Now we will move on to the big battle of Badr.

Recall Badr was a persons name, w

ho dug a well at a paticular place and that place was known as Badr. We mentione
d Abu Suffyan detected the presence of the prophet PBUH and thus he took an alte
rnate route closer to the Red Sea, and he sent a crier to the people of Quraysh
to rally them up. Also we mentioned the dream of Aatika - what happened after? T
he Quraysh conviened a council and they debated what must be done. Almost unanim
ously they agreed to send an army to protect the caravan. The exaggarated report
s of Dhum Dhum made them very worried that their legitimate livestock was in dan
ger. Therefore the largest and quickest army was gathered: literally within a da
y they prepared and left Mecca.
A number of incidents occured during this time. Ibn Ishaaq mentions not a single
family in Mecca was left behind except that a someone from that family was sent
. And indeed this is in line with Aatikas dream, that a rock will strike every h
ousehold in Mecca.
Abu Lahab himself, the uncle of the prophet PBUH, and chief of the Banu Hashim,
decided not to go and instead found someone to go in his place. The person, Al A
sr bin Wa'il, had an oustanding loan of 4000 dirham to Abu Lahab. So Abu Lahab s
aid "go in my place and I'll forgive this loan and wipe it out". It's not mentio
ned why he didn't go - Allah knows best. There was probably a sense of personal
conflict, that at the end of the day, its his subtribe he will be fighting and i
ts his own nephew. He ultimately could not meet his own tribe in battle - this g
oes against all that he stands for. Indeed the main thing in those days was trib
alism and this went against what that stood for. Even though Abu Lahab is not wo
rthy of praise, we find at some times Abu Lahab did some things of nobility. Whe
n the prophet PBUH he was so happy he freed a slave; and because of this the pro
phet PBUH said he will be given a little bit of water. Also, he initially protec
ted the prophet PBUH after the death of Abu Talib. Despite all that happened, he
said at the end of the day "since he's my tribe I must protect him". So deep do
wn he had a sense of Jaheleya in him that stopped him from fighting the prophet
PBUH in battle.
Also note even though Abu Lahab is of the worst, Abu Jahal and Ubayah were even
worse that him. Further Utbah ibn Rabbiyah initially did not go - he was the per
son who gifted the grapes to the prophet PBUH after the incident of Taif (with t
he christian slave). Again this person Utbah, a distant uncle of the prophet PBU
H, had some noble traits. He decided not to fight because they were his blood re
latives. However his brother Shaybah said "If we abadon our people now, it will
forever be a cause of embarrasment". So the both of them prepared to go out - bu
t ultimately they both died, and they both died amongst the first deaths in the
mubaraza (the pre battle which preceeds the war). Utbah clearly demonstrates val
ues - he's the one who tried to prevent the battle until the very last second. W
hen the two armies lined up, Utbah was so disgusted cousins and uncles would fig
ht each other he jumped on his red camel and told the Quraysh "don't fight, even
if you win you will lose since you will kill your own brother and uncles - blam
e it one me and my cowardice, tell them! Let the blame come to me". That is trul
y a sense of nobility. But ultimately the battle went on.
Note this mentality that you will bindly follow your people even though they do
wrong is not of Islam. You follow the truth wherever that may be. In fact the pr
ophet PBUH himself said "if anyone has any wisdom/good it is the man on the red
camel". So the prophet PBUH is testifying Utbah to be good; if they have any goo
d it is this man Utbah. But still Abu Jahal went over and then Utbah in his ange
r (Abu Jahal accused him of something) became the first person to fight in the m
ubaraza. Look at blind range - look at "I dont care I will support my cause righ
t or wrong". And he thus became the first person to die in Badr. Note he became
his own victim of fanaticism. It was only a sense of Jaheleya tribalism that pre
vented him from fighting. It wasn't about right or wrong which ultimately led hi
m to death.

