Conspiracies
of Disbelievers and Steps Taken by Muslims
After Muslims’ migration to Madinah,
the disbelievers of Makkah should have now been at ease, but their fury increased
even further. Now, they became enemies of the people of Madinah as well.
They wrote a letter to Abdullah bin
Ubayy, the chief of the Ansar, saying: “Either expel the Muslims from Madinah
or kill them, otherwise, we will attack you and make you face our swords.”¹
Referance:
¹ Sunan Abi Dawood, vol. 3, p. 212, Hadith 3004
In the same way, when the chief of
the Aws tribe went to Makkah to perform ‘Umrah, he was also threatened by the
disbelievers of Makkah. The disbelievers did not only suffice upon threats, but
they actually started preparing to attack Madinah. They conveyed this message
to all the tribes that they would attack Madinah and kill all the Muslims.
Under these circumstances, it became necessary for Muslims to do something for
their own protection.
Up till now, the Final Messenger of
Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
kept inviting people to Islam only through proofs and advice, as per the Divine
commandment, and observed patience upon the calamities afflicted by the
disbelievers. However, after the migration, when the entire Arabian Peninsula
and all the Jews became the enemies of the Muslims and started devising
different conspiracies to eradicate them, Allah Almighty gave the Muslims
permission to fight war against those who start it.
Under these circumstances, the
Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) focused on two things:
1. The trade caravans of the people of
Makkah which used to go to the Levant should be stopped and this route should
be blocked, so that they could agree upon reconciliation.
2. A reconciliation treaty should be
made with the surrounding tribes so that the disbelievers would not even dare
to attack Madinah.
For this reason, the Beloved Prophet
(صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
would also go himself to the surrounding tribes and also send small groups of
troops who would keep an eye on the movement of the disbelievers of Makkah, and
also make peace treaties with the tribes.
Due to this, Muslims started having
clashes with the disbelievers of Makkah and their allies, and small and large
battles began. These very battles are called “Ghazawat and Sarayah” in the
history of Islam.
Difference
Between Ghazwah and Sariyyah
The battle in which the Final
Messenger of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ
وَسَلَّم) personally participated is called a “Ghazwah”, whereas, the
battle in which the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) did not participate is called a
“Sariyyah”. The plural of Ghazwah is “Ghazawaat”, and the plural of Sariyyah is
“Saraya”.¹
There is a difference of opinion
regarding the total number of Ghazawaat and Saraya. According to the narration
of Imam Bukhari, there are 19 Ghazawat, out of which only 9 reached the stage
of battle, whereas, the majority were such that did not require any actual
combat.² The total number of Saraya is either 47 or 56.³
Referance:
¹ Madarij-un-Nubuwwat, part 3, chapter 2, vol. 2, p. 76
² Bukhari, vol. 3, p. 3, Hadith 3949
³ Sharh Al-Zurqaani ‘Ala-Al-Mawahib, vol. 2, p. 221
Causes
of the Battle of BADR
The first major battle which took
place between the Muslims and the disbelievers is called “the Ghazwa of Badr”.
Badr¹ is the name of a village that
is situated at some distance from Madinah. There was a well there, and the name
of the owner of that well was Badr. For this reason, this place became famous
as Badr.²
Even before the Battle of Badr, some
small and large skirmishes did take place between the Muslims and disbelievers.
Once, a small group of disbelievers came to the pastures of Madinah and carried
out plundering, whereas in one fight, a disbeliever was also killed. This death
made the disbelievers of Makkah uncontrollably furious. The Battle of Badr took
place due to their reaction.
Another cause for the Battle of Badr
was that the news reached Madinah of a big caravan of disbelievers returning
imminently to Makkah from the Levant. Many prominent chiefs of the disbelievers
were in the caravan and they also had a lot of trade goods. The Final Messenger
of Allah (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
said: “Small groups of disbelievers remain in our pursuit, and one of their
small groups even committed plundering in Madinah. Therefore, why not attack
this caravan of Quraysh. This way, their trade route to the Levant will be
blocked and they will be forced to make peace with us.” Listening to his
suggestion, all the Muhajireen and Ansaar became prepared for it.
Therefore, on 12ᵗʰ of Ramadan, 2
Hijri, the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ
وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) set out without any big preparation for the battle. Everyone
set out in whatever state they were. This army of Muslims neither had many
weapons nor any large amount of military ration, because no one had assumed
that there would be a major battle during this journey.
Referance:
¹ Badr is 113 kilometres away from Madinah, and this
distance is approximately 152 kilometres by road.
² Sharh Al-Zurqaani ‘Ala-Al-Mawahib, vol. 2, p. 255
When the people of Makkah heard the
news that the Muslims had left Madinah, they also started preparing for the
battle. When the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ
عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) received this news, he consulted with the
blessed companions, telling them that there is a possibility of a battle
breaking out during this journey. The Muhajireen and the Ansar both expressed
their determination that they would obey and protect the Beloved Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم).
He (صَلَّى
اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم) reviewed the troops one mile away from
Madinah, and ordered young children to go back. After taking some necessary
measures, he (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّم)
headed towards the field of Badr, where the disbelievers of Makkah were to come
from.
Now, the total number of the army
was 313— 60 of which were Muhajirin and the rest were Ansaar. Abu Sufyan, on
the other hand, also received the news that the Muslims had left. When he heard
the news, he did two things. (1). He sent a person immediately to Makkah to
inform Quraysh about this, so that they could make arrangements for the safety
of their caravan. (2). He himself changed his route and set out with the
caravan towards the sea.¹ As soon as Quraysh received the message of Abu
Sufyan, they came out of their homes.
Referance:
¹ Sharh Al-Zurqaani ‘Ala-Al-Mawahib, vol. 2, p. 263
·
Map of the battle of Badr
·
Mountain, Edge of the Safra valley
·
Command centre of the Holy Prophet, Graveyard, Muslim camp, More sandy
terrain
·
Battlefield, Well of Badr, Wells coming in the custody of Muslims,
Hilltops
·
Camp of the disbelievers, North (directional arrow pointing up), Less
sandy terrain, More sandy terrain
The chiefs of Quraysh set out with
an army of one thousand armed troops. They arranged rations for the troops in a
way that the rich people of Quraysh would slaughter ten camels every day and
feed the troops.
Utbah Bin Rabi’ah, who was the
richest person in Quraysh, was the commander in chief of this army. On the way,
Abu Sufyan sent a message that we have made our caravan safe, therefore, the
remaining people should return. He also added that there is no need to fight
now. Some people of Quraysh agreed to return, but some of them insisted on
fighting, and convinced some of the tribes too.
The disbelievers of Quraysh reached
the plain of Badr before the Muslims and occupied the better and suitable
places for themselves, whereas, the Muslims could not get a suitable place from
the perspective of a battle.
Glory be to Allah! In the meantime,
it rained, causing the dust and sand of the field to become hard, due to which,
it became easier for the Muslims to walk on it, and the ground of the
disbelievers became muddy, due to which, they faced great difficulty in walking
and maneuvering.
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