The Sealed Nectar (27 page)

The prevalent exigencies required as a top priority exhorting the Muslims to fight.

Any leader with a deep insight would order his soldiers to get ready for any sort of emergency, let alone the All- Knowing Exalted Lord, Who is at all times omniscient of the minutest details of affairs. The event of that skirmish with the polytheists dealt a heavy blow to the pride of Quraish and created a sort of horrible restlessness amongst them.

The aforementioned Qur’ânic verses, enjoining the Muslims to strive in the cause of Allâh, betrayed the proximity of blood clashes that would be crowned by a decisive victory for the Muslims, and final expulsion of polytheists out of the Sacred City, Makkah. They referred to rules pertinent to the treatment of captives and slaughtering the pagan soldiers till the war ended and laid down its burdens. All of these could act as clues to a final triumph that would envelop the strife of the Muslims towards their noble objectives.

Another event of great significance featured the same month Sha‘ban 2 A.H., i.e.

February 624 A.D., which was a Divine injunction ordering that
Al- Qiblah
be changed from Jerusalem to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. That was of a great advantage to the Muslims at two levels. First, it brought about a kind of social sifting, so to speak, in terms of the hypocrites of the Jews and others weak at heart, and revealed their true nature and inclinations; the ranks of the Muslims were thereby purged from those discord- prone elements. Second, facing a new
Qiblah
, the Sacred Mosque in Makkah, refers gently to a new role awaiting the Muslims to take up, and would start 130

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only after the repatriation of the Muslims to their Sacred City, Makkah for it is not logical for the Muslims to leave their
Qiblah
at the mercy of non- Muslims.

The Muslims, therefore, at the behest of Allâh and on account of those Divine clues, augmented their activities and their tendency towards striving in the cause of Allâh and encountering His enemies in a decisive battle were greatly intensified.

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The Battle of Badr

The First Decisive Battle in the History of Islam

Reason of the Battle

We have already spoken about Al- ‘Ushairah Invasion when a caravan belonging to Quraish had escaped an imminent military encounter with the Prophet [pbuh] and his men. When their return from Syria approached, the Prophet [pbuh] despatched Talhah bin ‘Ubaidullâh and Sa‘id bin Zaid northward to scout around for any movements of this sort. The two scouts stayed at Al- Hawra’ for some days until Abu Sufyan, the leader of the caravan, passed by them. The two men hurried back to Madinah and reported to the Prophet [pbuh] their findings. Great wealth amounting to 50 thousand gold Dinars guarded by 40 men moving relatively close to Madinah constituted a tempting target for the Muslim military, and provided a potentially heavy economic, political and military strike that was bound to shake the entire structure of the Makkan polytheists.

The Prophet [pbuh] immediately exhorted the Muslims to rush out and waylay the caravan to make up for their property and wealth they were forced to give up in Makkah. He did not give orders binding to everyone, but rather gave them full liberty to go out or stay back, thinking that it would be just an errand on a small scale.

The Muslim army was made up of 300- 317 men, 82- 86 Emigrants, 61 from Aws and 170 from Khazraj. They were not well- equipped nor adequately prepared. They had only two horses belonging to Az- Zubair bin Al- ‘Awwam and Al- Miqdad bin Al- Aswad Al- Kindi, 70 camels, one for two or three men to ride alternatively. The Messenger of Allâh [pbuh] himself, ‘Ali and Murthid bin Abi Murthid Al- Ghanawi had only one camel. Disposition of the affairs of Madinah was entrusted to Ibn Umm Maktum but later to Abu Lubabah bin ‘Abdul Mundhir. The general leadership was given to Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al- Qurashi Al- ‘Abdari, and their standard was white in colour. The little army was divided into two battalions, the Emigrants with a standard raised by ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, and the Helpers whose standard was in the hand of Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh.

Az- Zubair bin Al- ‘Awwam was appointed to the leadership of the right flank, Al-Miqdad bin ‘Amr to lead the left flank, and the rear of the army was at the command of Qais bin Abi Sa‘sa‘ah. The General Commander- in- Chief was the Prophet [pbuh], of course.

The Prophet [pbuh], at the head of his army, marched out along the main road leading to Makkah. He then turned left towards Badr and when he reached As- Safrâ’, he despatched two men to scout about for the camels of Quraish.