So Utbah and Abu Lahab perhaps their reasons of not wanting to go was noble from
a Jaheleya status. But Uqba ibn Abu Mu'ayt also did not go. He was perhaps the
lowest of the low of the enemies of the prophet PBUH. As we said there was a sp
ectrum of enemies in Mecca. The best of them was Abu Suffyan - despite of his ja
heleya he had a sense of nobility in him. Thus he never did anything vulgar or c
ruel. Generally speaking those that were noble enemies Allah guided them. Those
who had no manners etc were not guided. Uqbah was perhaps the worst of the worst
- filthiest of the filthy. This is perhaps why Allah didn't even mention him in
the Quran. He's so filthy he wasn't mentioned. Uqbah was that one who snuck up
behind the prophet PBUH and tried to choke him and Abu Bukr said "will you kill
a man because he says Allah is His Lord?!" Then Abu Bukr was beatan, bloodied an
d bruised until he was in bed for a week. Uqbah was the one who approved the ass
issnation of the prophet PBUH. And he was that person who when Abu Jahal said "
who amongst you will pick up the carcuss/intenstines of the animal and throw it
on Muhammad when he's doing sajdah". Not the sajdah was an Islamic routine - thi
s posture thus was being mocked by the Quraysh. As Ibn Ishaaq says the most wors
t of the people stood up, Uqbah. And note he is a rich noble men, yet he picks u
p this filthy crap - can you imagine his mentality? They were all laughing when
he threw it and ibn Masu'd said "I saw him but could not do anything". And then
Fatimah RA as a young girl is the one who helps the prophet PBUH. And its narrat
ed Uqbah once sarcastically invited the prophet PBUH to a meal. And the prophet
PBUH said "I will never eat with you until you testify". In his anger he spit on
the face of the prophet PBUH. And he predicted "Oh Uqbah when I meet you outsid
e Mecca, I shall kill/execute you while you are tied up". SubhanAllah. And becau
se of this Uqbah was frightened when he heard of the Battle of Badr; he said "th
is man has promised to kill me so I can't go outside". Look at the irony here deep down he knew the prediction was true. But one of his family said "don't wor
ry I have the fastest camel, even if the army flees your camel will take you fas
t away". So he decided to go ahead. But of course you cannot outwit the promise
of Allah. When the army fled, Uqbah's camel was the first to flee. So he was lef
t in the middle of the plane with no protection - and he was captured and execut
ed (one of the two who were executed).
Ummaya ibn Khalaf, the master of Bilal RA, was the typical overly fed rich noble
men coward - he has alot of money and alot of slaves with a fancy garment, but n
o skills of war or anything. When Ummaya heard of the battle, he found someone t
o represent him, paid him a small fortune and said "this man will represent me"
so he was happy to get out. But Ummaya was ultimately one of the leaders of the
Quraysh - his presence would bring moral boost on the troops. Abu Jahal however
heard of this. He gets involved in anything and everything. Indeed the prophet P
BUH said he was the pharoh of our ummah. So Abu Jahal said "you are the sayyid o
f this valley and your presence is needed." But he still denied. Abu Jalah then
went to Uqbah and they devised a tactic to make sure he goes out. When Ummaya is
sitting in the public space on a fancy carpet with his entourage, Uqbah came to
him with a perfume burner and coal underneath of the type women use. And he sai
d "this is your gift, perfume yourself as you are worthy of being perfumed" i.e.
