The Majestic Quran

like Adam; God created him from dust then said to him ‘Be!’ And he was” (59). The story of Mary’s childhood is beautifully told through the miracles, the Prophet Zachariah, Her guardian, prayed to God for a child of his own and he was blessed with a son: John. This is followed by an account of Mary’s virgin conception and the birth of Jesus. The Battle of Uhud Since their defeat at the Battle of Badr, the Makkans had been planning to avenge their dead. Within a year, they mustered an army of some 3,000 men to attack Madinah. When the Prophet r learnt of this, he held a war council. The overwhelming opinion was to leave the city and meet the enemy in the open field. So a thousand Muslims marched to mount Uhud. However, 300 men led by Abdullah ibn Ubayy, the hypocrite, deserted. The Prophet r arrayed the bulk of his forces with their backs to Mount Uhud, and posted fifty archers on the nearby hill, to provide cover against outflanking manoeuvres by the enemy cavalry. These archers were ordered not to leave their post under any circumstances. In their subsequent, death-defying assault upon the numerically superior forces of the Makkan idolaters, the Muslims gained a decisive advantage over the former, who turned to flee. At that moment, believing that the battle had been won and fearing lest they lose their share of the spoils, most of the archers abandoned their covering position and joined the skirmish around the encampment of the Quraysh... [They] veered round in a wide arc and attacked the Muslim forces from the rear. Deprived of the cover of the archers and caught between two fires, the Muslims retreated in disorder, with the loss of many lives (Asad).