In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Mawaddah Association presents:
*Occurred in Ramadan*, by 'Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha.
The greatest consultative assembly known in the history of Islam,
held in the second year of the Hijrah,
during the blessed month of Ramadan.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) convened
the most critical consultative council known in the history of Muslims.
This grand historical assembly
has a story that time itself will never forget.
In early autumn of the second year of the Hijrah,
the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions learned
that Abu Sufyan ibn Harb had set out from Mecca for the Levant
with a massive trading caravan.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) promptly mobilized
two hundred fighters from among his Companions
to intercept the caravan.
However, Abu Sufyan managed to escape
and continued his journey toward the Levant.
The Muslims remained on high alert for the caravan's return,
watching with vigilant hearts and open eyes,
until definitive news reached them
regarding Abu Sufyan's return from the Levant
at the head of a caravan comprising a thousand camels,
heavily laden with the finest and most valuable treasures of the Levant—
goods highly prized and favored by Quraysh.
It was a golden, opportune moment,
enabling the Muslims to reclaim the wealth of the Emigrants
that the disbelievers of Quraysh had confiscated following the Hijrah,
and to recover an equivalent for the fortunes
they had left behind in Mecca when they departed their homes,
fleeing to Allah and His Messenger for the sake of their religion.
Furthermore, it offered them an opportunity to strike
the camp of polytheism a crushing economic blow,
for the wealth in this caravan was not restricted
to the rich alone, but belonged to the majority
of the people and was by no means a small sum.
Rather, it consisted of a thousand camels laden
with the finest goods Hijaz imported from the Levant.
Accompanying this vast caravan
were only forty men tasked with guarding
and protecting it.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not issue a general mobilization
to all his Companions, nor did he compel them to set out with him.
Instead, his call to them was more of an encouragement
and an invitation to an advisable deed.
He did no more than say to them:
"Here is the caravan of Quraysh containing their wealth;
set out toward it, and perhaps Allah will grant it to you as spoils."
So among the followers of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
those who stayed behind stayed, and those who joined joined,
without any blame cast upon those who remained behind.
Indeed, seizing the caravan of Quraysh
did not require a massive army or a vast gathering.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) set out
with three hundred and seventeen men from among his Companions,
including two hundred and thirty-one from the Ansar
and eighty-six from the Emigrants.
They had with them seventy camels and two horses,
with every three or four men taking turns riding a single camel.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
shared a single camel, taking turns with Marthad ibn Abi Marthad
and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them both).
The noble Prophet's two riding companions desired
to yield their turns to him,
saying: "We will walk on your behalf, O Messenger of Allah."
But he (peace be upon him) replied:
"You are no stronger than I am,
nor am I any less in need of the reward than you two."
He insisted that his turn to ride the camel
be equal to either of theirs.
Abu Sufyan learned that Muhammad and his Companions had set out for him,
so he dispatched a messenger to Mecca requesting urgent aid,
calling upon them to rescue the caravan and protect it from falling into the hands of the Muslims.
As soon as Abu Sufyan's messenger reached Mecca,
he halted on his camel at the upper reaches of its valley,
having turned his saddle upside down, torn his shirt,
and begun shouting at the top of his voice:
"O people of Quraysh! The merchandise! The merchandise!
Your wealth with Abu Sufyan
has been intercepted by Muhammad and his Companions!
I do not think you will reach it in time!
Hasten, hasten! Help, help!"
All the tribes of Quraysh mobilized to rescue Abu Sufyan,
and the polytheists saw in this a golden opportunity to eliminate Muhammad and his religion.
They prepared to confront the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
with a massive army comprising the chieftains and nobles of Quraysh,
rallying the prominent leaders and warriors of Mecca.
The wealthy contributed generously to its equipment,
while the poor reinforced it with men.
Then the great army marched forth, heading toward Badr,
to rescue the caravan from Muhammad's hands,
eradicate Islam, and crush the Muslims.
Meanwhile, Abu Sufyan drew extremely close to Badr,
near where the Muslim army was encamped.
As he was inadvertently marching toward his own peril,
he encountered a man named Majdi ibn 'Amr.
He asked him about Muhammad's army,
and Majdi said to Abu Sufyan:
"I have not seen anything suspicious in this land,
except that I saw two men
make their camels kneel beside this hill,
draw some water to drink,
and then ride off down this road."
Abu Sufyan hurried to where the two camels had knelt,
picked up some of their droppings,
and crumbled them in his hands,
finding date stones inside them.
