Medina Intelligence on the Uhud Army

While Quraysh completed its preparations in Mecca, al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib was watching its movements closely ¹. As soon as the Meccan army moved toward Medina, al-Abbas sent an urgent letter to the Prophet containing every precise detail of the army's size and equipment.

Al-Abbas's messenger covered the road between Mecca and Medina — some five hundred kilometres — in only three days ¹, and delivered the letter to the Prophet while he was at Quba's prayer ground.

After the letter was read — Ubayy ibn Ka'b read it — the Prophet ordered the news kept secret ¹. At once Medina entered a state of general alert: the men did not part from their weapons even during prayer, ready for any emergency.

To secure the Prophet's protection, a detachment of the Ansar — including Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, Usayd ibn Hudayr and Sa'd ibn Ubada — guarded his door and spent the night with him armed ¹. Guard detachments were also posted on all Medina's entrances and mountain-passes, and reconnaissance patrols circled the routes the polytheists might take, to avert any surprise ¹.