But such security was not permanently possible for Mahomet; his spirit was doomed to perpetual sojourn amid tumult and effort.  It was almost twelve months since the victory of Bedr.  The broken Kureisch had had time to recover themselves, and they were now prepared for revenge.  The wealth of Abu Sofian’s caravan, so dearly acquired, had not been distributed after Bedr.  It remained inviolate at Mecca, a weapon wherefrom was to be wrought their bitter vengeance.  All their fighting men were massed into a great host.  Horses and armour, weapons and trappings were bought with their hoarded wealth, and at length, 3000 strong, including 700 mailed warriors and 200 well-mounted cavalry, they prepared to set forth upon their work of punishment.

Not only were their own citizens pressed into the service, but the fighting men from allied neighbouring tribes, who were very ready to take part in an expedition that promised excitement and bloodshed, with the hope of plunder.  The wives of their chief men implored permission to go with the army, pointing out their usefulness and their great eagerness to share the coming triumph.  But many warriors murmured against this, for the undertaking was a difficult one, and they knew the discomforts of a long march.  At length fifteen specially privileged women were allowed to travel with the host, among them Hind, the fierce wife of Abu Sofian, who brought in her train an immense negro, specially reserved for her crowning act of vengeance, the murder of Hamza, in revenge for the slaying of her father.  The army took the easier seaward route, travelling as before in all the pomp and gorgeousness of Eastern warfare, and finally reached the valley of Akik, five miles west of Medina.  Thence they turned to the left, so as to command a more vulnerable place in the city’s defences, and finally encamped at Ohod at the base of the hill on a fertile plain, separated from the city to the north by several rocky ridges, impassable for such an army.

Mahomet’s first news of the premeditated attack reached him through his uncle Abbas, that weak doubter, who never could make up his mind to become either the friend or the foe of Islam.  He sent a messenger to Coba to say that the Kureiseh were advancing in force.  Mahomet was inevitably the leader of the city in spite of the bad feeling between himself and certain sections within it.  Jews and Disaffected alike looked to him for leadership in such a crisis; by virtue of his former prowess his counsels were sought.

Mahomet knew perfectly well that this attacking force was unlike the last, which had been gathered together hurriedly and had underestimated its opposition.  He knew that besides a better equipment they possessed the strongest incentive to daring and determination, the desire to avenge some wrong.  It was with no false estimate of their foe that he counselled his followers to remain in their city and allow the enemy to waste his strength on their defences.