The topic of discussion in today’s episode is the Battle of Badr. This war was a war that changed history. This war marked the turning point in the history of the entire world. We Muslims are alive today because we won this war. One God is worshipped in the world. At the beginning of the war, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to Allah, “O Allah, fulfill the promise you made to me.” Otherwise, there will be no one left in this world to worship you.
From the perspective of the Western world, this is a normal war. But according to Islam, this was no ordinary war. This battle was the beginning of a conflict with the Kufr or unbelievers that would continue until the Day of Judgment. The Battle of Badr is called the Niyyamul Forqa which distinguishes between truth and falsehood.
That’s exactly what happened on the day of the Battle of Badr. On this day, Allah made it clear who was on the side of truth and who was on the side of falsehood. On this day, truth triumphed over lies. However, there is no information about why the Muslims won this battle. There is no reason why the Muslims should win this war in terms of strength. Only then is everything we see in the world not real. The world beyond ours is the world of the invisible. Because the Muslims received help from Allah in this war. And that’s the only reason they were able to win.
The unequal forces in the narrative
It was never possible to win a war against the Quraysh with the few weapons they had. But only God has true power. Whatever he wants happens, so the Muslims were victorious in the Battle of Badr. There is only one explanation for this, and that is that Allah Almighty Himself gave them victory in this war.
The discussion about the Battle of Badr is quite long, so we will discuss it in several parts in this Siraj series. Today we will discuss the context of this war.
There is a background to this war and that background was written by Allah Himself. First, we will discuss what events led to the Battle of Badr. The interesting thing is that the Muslims had no idea that a huge battle like the Battle of Badr was going to happen. But by the will of Allah, the Muslims participated in this war and were victorious.
The Battle of Badr did not happen suddenly. We have discussed earlier that even after the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Medina, there was a kind of tension or war among them. Because the conflict between the two sides was a conflict over ideology. Islam has brought a message to the world and war will surely be waged against those who oppose it. And the Quraysh understood that, so even after the Muslims moved to Medina, they continued to plot against them. They began to consider Medina as an enemy state.
Caravan routes and earlier expeditions
In the last episode, we discussed several military operations. The third military campaign that brought the two sides face to face took place in the second year of the Hijri. There were two commercial route from Mecca. One route is towards Syria, the other route is towards Yemen.
The caravans would go towards Syria in the winter and towards Yemen in the summer. These two caravans were very large and the people of Mecca invested a lot in these two caravans. These two caravans were the business drivers of the Quraysh. The Prophet (peace be upon him) decided to attack such a large caravan.
Abu Sufyan was the leader of the caravan that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) decided to attack. As soon as the Quraysh sent out the caravan, the Prophet found out about it through a spy. As soon as the news reached the Prophet, he came out of his house and told everyone who wanted to go on this expedition to get ready quickly.
The main objective was to capture this caravan led by Abu Sufyan. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told everyone that there was a lot of wealth in this caravan and that you should seize it so that Allah may give you the wealth as booty.
It should be noted here that the Arabs were a warring nation, so it was lawful to seize their wealth. Also in that caravan were the treasures captured from the Muhajir.
The Muslims had no plan to go to war with the Quraysh, but whatever Allah had planned happened.
Quranic teaching on the spoils
And know that anything you obtain of war booty – then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion – the day when the two armies met. And Allah, over all things, is competent.
(Quran 8:41)
Previously, no one would have thought of attacking the caravan of the Quraysh because they were the protectors of the Kaaba, but with the rise of the Muslims, they lost that status and the Muslims dared to attack their caravan. So Abu Sufyan was very careful.
Continuing with the caravan, Abu Sufyan reached the outskirts of Badr. The distance between Badr and Medina is about 150 kilometers. Abu Sufyan sensed that the Messenger of Allah was coming to attack their caravan. He then did two things: first, he wanted to return to Mecca under his command by another route, and second, he sent word to Mecca asking for additional soldiers.
