Abu Sufiyan was the leader of the enemies of the Holy Prophet (S) and Islam. One day, he came with a group of men to Abu Talib and said, “Your nephew denounces our gods and finds fault with our religion. He regards our thoughts to be foolish and says our fathers and forefathers were unguided and lost. Either stop him from saying these things or step aside and let us deal with him ourselves.”4
Abu Sufiyan was also the mastermind behind a plot to kill the Holy Prophet (S). He planned to execute his plan at Dar al-Nadwah. He selected a youth from every tribe and gave each one of them a sword with orders to attack the Holy Prophet’s (S) house and kill him.5
For the Battle of Uhud, Abu Sufiyan alone spent forty measures of gold. Each measure contained forty-two pieces [mithqal] of gold. As well, he personally took part in the battle. Seventy-two companions of the Holy Prophet (S) were martyred in the battle, including Hamzah ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s uncle.6
In order to incite and encourage the polytheists to fight at the Battle of Uhud, Abu Sufiyan shouted, “Long live Hubal! Long live Hubal!”7 When they heard this, the Muslims replied, “Allah is more Elevated and more Majestic!” When he heard this, Abu Sufiyan personally answered, “We have (the idol) al-‘Uzza, whereas you have no ‘Uzza.” The Holy Prophet (S) ordered his followers to say,
«الله مولانا ولا مولى لکم.»
“Allah is our Master and you have no master.”8
After the martyrdom of Hamzah, Abu Sufiyan came to thrust spears into Hamzah’s corpse. He was doing this while saying, “Taste of this, you who has been disinherited and cursed.”9 Even after the death of the Holy Prophet (S), Abu Sufiyan came to the tomb of Hamzah and started trampling and stamping upon it saying, “O Aba ‘Ammarah! That over which you fought with us and for which you died has now fallen into the hands of our youths and they are playing with it.”10
One day Abu Sufiyan saw people walking behind the Holy Prophet (S). With a heart filled with jealousy and envy, he said, “If I can, I will organize an army against this man once again.” The Holy Prophet touched his chest and said, “On that day, Allah will make you abject, contemptible and despised.”11
Notes:
4. Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p. 283, vol. 2, p. 58.
5. Ibid., vol. 2, p. 126.
6. Kitab al-Niza‘ wa al-Takhasum, pp. 52-53.
7. Hubal was the name of one of the important idols at the Age of Ignorance.
8. Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 3, p. 99; Ibn al-‘Asakir, Mukhtasar Tarikh Damishq, vol. 23, p. 444, no. 2849.
9. Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 3, p. 99.
10. Ibn Abi al-Hadid, Sharh Nahj al-Balaghah, vol. 16, p. 136.
11. Al-Isabah, vol. 2, p. 179.
