Name: Battle of Badr Arabic: غزوة بدر Date: 17 Ramadan, 2 AH Location: Hejaz region of western Arabia Battle of Badr is one of the greatest and most famous battles of Islam and a turning point in Prophet Muhammad (saw)s struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Makkah. For the first time the followers of the new faith were put into a serious test. This was a key battle in the early days of Islam and proved to be a turning point in Islams struggle with its oppressive opponents, amongst them the Quraish in Makkah. And those who participated in it enjoyed a special distinction amongst the Muslims. The word Badri is used in the biographies of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (saw) for those persons who participated in the Battle of Badr. It is one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Quran. Most contemporary knowledge of the battle at Badr comes from traditional Islamic accounts, both hadith and biographies of Muhammad (saw), recorded in written form some time after the battle. The emigration of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to Madina had turned the enemies from Makkah more hostile. The Makkans and their allies started to bring their raids to the very outskirts of Madina, destroying the fruit trees of the Muslims and carrying away their flocks. In the second year of migration a report was received in Madina that a caravan was going from Makkah to Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan. Prophet Muhammad (saw) left Madina with 313 men in the month of Ramadan of the second year of migration to battle Quraish encamped by the side of the well of Badr. On the 17th of Ramadan of the second year of migration (2AH or 624 CE) Quraish descended, early in the morning, from behind the sandy mound into the desert of Badr under the leadership of Abu Jahl. When Prophet Muhammad (saw) saw them he raised his face to the sky and said: O Allah! Quraish are up, with pride and arrogance, to fight against You and to deny Your Prophet! Send the aid which You have promised me and destroy them today! Three famous warriors of Quraish came out of their ranks and challenged for a fight. They were two brothers Utbah and Shaybah, sons of Rabiyyah, and Walid bin Utbah and all of them were fully armed. They roared and ran their horses in the field and called their opponents to fight. Three brave men from amongst the Ansars named Awf, Mauz and Abdullah Rawahah came out of the ranks of the Muslims. Utbah, however, realized that they were from Madina and said to them: We have nothing to do with you. Then a man (from amongst Quraish) shouted: O Muhammad! Send our equals to fight with us! Prophet Muhammad (saw) turned his face to Ubaydah, Hamzah and Ali and said: Get up. The three brave men covered their heads and faces and of they went to the battlefield. All the three persons introduced themselves. Utbah accepted all of them for a combat and said: Yes, you are our equals. Some say that in this combat each warrior fought with his rival of the same age. Ali, who was the youngest of them, met Walid (maternal uncle of Muawiyah), the middle-aged amongst the Muslims (Hamzah) faced Utbah (maternal grandfather of Muawiyah) and Ubaydah, who was the oldest amongst the Muslim combatants fought with Shaybah, who was oldest from the other side. Ibn Hisham, however, says that the opponent of Hamzah was Shaybah and that of Ubaydah was Utbah. Historians write that Ali and Hamzah killed their opponents in the very first moment and then hurried to help Ubaydah and killed his adversary as well. As a consequence of the warriors of Quraish being killed general attack started, and Quraish began attacking in groups. Prophet Muhammad (saw) ordered that the Muslims should refrain from attacking and should prevent the advance of the enemy by means of archery. The character of Prophet Muhammad (saw), whose posture in the battlefield was described by Ali (ra), is as follows: Every time when fighting became intense we took refuge with Prophet Muhammad (saw). None of us was nearer to the enemy than he. Then Prophet Muhammad (saw) returned to the seat of command and with his heart overflowing with faith, turned his face to the Almighty and said: O Lord! If this group is annihilated today, none else will worship you on the face of the earth. Then Prophet Muhammad (saw) picked up some dust and throwing it towards Quraish, said: May your faces be metamorphosed! Thereafter he gave orders for general attack. Allah had helped you at Badr, when you were a contemptible little force: Then fear Allah in order to show your gratitude. When you did say to the believers: Does it not suffice you that your Creator should help you with three thousand angels sent down. (Surah al-e-Imran, 3:123-124) The signs of victory of the Muslims began to appear soon. The enemies were stricken with terror and