Anas ibn al-Naḍr رضي الله عنه had missed the Battle of Badr.
It weighed heavily on him.
He said:
“If Allah allows me to witness another battle with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Allah will see what I will do.”
Then came Uhud.
When some Muslims began to retreat, Anas advanced toward the battlefield.
He met Saʿd ibn Muʿādh رضي الله عنه and said:
“O Saʿd ibn Muʿādh!
Paradise!
By the Lord of al-Naḍr, I can smell its fragrance from this side of Uhud.”
Then he charged forward.
He fought until he was martyred.
After the battle, they found more than eighty wounds on his body from swords, spears, and arrows.
His body had been so badly mutilated that no one could recognize him.
Except his sister.
She recognized him by his fingers.
Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه said that they believed this verse was revealed concerning him and men like him:
﴿مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُم مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا﴾
“Among the believers are men who were true to what they pledged to Allah. Some of them have fulfilled their pledge, and some are still waiting, and they have never changed in the least.”
Surah al-Aḥzāb 33:23
رضي الله عنه
