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The Great Battle of Badr took place on the
seventeenth of Ramadan, two years after the Hijra. This
was the first battle that the believers ever engaged in
with the disbelievers, and it is, by far, the most
famous and most renown, becuase of the several
extraordinary events that occured during it. Rasoolullah
(saws) had encouraged the Muslims to oppose the Quraish
caravan which was returning to Mecca from
Sham.
The Muslims went out with 300 and some
soldiers not intending to meet a caravan of about 40
men, not intending to fight but only to overpower them.
The caravan escaped, but Abu Sufyan had already sent
word to Quraish to come and protect it. The Quraish
marched with enormous army of 1000 men, six hundred
wearing shields, 100 horses, and 700 camels, and
luxurious provisions to last for several days. The
disbelievers wanted to make this a victory that would
put fear into the hearts of all the Arabs. They wanted
to crush the Muslims once and for all and the odds were
overwhelmingly in their favor. Imagine that the
believers with their small army (including only 2
horses), going out with the intent of meeting a mere 40
unarmed man and instead meeting a well- prepared army of
*3 times* their size.... Rasoolullah (saws) could have
easily ordered the believers to fight and they wouldn't
have hesitated to comply, but, he (saws) wanted to
emphasize to his followers that they should fight out of
conviction and iman and to teach us a lesson in the
process. He gathered his followers to conduct shura
(consultation). Many of the muhajireen ( the Muslims who
emigrated from Mecca to Medinah) spoke up, using the
most eloquent of words to describe their dedication. But
there was one of the sahabah whom all the others envied
for his statement to Rasoolullah (saws). He, Miqdad ibn
al Aswad, rose up in front of the crowd and said, 'Ya
Rasoolullah! We will not say to you like Bani Israel
said to Musa, 'Go you and your Lord and fight, we are
here sitting (waiting).' (surat al maa'idah). Go by
Allah's blessing and we are with you!" And so
Rasoolullah (saws) was very pleased, but in his greeat
wisdom, he waited silently, and some among the Muslims
knew what he intended. So far only the muhajiroon had
given their consent, but it was the Ansar (the Muslims
who lived in Medinah and welcomed the Muslims into their
city) who had the most to loose in this stake and it was
not a part of the pledge (that Rasoolullah had taken
from the Ansar at ‘Aqabah) for the Ansar to fight with
the Muslims in foreign territory. So, the great leader
of the Ansar, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh spoke up, "Ya Rasoolullah!
Maybe you mean us." Rasoolullah (saws) responded in the
affirmative. Sa'd proceeded to give a beautiful speech
in which he said, among many things: "O Messenger of
Allah, we have believed in you and we believe that you
are saying the truth. We give you, based on that, our
covenant to listen to and obey you.....By Allah, the One
Who sent you with the truth, if you were to enter the
sea, we would rush into it with you and not one of us
would stay behind...May Allah show you in our actions
what will satisfy your eyes. So march with us, putting
our trust in Allah's blessings." Rasoolullah (saws) was
very pleased by this and said, “Forward and be of cheer,
for Allah has promised me one of the two (the caravan or
the battle), and by Allah, it is as if I now saw the
enemy lying prostrate.” The Muslims marched forward and
encamped at the nearest spring of Badr (closest to
Medinah, which is north of Mecca). One of the
companions, Al-Hubab ibn Mundhir, asked Rasoolullah
(saws), “ Has Allah inspired you to choose this very
spot or is it stratagem of war and the product of
consultation?” Rasoolullah (saws) said, “It is the
product of stratagem of war and consultation.” So
Al-Hubab suggested that the Muslims encamp further south
on the nearest water well, make a basin of water for
themselves, and destroy the other wells to thereby
restrict to Quraish’s access to the water.