He exclaimed: "By the Lord of the Ka'bah, this is the fodder of Yathrib!"
He became certain that the two men were from the Companions of Muhammad.
At that point, Abu Sufyan rerouted the caravan away
from the path of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
and his Companions,
hastening his pace
until he passed the danger zone
and reached a place far beyond the reach of Muhammad and his Companions.
Abu Sufyan then sent word to Quraysh,
informing them of the caravan's safety,
advising them to turn back whence they came,
and urging them not to fight the Muslims.
However, Abu Jahl—may Allah humiliate him—
refused to accept Abu Sufyan's advice
and insisted on advancing
until he met Muhammad and his Companions.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) learned
that Abu Sufyan's caravan had escaped,
and news even more grave reached him:
that the Meccan army under Abu Jahl's command
was determined to confront the Muslims,
bent on waging war against them,
and that the caravan's safety
would not deter him from continuing his march
to Badr to strike at the Muslims.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) found himself
compelled to make a decisive choice:
either return to Yathrib with his Companions—
who numbered no more
than slightly over three hundred—
leaving the polytheist army to roam through the land,
demonstrating its strength before the nomadic tribes dwelling
between Mecca and Medina;
or confront the massive
polytheist army with his small force.
Yet, making such a monumental decision
required a grand consultative council
involving the army and its leaders.
For the Muslims had only marched out with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
to intercept a trade caravan
guarded by no more than forty men;
then the situation suddenly transformed
into a clash with a mighty army driven by stubbornness,
fueled by hatred,
and spurred on by defiance.
Around mid-Ramadan, most likely,
there convened upon the vast sands
on the ridge of the Dhafiran Valley
the greatest consultative assembly known in the history of Islam,
to resolve the weightiest matter faced by the Muslims at the dawn of the call.
The first to speak in this critical assembly
was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him),
and he spoke exceptionally well.
He was followed by al-Faruq 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him),
who spoke admirably.
Then al-Miqdad ibn 'Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) followed them,
saying: "O Messenger of Allah!
Proceed as Allah has commanded you,
for we are with you.
By Allah, we will not say to you as the Children of Israel said to Moses:
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
﴿'We are sitting right here,'﴾
but rather we say to you:
“They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here.” (5:24)
'We shall fight alongside you!' "
The noble Messenger (peace be upon him) was delighted by his words,
yet he still wished to hear from others,
as none of those who had spoken were from the Ansar,
and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would not decide this matter without them.
This was because the majority of his army were from the Ansar,
and they were the ones who would bear the brunt of the battle.
Moreover, when they pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) at the second Pledge of 'Aqabah,
they pledged to protect him just as they protected themselves, their children, and their families,
but they had not promised to fight alongside him outside their own lands.
The Ansar realized that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) wished to engage the polytheists
and would not make a final decision without their counsel.
Thereupon, their leader Sa'd ibn Mu'adh stood up and announced in resolute and firm words
the determination of the Ansar to fight the battle alongside their Prophet.
Addressing the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he said:
"We have believed in you, O Messenger of Allah, testified to your truth,
and borne witness that what you brought is the absolute truth.
We have given you our pledges and covenants of listening and obedience.
So proceed, O Messenger of Allah, to whatever you intend!
By Him Who sent you with the truth,
if you were to lead us into this sea and plunge into it, we would plunge in with you,
and not a single man among us would stay behind!
We do not dislike that you lead us against our enemy tomorrow;
indeed, O Messenger of Allah, we are steadfast in war,
truthful upon confrontation!
May Allah show you from us that which will delight your eyes,
so lead us forward with the blessing of Allah!"
These resolute words settled the matter,
Joy and delight appeared upon the face of the noble Messenger,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and he commanded the Muslim army to advance and confront Allah's enemy and theirs.
He then addressed the Muslims, saying:
"March forth and rejoice,
for Allah Almighty has promised me one of the two parties.
By Allah, it is as though I am already looking at the fallen places of the enemy."
So the army moved toward Badr,
and there the two opposing hosts met:
a host small in number and equipment,
yet immense in its faith and certainty,
and a massive host, abundant in numbers and arms,
yet wretched in its disbelief and rejection of truth.
A fierce, grinding battle raged between the two sides,
in which the believers defended their faith,
while the polytheists fought for their disbelief,
until Allah decreed victory and spoils for His soldiers,
and decreed for the soldiers of al-Lat and al-'Uzza
utter disappointment and defeat.
“Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah - For had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty -” (22:40)
Indeed, Allah is All-Strong, All-Mighty.