In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Treasures of the Seerah.
The beginning of the battle.
The Muslims lined up, and the idolaters lined up—
three hundred and a dozen or so men
against one thousand idolaters.
Then three men from the people of Mecca stepped forward:
'Utbah and Shaybah, the sons of Rabi'ah,
and Al-Walid ibn 'Utbah.
They separated from the ranks of the idolaters
and requested a duel,
calling out, "Who will duel us?"
This was a form of warming up for combat
that the Arabs used to practice.
So three young men from the Ansar stepped forward to face them:
'Awf and Mu'awwidh, the sons of Al-Harith,
and 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah.
When they met, the idolaters asked the Muslims,
"Who are you?"
They replied, "A group from the Ansar."
The idolaters said to them,
"Noble equals!
But we have no need of you;
we only want the sons of our uncles."
Then their herald called out,
"O Muhammad, send out against us our equals from our own people!"
Whereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
"Stand up, O 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith"—
who was a cousin of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
meeting him in lineage at 'Abd Manaf,
as he was from the descendants of Al-Muttalib ibn 'Abd Manaf,
while the Prophet was from the descendants of Hashim ibn 'Abd Manaf—
and he said, "Stand up, O Hamzah!
And stand up, O 'Ali!"
Thus he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) chose his own relatives.
When they stood up and drew near to them,
the idolaters said, "Noble equals!"
So 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith dueled 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah,
Hamzah dueled Shaybah,
and 'Ali dueled Al-Walid ibn 'Utbah.
As for Hamzah, he killed his opponent;
as for 'Ali, he killed his opponent;
but as for 'Ubaydah, he and his adversary exchanged two blows,
each striking the other a blow.
Then 'Ali and Hamzah charged at 'Utbah
and killed him, and they carried 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith away while he was wounded,
his leg having been severed.
He passed away three days later (may Allah be pleased with him).
Thus this duel ended.
Quraysh became enraged at that,
and they charged at the Muslims as one man.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood supplicating his Lord, Exalted is He,
saying:
"O Allah, if this band of Muslims is destroyed today, You will not be worshipped!
O Allah, if You will, You will never be worshipped after this day!"
He went to great lengths in his supplication,
raising his hands so high that his cloak fell from his shoulders.
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq placed it back upon him and said,
"Sufficient for you, O Messenger of Allah!
You have implored your Lord persistently."
Thereupon, Allah (blessed and exalted is He) revealed to the angels:
“When thy Lord inspired the angels, (saying): I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then smite the necks and smite of them each finger.” (8:12)
﴿I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved﴾,
and Allah (blessed and exalted is He) revealed to His Messenger:
“When ye sought help of your Lord and He answered you (saying): I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank.” (8:9)
meaning that they were a reinforcement following one after another to assist you.
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dozed off
for a brief moment,
then he said,
"Rejoice, O Abu Bakr!
Here is Jibril, with dust upon his front teeth."
And regarding them, His saying (Exalted is He) was revealed:
“Allah had already given you the victory at Badr, when ye were contemptible. So observe your duty to Allah in order that ye may be thankful.” (3:123)
“Allah had already given you the victory at Badr, when ye were contemptible. So observe your duty to Allah in order that ye may be thankful.” (3:123)
﴿When you said to the believers, "Is it not enough for you that your Lord should reinforce you..."﴾
﴿"Is it not enough for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down? Yes, if you remain steadfast..."﴾
“When thou didst say unto the believers: Is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should support you with three thousand angels sent down (to your help)?” (3:124)
“Nay, but if ye persevere, and keep from evil, and (the enemy) attack you suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels sweeping on.” (3:125)
“Nay, but if ye persevere, and keep from evil, and (the enemy) attack you suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels sweeping on.” (3:125)
﴿...your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels having marks of distinction.﴾
“Nay, but if ye persevere, and keep from evil, and (the enemy) attack you suddenly, your Lord will help you with five thousand angels sweeping on.” (3:125)
﴿And Allah made it not except as good tidings for you and to reassure your hearts thereby.﴾
﴿And to reassure your hearts thereby.﴾
“Allah ordained this only as a message of good cheer for you, and that thereby your hearts might be at rest - Victory cometh only from Allah, the Mighty, the Wise -” (3:126)
Then the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came out
from the doorway of the shelter,
leaping in his armor and saying:
“The hosts will all be routed and will turn and flee.” (54:45)
﴿The assembly will be defeated, and they will turn their backs.﴾
Then he took a handful of pebbles,
faced Quraysh with it, and said, "May these faces be disfigured!"
And he (peace be upon him) threw them at them,
and there was not a single man among them but that some of what the Messenger of Allah threw struck him.
