They visited the Quba Mosque believed to be the first Mosque built in the 7th century and the Mount Uhud, on the outskirts of Madinah ,where the early Muslim converts, led by Prophet Mohammed, suffered casualty in their battle against the attacking Quaraish tribe, who were against them practising their Islamic religion.

The visit is under an elabo­rate programme organised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Da’wah and Guidance of KSA for the King’s guests.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon Him) was reported to have settled at the Mosque with his companion, af­ter they migrated from Makkah to Madinah, following their persecu­tion by their enemies in Makkah.

Recalling the historical anteced­ent to the Battle of Uhud, to the Ghanaian Times here at Mount Uhud, a legal practitioner and member of the Ghanaian delega­tion, Ali Gomdah Abdul- Samad said the after suffering defeat at the Battle of Badr, the first battle fought between the Muslims and their opponents (the opponents) decided to regroup to avenge defeat.

Mr Abdul-Samad said the Holy Prophet of Islam, Mohammed and his followers heard the hint of the attack, and decided to square it up with them on the outskirts of Madinah at Mount Uhud.

According to the narration, the Holy Prophet tasked some of his followers with strict instructions, to be on guard at the rear for possible attack from the enemies, while they face the attackers head-on.

Mr Abdul-Samad recalled that when the fight ensued, and the early converts realised that they were winning the battle against the marauding enemies, those tasked by the Holy Prophet to guard the rear, abandoned their duty post to join the fight, and also enjoy some bounties.

Consequently, Mr Abdul-Sa­mad said the enemies gained advantage and attacked the Mus­lims from the rear, and inflicted wounds and casualties to the Holy Prophet and His followers, adding that the enemies claimed to have killed the Holy Prophet.

“Although the Muslims had suffered a lot of casualties, technically the enemies did not achieve anything; they never captured Madinah, they never achieved their aim of stopping the spread of the Islamic religion which they strongly opposed. Contrary, the religion continued to spread,” Mr Abdul-Samad said.

Touching on the lessons learnt from the battle, Mr Abdul-Samad said it was “God’s plan to let us know, you must not take things for granted, you must do things on your own before God comes to your aid.”

He said the lesson from the Battle of Uhud, brought to the fore, the importance of playing according to the rules, and not to disregard instructions from the leader, Prophet Mohammed.

The Ghanaian team, also paid homage to the grave yard at Uhud, where the early Mus­lims who died in the battle were buried.

The team had been visiting the tomb of Holy Prophet, supplicat­ing and observing the five daily prayers, over the past four days in the magnificent Holy Prophet’s Mosque (Al Masjid Al- Nabawi), situated in the heart of the beau­tiful city of Makkah.

The Ghanaian guests of the King are due back in Ghana on Friday from Jeddah via Cairo International Airport.

 FROM SALIFU ABDUL-RAHAMAN, MADINAH, SAUDI ARABIA