Who
Will Die, and Where Will He Die, in the Battle of Badr?
The Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) came to inspect the
battlefield in the night with some of his ardent devotees. He drew lines with a
stick on the ground and said: “So-and-so disbeliever will be killed here; the
dead body of so-and-so will be here.”
Therefore, exactly the same
happened. The dead body of every disbeliever was found at the place where the
Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) had already stated.
The
Battle of Badr and its Outcome
On Friday 17ᵗʰ Ramadan, 2 Hijri,
corresponding to 13ᵗʰ March, 624 C.E, the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) ordered the Islamic
warriors to be arrayed. The battle began, and despite having no provisions, the
blessed companions (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ)
showed great bravery and valour. In this battle, Abu Jahl was killed by two
young companions, Sayyiduna Mu’aaz and Sayyiduna Mu’awwaz (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا).
Many prominent chiefs of
disbelievers, such as Abu Jahl, Utbah, Shaybah, etc., were killed in the
battlefield, due to which, they lost their strength. They lost their courage,
control, and fled after surrendering.
The Muslims started arresting the
disbelievers. In this battle, seventy disbelievers were killed and the same
number of disbelievers were held captives. The caravan of Abu Sufyan fled, but
Muslims achieved a great success in this battle, which increased their grandeur
and dignity.
All the respect and honour of the
disbelievers was tarnished due to the defeat in this battle. Their military
power was destroyed and their prominent chiefs were killed. After the conquest,
the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) stayed in Badr for three days, and then set out for Madinah
with the captives and the spoils of war.
Martyrs
of Badr
In the Battle of Badr, fourteen
Muslims were martyred - six Muhajirin and eight Ansar. Thirteen companions (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ) were buried in the
field of Badr, whereas, one companion, Sayyiduna Ubaydah Bin Harith (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ), passed away on the
way, and his blessed shrine is located in “Safra”¹. At the same place, the
Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) distributed the spoils of war amongst the Mujahideen.
The companions (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ) who participated in the Battle of Badr
have a special status and rank, and they all have great virtues. One of the
virtues is that the Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) said: “Undoubtedly, Allah Almighty is
aware of the people of Badr, and He has said that, ‘You may do whatever you
like now. Indeed, Paradise has become Wajib for you,’ or (He said) that, ‘I
have forgiven you’.”²
Referance:
¹ Sharh al-Zurqaani ‘Ala-Al-Mawahib, vol. 2, pp. 325 – 328,
summarised and selected
² Bukhari, vol. 3, p. 12, Hadith 3983
Consequence
of the Captives
The Final Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) distributed the
captives of Badr amongst the blessed companions so that the captives could take
care of their comfort and needs. After consulting about the prisoners, it was
decided that they would be released after taking 4,000 dirhams from each of
them as Fidya (amount paid for the release of a prisoner).
Those who could not pay the Fidya
amount because of poverty were released without the Fidya. As for those captives
who knew how to write, their Fidya was that they should teach 10 boys of Ansar
how to write.
Causes
of the Battle of Uhud and the Number of Soldiers
Straight after returning from the
Battle of Badr, the disbelievers started preparing for the next battle in order
to take revenge. They prepared for the next battle for a whole year. In the 3ʳᵈ
year of the migration of the Prophet, in the month of Shawwal, the disbelievers
of Quraysh prepared fully and set out with a big and strong army in every way
with the intention to fight a war. Abu Sufyan (who had not yet embraced Islam)
became the commander-in-chief of that army. Sayyiduna Abbas (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ), the uncle of the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) who had secretly
embraced Islam and lived in Makkah, wrote a letter and informed the Muslims
about the army of the disbelievers.¹
When the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) investigated this,
he found out that the army of disbelievers had arrived very close to Madinah.
In this situation, he (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) consulted with the blessed companions (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُمْ).
The senior companions gave the
suggestion that they should fight against the enemies in the city, but the
youth wanted to fight in the open. Having heard this suggestion, the Beloved
Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
put his weapons on and came out. In the meanwhile, all the people had agreed to
fight the disbelievers staying inside the city, but the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) said: “It is not
befitting for a Prophet of Allah to remove weapons after wearing them, until
Allah Almighty makes a decision between him and his enemies. Therefore, now
with the name of Allah, leave for the (battle) field.”
Referance:
¹ Kitab al-Maghazi by Waqidi, vol. 1, p. 203
The Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) left Madinah with an
army of one thousand soldiers. On the way, the hypocrite Abdullah Bin Ubayy,
separated from the Islamic army along with his 300 soldiers. Now, the number in
the Muslim army dropped to 700.
The Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) examined the army
and ordered the underaged companions to return.¹
·
Mount Uhud
·
Direction: North
·
Top: Mount Uhud, Qanaat Valley
·
Center: Muslims' camp, Battlefield, Disbelievers' Camp, Way
of the army of Sayyiduna Khalid bin Waleed
·
Left: al-Aqeeq valley
·
Bottom: Madinah al-Munawara
Mount Uhud is a range of mountains
in the north of Madinah al-Munawwarah, extending from around six to seven
kilometres. Its width is 2 to 3 kilometres and height is 350 meters. It is
approximately 5 kilometres away from Masjid al-Nabawi. According to a Hadith,
it is a heavenly mountain which loves the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم), and the Beloved
Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
loves it too. The Battle of Uhud (according to one narration) took place at the
foot of this mountain on 17th Shawwal, 3 Hijri, corresponding to 23rd March,
625 C.E.
Referance:
¹ Sharh Al-Zurqaani ‘Ala-Al-Mawahib, vol. 2, pp. 394 to 419,
selected and summarised
Armies,
FACE to FACE
The polytheists had already camped
on Mount Uhud, near Madinah, on the 12ᵗʰ of Shawwal. The Final Messenger of Allah
(صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
set out from Madinah on Friday 14ᵗʰ Shawwal, and reached Uhud on Saturday 15ᵗʰ
Shawwal, at the time of Fajr.
After Fajr Salah, he (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) arranged the army.
At the time of arranging them, he (صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) kept Mount Uhud behind him.
Behind the army in the mountain was
a narrow passage, through which the disbelievers of Quraysh could have attacked
the Muslim troops. For this reason, the Holy Prophet (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) deployed a group of 50 archers there for
the protection of this passage. Sayyiduna Abdullah Bin Jubayr (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ) was given the
command of this battalion and was ordered: “Whether we win or lose, do not
leave this place.”
Start
of the Battle
When the battle began, the Muslims
displayed such skills and expertise of bravery and valour that the disbelievers
fled, facing defeat; but in the meantime, due to only one mistake, the whole
situation of the battle changed.
When the archers, who were deployed
upon the task of protecting the narrow passage on the mountain, saw that the
battle has been won, they too joined the other companions to gather the spoils
of war. Their commander-in-chief stopped them, but they thought that the battle
has now ended, so there is no need to stay there anymore.
When Sayyiduna Khalid Bin Waleed,
who had not yet embraced Islam, saw that narrow passage without any guard, he
attacked the Muslims from behind (through that narrow passage).
Sayyiduna Abdullah Bin Jubayr (رَضِیَ اللهُ عَنْهُ), along with a few
companions, fought very bravely, but they all were martyred. Having seen the
changed circumstances of the war, the fleeing army of the disbelievers of
Quraish returned. This sudden attack changed the entire situation.¹
Referance:
¹ Al-Iktifa, vol. 1, p. 377
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