Why did the Prophet (pbuh) prohibit killing only his uncle and Sons of Hashim at Badr? Why did he fight at Uhud though he knew that Hamza would be martyred?

Dear Brother / Sister,

We do not have any information showing that the Prophet (pbuh) clearly knew that Hamza, his paternal uncle, would be martyred at Uhud.

According to a narration, the Prophet (pbuh) interpreted the slaughter of a cattle he saw in a dream as some of his Companions’ being martyred and the opening of a breach in his sword's blade as one member of his Ahl al-Bayt being killed. (Ibn Hisham, as-Sirah, 2/63)

According to the narrations in Bukhari and Muslim, it seems that the Prophet (pbuh) interpreted his dream after the Battle of Uhud because, according to the narration there, the Prophet stated the following (the text was quoted from the narration in Muslim):

“I dreamt while asleep that I was about to migrate from Makkah to a land abounding in palm trees and I guessed that it would be Yamama or Hajar. However, it was the city of Madinah. I saw in this dream of mine that I was brandishing a sword and its upper end was broken. It indicated the misfortune to my Companions on the Day of Uhud. I brandished the sword for the second time in my dream and saw that it became all right. It indicated the victory Allah would grant us and the Muslims’ forming a good congregation. And I saw in my dream that some cows were being slaughtered and said, ‘I hope it will be good.’ Now I see that it indicated the martyrs at Uhud. My saying ‘I hope it will be good’ indicated the goodness Allah gave us after that and the victory at the Day of Badr." (Bukhari, Maghazi,2; Muslim, Ruya, h. no: 20 “2272”)

However, the issue of migration is not mentioned in Bukhari. The issue is handled related to the Battle of Uhud. Muslim's hadith appears to be a combination of two separate dreams. So, first of all, there is no dream about Hz. Hamza’s being martyred.

Secondly: Even if the Prophet (pbuh) did not know about his uncle, seeing a sad event that would happen to his Companions in his dream indicates that divine predestination would manifest in that way. Since the dreams of the prophets are true, it is impossible for the events seen in the dream not to take place. The Prophet took the necessary precautions in terms of causes but he also surrendered to qadar. 

His attitude toward Abbas in the battle of Badr should be considered as the special affection a person shows to his relatives. Moreover, according to the information given by the sources, the Prophet (pbuh) wanted Abbas and some members of Sons of Hashim not to be killed in the Battle of Badr and explained the reason as follows: "They came as a result of the pressure of the polytheists though they did not want to do so." (see al-Kamil Fit-tarih, 2/23)

The attitude of the Prophet (pbuh) toward the prisoners of Badr is an indication that he treated everyone fairly. As it is known, the Quraysh Army, which suffered a great defeat at Badr, left behind many goods and 70 prisoners. Among the captives were Abbas, the paternal uncle of the Messenger of Allah, and some other relatives. Hz. Umar was given the duty of tying the hands of the captives so that they would not escape. Hz. Abbas was tied very tightly because he was the most notable of them. Therefore, he began to moan at night. The Prophet (pbuh) could not sleep since he heard this moaning.

They asked, "O Messenger of Allah! Why do you not sleep?" He said, " Because of the moaning of Abbas..."

Some of his Companions, who did not want the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) to be disturbed and upset, untied Abbas.

Seeing that the moaning ceased, the Prophet said, "Why do I not hear the moaning of Abbas?"

The Companions said, "We have untied him."

Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) said, "Untie all of the captives!" Then, he fell asleep. (Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Beirut, 1410/1990, 4/9)

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