Rasoolullah (saws) approved of
his plan and carried it out. [*] Then, Sa’d ibn Mu’adh
suggested that a trellis or hut be built for Rasoolullah
(saws) as a protection for him and to serve as a
headquarters for the army. Rasoolullah (saws) and Abu
Bakr stayed in the hut while Sa’d ibn Mu’adh and a group
of his men guarded it. Rasoolullah (saws) spent the
whole nigh preceeding the battle in prayer and
supplication evn thought he (saws) knew that Allah (swt)
had promised him victory. It was out of his (saws) love
for and worship and submission to Allah (swt) that he
did this. And it was said that this is the highest form
of ‘ibadah knowns as “‘ain al yaqeen”, a state of being
completely dependant and submissive to Allah (swt),
which distinguished him (in superiority) from Abu Bakr
As siddiq (ra) who only had “ ‘ilm al yaqeen”, the
certainty of the promise. Unusally, that same night, the
night when tensions were mounting for one of the biggest
events in history, the night before the battle that
would signify the progress or defeat of Islam, instead
of being nervous, worried and unable to sleep, the
Muslim army enjoyed a sound and refreshing sleep. That
night was the night of the 17th of Ramadan, the year 2
A.H. This was a Divine favor which Allah (swt) mentioned
in the Quran: “(Remember) when He covered you with a
slumber as a security from Him, and He caused rain to
descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to
remove from you the Rijz (whispering, evil suggestions,
etc.) of Satan, and to strengthen your hearts, and make
your feet firm thereby.” [8:11] The seond favor from
Allah (swt) mentioned in this verse is the rain that
Allah (swt) sent upon the believers that very night. The
place where the Muslims were to encamp was made of sandy
ground which was hard to walk on becuase one’s feet
could easily sink in it. Allah (swt) sent the rain to
make the ground firm under their feet and sent the sleep
to make their hearts firm. The next morning, Rasoolullah
(saw) was still asleep when Quraish was very closely
approaching. Abu Bakr (ra) was very hesitant to wake the
noble Messenger (saws), but was forced to do so becuase
Quraish were approahcing quickly. The Muslims were
arranged in ranks. When the two parties appoached closer
and were visible to each other, Rasoolullah (saws) began
supplicating, “O Allah! The conceited and haughty
Quraishites are already here and defying You and and
belying Your Messenger. O Allah! I m waiting for Your
victory which You have promised me. I beseech You Allah
to defeat them.”
He (saws) then gave strict
orders that his men would not start fighting until he
gave them his final word.
He recommended that they
use their arrows sparingly.
[1] and never resort to
swords unless the enemies came too close.
[2] The
Quraish were haught and arrogant and confident in their
superior number, weapons, and provisions but it is Allah
(swt) who would decide the matter: “(O disbelievers) if
you ask for a judgement, now has the judgement come unto
you and if you cease (to do wrong) , it will be better
for you, and If you return (to the attack), so shall we
return, and your forces will be of no avail to you,
however numerous it be, and verily, Allah is with the
believers.” [8:19] The battle began with a confronation
between three men from each side:
-- Hamza
(Rasoolullah’s uncle)vs.‘Utbah ibn Rabi’a
-- Ali
(Rasoolullah’s cousin)vs.Al-Waleed ibn ‘Utbah
--
‘Ubaidah ibn al Harith vs. Shaybah ibn Rabi’a
In
the former two cases, Hamza and Ali killed their
opponents, but ‘Ubaidah (despite killing his opponent)
was severely wounded and died about four or five days
later. The fighting intensified, and many more duels
broke out. In the midst of all of this, Rasoolullah
(saws) continued to supplicate his Lord. He (saws) said,
“O Allah! Should this group (of Muslims) be defeated
today, You will no longer be worshipped.”Abu Bakr
witnessed this incessant supplication so He said to
Rasoolullah (saws), “O Rasoolullah, you have cried out
enough to your Lord. He will surely fulfill what He has
promised you.”
