Imad Benjelloun
April 18, 2022
KEY QUESTIONS
- What is the Battle of Badr?
- When and where did the Battle of Badr occur?
- How many fought and died in the Battle of Badr and which side was well armed?
- Why is it important for the youth to learn about the Battle of Badr?
- What is the story of the Battle of Badr?
- Why did the Prophet want to intercept the caravan that caused the Battle of Badr?
- Did the Prophet start or plan the Battle of Badr?
- What was God’s Plan behind the Battle of Badr?
- What was the Prophet’s supplication before the start of the Battle of Badr?
- What are the Battle of Badr’s lessons for the youth?
- What is the best way to commemorate the Battle of Badr?
ANSWERS
1. What is the Battle of Badr?
The Battle of Badr is the first major and greatest battle in the history of mankind between truth and falsehood, that was led by the best of creation himself, Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace. It resulted in a decisive victory for Muslims and the continuation of Islam forever, making it possible for countless people to worship their Creator until the end of time on earth! Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace supplicated his Lord right before the start of the Battle of Badr: “Oh God if this small band of Muslims is destroyed, you will not be worshipped on this earth ever.”[1]
The day of the Battle of Badr is called the Day of al-Furqan (criterion) by God Almighty in Quran 8:41. That is because the Battle of Badr was indeed the criterion between belief and disbelief, right and wrong, and good and evil.
The Battle of Badr was also the crossroad between two major periods in the Prophet’s journey to promote Islam and establish its first State. In the first major period, Muslims were exercising patience and self-control not to be engaged in war with their hostile enemies. However, the Battle of Badr marked a major shift to exercising the right for self-defense and starting to engage in war whenever necessary. And that is why, the decisive victory of Muslims in the Battle of Badr is considered (by some) as the official start of the first Islamic State, that Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace, had been preparing for since he migrated to Medina.
2. When and where did the Battle of Badr occur?
- When: The Battle of Badr occurred on the 17thof Ramadan in the 2nd year of the Islamic calendar, around the 13th of March in 624. That is 2 years after the Prophet’s migration from Mecca to Medina.
- Where: The Battle of Badr occurred in an area that is located about 80 miles southwest of Medina, known for its many wells, as shown in the following map. Such area is called Badr hence the name the Battle of Badr.
The Battle of Badr Map (Source Wikipedia)
3. How many fought and died in the Battle of Badr and which side was well armed?
About 313 Muslims, poorly equipped with only 2 horses and 70 camels, fought and defeated more than three times their number, about 1000 pagans that were well equipped with 100 horses and 700 camels.
About 14 Muslims were martyred whereas the “Muslims that day killed 70 persons and captured 70.” [2]
4. Why is it important for the youth to learn about the Battle of Badr?
It is important for you, the youth, to learn about the Badr of Badr because it is the first major battle between truth and falsehood, as a result of which you are Muslim today and able to worship your Creator, God Almighty; otherwise, you would be misguided, lost, confused, hopeless, helpless, and worshipping anything, everything, or nothing!
It is also important because of the many lessons you can learn from it to further guide you in your journey to God Almighty, especially in your early stages of life as a youth. Such lessons will incha’Allah be listed later.
5. What is the story of the Battle of Badr?
Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace, was informed that a caravan of pagans, led by Abu Sufyan, was coming from Syria heading towards Mecca. So, he decided to take about 313 Muslims from Medina to intercept it in order to seize from it what would be a fair reimbursement for a portion of the Muslims’ properties that the pagans wrongfully took after the Muslims migrated from Mecca to Medina leaving behind everything they owned. When Abu Sufyan got word from his spies about the planned interception, he changed course to take another path to Mecca as shown in the above map and was able to save his caravan from the planned interception. Then he sent a message to Mecca that there was no need to send an army to protect the caravan.
Upon receiving this message, a chief of pagans in Mecca, Abu Jahl (Amru Bnu Hicham), instead of defusing the situation given that the caravan was saved, he decided to escalate it and use the Muslims’ plan to intercept the caravan and get back their due rights, as a pretext to execute his own plan to achieve his long-awaited goal of destroying Muslims and Islam. So, he continued to march the Quraysh army of pagans towards Badr to fight against the Muslims. His plan failed!
