madinah) had been changed forever and the way was being prepared for the great Hijrah. Yathrib was soon to become the center and the base of the Islamic state.
• Less than a year after his arrival in Yathrib, Mus’ab returned to Makkah. It was the season of pilgrimage and Mus’ab brought a group of seventy-five Muslims from Madinah. They met the Prophet ﷺ at ‘Aqabah near Mina. There they undertook to defend the Prophet ﷺ at all costs. The second pledge which the Muslims of Yathrib made came to be called the Pledge of War. From this moment onwards events moved quickly. Mus’ab continued to play a major role in the building of the new community. He fought bravely at the Battle of Badr. He had been granted the tallest flag of Islam and held it up high to the last. After the battle was won by the Muslims, the Qurayshi prisoners of war were brought to the Prophet ﷺ who assigned them to the custody of individual Muslims. Mus’ab’s brother was taken prisoner but he was not treated in any special manner. In fact, Mus’ab preferred his Muslim brothers over his blood-brother who was not a Muslim. In this way Mus’ab affirmed that in the battle between Iman and Kufr, the bonds of faith were stronger than the ties of kinship.
• At the Battle of Uhud, the Prophet ﷺ called upon Mus’ab, now well-known as Mus’ab Al- Khayr (the good), to carry the Muslims’ flag.
• At the start of the battle, the Muslims seemed to be gaining the upper hand. A group of Muslims, seeing the success of the Muslim army, ignored the orders of the Prophet ﷺ and deserted their positions. The enemy forces rallied again and launched a counter-attack. Their main objective, as they cut through the Muslim forces, was to get to the Prophet ﷺ . Mus’ab realized the great danger facing the Prophet ﷺ .
• He raised the flag high and shouted: الله أكبر (Allah is great). With the flag in one hand and the sword in the other, he plunged into the Quraysh forces. The odds were against him because of superior numbers. A Quraysh horseman moved in close and severed his right arm. Mus’ab was heard repeating the words.

وَمَا مُحَمَّدٌ إِلَّا رَسُولٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِ ٱلرُّسُلُ ۚ(سورة آل عمران : ١٤٤)

“Muhummad is not but a messenger. [Other] messengers have passed on before him”. [Soorat Aali ‘Imraan: 144]

• This showed how great his attachment was to the Prophet ﷺ himself. Yet, it also showed that above all, the struggle was only for the sake of Allah ﷻ . His left hand was also severed and he held the standard between the stumps of his arms. To console himself he repeated the verse from the Qur’aan [Soorat Aali ‘Imraan: 144]. Mus’ab was then struck by a spear and fell to the ground.
• After the battle, the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions went through the battlefield, bidding farewell to the martyrs. When they came to Mus’ab’s body, tears flowed. It is related that they could not find any cloth with which to cover Mus’ab’s body except his own garment. When they covered his head with it, his legs showed and when his legs were covered, his head was exposed. The Prophet ﷺ instructed the Companions to place the garment over his head and to cover his feet and legs with leaves of the idhkhir (lemon grass).
• The Prophet ﷺ felt deep pain and sorrow at the number of his Companions who were killed at the battle of Uhud. The Prophet ﷺ stood over the body of Mus’ab with great emotion. He remembered Mus’ab as he first saw him in Makkah, stylish and elegant, and then looked at the short burdah which was now the only garment he possessed. The Prophet ﷺ recited the following verse from the Qur’aan:

مِّنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌۭ صَدَقُوا۟ مَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ( سورة الأحزاب :٢٣ )

“Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah”. [soorat al-Ahzaab: 23]

• Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr will always be remembered as a Muslim who gave his life in the service of Islam. His story is an inspiration to other Muslims who want to devote their lives to becoming true ‘ambassadors’ of Islam.

Learning from the lesson

1. Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr was very successful in giving Da’wah to others.
2. Mus’ab and seventy-five Muslims undertook to defend the Prophet ﷺ at all costs.
3. At the Battle of Uhud, Mus’ab was the standard (flag) bearer.
4. Even as he was struck repeatedly, he continued to remind those around him that Muhummad ﷺ was only a messenger, and that his allegiance was first to Allah.
5. The Prophet ﷺ felt deep pain and sorrow when he saw the body of Mus’ab .
6. He will be remembered as a Muslim who gave his life in the service of Islam.