SAYYID ASH-SHUHADA — TOMB OF HAMZA AT UHUD
The Master of Martyrs.
The Beloved Uncle
The Prophet ﷺ had an uncle who loved him like a son. And whom he loved like a father. This uncle was Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib (رضي الله عنه).
Hamza was powerful. Hamza was feared. Hamza was one of the two best warriors in all of Mecca. He hunted lions. He challenged the strongest men. He was the armed hand of the Hashim clan.
When his nephew Muhammad ﷺ began to preach, Hamza did not convert immediately. But one day, upon returning from hunting, he learned that Abu Jahl had insulted and struck the Prophet ﷺ. Without even returning home, Hamza went to confront Abu Jahl, smashed his head with his bow, and declared before all of Quraysh: "Do you insult Muhammad while I am of his religion?"
He became a Muslim that day. And the entire status of Muslims in Mecca changed.
The Prophetic Title
The Prophet ﷺ gave Hamza a title that no one else in all of Islamic history has borne: Sayyid ash-Shuhadā' — "The Master of Martyrs". (Al-Hakim · Al-Mustadrak — hasan chain)
The Battle of Uhud — The End of Hamza
Battle of Uhud, the year 3 of the Hijra. Hamza fought with two swords, one in each hand. He was terrifying.
But a woman from Quraysh, Hind bint Utbah — the wife of Abu Sufyan — had lost her father and brother at Badr, killed by Hamza. She had promised her freedom to an Ethiopian slave named Wahshi ibn Harb, an expert in spear throwing, if he killed Hamza for her.
Wahshi hid behind a rock. When Hamza passed near him, Wahshi threw his spear. It pierced Hamza's abdomen. The Lion of Allah fell.
Hind then approached. According to reports, she advanced toward the body, opened his chest, tore out his liver, and chewed it in her rage. But Allah did not allow her to swallow it.
The Prophet's ﷺ Grief
When the Prophet ﷺ saw the body of his uncle, he wept as no one had ever seen the Prophet ﷺ weep. He prayed over him. He ordered that the other martyrs be buried next to him — thus the cemetery of the martyrs of Uhud was born.
The Incredible Repentance of Wahshi and Hind
Years later, during the conquest of Mecca (year 8 AH), Wahshi and Hind converted to Islam.
Wahshi came to find the Prophet ﷺ, terrified. The Prophet ﷺ forgave him. But he said: "Hide your face from me." Because seeing Wahshi was like seeing the death of Hamza again.
Wahshi lived the rest of his life as a Muslim. And he fought against Musaylima the Liar. With the same spear that had killed Hamza, he killed Musaylima. He said at the end of his life: "I killed the best of men [Hamza] before I knew Islam, and I killed the worst of men [Musaylima] after I knew it. I hope Allah will forgive me." (Sahih al-Bukhari no. 4072)
This is one of the most beautiful stories of forgiveness in all of human history.
The Cemetery of the Martyrs of Uhud Today
Next to the traditional grave of Hamza rest more than 70 martyrs of the Battle of Uhud: Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, Abdullah ibn Jubayr, Hanzalah ibn Abi 'Amir ("washed by the angels"), and many others.
The Prophet ﷺ regularly visited this cemetery until his own death.