"you are no man". Ummaya understood what's going on - so he stood up and cursed
Uqbah and whoever cursed Uqbah. Note here Uqbah is over compensating his own co
wardice. Even then Ummaya cowardice shows - he tells his wife "purchase for me t
he best camel money can buy". Why? So he can run away. Ummaya did not intend to
fight. His wife said "dont go dont go" and Ummaya said "don't worry I wont fight
I'll just go there for a few days and come back". But ultimately everyone who A
llah willed to die, they died. Note when the event of the intestines being throw
n on the prophet PBUH happened, the prophet PBUH stood up and said "OH Allah I l
eave you to deal with..." and he listed every one who was standing there. Ummaya
, Abu Jahal, Uqbah etc:
Bhukari Volume 1, Book 9, Number 499

Narrated 'Amr bin Maimuin:

'Abdullah bin Mas'ud said, "While Allah's Apostle was praying beside the Ka'ba,
there were some Quraish people sitting in a gathering. One of them said, 'Don't
you see this (who does deeds just to show off)? Who amongst you can go and bring
the dung, blood and the abdominal contents (intestines, etc). of the slaughtere
d camels of the family of so and so and then wait till he prostrates and put tha
t in between his shoulders?' The most unfortunate amongst them ('Uqba bin Abi Mu
'ait) went (and brought them) and when Allah's Apostle prostrated, he put them b
etween his shoulders. The Prophet remained in prostration and they laughed so mu
ch so that they fell on each other. A passerby went to Fatima, who was a young g
irl in those days. She came running and the Prophet was still in prostration. Sh
e removed them and cursed upon the Quraish on their faces. When Allah's Apostle
completed his prayer, he said, 'O Allah! Take revenge on Quraish.' He said so th
rice and added, 'O Allah! take revenge on 'Amr bin Hisham (Abu Jahal), 'Utba bin
Rabia, Shaiba bin Rabi'a, Al-Walid bin'Utba, Umaiya bin Khalaf, 'Uqba bin Abi M
u'ait and 'Umar a bin Al-Walid." Abdullah added, "By Allah! I saw all of them de
ad in the battle field on the day of Badr and they were dragged and thrown in th
e Qalib (a well) at Badr: Allah's Apostle then said, 'Allah's curse has descende
d upon the people of the Qalib (well).
So even though Ummaya purchased this fancy camel, he prepares his own death.
It's mentioned before they left Mecca the army made a dua. They gathered around
the kab'ah and said: "Oh Allah whichever army is more nobel, help them. Whicheve
r is more honourable, give them victory and send your aid to the better of the t
wo tribes". Little did they know they made dua against themselves. And its menti
oned in Surah Anfal, which all of it, is about the Battle of Badr. Verse 19 says
"If you [disbelievers] seek the victory - the defeat has come to you. And if you
desist [from hostilities], it is best for you; but if you return [to war], We w
ill return, and never will you be availed by your [large] company at all, even i
f it should increase; and [that is] because Allah is with the believers. "
Note the help for the muslims has already come - it was mentioned earlier in the
surah. Allah is saying here victory has already come not to you, but rather to
the other side. And all of your numbers won't benefit, Allah is with the muslims
.
The Quraysh marched outside of Mecca, and their numbers was around 1300 - the la
rgest ever gathered. For the first time numbers got bigger and bigger - in Badr
its 1300, Uhud 3000 and Ahzab 5000+. And note they arent united - Allah says in
the Quran "you think they are one group, but their hearts are disunited". So as
they exit Mecca, this disunity showed itself. One group said "we are leaving Mec
ca unprotected!" And then they brought up an old rivalvry existed before Islam.
The Quraysh and the Banu Bukr started a small tension/war. One of the Qurayshi y
outh wandered into the land of Banu Bukr. He was a tall/handsome man who was a f
uture leader of the Quraysh. And the leader of the Banu Bukr was jealous so he t
old someone to assassinate him. Before this there was a blood fued where one mem
ber of the Quraysh killed someone from the Banu Bukr. So the cheif of Banu Bukr
said "a man for a man - that remember that guy, I killed this boy so let's call
it quits". So the Quraysh said "fine we won't go to war a man for a man". Howeve
r the brother of this killed boy decided to kill the cheif of the Banu Bukr. Not
