[1] Tārīkh al-Tabarī, Vol 2, Page 190 The Prophet (a.

[1] Tārīkh al-Tabarī, Vol 2, Page 190 The Prophet (a.s) appointed Ummu-Maktūm as the administrator of al-Madinah and on the fourteenth of Shawwal 3 A.H., after the Friday Prayer, went out of the city with his contingent. From a shorter route, he moved towards the Mount Uhud where the armies of the Quraysh had been camping since the twelfth of Shawwal.

The Prophet (a.s) would have traversed half the distance when, `Abdullah ibn Ubay along with his men, cut away from the Prophet’s party and returned to al-Madinah. He made the excuse that his suggestion of fighting from within al-Madinah was turned down and therefore he…