Fatima at Uhud

One year and one month after the battle of Badr, the battle of Uhud took place. In this battle, seventy of the Prophet's most prominent companions were martyred among them being Hamza, the Prophet's uncle and the most notable hero.

In this battle, the Prophet was injured by two rocks on his forehead and mouth. As a result of his injury, the Prophet lost some teeth and blood clotted on his beard as if it was henna. At that moment, Satan shouted in such a manner that all Muslims heard him; he said: "Muhammad has been killed." This created disarray among the Muslims, and many men, save the true faithful, fled the battlefield. Confusion also overtook the Muslim families residing in Medina.

Safiah Bint Abdul Muttalib, the Prophet's aunt, accompanied Fatima Zahra to Uhud.

When Fatima heard of her father's injuries, she started crying and the Hashimite women rushed to help her.

Fatima's arrival at the scene of the battle, coincided with the Prophet's inspection of his soldiers, to find out how many had been martyred and wounded. When he reached Hamza, he found him in an indescribable situation; the infidels had badly mutilated his body; they had cut off his fingers, hands, legs, nose, ears, and ruptured his abdomen to get his liver out.

They had also cut off his sexual organ and left him in that horrible position.

The scene of Hamza's defaced body brought sadness and pain to the Prophet's heart. The infidel had not abandoned any ugly method of mutilation, which they did not commit against the strong and steadfast supporter of Allah's Apostle, (Peace be upon him and Ahlul-Bayt). While the Prophet was deeply saddened by this infliction, his Aunt and Fatima were rushing towards the scene. As Soon as he noticed them, he covered Hamza's body with one of his garments. Safia and Fatima arrived and began crying and condemning the infidels for their crimes. They noticed that the Prophet's forehead was badly cut and that blood had become clotted on his face and beard; thus, Fatima Zahra started cleaning his face and said:

"Allah's punishment will be severe on him who caused the Messenger's face to bleed."

Ali poured water on the Prophet's face, but this did not stop the bleeding, so Fatima burnt some rope and put its ashes on the cut, which stopped the bleeding. Fatima spent these moments in sadness and great anxiety. She was a faithful and devoted daughter to her father.

When Ali (A) returned to Medina, he gave his sword to Fatima and said:

"Take this sword Fatima; it surely proved itself to be most reliable today."

The Prophet added:

"Take it Fatima, for surely your husband has fully performed his duty; Allah killed the heroes of the Arabs through his hands."

Fatima's help to her father does not mean that she worked as a nurse on the battlefield, despite the claim of some writers who consider this story as proof that Fatima was a battlefield nurse!!

* Fatima ['a] The Gracious. By Abu Muhammad Ordoni. Published by: Ansariyan Publications Qum, The Islamic Republic of Iran. Reproduced with permission by the Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project team.