Story of Hazrat Hamzah’s Shroud in the Battle of Uhud
Rasulullah’s dear uncle and one of his earliest supporters, Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu) fell in the battle of Uhud, and the ruthless enemy brutally cut off his nose, ears and vitals. He was ripped open and his heart, lungs and liver were torn out and the whole body was thoroughly mutilated. While Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) was making arrangements for the burial of the dead, he caught sight of Hamzah’s body, and was shocked to find it in that condition. He covered the body with a sheet of cloth.
Presently, Hamzah’s sister Safiyah (radiyallah anha) also came to see her martyred brother for the last time. Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) fearing that the sight might be too much for her to bear, told her son, Zubayr (radiyallahu anhu), to dissuade her from seeing the body. She however, rejoined: “Yes, I have heard that the wretches have mutilated my dear brother’s body. It is not too much in the path of Allah Ta’ala, and we should be resigned to it . I will bear all this patiently, and may Allah Ta’ala in His Grace have mercy on us all.” Zubayr (radiyallahu anhu) told Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) of his mother’s resolve, so he gave his assent to her seeing the body. When she beheld what they had done to it , she simply said: “inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’on” and offer a dua fro his soul.
In another Hadith, Zubayr (radiyallahu anhu) himself narrates the incident. He says: “We saw a woman crossing near to the place where the martyrs of the battle of Uhud had been gathered. On her close approach, I recognized her to be may own mother. I advanced to stop her, but she proved to be too strong for me. She thrust me aside, with the words, ‘Leave me alone.’ When I told her that Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) did not want her to see the dead body, she at once stopped and explained, ‘Hearing the news of my brother’s death, I have brought a couple of sheets for his shroud. Take these sheets and use them.”
“We took the sheets and had begun to cover the body with it, when we saw the dead body of an ansari named Suhayl. It was also lying close by in the same condition. We considered it a shame to bury Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu) in two sheets, while the body of another Muslim brother lay bare. so we decided to use one sheet each for the two bodies.”
“Now, one sheet was bigger than the other, so we drew lots, and the bigger sheet came to the lot of Suhayl (radiyallahu anhu) and the smaller one to that of Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu). We found that the sheet meant for Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu) was too small to cover his body; if we covered the head, the feet remained uncovered, and when we pulled it down to cover the feet, the head was exposed. Rasulullah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Cover the head with the sheet, and the feet with tree leaves.”
This is how the body f Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu), the dear uncle of him who wore the crown of perfection was buried. Look at the spirit of the sahabah, who could not bear Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu) being enshrouded in two sheets and another Muslim brother remaining without a shroud at all.
Again, although Hamzah (radiyallahu anhu) deserved preferential treatment due to his exalted position, his body was covered with the smaller sheet that had fallen to his lot. Can there be a better example of sympathy, equality and self-sacrifice? Alas, we who call ourselves the followers of these illustrious people, do not possess any of these qualities.