just any average guy. The very man who ordered the assissination. And the broth
er was successful; he cut up the chief in peices in a gruesome fasion and brough
t the peices back to Mecca, and put them on the door of the ka'bah. This is all
before Islam note. So the news spread the Quraysh has killed a cheifton of Banu
Bukr. This is now civil war but before this war took place the message of Islam
became stronger so both tribes paused the war. However the Quraysh get paranoid
that "NOW the banu bukr will attack Mecca when its empty - they'll take our wome

n, kill our children etc". So there was a huge commotion in the army. As it is,
people don't want to go to war. So a large segmant of the army was about to retu
rn. What happened? Shaytan became desperate. Physically he came to them in the f
orm of Suraka ibn Malik (the same person who tried to capture the prophet PBUH d
uring the Hijrah). He was Suraka because Suraka was from the Banu Qinana - and t
he Banu Qinana is the larger tribe of the Banu Bukr (just like Quraysh is the la
rger tribe of the Banu Hashim). So Banu Qinana rivals the Quraysh. Suraka was a
cheif of another tribe of the Banu Qinana and he says "dont worry I will make su
re the Banu Bukr wont attack you". So shaytan is lying here of course - he said
"I will be your protector". And Suraka even said "I'll accompany you aswell to s
how you how serious I am". So they were so happy that one of the cheiftons of th
e Banu Qinana is coming. When Shaytan sees the angels coming down on the morning
of Badr, he turned around and starting running away! And the Quraysh were like
"why are you running?!". Indeed he's come all the way from Mecca to Badr. But Sh
aytan runs and someone tries to stop him so he pushes that person and reveals hi
s true colours. Surah Anfal verse 48:
And [remember] when Satan made their deeds pleasing to them and said, "No one ca
n overcome you today from among the people, and indeed, I am your protector." Bu
t when the two armies sighted each other, he turned on his heels and said, "Inde
ed, I am disassociated from you. Indeed, I see what you do not see; indeed I fea
r Allah . And Allah is severe in penalty."
In Imam Ahmed, ibn Ishaaq etc its said they had over 100 horses, 600 suits of ar
mour, 500+ camels; every day they slaughtered 10 camels for food; they even brou
ght along their singing girls for moral boosting (cheerleaders). Allah mentions
this in the Quran. They want people to hear they are 1300 strong - they think th
ey are blocking Allahs path but Allah has blocked them.
So there's three things going on. Abu Suffyan and the caravan; Quraysh army and
the Muslim army. Once Abu Suffyan felt the caravan was safe beyond the reach of
the muslims, he sent someone to tell the Quraysh that "the caravan is safe, you
can go back". Notice even Abu Suffyan didn't want war. He said "Go tell the army
to return etc". Once the person met the army, the reconviened to decide what to
do. Utbah said "let's go back the caravan is safe" - the same Utbah who didn't
want war all the way to the end. But Abu Jahal said "No - we will go to Badr and
we'll stay there for three days, drink our wine, let these girls sing for us an
d the whole of Arabia will know our strength". Notice there is no talk of war the whole reason for this was just protection of the caravan. They don't want to
fight for no reason. Even though Abu Jahal said this, around 300/350 returned b
ack to Mecca. This was obviously demoralsing. Allah mentioned this tension in th
e Quraysh army. There was also tension in the muslim army. Allah says in Anfal
"If the two of you had agreed to a fight, you still would not had been able to s
et a time and place. But We wanted it - and Our commandment is to be fulfilled.
So whoever dies dies after the truth is established. Whoever lives lives after t
he truth is established".
When the army reached Ju'ffa, most likely before the envoy reeached them, one of
the youngest men from Banu Hashim i.e. a son of the cousion of the prophet PBUH
saw a dream; he saw a crier riding towards them and announced "Utbah has been k
illed; Shaybah has been killed, ibn Al Hakaam (Abu Jahal), Uqbah etc" all have b
een killed i.e. every famous noble man of Quraysh (and they eventually all were)
- and blood will splatter on every tent of the Quraysh.