6. Why did the Prophet want to intercept the caravan that caused the Battle of Badr?
Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace, wanted to intercept the caravan, that caused the Battle of Badr, because the caravan’s owners (the pagans) used the Muslims’ wealth left in Mecca upon their migration to Medina, and used it to invest it and grow their own business. So, Muslims just wanted to take back their own due money that was unlawfully taken and invested by the pagans.
7. Did the Prophet plan or start the Battle of Badr?
No, Prophet Muhammad, God bless him and grant him peace, did not plan or start such war. It was the pagan Quraysh led by Abu Jahl who planned and started the war, without provocation or justification. The fact that the Prophet wanted to intercept the pagans’ caravan is not a justification or provocation for war because he only wanted to get back what was rightly due for Muslims. He had no intention or plan to go to war with the pagan Quraysh. He is a man of peace, coexistence, mutual respect and understanding, and so should you be.
8. What was God’s Plan behind the Battle of Badr?
God’ Plan was that such war takes place in order to establish Islam not only in Arabia but the whole world and make it everlasting until the end of time. The Prophet’s plan was to intercept the caravan, but God’s Plan was a lot more important. It was not the easier of the two plans, but the better one and the right one! As a youth, the lesson here is that you should not always go with the easier of your choices but the right one even if it is the harder one because God will empower you to win and succeed as long as you trust Him and are devoted to Him.
God Almighty says: “And when God promised you one of the two (enemy) parties (caravan or pagan army) that it should be yours, you wished that the unarmed one (caravan) should be yours; but God wanted to establish the truth through His words and to cut off the root of the disbelievers, so that He proves the truth to be true and the falsehood to be false, even though the criminals (idolators) dislike it.”[3] (Quran 8:7-8)
9. What was the Prophet’s supplication before the start of the Battle of Badr?
The Prophet’s supplication before the start of the Battler Badr was: “Oh God! Fulfill what You promised for me. O God! Bring about what You promised for me. Oh God, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed, You will never be worshipped on earth.” The full Hadith that includes such supplication is:
Ibn Abbas, God be pleased with him, narrated that `Umar Bnu al-Khattab, God be pleased with him, said: “On the day of the Battle of Badr, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, looked at his companions, and they were three hundred and some, but when he looked at the pagans, they were a thousand or more. Then the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, faced the Qibla and stretched forth his hands, with his upper and lower garment on him, and he said: ‘Oh God! Fulfill what You promised for me. O God! Bring about what You promised for me. Oh God, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed, You will never be worshipped on earth.’ He kept imploring his Lord, supplicating Him, until his upper garment fell from his shoulders. Then, Abu Bakr, God be pleased with him, came to him, picked up his upper garment and put it back on him. Then he embraced him from behind and said: Oh Prophet of God, this supplication to your Lord is sufficient, for He will fulfill His promise to you. Then God, the Glorified and Exalted, revealed: ‘(Recall) when you appealed your Lord and He responded: ‘I am going to support you with a thousand angels, one following the other’[4] (Quran 8:9). On that day when the armies met (in battle), God, the Glorified and Exalted, defeated the pagans, seventy of whom were killed and seventy were taken captive…” [Muslim]
10. What are the Battle of Badr’s lessons for the youth?
How come a few and poorly armed Muslim soldiers were able to defeat more than three times their size of pagan soldiers who were well armed? The answer in brief: God was on their side. And as long as God is on your side, no one can defeat you or destroy you ever!
We, and all generations before us, are Muslims today first and foremost because of God’ Grace, and because of His Prophet and his Companions who were so righteous and courageous to stand up against the hostile disbelievers. So, as a youth, here are some of the lessons you can learn from this great Battle so that you too can have God Almighty on your side:
Be a true believer
Be a true believer as a Muslim youth and do not be misguided or fooled by any ideologies or other religions you are exposed to at school or outside, because true belief is one of the main reasons God Almighty made the Muslims victorious in the Battle of Badr. This is perfectly related to Ramadan, the month of perfecting your belief. And in this verse, God Almighty defines for you in practice what a true believer is: “Certainly, the believers are those who, when God is mentioned, their hearts tremble, and when His verses are recited to them, it makes them grow their faith, and in their Lord they place their trust. They are those who establish salat and spend from what We have given to them. Those are the true believers. For them there are high ranks with their Lord, forgiveness, and generous provision.”[5] (Quran 8:2-4)
Place your Trust in your Lord Almighty
Like the Muslims in the Battle of Badr, make the necessary effort and take the means to succeed but place your trust in your Lord Almighty, not in your efforts or means, because He is the ultimate Doer Who can turn efforts and means into success; you can’t and no one else can!