The Quraysh of Mecca gathered together to protect the caravan and prepared to fight against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). We have already discussed that Abu Sufyan changed the route of his caravan and continued towards Mecca, and he reached a place called Sufiya and he became certain that he had gone beyond the reach of the Muslims.
The caravan's escape and Quraysh's decision
So he sent word that the caravan was now safe from the Quraysh, so there was no need to send additional troops. But Abu Jahl was preparing for war. Even though the caravan had returned safely, they still wanted to fight the Muslims.
Abu Jahl’s main objective was to demonstrate the power of the Quraysh.
And do not be like those who came forth from their homes insolently and to be seen by people and avert [them] from the way of Allah. And Allah is encompassing of what they do.
(Quran 8:47)
Now let’s find out the situation of the Muslim camp. The Prophet learned that the caravan had been lost to the Muslims and that the Quraysh were preparing to wage a full-scale war against the Muslims.
The Prophet always consulted with his companions. The Muslims came from Medina with preparations to attack the caravan, but they were not prepared for war. So the Prophet sat down with his companions to discuss the expedition.
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) agreed to fight the Quraysh in this battle. Even after knowing the opinions of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them), I wanted to know the opinions of the Ansar of the Messenger of Allah. The Ansar promised that if there was a war inside Medina, they would accompany the Prophet in that war. So the Prophet wanted to know if they would participate in any battle outside Medina.
Consultation with the Ansar
If the Ansar wanted to, they could have said that the Prophet had made a treaty with them only within Medina, but they did not say that. Rather, they were eager to fight the Messenger of Allah.
Only Muslims participated in this war. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) set out for Badr when he was four miles from Medina, Then a man approached him. That man was known for his bravery. He came and said that I want to go to war with you and gain wealth. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked him, “Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger?” Then he replied, “No.” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Go back.” He fell down before the Prophet (peace be upon him) several times and the Prophet (peace be upon him) asked him the same question.
Finally, he asked him, “Do you believe in Allah and His Messenger?” He replied, “Yes.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) gave him permission to participate in the war.
During the Battle of Badr, the companions were not in a good financial condition, so they took turns riding camels.
When the companions learned that the Quraysh were approaching them, they also swore that they too would confront the polytheists.
But in the meantime, many of the companions had gone out for small expeditions and were not at all prepared for a major battle. Allah Almighty reveals their state of mind in the Quran.
Reluctance and the Quranic account
[It is] just as when your Lord brought you out of your home [for the battle of Badr] in truth, while indeed, a party among the believers were unwilling,
(Quran 8:5)
Some Muslims did not want to participate in this war, but they were not traitors, rather they were believers and Allah Almighty mentioned their words in the Quran. Yet they did not want to participate in the war because participating in war was a reprehensible thing, as Allah Almighty says in the Quran:
Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.
(Quran 2:216)
It appears that war may be disliked by a believer, yet Allah calls him a believer. A believer can hesitate unless there is a problem with his faith.
In the next verse, Allah Almighty says:
Arguing with you concerning the truth after it had become clear, as if they were being driven toward death while they were looking on. [Remember, O believers], when Allah promised you one of the two groups – that it would be yours – and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbelievers That He should establish the truth and abolish falsehood, even if the criminals disliked it.
(Quran 6:6-8)
From a caravan expedition to battle
The Muslims targeted small caravans and had no plans to engage in a major battle. Allah Almighty planned in such a way that the Muslims had no choice but to participate in this war.
On the other hand, the Quraysh began to make extensive preparations to teach the Muslims.
Within a day, the Karaites set out with the largest army they had ever seen. From every house of the Quraysh tribe, someone came out to participate in the war. Many Quraysh did not participate in this war due to love for their clan.
The Quraysh continued to advance for battle and the Muslims also continued to advance for battle.
Sources and further reading
- Quran 3:121–175 — Uhud and its lessons
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4043–4044 — the archers and the battlefield reversal
- Sahih al-Bukhari 4075 — treatment of the Prophet’s wounds
