Hazrat Hamza (RA) was a companion of the Prophet who held the foremost position among the Arab people for his bravery in the Arab lands. He embraced Islam in the sixth year of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) prophethood and stood as a formidable challenge to the enemies.
Hazrat Hamza (RA) was known by the title “The Lion of Allah.”
He was the paternal uncle of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) had boundless love and affection for Hazrat Hamza (RA), and Hamza (RA) likewise possessed deep love for his nephew, the Prophet.
Abu Sufyan, one of the leaders of Makkah, was married to a woman named Hindah. In the early days of Islam, both of them fiercely opposed it.
During that period, the first battle between the Muslims and the disbelievers of Makkah took place at a location called Badr.
In that battle, Hazrat Hamza (RA), fighting from the Muslim side, struck down and killed Hindah’s brother in combat. Furthermore, the disbelievers of Makkah suffered a defeat in the war.
Infuriated by this, Hindah sought revenge against Hamza for killing her brother. She instigated her slave, Wahshi, saying, “If you assassinate Hamza, I will grant you your freedom and give you wealth.”
Consequently, the slave named Wahshi bided his time, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Hazrat Hamza (RA). The very next year, a battle took place at a location called Uhud.
Since Hazrat Hamza (RA) was a legendary warrior, Wahshi knew it was impossible to confront him face-to-face. Therefore, during the Battle of Uhud, he hid behind a boulder, lunged out unexpectedly at an opportune moment, threw his spear at Hazrat Hamza (RA), and assassinated him.
Upon learning that Hazrat Hamza (RA) had been killed through her slave Wahshi, Hindah searched for his body. She mutilated his corpse by cutting off his ears, nose, and lips, fashioned them into a necklace to wear, and shouted in celebration over the fulfillment of her vow.
The enemies further mutilated and severely desecrated the body of Hazrat Hamza (RA) in various ways. With his ears, lips, and nose severed, his entire body was left completely mangled.
After the Battle of Uhud concluded, as Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was inspecting the bodies of the martyrs (Shuhada), he saw the body of his paternal uncle, Hazrat Hamza (RA). He was overcome with unbearable grief and wept bitterly.
The sight of Hazrat Hamza (RA) killed and brutally mutilated remained etched in the Prophet’s (PBUH) heart until the very end. Because of this, until he departed from this world, the Prophet (PBUH) would regularly visit Uhud to pray for the martyrs there.
The companion Ibn Mas’ud (RA) narrates: “We never saw the Prophet (PBUH) weep for anyone as intensely as he wept for Hamza (RA).”
The Prophet (PBUH) placed Hamza’s (RA) body facing the Qiblah and stood before his funeral bier (Janazah). Even then, thinking about what had befallen his uncle, the Prophet wept profusely and prayed for him.
Because Hamza’s body was mutilated beyond recognition, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) restricted women from viewing his Janazah.
Meanwhile, a woman was seen rushing swiftly toward the area where the bodies of the companions martyred in Uhud were kept. Seeing this, the Prophet (PBUH) instructed, “Stop that woman from going there.”
Regarding this, Hazrat Zubair (RA) narrates: “Recognizing that the woman approaching rapidly was my mother, I rushed forward to stop her. Since she was a very strong woman, she pushed me away saying, ‘Move aside,’ and continued toward the bodies. Immediately, I said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) himself has forbidden you from going to that spot.’ Upon hearing this, she stopped right in her tracks without moving further.”
Later, my mother brought out two pieces of cloth she held in her hands and told the Prophet (PBUH), ‘I heard the news that my brother Hamza has been martyred, so I have brought these two cloths to shroud him.’
We took the cloths and approached to shroud Hazrat Hamza (RA). Right next to his body lay the body of another Ansari companion named Suhail, which had also been mutilated by the disbelievers.
We felt it would be unfair to shroud Hamza (RA) while leaving Suhail (RA) uncovered. Thus, a dilemma arose among us on how to proceed.
If we decided to drape one cloth over each, one cloth was large while the other was small.
Therefore, we decided to cast lots to determine who would receive which cloth for their shroud. When we drew lots, the smaller cloth fell to Hazrat Hamza (RA) and the larger cloth went to Hazrat Suhail (RA).
Since Hazrat Hamza (RA) was a tall man, the small cloth was insufficient to cover his entire body. If we covered his head with the cloth, his feet remained exposed; if we covered his feet, his head was left uncovered. Thus, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) instructed us to cover Hazrat Hamza’s head with the small cloth and to place leaves and stalks of Idhkhir (a type of wild grass) over his feet to cover them.
Hazrat Hamza (RA), who had lived with great valor and high status among the people in this world, did not even have a sufficient piece of cloth to be shrouded in after martyrdom; he had to be buried with his lower body covered by grass and leaves.
Hazrat Hamza (RA) was the paternal uncle of the Prophet (PBUH). He sacrificed his life and soul to protect the faith in Allah and to make Islam flourish.
An important point to note is that when Hazrat Hamza (RA) was martyred, he left behind an infant child.
In the years that followed, having lost her father, that tender child wandered orphaned in Makkah without food to eat or a place to stay. Until the age of eight, the young girl lived in Makkah with no one to care for her.
During the Conquest of Makkah, when the child spotted Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), she ran to him weeping and embraced him tightly.
The Prophet (PBUH) lifted the young girl into his arms, embraced her, and wept for a while as he remembered Hazrat Hamza (RA). Afterward, he handed the child over to his beloved daughter, Fatimah (Rali), instructing her to raise her.
What immense sacrifices were made so that Islam could flourish!
