In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad the Messenger.
The Abridged Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid Al-Azimi,
may Allah preserve him.
The Companions' Defense of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Ibn Sa'd stated in his *Tabaqat*:
"There stood firm alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
a small band of his Companions
numbering fourteen men:
seven from the Emigrants (Muhajirun),
among whom was Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him,
and seven from the Ansar."
Imam Muslim recorded in his *Sahih*
on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
was left isolated on the Day of Uhud with only seven men from the Ansar
and two men from the Muhajirun.
When the enemy overwhelmed him—
meaning they engulfed him and drew close to him—
he said,
'Who will push them back from us, and for him is Paradise?
Or: he shall be my companion in Paradise.'
So a man from the Ansar stepped forward
and fought until he was killed.
Then they overwhelmed him once again,
and the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
'Who will push them back from us, and for him is Paradise?
Or: he shall be my companion in Paradise.'
So a man from the Ansar stepped forward
and fought until he was killed.
This continued until all seven were slain."
When these seven Ansari men, may Allah be pleased with them, were killed,
there remained with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
no one except Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah
and Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with them both.
The two Shaykhs (al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded in their *Sahih*s
on the authority of Abu 'Uthman an-Nahdi, who said:
"There remained with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
during part of those days—
meaning the Day of Uhud—
in which the Messenger of Allah fought,
none other than Talhah and Sa'd."
It was the most critical hour in the life of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and a golden opportunity for the polytheists.
The polytheists did not hesitate to seize that opportunity;
they focused their assault entirely on the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
desperate to eliminate him,
until his lower right incisor was broken,
his forehead was deeply wounded,
and two rings from his chainmail helmet were driven into his cheek.
The two Shaykhs recorded in their *Sahih*s
on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him,
that he was asked about the wound of the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the Day of Uhud,
and he replied:
"The face of the Prophet, peace be upon him, was wounded,
his incisor was broken,
and the helmet was shattered on his head"
—meaning the battle helmet was crushed against his head.
'Abd ar-Razzaq as-San'ani recorded in his *Musannaf* with a strong mursal chain
from az-Zuhri, who said:
"The face of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was struck seventy times with swords that day,
but Allah shielded him from the harm of all of them."
The Descent of the Angels.
In these critical moments,
Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, sent down His angels
to protect His Messenger, peace be upon him.
The two Shaykhs recorded in their *Sahih*s
on the authority of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, on the Day of Uhud,
and with him were two men fighting fiercely on his behalf,
wearing white garments and fighting with the utmost ferocity;
I had never seen them before, nor did I ever see them after."
In another narration in *Sahih Muslim*,
Sa'd, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
"I saw on the right of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and on his left, on the Day of Uhud,
two men wearing white garments,
whom I had never seen before nor ever saw after"
—meaning Gabriel and Michael, peace be upon them.
The Gathering of the Companions around the Prophet, peace be upon him.
All these events unfolded with tremendous speed,
in fleeting moments.
Otherwise, Abu Bakr as-Siddiq,
'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr,
and others who were in the front ranks during the battle,
hardly noticed the shifting situation
or heard his voice, peace be upon him,
before they rushed to his side.
However, they arrived only after the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had already sustained
the injuries he suffered,
and they repelled those disbelievers away from him.
Al-Hafiz said in *Al-Fath*,
after compiling the names of those who stood firm alongside the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
he stated,
"If established,
it is understood that they stood firm on the whole,
while the earlier account refers to those who were present with him, peace be upon him, in chronological order;
and Allah knows best."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, then headed toward the Muslims,
and the first to recognize him beneath the helmet
was Ka'b ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him.
He shouted at the top of his voice:
"O gathering of Muslims!
Rejoice! Here is the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him!"
But the Prophet signaled to him to remain quiet.
The Muslims rallied around him
and ascended with him toward the mountain pass in which he took shelter,
and with him were Abu Bakr as-Siddiq,
'Umar ibn al-Khattab,
'Ali ibn Abi Talib,
Talhah ibn 'Ubaydullah,
az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam,
al-Harith ibn as-Simmah,
and others, may Allah be pleased with them.
The Messenger, peace be upon him,
kills Ubayy ibn Khalaf—may Allah disgrace him.
Al-Hakim recorded in *Al-Mustadrak* with a sound (hasan) chain
on the authority of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, from his father, who said:
"Ubayy ibn Khalaf came forward on the Day of Uhud,
charging toward the Prophet, peace be upon him, seeking him.
Some men of the believers intercepted him,
but the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, commanded them
to clear the way for him.
Then Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr,
a member of Banu 'Abd ad-Dar, confronted him.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saw
Ubayy's collarbone
through an opening between his coat of mail and his helmet,
so he struck him with his spear.
Ubayy fell from his horse,
and no blood flowed from his wound,
but one of his ribs was broken.
His companions came to him while he was bellowing like a bull,
and they said to him, 'What is making you so distraught?
It is merely a scratch!'
But he reminded them of the words of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him:
'Rather, I shall kill Ubayy.'
Then he said:
'By the One in Whose Hand is my soul!
If what has afflicted me were cast upon the people of Dhu al-Majaz,
they would all perish.'
Thus, Ubayy died on his way to the Fire—
away with the companions of the Blaze!—
before reaching Mecca.
Thereupon Allah revealed:
“Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them. And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (8:17)
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
'This view attributed to these two imams is extremely odd—
namely, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib and az-Zuhri—
and perhaps they meant that the verse applies to him by virtue of its generality,
not that it was revealed specifically concerning him.
Otherwise, the context of the verse in Surat al-Anfal
is undeniably within the narrative of Badr;
and this is something not hidden from the leading scholars of knowledge;
and Allah knows best.'
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his *Sahih*
on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
'Severe is the wrath of Allah upon whomsoever the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him, kills in the cause of Allah.'
Imam an-Nawawi said:
'His saying, peace be upon him,
"in the cause of Allah"
excludes anyone killed by him in execution of a prescribed penalty (hadd) or legal retribution (qisas),
because whoever is killed by him in the cause of Allah
was someone who intended to kill the Prophet, peace be upon him.'
The Abridged Prophetic Biography (Seerah).
May the remaining part be granted completion and recovery.