Back to the muslims now. When they left Madinah they had NO clue they would meet
an army. They just think its an easy and quick raid where they are 315 against
only 40 armed guards. They thought it would be a clear victory. However rumours
began to come. This is the way of the travellers in the desert. A rumour spread
there is an army that's left Mecca - the prophet PBUH was shown a dream he would

be fighting an army. But he hoped it would at a later date. So after the rumour
s spread the tone begins to change. And the prophet PBUH told the muslims "what
do you think isntead if we met a group from Mecca thats been informed of your de
pature" i.e. a group prepared for war. Some of the sahabah questioned this: "we
dont have any thing to fight a war". The next day the prophet PBUH repeated - th
e sahabah's response was more firm. Allah mentions this in the Quran. That "when
your Lord tells you to go out of your houses, but the truth was with you, a gro
up of the believers did not like it. They began arguing with you, even after it
was made clear to them - it was as if you were dragging them to their deaths". T
Hat is, Allah is rebuking some of the companions. They thought the prophet PBUH
is driving them to their death, but in reality he is driving them to victory. Th
ey dont trust Allah! The "even after it was made clear" is that, Allah promised
they would be the victors. The prophet PBUH had already told them "Allah has pro
mised us victory". But still the human soul is weak. They thought it was a 2/3 d
ays trip to Badr and back. They didnt have proper armour, food etc. Allah said "
you wanted the booty, Allah had a far bigger plan in mind". Allah wanted to show
WHO was among the truth. The battle of Badr was called the battle of truth. Bad
r and the conquest of Mecca were both miracles beyond mircales. Allah is saying
"Today I will show who is true and who is false". This shows us so many benefits
. The sahabah are humans after all, and humans can't be perfect. Thus they were
arguing "we can't do this". Yet this arguing dosen't make them less of a believe
r. Allah calls them believers - there were no munaafiqs before Badr. Only after
Badr munaafiqs begin. So Allah calls the group who are trying to persuade the pr
ophet PBUH NOT to go "believers". This shows even the believer can have fear and
Allah midly reputed them, but still said they are mu'minoon. So to be a bit hes
itant to do a good deed it not hypocrisy, as long as imaan wins over eventually.
To feel a slight hesitation to i.e. do hajj, or wake up for fajr, is allowed as
long as we overcome it.
So the muslims make their way to Badr. Indeed Allah decreed the battle to occur.
And the muslims are still not sure which groups they will meet. The 1000 or the
40. And the prophet PBUH himself acted as a scout with Abu Bukr RA - this shows
the sentivity and trepidation the prophet PBUH was feeling. So he takes the onl
y person he trusts beyond anyone. They become the scouts and fact finders. And t
hey find information, until they come across an old bedouin. These are neutral p
eople that carry information in the desert. The prophet PBUH asks "do you have h
ave any information about the Quraysh, and Muhammad and his army?" He is asking
so suspicion dosen't fall on him! If its only "Quraysh" then you can infer he's
on the side of Muhammad. So the prophet PBUH said "I heard some stuff what's goi
ng on?" So the bedouin said "I won't inform you until you tell me who you are".
So the prophet PBUH said "I promise to tell you where we are from as long as you
tell us any information you have". With this the bedouin felt "ok fine clearly
they aren't on any of the two sides". The bedouin says "Muhammad left Yathrib at
such a date and has camped outside of Badr" - he was dead on and indeed the pro
phet PBUH knew this. "And it has reached me the army of the Quraysh has left Mec
ca on such a date, and thus they must be at such a location" - both was true. So
this is very bad news at the time. The beduoin has confirmed there is an army they have their news network; indeed they needed to have this to survive themse
lves for their safety. So the bedouin says "where are you from?" The prophet PBU
H said "We are from water". This is 'tawriya' i.e. a double truth - not a lie. I
slam dosen't allow lying but at time 'tawriya' is allowed i.e. when Abu Bukr RA
said "this is my guide". You are not lying.
Notice aswell the bravery of the prophet PBUH to act as a scout. So the prophet
PBUH comes back and does not tell the army anything. He first and foremost asks
Allah for help in salah. As he is praying a commotion begin. The sahabah have ca
ptured two of the slaves of the Quraysh. And they asked "where are you from?" An
d the slaves say "we are from the army of the Quraysh". And the sahabah start be
ating up the slaves saying "NO you are lying you're not from the army - you're f
rom the caravan of Abu Suffyan". They themselves are so eager its not going to b

e a war. That "NO tell us the truth". Then the slaves say "Ok we're from the car
avan". After a while they say "actually we're from the army" and so the sahabah
beat them again until finally they say "No we're from the caravan". This happene
d for a while (notice the length of the salah of the prophet PBUH) until the pro
phet PBUH finished his salah and told the sahabah "when they tell the truth you
beat them; when they lie you let them go" i.e. how foolish is that. Its as if he
's saying its ridiculous to beat them - whatever you want them to say they will
say it. They're telling you the truth. They're just workers in the army they hav
e no reason to lie. Of course this was the final verdict that they are now meeti
ng the army. This was the test. Officially the prophet PBUH tells them an army i
s coming. So the prophet PBUH asks the slaves "how many people are in the army?"
