In retaliation for their losses, the Quraysh chief, Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, set out for Medina with 3,000 soldiers to confront Muhammad and the Muslims.

[12] Muhammad initially spread his new religion in Mecca, where he found no opposition from the local people until he attacked their polytheistic beliefs.

[b][13][c][14][15] As tensions with the Meccans increased, Muhammad brought his followers to migrate to Medina after his successful negotiations with Banu Aws and Khazraj to mediate their tribal conflicts.

[16][17] Francis Peters proposes that these raids were probably a quick remedy by Muhammad for the poverty of his people in the new land, who lacked agricultural skills and capital for trade.

[18] Tariq Ramadan agrees with this reasoning, but also adds that The Battle of Badr in particular was initiated to impress the Meccans, who were becoming increasingly hostile towards Medina.

A battle ensued, and with great charisma and powers of suggestion, Muhammad managed to get his troops to defeat the Quraysh reinforcements, which were larger in number.

[22] A few months later, Abu Sufyan mobilized an invasion force of over 3,000 men to retaliate against the Muslims for the losses at Badr.

[28] A group of approximately 1,000 Muslim men set out northward from Madinah toward Mount Uhud late on Friday, 21 December 624.

They were that day nearer to Disbelief than to Faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts but Allah hath full knowledge of all they conceal.

The Muslim force, now numbering around 700 encamped on the slopes of Uhud, facing Madinah, with their back protected by the mountain.

Before the battle, Muhammad had assigned 50 archers on a nearby rocky hill at the west side of the Muslim camp.

Thwarted by a shower of stones from the Muslims, Abu ‘Amir and his men were forced to retreat to the camps behind the Meccan lines.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Muhammad, rushed forth and struck Talhah down in a single blow.

Talhah's brother, Uthman, ran forward to pick up the fallen banner — the Meccan women willing him on with songs and the loud beating of timbrels.

Hamza ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib emerged from the Muslim ranks, bringing him to a similar fate as Talhah.

However, it was the detachment of the Muslim archers, disobeying Muhammad's strict orders to remain stationary, that would shift the outcome of the battle, as most of them ran downhill to join in the advance and despoil the Meccan camp, leaving the flank vulnerable.

At this critical juncture, the Meccan cavalry, led by Khalid ibn al-Walid, exploited this move and attacked the remaining minority of Muslim archers who refused to disobey Muhammad's orders and were still positioned on the hill.

Hakim al-Nishaburi, a well known Sunni scholar, in his famous book Al-Mustadrak Alal Saheehayn (Volume 3, Page 37) writes that one of the most notable individuals among those who had run away from the battlefield was Abu Bakr.

The Meccans' chief offensive arm, its cavalry, was unable to ascend the slopes of Uhud in pursuit of the Muslims, and so the fighting ceased.

Chase F. Robinson, writing in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, states the notion that "the Muslims suffered a disheartening defeat is clear enough.

[40] The battle is also noted for the emergence of the military leadership and stratagem of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who would later become one of the most famous of all Arab generals during the Islamic expansion era, in conquering the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine-held Syria.

[44] Firestone observes that such verses provided inspiration and hope to the Muslims, sacralizing future battles that they would experience.

[46] Abu Sufyan, whose position as leader was no longer disputed, set about forging alliances with surrounding nomadic tribes in order to build up strength for another advance on Medina.

[48] Abu Sufyan, along with the allied confederate tribes, would attack Medina in the Battle of the Trench, two years after the events at Uhud (in 627).

Muhammad bin Ishaq said, "This Ayah was revealed about them, according to Ibn `Abbas, (Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth...) until (they who are the losers.)

[52] Sahih al-Bukhari, 4:52:276 mentions: The Prophet appointed 'Abdullah bin Jubair as the commander of the infantrymen (archers) who were fifty on the day (of the battle) of Uhud.

[51] Most of the information available about the events is derived from the sira—maghazi traditions (biographical narratives and documentation of military campaigns) of the early centuries of Islam.

Much of the basic narrative and chronology, according to Robinson, is reasonably authentic, although some of the more elaborate details — such as the exact scale of the Muslim defeat — may be doubtful or difficult to ascertain.

[56] The battle of Uhud is also depicted in the 2004 animated film, Muhammad: The Last Prophet, directed by Richard Rich,[57] and in the 2012 TV series Farouk Omar.

The cave in Mount Uhud where Muhammad rested temporarily during the battle has also received recent media attention in the light of proposals by some Salafi scholars for it to be destroyed.