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Battle of Badr

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Life of Muhammad
Birth 570
Muhammad is orphaned 575
Marriage to Khadija 595
Makkah phase of dawa 610–622
Quran revealed 610
Declaration at mount Safa 613
First emigration to Abyssinia 615
Start of Boycott of Banu Hashim 616
Year of Sorrow 619
Isra and Mi'raj 620
First pledge of Aqaba 621
Emigration to Yathrib 622
Madinah phase of dawa 622–632
Battle of Badr 624
Battle of Uhud 625
Battle of the Trench 627
Treaty of Hudaibiyyah 628
The first pilgrimage 629
Conquest of Makkah 630
Death 632

Badr is a village where a fair was held every year. Nearly eighty miles from Medina, it lies close to the spot where the Syria-Medina route winds its way through difficult valleys.

On <date d=8 m=9 y=2 era=AH/> the Messenger of Allah set out with three hundred and five of his companions mounted on seventy camels, ‘Amr ibn Umm Maktum was assigned to lead the prayer whilst Abu Lubabah was left in charge of Madinah. They rode the camels in turn heading towards a caravan led by Abu Sufyan. As they marched on they sought news of the caravan until they had reached the valley of Dafran where they settled, and news reached them there that Quraysh had set out from Makkah to protect their caravan.

The whole affair then assumed different proportions for it was no longer simply a raid on a caravan, the question was whether to confront Quraysh or not. So Allah’s Messenger (saw) consulted the Muslims. Abu Bakr followed then by ‘Umar voiced their opinions respectively, then al-Miqdad ibn ‘Amr arose and said,

“ O Messenger of Allah! Go where Allah tells you, for we are with you. We shall not say as the children of Israel said to Moses ‘You and your Lord go and fight and we will stay at home’, but you and your Lord go and fight and we will fight with you. ”

The Muslims then went silent, and he (saw) said, "Give me advice O men!" by which he meant the Ansar who had paid allegiance to him at al-’Aqabah. They had pledged to protect him as they protected their wives and children, with the stipulation that they were not responsible to fight with him outside Madinah. When the Ansar sensed that he (saw) meant them, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh who was holding their banner said, "It seems as if you mean us, O Messenger of Allah." He (saw) said, "Yes." Sa’d said,

“ We believe in you, we declare your truth, and we witness that what you have brought us is the truth, and we have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you wish, we are with you; and by He who sent you, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it, we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting our enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy in combat. It may well be that Allah will let us show you something which will bring you joy, so take us along with Allah’s blessing. ”

The Messenger of Allah (saw) was delighted with Sa’d's words and said,

“ Forward in good heart, for Allah had promised me one of the two parties, and by Allah, it is as though I now saw the enemy lying prostrate. ”

The Progress of the Battle[]

The Messenger of Allah (saw) and his companions journeyed until they had nearly reached Badr. They realised that Quraysh's caravan was nearby and so ‘Ali, al-Zubayr ibn ‘Awwam, and Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas with a number of his companions were sent to the well at Badr in search of news. They returned with two young men from Quraysh whom they questioned. They disclosed the number of Quraysh at between nine hundred to a thousand men and that the nobles of Quraysh were out in force to protect the caravan.

The Messenger of Allah (saw) realised that they were facing a force which was three times the size of his own and that he would be in for a fierce battle. He (saw) informed the Muslims that Makkah had thrown out the pieces of its liver (or the best of her sons) into the battle and that they should harden their resolve. The Muslims vowed to stand up to the enemy, they settled by the well of Badr where they built a cistern and filled it with water. Then they stopped up all the other wells so that they would have plenty of water and the enemy would have nothing to drink, at the same time they also built a hut for the Messenger of Allah (saw) to reside in. Quraysh took up their positions and the skirmishes of battle began. At first, according to Arab custom, single combat (one to one) took place.

Al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd al-Asad stepped forward to destroy the cistern that the Muslims had built. Hamzah dealt with him by smiting him and sending his foot flying. He fell on his back with blood streaming from his foot and Hamzah followed him and smote him, killing him near the cistern.

Then after him ‘Utbah ibn Rabia’a stepped forth between his brother Shayba and his son al-Walid to challenge three Ansar. The Quraysh refused to fight any of the three Ansar, demanding their "equals" and so the Prophet sent Hamzah, ‘Ali and ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Harith. Hamzah quickly dealt Shayba a blow and ‘Ali soon disposed of al-Walid. Then Hamzah and ‘Ali turned on ‘Utbah who stood firm against ‘Ubaydah and they dispatched him, carrying off their injured companion afterwards.

Then the two sides advanced and drew near each other on Friday morning on the <date d=17 m=9 y=2 era=h/>.[1] The Messenger of Allah (saw) straightened the ranks and incited the Muslims to fight. The Muslims were encouraged by Allah’s Messenger’s words and went forward. The fighting broke out fiercely and Quraysh’s heads went flying from their bodies, the Muslims becoming stronger in belief all the time chanting ‘Ahad ! Ahad !’ (the One the One). Allah's Messenger (saw) stood in the middle of the melee, took a handful of pebbles and threw them at Quraysh saying, "Foul be those faces!" Then he (saw) ordered his companions to charge and they duly obliged until the battle was over and the foe was routed. The Muslims emerged victorious, they slew many warriors and tribal leaders of Quraysh and made captive many more. Quraysh fled the battlefield and the Muslims returned to Madinah having achieved a truly great victory.

The Battle of Badr spoken in the Qur'an.[]

One of the distinguishing features of this battle is that Allah speaks of it at full length in the Qur'an which devotes a whole of surah AL-ANFAL to the favours shown at Badr and various other issues connected with it.

Further Reading[]

References[]

  1. ↑ al-Bīrūnī, Chronology, pp. 330-331 [332]
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