They say "we are slaves we don't know". Again the wisdom of the prophet PBUH he says "tell me how many camels do they kill a day" i.e. a question they would
know. They replied "9 or 10" and the prophet PBUH immediately said "there around
900-1000 people". He said who is present? And thus began a whos who of a Qurays
h. This is the whole point and beauty of Badr. EVERY SINGLE noble henchman to a
last man died. It was a victory upon victory. Ummayah ibn Khalaf, Utbah ibn Rabb
iah, Shaybah, Suhail ibn Amar, Abu Jahal etc. This news caused the muslims to be
very disheartened - why? Because the whole gathering has come. If they are here
their whole wealth is here. They indeed had the best camel, armour etc. This de
molarised the sahabah. The prophet PBUH smiled in happiness because he knew Alla
hs promise is true: "Allah has said 'whichever of the two you meet, they will be
yours. You wanted the one with no weapons, but Allah had a bigger plan in mind"
. So when it was confirmed they are facing the army, the prophet PBUH is happy.
So he told the muslims that "Mecca has presented to you the cream of the crop" a
nd he saw the dejection in their faces he said "by Allah Ummayah will be killed
here, Abu Jahal here, Utbah here" and litearlly when it happened every single pe
rson was found at their spot as predicted. Indeed now the prophet PBUH knew they
were facing an army, he knew he had to rile up the troops. This shows us when p
ush came to shove even though they were scared in the end they fought.
So the prophet PBUH asked them "what should we do now?" Obviously there's no cho
ice running away now would be a humiliation. The army has come - you have to mee
t them in battle. This isn't the first time or the last we see shura in action.
Consoltation is a praiseworthy element of Islam. He had no need of shura but he
is demonstrating what a leader should do. Abu Bukr stands, praises Allah, sends
peace upon the prophet PBUH and says "Do what you think, we are with you". The p
rophet PBUH thanked and praised him, and asked again "what should we do". Umar R
A stands up and repeats what Abu Bukr said with more emphasis. He sits down, the
prophet PBUH thanks and praises him and asks the same question. Silence again what does he want? Now Al Miktaad stands up and says with fiery language "Do as
Allah has commanded we are right behind you. We will not say to you as the Bani
Israel said to Musa 'We wont fight'. Rather we will say 'You and your Lord figh
t, we are right behind you. Take us to the corner of the world, we will follow y
ou until we meet Allah". Now the prophet PBUH thanks him and praises him BUT for
the fourth time the prophet PBUH asks "what should we do?" Why? Because he want
s to hear from the Ansar. Umar and Abu Bukr and Al Miktaad is Qurayshi and the A
nsar remember from the covenant had promised they would "protect him as if their
own family". Badr is offensive - not protection. The Ansar had not signed up fo
r this. For the first time the Ansar are being asked. So the great leader, Sa'ad
ibn Mu'ad stood up, the young powerful man and said "perhaps you're waiting for
us". So the prophet PBUH said "yes". So Sa'ad gave the eloquent speech "We beli
eved in you, trusted in you and testified your truth. And we gave you a promise
to 'listen and obey you'." He' saying "are we not muslims?" He said "Go forth an
d we are with you. I swear by the one who sent you, if you take us in the ocean
we will go right behind you. We aren't scared of meeting the enemy in battle, an
d Allah will show you that which will comfort you". When Sa'ad said this, the pr
ophet PBUH was so happy his face lit up like the moon and this reallyreinvigoura
ted him. He told them again "by Allah We have been promised victory" and he bega
n the preperations of war.