Abu Sufyan, on the other hand, was on the utmost alert. He had already been aware that the route he was following was attended with dangers. He was also anxious to know about the movements of Muhammad [pbuh]. His scouting men submitted to him reports to the effect that the Muslims were lying in ambush for his caravan. To be on the safe side, he hired Damdam bin ‘Amr Al- Ghifari to communicate a message asking for help from the Quraishites. The messenger rode fast and reached Makkah in frenzy. Felling himself from his camel, he stood dramatically before Al- Ka‘bah, cut off the nose and the ears of the camel, turned its saddle upside down, tore off his own shirt from front and behind, and cried: "O Quraish! Your merchandise! It is with 132

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Abu Sufyan. The caravan is being intercepted by Muhammad [pbuh] and his companions. I cannot say what would have happened to them. Help! Help!"

The effect of this hue and cry was instantaneous and the news stunned Quraish and they immediately remembered their pride that was wounded when the Muslims had intercepted Al- Hadrami caravan. They therefore swiftly mustered almost all of their forces and none stayed behind except Abu Lahab, who delegated someone who owed him some money. They also mobilized some Arab tribes to contribute to the war against the Prophet [pbuh]. All the clans of Quraish gave their consent except Banu

‘Adi. Soon an excited throng of 1300 soldiers including 100 horsemen and 600

mailed soldiers with a large number of camels, was clamouring to proceed to fight the Muslims. For food supplies, they used to slaughter an alternate number of camels of ten and nine every day. They were however afraid that Banu Bakr, on account of old long deep- seated animosity, would attack their rear. At that critical moment,
Iblis
(Satan) appeared to them in the guise of Suraqa bin Malik bin Ju‘sham Al- Mudlaji —

chief of Bani Kinana — saying to them: "I guarantee that no harm will happen from behind."

They set out burning with indignation, motivated by a horrible desire for revenge and exterminating anyone that might jeopardize the routes of their caravans:

"…boastfully and to be seen of men, and hinder (men) from the path of
Allâh. "
[Al- Qur'an 8:47]

Or as the Prophet [pbuh] said:

"O Allâh these are the haughty and conceited; they have come defying Allâh
and defying His Messenger."

They moved swiftly northward to Badr. On the way they received another message from Abu Sufyan asking them to go back home because the caravan had escaped the Muslims. Incidentally, Abu Sufyan, on learning the intention of the Muslims, led his caravan off the main route, and inclined it towards the Red Sea. By this manoeuvre, he was able to slip past the Madinese ambush and was out of their reach.

On receiving Abu Sufyan’s message, the Makkan army showed a desire to return home. The tyrant Abu Jahl, however haughtily and arrogantly insisted that they proceed to Badr, stay three nights there for making festivities. Now they wanted to punish the Muslims and prevent them from intercepting their caravans, and impress on the Arabs that Quraish still had the upper hand and enjoyed supremacy in that area.

Abu Jahl’s threats and insistence notwithstanding, Banu Zahrah, acting on the advice of Al- Akhnas bin Shuraiq, broke away and returned to Makkah. Thenceforth Al-Akhnas remained ‘the well- rubbed palm tree’ for Bani Zahrah and was blindly obeyed in all relevant matters.

Banu Hashim were also inclined to break away, but Abu Jahl’s threats made them desist from that idea.

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The rest of the army, now 1000 soldiers, approached Badr and encamped themselves beyond a sand dune at Al- ‘Udwat Al- Quswa.

‘The intelligence corps’ of the Madinese army reported to the Prophet [pbuh] that a bloody encounter with the Makkans was inescapable, and that a daring step in this context had to be taken, or else the forces of evil would violate the inviolable and would consequently manage to undermine the noble cause of the Islam and tread upon its faithful adherents. The Muslims were afraid that the pagan Makkans would march on and start the war activities within the headquarters of Islam, Madinah. A move of such nature would certainly damage and produce an infamous impact on the dignity and stance of the Muslims.

