The scouting party of Madinah conveyed the news of the Makkan army step by step. Then the Messenger of Allâh held a head military consultation assembly to exchange views about the situation. He told them about a dream he had. He said: "By Allâh, I have dreamt of — I implore Allâh to be a dream of bounty cows slaughtered and that there was a groove at the pointed top of my sword, and that I had inserted my hand into an immune Armour."

The interpretation of ‘the cows’ was that some of his men were killed, and ‘the groove at the pointed top of his sword’ was that a member of his House would be hurt. As for ‘the Armour’ it was Madinah. Then he offered a suggestion that his Companions should not go out of Madinah and that they should encamp themselves within the city. He was of the opinion that the enemies should be left in the open to exhaust themselves and thus the Muslims would not risk a battle. But if they thought of attacking Madinah, Muslim men would be ready to fight them at the mouths of lanes; whereas Muslim-women would help from over the house roofs." ‘Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul the head of the hypocrites; who attended the meeting as a chief of Al-Khazraj supported the Prophet ’s plan.

As a matter of fact his agreement was not based on the righteousness of the plan but rather on personal benefit. He did not want to fight. On the contrary he secretly aimed at being far away from fight. However it was Allâh’s Will that he should be disclosed and disgraced in public for the first time. It was His Will that the curtain which concealed their disbelief behind should be uncovered and pulled down. Allâh’s Will enabled the Muslims to recognize the reality of those snakes that were creeping within their garments and inside the sleeves of their clothes. Thanks to Allâh they recognized them in one of the most critical times of their lives.

Some of the best honourable Companions, who had missed Al-Jihâd in Badr invasion, suggested that the Prophet should go out of Madinah and urged him to accept their point of view. One of them said: "O, Messenger of Allâh , for long time we have been looking forward to this day; and we have implored Allâh to make such a day draw near. Thanks to Allâh it is time to fight. So let us go out and fight our enemies lest they should think that we have lost heart and do not dare to fight them." Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib the paternal uncle of the Prophet , who had already covered the ornaments of his sword with idolaters’ blood in Badr Battle, was ahead of those enthusiastics who urged him to go out and meet the disbelievers. He said to the Prophet : "By Allâh, Who has sent the Book down unto you, I will not taste food till I fight them with my sword outside Madinah."

After weighing carefully the pros and cons of the issue, it was decided that the enemy should be resisted outside the city at Uhud.

Ascending the pulpit at the Friday congregational prayer, the Prophet urged the people in his sermon to fight courageously. "If you remain steadfast," he said "you will be helped by the Power of the All- Mighty." Then he commanded his men to make ready for the battle. Most of them rejoiced greatly.

He led the afternoon prayer with crowds of people. Then he entered his house accompanied by his two friends Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. They helped him dress and wear his head cloth. He armed himself and wore two Armour's one over the other. He wore his sword and went out to meet people.

People were waiting for him impatiently. Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh and Usaid bin Hudair blamed people for pressing on the Prophet . They said: "You have forced the Messenger of Allâh to fight the enemy outside Madinah." Therefore they were determined to leave the whole matter to the Prophet , and blamed themselves for what they had already done. When the Prophet came out, they said: "O Messenger of Allâh, we should have not disagreed with you. So, you are free to do what you desire. If you prefer to stay inside Madinah we will stay with you. Upon this the Messenger of Allâh remarked: "It does not become a Prophet that once he had put on Armour, he should take it off, until Allâh has decided between him and the enemy."

The Prophet divided his army into three battalions:

1. Al-Muhajireen battalion, under the command of Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari.

2. Al-Ansari-Aws battalion was commanded by Usaid bin Hudair.

3. Al-Ansari-Khazraj battalion with Al-Hubab bin Al-Mundhir to lead it.

The army consisted of a thousand fighters; a hundred of them armoured; another fifty horsemen. He appointed Ibn Umm Maktum to lead the people in prayer in Madinah. Departure was announced and the army moved northwards with the two Sa‘ds, who were armoured, running in front of the army.

Upon passing along Al-Wada‘ mountain trail he saw a well-armed battalion, which were detached from the main body of the army. The Prophet inquired who they were and he was told that they were Jews and were allies of Al-Khazraj. They told him that they wanted to contribute to the fight against the idolaters. "Have they embraced Islaam?" The Prophet asked. "No," they said. So he refused admitting them and said that he would not seek the assistance of disbelievers against the idolaters.

As soon as he reached a location called Ash-Shaikhan, he paraded his army. He dismissed those whom he considered to be disabled or too young to stand the fight. Among them were ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab. Usama bin Zaid; Usaid bin Zaheer, Zaid bin Thabit, Zaid bin Arqam. ‘Araba bin Aws, ‘Amr bin Hazm, Abu Sa‘eed Al-Khudri, Zaid bin Haritha Al-Ansari, Sa‘d bin Habba and Al-Barâ’ bin ‘Azib, Sahih Al-Bukhari pointed out that he had shared in the fight that day.

The Messenger of Allâh allowed both Rafi‘ bin Khadaij and Samura bin Jundub to join the army — though they were too young. The former proved to be skillful at shooting arrows; the latter wrestled the former and beat him. The admission of Rafi‘ made Samura say: "I am stronger than him, I can overcome him." When the Prophet heard this saying he ordered them to wrestle. They did. Samura won so he was also admitted.

As night fell upon them there, they performed both the sunset and the evening prayers and spent the night there as well. Fifty people were chosen to guard the camp and go round it. Muhammad bin Maslama Al-Ansari, the hero of the brigade of Ka‘b bin Al-Ashraf, was in charge of the guards. Whereas Dhakwan bin ‘Abd Qais undertook the responsibility of guarding the Prophet , in particular.