God Help
Muslims
Immediate was the response of Allah
(swt), Who sent down angels from the heavens for the
help and assistance of Rasoolullah (saw) and his
companions. The Quran marks this miraculous occurance:
“I will help you with a thousand of the angels each
behind the other (following one another) in succession.”
Quran [8:9] Rasoolullah (saws), in his hut, dozed off a
little and then raised his head joyfully crying and
said, “O Abu Bakr! glad tidings are there for you.
Allah’s victory has approached. By Allah, I can see
Jibreel on his mare in the thick of a sandstorm.” Then
he came out of the hut and exclaimed: “sayuhzamul jam’u
wa yuwwalloonad-dubur” Quran [54:45] (Their multitude
will be put to flight, and they will show their backs.)
This is in fact one of the miracles of the Quran becuase
this verse was revealed in Mecca before any of these
events at Badr had taken place. Omar (ra), upon hearing
Rasoolullah (saws) proclaim this verse on this occasion
said, “When this verse was first revealed, I asked
Rasoolullah what it means. What multitude? What deafeat?
And Rasoolullah (saws) didn’t answer me. But when I saw
him recite it on that occasion, I then understood.” Then
Rasoolullah (saws) took a handful of dust and cast it at
the enemy and said : Confusion seize their faces!” As he
flung the dust, a violent sandstorm blew like furnace
blast into the eyes of the enemy. About this, Allah
says: “And you (i.e. Muhammad -saws) threw not when you
did throw, but Allah threw.” [8:17] It was at this point
that Rasoolullah (saws) gave orders to launch a full
counter-attack. He incited the believers reciting the
following verse: “And be quick for forgiveness from your
Lord, and for Paradise as wide as are the heavens and
earth.” [3:133] The spirit of the Muslims was at it peak
and they fought with the untmost courage and bravery
severly wounding the Quraish army, killing many of their
men and instilling fear in their hearts. The Muslims did
not know that Allah’s help was about to descend upon
them. They only knew the odds that were apparent to both
sides: 1000 against 300, 700 camels against 70 camels,
100 horses against 2, enourmous provisions against none,
an intent and preparation for war against an unprepared
group of believers. Still, despite all odds, they had
trust in Allah (swt) and His Messenger and they were
willing and even hoping to give their lives of this
dunya for the ever-lasting abode of Jannah. Because of
their devotion Allah (swt) sent His help and
victory.
In addition to sending down angels,
Allah (swt) also brought another miraculous occurence to
ensure the Muslim victory. Allah says: "“(And remember)
When Allah showed them to you (Muhammad) as few in your
dream, if He had shown them to you as many, you would
have surely have disputed in making a decision. But
Allah saved (you). Certainly, He is the AllKnower of
what is in the breasts.'” [8:43] And indeed, Allah (swt)
did fulfill His promise: “And (remember) when you met
(the army of the disbelievers on the Day of the battle
of Badr), He showed them to you as few in your eyes and
He made you appear as few in their eyes, so that Allah
might accomplish a matter already ordained (in His
Knowledge), and to Allah return all matters (for
decision).” [8:44] Many of the disbelievers were killed
in this battle, the most noteworthy of which was Abu
Jahl, the archenemy of Islam. When Rasoolullah (saws)
set out to look at his corpse, he (saws) said, " “This
is the Pharaoh of this nation." ” And so the Muslims
defeated the disbelievers in a humiliating defeat by the
Help of Allah (swt). Indeed Allah, again, fulfilled His
promise, " “Their multitude will be put to flight, and
they will show their backs”" [54:45] The disbelievers,
with all their might, turned their backs and ran away
from the Muslims in disgrace and utter humiliation.
Allahu Akbar wa lillah al Hamd.
References
[*] I the
book by Dr. al Sibai, Sh. Jamal Zarabozo says that this
story was not narrated through authentic chains,
although it is mentioned in several famous books of
seerah (with reliable authors) who were silent about its
authenticity. Allahu a`lam.
[1] Sahih
al-Bukhari, 2/568
[2] Abu Daud, 2/13
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