Muhammad is only a messenger; Verily, all the
messengers have died before him. So, were he to die, or if he was killed, would
you turn back on your heels? And he who turns back on his heels will never harm
Allah at all; but Allah will reward the grateful. (Al-Imran
3: 145).
A false rumour was spread at Uhud, that the
Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had been killed. The verse alludes to this
incident and means that even if the rumour was founded, it should not have made
the faithful falter in their faith. Muhammad (pbuh) was only a prophet and like
other prophets before him were dead, he too would die. Only the God of Islam,
the One and Supreme God lives eternally.
First Proof
When seven years after the incident at Uhud (after
the battle of Uhud) the Holy Prophet (pbuh) died, Umar (ra) stood in the mosque
of Medina, sword in hand, and said, “Whoever says that the prophet of God has
died, I will slit his throat. He has not die but went to his Lord just as Moses
had gone to his Lord and he shall return to punish the hypocrites.”
At that moment, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), who was
not present at the moment when the prophet breathed his last, returned quickly,
went straight into the prophet's room and upon realising that he had actually
died, kissed his forehead and said, “You are sweet (sacred) in death as you
were when alive, and surely God is not going to give you two deaths.”
Then he went out, resolved, and asked the
assembly in the mosque: “O people! Whoever worshiped Muhammad, let him know
that Muhammad is dead; And he who worships God, let him be assured that God is
alive, and that He does not die.”
And he recited to them this verse: “Muhammad is only a messenger; Verily, all the messengers have died before him. So, were he to die, or if he was killed, would you turn back on your heels?” (Al-Imran 3: 145). He meant that it was not surprising under these circumstances that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was also dead. On hearing this very appropriate verse, Umar (ra) and all the others were convinced of the prophet's death and were plunged into great mourning. Thus this verse proves incidentally that the prophets who had preceded our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had all died because if any one of them was still alive, the verse could not have been cited as evidence of the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).
And he recited to them this verse: “Muhammad is only a messenger; Verily, all the messengers have died before him. So, were he to die, or if he was killed, would you turn back on your heels?” (Al-Imran 3: 145). He meant that it was not surprising under these circumstances that the Holy Prophet (pbuh) was also dead. On hearing this very appropriate verse, Umar (ra) and all the others were convinced of the prophet's death and were plunged into great mourning. Thus this verse proves incidentally that the prophets who had preceded our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had all died because if any one of them was still alive, the verse could not have been cited as evidence of the death of the Holy Prophet (pbuh).