Turn to your Lord Almighty and Appeal to Him
Turn to your Lord Almighty and appeal to Him every day especially in times of crisis and adversity in order to succeed in anything and everything. And keep in mind that there is not a single instant from your life when you would not need help from Him Almighty; your breathing is just one example among countless others. Right before the start of the Battle of Badr, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, appealed to his Lord, and kept doing so to the point that his mantle slipped down from his shoulders because he knew very well that victory and success are only by his Lord Almighty. “(Recall) when you appealed your Lord and He responded: ‘I am going to support you with a thousand angels, one following the other’” (Quran 8:9).
Have a plan, be organized, take the means, and work hard
Supplication is necessary but not enough. You need to have a plan, be organized, take the necessary means, and work very hard. Then you can place your trust in your Lord Almighty to make your efforts successful. Before the start of the Battle of Badr, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, had a plan and took the necessary means to make sure the army was well organized and ready to fight.
Lead by Shura
Lead by Shura. That is to consult with the experts in the field and be humble in expressing your own opinion and listening to others’ opinions, as did the Prophet at the Battle of Badr.
First, he, God bless him and grant hm peace, consulted with the Companions (Muslim army) to tell him whether to engage in such war or not. They supported him fully and unconditionally.
Second, he, God bless him and grant him peace, consulted with a military expert, al-Hubab Bnu al-Mundhir, and followed his advice in changing the location (where the Muslim army should camp) to be in the farthest well which is the closest to the advancing pagans’ army. There, the Muslim army will gather as much water as possible then cut off the supply from the other wells by filling them with sand, where they would prevent the enemy from having access to water, which was key to victory. Instead of following his own opinion, the Prophet humbled himself and followed what was best for the good of the cause.
So, always be willing to listen to a different opinion and accept it even if it is opposite to yours as long as it is the best of options that pleases God Almighty.
Redefine your mission!
Your primary mission should be to serve the mission of the Messengers, which is to guide yourself and others to God Almighty. The Prophet’s mission in this battle was to establish God’s Truth so that people like you are now guided and able to worship their Creator. So, you too should do your part in defending Islam and promoting it so that people who come after you are able to worship their Creator, the Exalted and Glorified!
11. What is the best way to commemorate the Battle of Badr?
The best way to commemorate the Battle of Badr is not only to learn about it and revive the memory of such great historical event but also to revive your deen, renew your faith, and strengthen your determination and willpower to learn Islam, practice Islam, and promote Islam, so that all people, Muslims and non-Muslims, have the freedom to discover Islam, embrace Islam, and live by Islam; and so that humanity can benefit from the presence of Islam on earth.
[1] Narrated by Ibn Abbas, God be pleased with him, and reported by Muslim
[2] Narrated by Ibn Abbas, God be pleased with him, and reported by Muslim
[3] Quran 8:7-8 [وَإِذْ يَعِدُكُمُ ٱللَّهُ إِحْدَى ٱلطَّآئِفَتَيْنِ أَنَّهَا لَكُمْ وَتَوَدُّونَ أَنَّ غَيْرَ ذَاتِ ٱلشَّوْكَةِ تَكُونُ لَكُمْ وَيُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ أَن يُحِقَّ ٱلْحَقَّ بِكَلِمَـٰتِهِۦ وَيَقْطَعَ دَابِرَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ] [4] Quran 8:9 [إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ] [5] Quran 8:2-4 [إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُهُۥ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًۭا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّۭا ۚ لَّهُمْ دَرَجَـٰتٌ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌۭ وَرِزْقٌۭ كَرِيمٌۭ]