What the Messenger (peace be upon him) threw struck him,
and regarding this is the saying of Allah (blessed and exalted is He):
“Ye (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them. And thou (Muhammad) threwest not when thou didst throw, but Allah threw, that He might test the believers by a fair test from Him. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (8:17)
﴿And you threw not when you threw, but it was Allah who threw.﴾
And the Muslims charged fiercely against the disbelievers,
and victory was achieved.
Treasures of the Seerah.
Moments filled with lessons.
'Umayr ibn al-Humam (may Allah be pleased with him)
heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
"By the One in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad,
no man fights them today
and is killed enduring patiently, seeking reward, advancing and not retreating,
except that Allah will admit him into Paradise."
And he was saying,
"Stand up to a Paradise whose width is as vast as the heavens and the earth!"
'Umayr ibn al-Humam stood up and said,
"O Messenger of Allah! Fine, fine!"
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked,
"What prompts you to say, 'Fine, fine'?"
He replied, "Nothing, by Allah, O Messenger of Allah,
except my hope that I may be among its people."
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
giving him glad tidings, "Indeed, you are among its people."
So he brought out some dates and began eating from them,
then he said, "If I were to live
long enough to eat these dates of mine,
that would indeed be a long life!"
So he threw away the dates, stepped forward, and fought
until he was killed (may Allah be pleased with him).
Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) said:
"While a man from among the Muslims
was pursuing a man from among the idolaters
ahead of him, he suddenly heard the crack of a whip
above him and the voice of a rider saying,
'Advance, Haizum!' He looked at the idolater
ahead of him and saw him fallen slain. So the Ansari came
and informed the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
and he said, 'You have spoken the truth;
that was from the reinforcements of the third heaven.'"
And Abu Dawud al-Mazini
(may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"I was pursuing a man from among the idolaters
to strike him, when his head fell off
before my sword could even reach him,
so I knew that someone else had killed him."
And a man from the Ansar came
bringing Al-'Abbas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib as a captive.
Al-'Abbas had marched out with the idolaters
reluctantly, so he was captured.
The Ansari said, "O Messenger of Allah, I captured Al-'Abbas!"
Al-'Abbas said, "No, by Allah, this man did not capture me!
I was captured by a bald man
with the handsomest face,
riding a piebald horse,
and I do not see him among these people."
The Ansari said, "I captured him, O Messenger of Allah!"
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
"Be quiet, for Allah supported you
with a noble angel."
'Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
"I was in the rank on the day of Badr when I turned around,
and there on my right and on my left
were two very young boys.
One of them said to me, 'O uncle,
show us Abu Jahl!'
I said, 'What will you two do with him?'
He said, 'We were informed that he reviles the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
If I see him, I will point him out to you.'
One of them said, 'By the One in Whose Hand
is my soul, if I see him, my person shall not part
from his person until whichever of us is decreed to die first dies!' I marvelled
at that. It was not long before I saw
Abu Jahl moving about among the people,
so I said, 'Do you see that man?
He is your target whom you were asking about.'
They struck him until they killed him,
then they departed to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
He asked, 'Which of you
killed him?' Each one of them
said, 'I killed him.'
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said,
'Have you wiped your swords?'
They said, 'No.' So the Messenger
(peace be upon him) looked at both swords
and said, 'Both of you killed him.'"
"Both of you killed him."
And when Abu Jahl fell,
'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) came to him
and said to him, "Allah has disgraced you,
O enemy of Allah!"
Abu Jahl said, "Is there any man higher than one whom you have killed?"—
despite his disbelief and obstinacy,
he was nevertheless among the brave men of the Arabs.
Then Abu Jahl said,
"Tell me, who has won the day?"
He replied, "Allah and His Messenger."
Then 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud stood up
and placed his foot upon the neck of Abu Jahl.
Abu Jahl said,
"You have climbed a steep ascent, O little shepherd of sheep!"
Ibn Mas'ud said,
"So I severed his head at that point,
then I took it to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw it,
he said, 'This is the Pharaoh
of this Ummah.'"
'Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him)
was a friend of Umayyah ibn Khalaf in Mecca.
On the day of Badr,
'Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf passed by Umayyah ibn Khalaf
while he was standing with his son, holding his hand,
while 'Abdur-Rahman ibn 'Awf was carrying coats of armor
that he had looted as spoils.
When Umayyah saw him, he said,
"Would you be interested in me? I am better than these coats of mail
that you have with you."
He replied, "I have never seen a day like today!"
"Do you have no need for milk?"
So 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf cast away the coats of mail
and took them both by the hand, walking with them.
Umayyah then said to 'Abd al-Rahman,
"Who was the man among you marked with an ostrich feather on his chest?"
I replied, "That was Hamzah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib."
He said, "He is the one who wrought
all that havoc upon us!"
'Abd al-Rahman said,
"By Allah, while I was leading them both,
Bilal suddenly saw him with me—
and Umayyah was the very one who used to torture Bilal in Makkah.
Bilal exclaimed, 'The chief of disbelief!
