It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), he says: Allah Almighty never helped the Muslims at any occasion as He did at Uhud. Ubaydullah says: Hearing this from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), we were all astonished. He said: The Book of Allah will decide between those who deny this and me. Allah Almighty has said about the day of Uhud: {وَلَقَدْ صَدَقَکُمْ اللّٰہُ وَعْدَہُ إِذْ تَحُسُّونَہُمْ بِإِذْنِہِ} … Allah fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing them (the disbelievers). Here, "al-hass" means killing. Further, He said: {حَتّٰی اِذَا فَشِلْتُمْ وَ تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِی الْاَمْرِ وَعَصَیْتُمْ مِّنْ بَعْدِ مَآ اَرٰیکُمْ مَّا تُحِبُّوْنَ مِنْکُمْ مَّنْ یُّرِیْدُ الدُّنْیَا وَمِنْکُمْ مَّنْ یُّرِیْدُ الْاٰخِرَۃَ ثُمَّ صَرَفَکُمْ عَنْھُمْ لِیَبْتَلِیَکُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَفَا عَنْکُمْ وَاللّٰہُ ذُوْ فَضْلٍ عَلَی الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ۔} … But when you lost courage and fell to disputing about the order and disobeyed after He had shown you that which you love (i.e., the spoils of war and the defeat of the enemy), among you are some who desire this world and some who desire the Hereafter. Then He turned you away from them so that He might test you. And indeed, He has forgiven you, and Allah is Gracious to the believers.

By this are meant those archers whom the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had stationed at a certain place and said: Guard us from this side, i.e., from our rear. If you see us being killed, do not come to our aid, and if you see us collecting spoils, do not join us. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began collecting the spoils and had defeated the army of the polytheists, all the archers rushed there and joined the army in looting. The ranks of the Companions became so mixed up that Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) interlocked the fingers of one hand into the fingers of the other to demonstrate. When those archers left the appointed place unguarded, from where they had been stationed, the enemy army attacked the Companions of the Prophet from that very side. They fought and became entangled with each other, and many Muslims were martyred.

In the early part of the day, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Companions had the upper hand, until seven or nine standard-bearers of the polytheists were killed, and the Muslims advanced towards the mountain. They had not reached the cave about which people say the Muslims reached, but they had reached the spring called Mahras, near which Sayyiduna Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him) was buried. And Satan cried out in a loud voice: Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has been killed. No one doubted the truth of this statement; we too were fully convinced of it, until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared between the two Sa‘ds. We recognized you by your manner of walking, as you (peace and blessings be upon him) would walk slightly bent forward. The Companions say: Seeing you (peace and blessings be upon him) made us so happy as if we had never suffered any grief. You (peace and blessings be upon him) climbed up the mountain towards us and at that time were saying: Allah’s severe wrath be upon those who have bloodied the face of His Messenger. And sometimes you (peace and blessings be upon him) said: These people can never prevail over us. You kept saying such words until you reached us.

A little while later, from below the mountain, Abu Sufyan cried out loudly twice: O Hubal, be exalted! Where is Ibn Abi Kabsha? (By this he meant the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.) Where is Abu Bakr, son of Abu Quhafah? Where is Umar, son of Khattab? Hearing his words, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! Should I not answer him? You (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Certainly, answer him. When Abu Sufyan said: O Hubal, be exalted! In response, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah is Most High and Most Majestic. Abu Sufyan said: O son of Khattab! Hubal’s word has been fulfilled. Now leave his mention. Abu Sufyan had said: Where is Muhammad, son of Abu Kabsha (peace and blessings be upon him)? Where is the son of Abu Quhafah? Where is the son of Khattab? Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Here is the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), here is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and here I am, Umar. Abu Sufyan said: Today is in exchange for the day of Badr. These days are like buckets of water, sometimes one prevails and sometimes another, and in battle there are turns; the victorious may become vanquished and the vanquished may become victorious. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: No, it is not equal. Our slain will go to Paradise and your slain to Hell. Abu Sufyan said: That is your opinion. If it is so, then we are utterly ruined and lost. Then Abu Sufyan said: O Umar! You will see that your slain have been mutilated. But this was certainly not the decision of our leaders. Saying this, he was overtaken by the zeal of ignorance and said: Even if it is so that it was not the decision of our leaders, still we are pleased with it and do not dislike it.