began to flee. The Muslims, who were fighting with the help of their faith, and knew that both killing and being killed were blessings of Allah (SWT), were perfectly undaunted and nothing stopped their advance. Bilal, the Ethiopian, was a slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf in the past. As Bilal had embraced Islam while he was a slave, Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to torture him severely. In order to make him abjure Islam he used to make him lie on hot sand during the summer season and placed a big stone on his chest. Even in that condition Bilal used to say: Ahad! Ahad! Ahad! (Allah is One, Allah is One, Allah is One). The Ethiopian slave suffered a good deal until Hazrat Abu Bakr purchased and set him free.In the Battle of Badr Bilals eyes fell on Umayyah ibn Khalaf and he realized that Abdur Rahman wanted to favour him. He, therefore, cried aloud: O friends of Allah! Umayyah ibn Khalaf is one of the chiefs of unbelievers. He should not be allowed to live. The Muslims encircled Umayyah ibn Khalaf from all sides and put him and his son to death. Abdullah ibn Masud, a companion of Prophet Muhammad (saw), was the first person to openly recite Glorious Quran in front of a gathering. He participated in all the battles of Prophet Muhammad (saw) but was so short that even when he stood up among people who were sitting, he would not rise above them! It was for this reason that in the battle of Badr, he requested Prophet Muhammad (saw): I do not possess the strength to fight in the battle of Badr; can you assign me some task by means of which I too can attain the same reward as those who fight? Look amongst the dying infidels and if you happen to find anyone of them still alive, kill them, Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied. Abdullah ibn Masud narrates: As I moved in the midst of people who seemed to be dead, I came to Abu Jahl, the most unyielding enemy of Prophet Muhammad (saw). He still had some life left in him. I thank Allah (SWT) that He has humiliated you, I said as I sat on his chest. Abu Jahl opened his eyes and grunted, Woe unto you! Who has been victorious? Victory is for Allah and His Prophet, and it is for this reason that I shall kill you, I replied, placing my foot on his neck. With great arrogance, he cried, O tiny shepherd! You have placed your foot on a very exalted place. Do know that nothing is more painful for me than to be killed by a dwarf like you. Oh! Why did not one of the sons of Abdul Muttalib kill me? I severed his head from his body and appeared before Prophet Muhammad (saw). Glad tidings to you, O Prophet of Allah! This is the head of Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl was more sinful and worse than Firawn of the time of Musa (as). When Firawn was convinced that he would perish, he believed in Allah (SWT), whereas when Abu Jahl became certain of his impending doom, he called upon al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat to save him, Prophet Muhammad (saw) remarked later. Many Muslim historians believe that in the Battle of Badr single combats and collective attacks continued till midday and the battle came to an end after noontide, when Quraish fled and some of them were captured. The martyrs of Badr were buried in a corner of the battlefield. Their graves still exist and devoted Muslims visit them to offer their respects. After burying the martyrs Prophet Muhammad (saw) performed afternoon prayers at that place and came out of the desert of Badr before sunset. In this battle fourteen men from amongst the Muslims were killed. As regards Quraish seventy of them were killed and seventy others were captured. The forces of truth and falsehood faced each other for the first time in the Valley of Badr. The number of the army of truth did not exceed 313 whereas the army of falsehood was three times as big as that. The Muslims were not properly equipped. Their means of transport consisted of about seventy camels and a few horses, while the enemy had come with full strength to knock down Islam, consisting of 1000 strong men with 700 camels and 100 horses. In spite of all this, however, truth was victorious and the enemy returned to Makkah after having sustained heavy losses. Note: Abu Lahab who had not participated in this battle of Badr and had sent someone else in his own place was sitting by the well of Zamzam. Suddenly people brought the news that Abu Sufyan had arrived. Abu Lahab said: Tell him to see me as early as possible. Abu Sufyan came, sat by the side of Abu Lahab and gave a detailed account of the happenings at Badr. Agitation and fear struck Abu Lahabs heart like lightening. After burning in high fever for seven days he died of some mysterious disease.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 03:31:01 +0000
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