Umayyah ibn Khalaf! May I not survive if he survives!'
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said,
'O Bilal, they are my captives!'
He repeated, 'May I not survive if he survives!'
Then he cried out at the top of his voice,
'O Ansar of Allah! The chief of disbelief,
Umayyah ibn Khalaf! May I not survive if he survives!'
'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf said,
'So they encircled us until they forced us into a corner,
while I was trying to defend him.
Then a man struck with a sword from behind,
and a man struck his son, who fell to the ground.
Umayyah let out a scream the likes of which I had never heard before.'
So I said, 'Save yourself!
There is no escape for you,
for by Allah, I cannot avail you against them in the least.'
He said, 'So they smote them with their swords until
they finished them both off.'"
'Abd al-Rahman used to say, "May Allah have mercy on Bilal!
My coats of mail were lost,
and he bereaved me of my captives."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Outcome of the Battle.
Fourteen men among the Muslims were martyred in this battle:
fourteen men,
six from the Muhajirun
and eight from the Ansar.
A similar number of the enemy were taken captive,
most of whom were leaders and chieftains.
On the authority of Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him),
the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
ordered on the day of Badr concerning twenty-four
men from the chieftains of Quraysh,
and they were thrown into a filthy well of Badr.
Then he (peace be upon him) walked back to it
on the third day
and stood over the edge of the well.
He began calling out to them by their names and their fathers' names:
"O so-and-so, son of so-and-so!
O so-and-so, son of so-and-so!
Would it not have pleased you to have obeyed Allah and His Messenger?
For we have indeed found true what our Lord promised us; have you found true what your Lord promised you?"
“And the dwellers of the Garden cry unto the dwellers of the Fire: We have found that which our Lord promised us (to be) the Truth. Have ye (too) found that which your Lord promised the Truth? They say: Yea, verily. And a crier in between them crieth: The curse of Allah is on evil-doers,” (7:44)
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
"O Messenger of Allah,
why do you speak to bodies that have no souls in them?"
The Prophet (peace be upon him) replied,
"By Him in Whose Hand is the soul of Muhammad,
you do not hear what I say any better than they do,
except that they cannot respond."
What is well known among the scholars
is that the deceased does not hear the speech of the living,
except as reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him)
in his statement: "Indeed, he hears the thud of their sandals."
As for after that,
he is preoccupied with his own state.
Their hearing here was a specific miracle
granted to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
Ibn Ishaq said:
The first person to arrive with the news of the defeat of Quraysh
was a man named Al-Haysaman
ibn 'Abd Allah al-Khuza'i.
They asked him, "What news do you bring?"
He replied, "Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah was killed,
as were Abu al-Hakam ibn Hisham,
Umayyah ibn Khalaf,"
and he enumerated a number of chieftains by name.
When he began listing the nobles of Quraysh,
Safwan ibn Umayyah, who was sitting near the Hijr, said:
"By Allah, if this man is in his right mind,
ask him about me!"
They asked, "What happened to Safwan ibn Umayyah?"
Al-Haysaman replied, "There he is, sitting in the Hijr!
By Allah, I saw his father and his brother when they were killed!"
In this manner, Quraysh received
the news of the crushing defeat on the field of Badr.
Among the anecdotes is that
a man named Al-Aswad ibn al-Muttalib,
three of whose sons were struck down on the day of Badr,
desired to weep over them,
but Quraysh had publicly forbidden wailing.
He was blind,
and during the night he heard the voice of a wailing woman.
So he sent his servant boy, saying,
"Go and see: has weeping been permitted?"
because he wanted to weep.
Weeping had been prohibited so that people would not be continually reminded of this calamity.
He said, "Perhaps I may weep for Abu Hakimah"—
meaning his son—
"for my heart is burning within me."
The boy returned and said, "It is only a woman
weeping for a stray camel she has lost."
Thereupon Al-Aswad ibn al-Muttalib recited:
"Does she weep because a camel went missing,
keeping her awake in sleepless distress?
Then let her not weep for a stray camel, but rather
over Badr, where fortunes fell short!
Over Badr and the noble chiefs of its sons—
of Makhzum and the kin of Abu al-Walid!
Weep, if you must weep, over 'Aqil,
and weep for Harith, the lion of lions!
Weep for them all, without naming them one by one,
though Abu Hakimah has no equal!
Behold, men have come to lead after them
who, were it not for the day of Badr,
would never have risen to leadership!"
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.
The Passing of Ruqayyah, the Daughter of the Prophet.
Usamah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"The news of victory reached us just as we were leveling
the earth over Ruqayyah, the daughter of
the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him),
after her passing.
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
had left me behind with 'Uthman to care for her,
as she was gravely ill when
the Prophet (peace be upon him) set out,
and he commanded 'Uthman to remain with her."
Treasures of the Prophetic Biography.