On account of the new grave developments, the Prophet [pbuh] held an advisory military emergency meeting to review the ongoing situation and exchange viewpoints with the army leaders. Admittedly, some Muslims feared the horrible encounter and their courage began to waver; in this regard, Allâh says:

"As your Lord caused you (O Muhammad [pbuh]) to go out from your home
with the Truth, and verily, a party among the believers disliked it, disputing
with you concerning the Truth after it was made manifest, as if they were
being driven to death while they were looking (at it)."
[Al- Qur'an 8:5, 6]

The Prophet [pbuh] apprised his men of the gravity of the situation and asked for their advice. Abu Bakr was the first who spoke on the occasion and assured the Prophet [pbuh] of the unreserved obedience to his command. ‘Umar was the next to stand up and supported the views expressed by his noble friend. Then Al- Miqdad bin

‘Amr got up and said: "O Messenger of Allâh! Proceed where Allâh directs you to, for we are with you. We will not say as the Children of Israel said to Moses [AWS]:

"Go you and your Lord and fight and we will stay here;"

Rather we shall say:

"Go you and your Lord and fight and we will fight along with you."

By Allâh! If you were to take us to Bark Al- Ghimad, we will still fight resolutely with you against its defenders until you gained it."

The Prophet [pbuh] thanked him and blessed him.

The three leaders who spoke were from the Emigrants, who only constituted a minor section of the army. The Prophet [pbuh] wanted, and for the more reason, to hear the Helpers’ view because they were the majority of the soldiers and were expected to shoulder the brunt of the war activities. Moreover, the clauses of Al- ‘Aqabah Pledge did not commit them to fighting beyond their territories.

The Prophet [pbuh] then said:

"Advise me my men!"

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by which he meant the Helpers, in particular. Upon this Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh stood up and said: "By Allâh, I feel you want us (the Helpers) to speak." The Prophet [pbuh]

directly said: "Oh, yes!" Sa‘d said: "O Prophet of Allâh! We believe in you and we bear witness to what you have vouchsafed to us and we declare in unequivocal terms that what you have brought is the Truth. We give you our firm pledge of obedience and sacrifice. We will obey you most willingly in whatever you command us, and by Allâh, Who has sent you with the Truth, if you were to ask us to plunge into the sea, we will do that most readily and not a man of us will stay behind. We do not grudge the idea of encounter with the enemy. We are experienced in war and we are trustworthy in combat. We hope that Allâh will show you through our hands those deeds of valour which will please your eyes. Kindly lead us to the battlefield in the Name of Allâh."

The Prophet [pbuh] was impressed with the fidelity and the spirit of sacrifice which his companions showed at this critical juncture. Then he said to them: "Forward and be of cheer, for Allâh has promised me one of the two (the lucrative course through capturing the booty or strife in the cause of Allâh against the polytheists), and by Allâh it is as if I now saw the enemy lying prostrate."

In the immediate vicinity of Badr, the Prophet [pbuh] and his cavemate Abu Bakr conducted a scouting operation during which they managed to locate the camp of Quraish. They came across an old bedouin nearby whom they manipulated and managed to extract from him the exact location of the army of the polytheists. In the evening of the same day, he despatched three Emigrant leaders, ‘Ali bin Abi Talib, Az- Zubair bin Al- ‘Awwam and Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas to scout about for news about the enemy. They saw two men drawing water for the Makkan army. On interrogation, they admitted that they were water carriers working for Quraish. But that answer did not please some Muslims and they beat the two boys severely in order to exact from them an answer, even if it isn’t true, alluding to the caravan laden with wealth. The two boys thus lied, and so they were released. The Prophet [pbuh] was angry with those men and censured them saying: "On telling the truth, you beat them, and on telling a lie, you released them!" He then addressed the two boys and after a little conversation with them he learned a lot about the enemy: number of soldiers, their exact location and names of some of their notables.

He then turned to the Muslims and said: "Hearken, Quraish has sent you their most precious lives."

The same night it rained on both sides. For the polytheists it obstructed further progress, whereas it was a blessing for the Muslims. It cleaned them and removed from them the stain of Satan. Allâh sent rain to strengthen their hearts and to plant their feet firmly therewith. They marched a little forward and encamped at the farther bank of the valley. Muhammad [pbuh] stopped at the nearest spring of Badr.

Al- Hubab bin Mundhir asked him, "Has Allâh inspired you to choose this very spot or is it stratagem of war and the product of consultation?" The Prophet [pbuh] replied

"It is stratagem of war and consultation." Al- Hubab said: "This place is no good; let us go and encamp on the nearest water well and make a basin or reservoir full of water, then destroy all the other wells so that they will be deprived of the water."