"When you were fleeing without paying any attention to anyone, while the Prophet was calling you from your rear, He requited you with grief upon grief, so that you may not grieve for what you lose nor for what befalls you, and Allah is well aware of what you do.
     "Then He sent down to you safety after grief —a drowsiness that came over a group of you— while another group, anxious only about themselves, entertained false notions about Allah, notions of [pagan] ignorance. They say, ‘Do we have any role in the matter?’ Say, ‘Indeed the matter belongs totally to Allah.’ They hide in their hearts what they do not disclose to you. They say, ‘Had we any role in the matter, we would not have been slain here.’ Say, ‘Even if you had remained in your houses, those destined to be slain would have set out toward the places where they were laid to rest, so that Allah may test what is in your breasts, and that He may purge what is in your hearts, and Allah knows best what is in the breasts.’
      "Those of you who fled on the day when the two hosts met, only Satan had made them stumble because of some of their deeds. Certainly Allah has excused them, for Allah is All-forgiving, all-forbearing.” (Holy Qur’an 3:153, 154, 155)
       The All-Wise Creator has immortalized certain events in His Last, Final and Universal Scripture, so that mankind may heed the lessons of history, in order to differentiate between truth and falsehood.
        Today, the 15th of Shawwal is the anniversary of one such event that occurred in the year 3 AH when the pagan Arabs of Mecca descended upon Medina with a massive force of well-equipped infidels intend on avenging the disastrous defeat they had suffered a year before at Badr at the hands of a mere 313 ill-equipped Muslims when they imposed the first ever armed encounter upon Prophet Muhammad (SAWA).
       The neo Muslims in Medina, among whom there was a sizeable number of those who pay only lip service to Islam but were devoid of faith in their hearts, were terrified at the prospects of risking their life in fighting such a force. Some proposed they should stay in Medina and allow the Meccan polytheists to enter the city so that they can fight them in the streets from the safety of their homes, without much risk to life. Others frowned upon such an idea by pointing out the risk to the honour of their womenfolk and the danger to their children if the invaders managed to get the upper hand.
      It was thus decided to meet the invading force outside the city near Mount Ohad. But no sooner than Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) marched forth, a large group of several hundred hypocrites left him and returned to the city. Undaunted, the Prophet arranged his forces in battle ranks and gave clear cut instructions to the guards he had posted on the mountain pass against leaving their positions.
       The pagan Arabs charged but the Muslims held their ground, and thanks to the valour and swordsmanship of the Prophet’s uncle, Hamza (AS) and his cousin, Imam Ali ibn Abi Taleb (AS), they retreated, leaving behind their camp baggage. At this a group of weak-willed Muslims went for the spoils, and the guards at the mountain pass, joined in the loot in disobedience to the Prophet’s instructions against leaving the place unguarded.
       This was the very opportunity for which a force of pagan Arabs led by Khalid bin Waleed was lying in wait, and it immediately burst upon the Muslims, making most of them flee the battlefield. The excuse which the fleeing neo-Muslims later proffered was that the Prophet had been martyred and it was now pointless for them to endanger their life for the sake of Islam.
       This is firm indication of the lack of faith in Islam of the majority of Sahaba (Prophet’s companions), especially in view of their refusal to heed the voice of the Prophet who was alive and exhorting them to stay their ground. God Almighty refers to this fact in the holy Qur’an:
      "Muhammad is but a Prophet; [other] prophets have passed before him. If he dies or is slain, will you turn back on your heels? Anyone who turns back on his heels will not harm Allah in the least, and soon Allah will reward the grateful.” (3:144)
       Among the grateful that Allah rewarded on the Day of Ohad was the Martyr Hamza (AS). He was struck from behind a tree by the coward Wahshi, who ripped apart the liver of his victim and presented it for chewing – in the cannibalistic manner of present day Salafii terrorists – to his mistress Hind, the wife of the Omayyad pagan chief, Abu Sufyan.
       The near disaster was averted by the steadfastness of Imam Ali (AS), who shielded his cousin the Prophet without the least weakness and with full dignity and honour, as the holy Qur’an says:  
      "How many a Prophet there has been with whom a multitude of godly men fought. They did not falter for what befell them in the way of Allah, neither did they weaken, nor did they abase themselves; and Allah loves the steadfast.” (3:146)
      By pondering on the ayahs of the holy Qur’an we realize that the Lord Most High has praised the One and Only Commander of the Faithful for his valour, while reprimanding the deserters who would later, after the passing away of Prophet Muhammad (SAWA), usurp political power of the state and style themselves caliphs by depriving the person who had saved Islam and the life of the Seal of Messengers at the Battle of Ohad, as Archangel Gabriel was heard singing his praise:
      "La fatha illa Ali la sayf illa Dhu’l-Fiqar”
     (There is no brave youth except Ali, and no flashing sword except Dhu’l-Fiqar – the twin-bladed).