The Battle of Badr "313 vs 1000"
It Was 17th of Ramadan When Battle of Badr Took Place. 313 Warriors Defended Islam. A Day of Victory For Believers.
“And indeed Allah assisted you at Badr when you were weak, so be car'ful (to your duty) to Allah so that you may be of the thankful ones. When you said to the believers ‘Does it not suffice you that your Lord should assist you with three thousand angels sent down.” [Suratul Al Imran 3:123 & 124 ]
The battle of Badr was the first of the great battles of Islam. When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) heard the news that there was a trade caravan going to Syria from Makka under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, he sent two men to gather information about it. It was discovered that it was a large caravan in which all the Makkans had shares. The Quraysh had decided to put all their savings into it and use the profits on arms, horses and other items of war to use against the Muslims. The news was disturbing. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) left Medina with 313 men, 2 horses and 70 camels to go to Badr, which was a stopping point for the caravans. The Quraysh had confiscated all the property of all the Muslims who had left Makka for Medina and the Prophet therefore decided to confiscate the property of the caravan in compensation. Abu Sufyan feared an attack from the Muslims and sent a messenger to Makka telling them of his fears. On receiving the message, an army of 1000 men, 100 horses and 700 camels under the leadership of Abu Jahl left Makka to go to Badr. Meanwhile Abu Sufyan took a different route back to Makka avoiding Badr. Once he was back in Makka he called Abu Jahl but Abu Jahl was too proud and desired to crush the Muslims with his large army.
The two armies met at Badr on 17th Ramadhan 2 A.H. In the beginning as per Arab custom, single combat (one to one) took place. The famous Quraysh warriors Utbah, Shayba and Walid came to challenge three ‘Ansaars’ from Medina . The Quraysh refused to fight any of the ‘Ansaars’, demanding their ‘equals’ and so the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) sent Ubayda, Hamza and Imam Ali. The three Kuffar were killed (Ubayda was hurt).
The Quraysh grew disturbed and began attacking. When the fierce engagement grew during the battle, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) began to supplicate to his Lord saying, “O Allah! Should this group (of Muslims) be defeated today, You will no longer be worshipped.”
This was an Islamic duty, for all victory comes from Allah. Allah revealed, “Verily, I am with you, so keep firm those who believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who have disbelieved.” [Qur’an: 8:12] It can also be clearly seen from the above accounts that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) was also mindful of his (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) other duties to Allah. Islam required him (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) not only to make du’a for victory over the Disbelievers but also for his (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) Islamic State to undertake economic, political and military actions that were in line with this objective and which he (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) performed in order to seek Allah’s victory.
During the Battle of Badr, Allah, inspired to His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wassalam), “I will help you with a thousand of the angels each behind the other in succession.”[Qur’an 8:9]. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) rested after the strain of this revelation and then raised his head joyfully, crying, “O Abu Bakr, glad tidings are there for you, Allah’s victory has approached, by Allah, I can see Gabriel on his mare in the thick of a sandstorm.”
For us today, there are numerous ahadeeth which indicate similar victories not just over the jews but also about dominance over the entire world. We must make du’a for these victories, but not stop at that. For Islam also requires us to ensure that the actions of the Ummah, collectively, through the State also reflect that noble purpose.
The enemies got frightened and began to retreat. The skill of Ali, the other Muslim soldiers and the sight of so many angels struck terror in the enemies’ hearts. 72 Kuffar were killed including their leader Abu Jahl. 14 Muslims were martyred.
The Muslims also took 70 prisoners. The prisoners were treated with kindness and some became Muslims. In later days some of the prisoners said: “blessed be the men of Medina , they made us ride whilst they walked, they gave us wheat and bread to eat when there was little of it contenting themselves with plain dates.” The rich prisoners paid ransom and were set free. Others were asked to gain their freedom by each teaching 10 Muslims to read and write. The Battle of Badr reflected the strong ideological bond between the Muslims. Before Islam, an Arab would look down upon a black person for no other reason than the color of his skin, and tribes would fight and kill one another for decades in the name of family pride. Islam established itself so firmly within the hearts of humans that, upon declaring their allegiance to Islam they would willingly shed away all of their previous affiliations to enter into the Brotherhood of Islam. For the Muslims, the color of skin, the family name, the geographic origin, or the wealth of the individual did not matter. When the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) began his Da’wah, he (sallallahu alayhi wassalam) established a core of leadership consisting of a Persian, a Roman, an African, people from among the Jews and Christians, and indigenous Arabs, and nothing bound them together but the idea they embraced.
