Quraysh Preparations for the Battle of Uhud

After the harsh defeat Quraysh suffered at the battle of Badr, Mecca was seized by fierce rage and an overwhelming desire for revenge ¹. The shock of losing its champions and nobles was a strong spur to muster every resource for a battle meant to erase that tragedy's traces and restore Mecca's standing.

Quraysh's leaders — headed by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Safwan ibn Umayya, Ikrima ibn Abi Jahl and Abdullah ibn Abi Rabi'a — agreed on a comprehensive war against the Muslims ¹. To secure the needed funding, Quraysh sold the thousand camels by which the earlier caravan had escaped, raising fifty thousand dinars ¹.

Quraysh did not rely on its own strength alone: it opened volunteering to neighbouring tribes — the Ahabish, Kinana and the people of Tihama. It used incitement: Safwan ibn Umayya induced the poet Abu Uzza — released at Badr without ransom — to stir the tribes against Medina, in return for undertaking his daughters' support and enriching him if he returned alive ². Quraysh also employed the poet Musafi' ibn Abd Manaf al-Jumahi for a like task in kindling the tribes' spirit of vengeance ³.

Quraysh's resolve was hardened by the heavy economic losses it suffered in Zayd ibn Haritha's raid, which made it hasten to complete its equipment for a decisive battle ³.