The Battle of Badr (2 AH)

Part oneA caravan and an army

By 2 AH, the Quraysh had spent years driving the Muslims out of their homes and taking their property. Madinah lay close to the trade road between Makkah and Syria. By now the Quran had given the Muslims permission to fight, because they had been wronged and driven from their homes for saying that their Lord is Allah.

From the Quran

أُذِنَ لِلَّذِينَ يُقَـٰتَلُونَ بِأَنَّهُمْ ظُلِمُوا۟ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ نَصْرِهِمْ لَقَدِيرٌ ۝٣٩ ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَـٰرِهِم بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ إِلَّآ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ رَبُّنَا ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلنَّاسَ بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لَّهُدِّمَتْ صَوَٰمِعُ وَبِيَعٌ وَصَلَوَٰتٌ وَمَسَـٰجِدُ يُذْكَرُ فِيهَا ٱسْمُ ٱللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ۗ وَلَيَنصُرَنَّ ٱللَّهُ مَن يَنصُرُهُۥٓ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَقَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ ۝٤٠

³⁹Permission ˹to fight back˺ is ˹hereby˺ granted to those being fought, for they have been wronged. And Allah is truly Most Capable of helping them ˹prevail˺. ⁴⁰˹They are˺ those who have been expelled from their homes for no reason other than proclaiming: “Our Lord is Allah.” Had Allah not repelled ˹the aggression of˺ some people by means of others, destruction would have surely claimed monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s Name is often mentioned. Allah will certainly help those who stand up for Him. Allah is truly All-Powerful, Almighty.

The Prophet ﷺ sent small parties to watch the road. In Rajab he sent Abdullah ibn Jahsh (may Allah be pleased with him) with a sealed letter, to be opened only after two days of travel. It told him to go to Nakhlah, between Makkah and Ta'if, and gather news of the Quraysh. There the party met a small Makkan caravan, and on their own judgement they attacked it. A man of the Quraysh was killed and two were taken captive. The Prophet ﷺ told them he had not ordered them to fight in the sacred month. This happened in a sacred month, when fighting was forbidden, and Makkah made much of it. The Quran answered that fighting in a sacred month is a grave matter, but that driving people from their homes and persecuting them for their faith is graver still.

Then Ramadan came. Fasting had been made a duty only that year, so it was the first Ramadan the Muslims fasted. News arrived that a large caravan under Abu Sufyan was returning from Syria. It carried goods belonging to many Makkan families, and it was lightly guarded. The Prophet ﷺ called those who had mounts to ride out with him. He did not order everyone to come. Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) stayed in Madinah to nurse his wife Ruqayyah, the Prophet's ﷺ daughter, who was gravely ill, and the Prophet ﷺ counted him among the people of Badr. She died while the army was away. About 313 men set out, with some seventy camels that they rode in turns, and only a couple of horses. The Prophet ﷺ shared a camel with Ali and Abu Lubabah. When they offered to walk so that he could ride, he said that they were no stronger than he was at walking, and that he needed the reward as much as they did. Among those who came was Umayr ibn Abi Waqqas, a boy of about sixteen who hid so as not to be sent home for being too young. The Prophet ﷺ let him stay, and he was among those killed at Badr. Most of them did not expect a battle, and the Quran later said that some of the believers had disliked marching out at all.

Abu Sufyan heard about the danger. He sent a rider ahead to Makkah to raise help and turned the caravan towards the coast, away from the usual road. Makkah answered at once with an army of about 950 men, with horses and hundreds of camels. Before long, Abu Sufyan had slipped past the danger, and he sent word that the caravan was safe and the army could return.

Some did go home, including the Banu Zuhrah. Abu Jahl would not turn back, and many others, unwilling to be seen as cowards, went on with him.

The Prophet ﷺ learned that an army, not a caravan, was now ahead. He asked for advice from his Companions. Abu Bakr and Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) spoke first, and then al-Miqdad ibn al-Aswad (may Allah be pleased with him), who said they would not behave as the people of Musa had, and that they would fight beside him. The Ansar had pledged at Aqabah to protect him in Madinah, not to march out to battle, so he waited for their view. Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) spoke for them. He said they believed in him and would follow him wherever he went, even into the sea. The Prophet ﷺ was pleased and told them to go forward in good heart.

Part twoThe day at Badr

Badr was a stretch of desert with wells, near the road to the coast. The Muslims arrived first and halted near the first well. Al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked whether this spot was a command from Allah or the Prophet's ﷺ own judgement. When the Prophet ﷺ said it was his judgement, al-Hubab suggested moving to the wells closest to the enemy and filling in the others behind them. The Prophet ﷺ agreed. It meant the Muslims would have water and the Quraysh would not. A shelter was built for the Prophet ﷺ on a mound overlooking the field.

He also worked out the size of the enemy without seeing them. He asked how many camels they slaughtered each day. When he was told nine or ten, he said they must number between nine hundred and a thousand. He gave an order that the men of the Banu Hashim who had been pressed into coming, among them his uncle al-Abbas, should be spared if met.

That night he prayed long, asking Allah for help.

From the hadith

It has been narrated on the authority of `Umar b. al-Khattab who said:

When it was the day on which the Battle of Badr was fought, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cast a glance at the infidels, and they were one thousand while his own Companions were three hundred and nineteen. The Prophet (ﷺ) turned (his face) towards the Qibla. Then he stretched his hands and began his supplication to his Lord: "O Allah, accomplish for me what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, bring about what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed. Thou will not be worshipped on this earth." He continued his supplication to his Lord, stretching his hands, facing the Qibla, until his mantle slipped down from his shoulders. So Abu Bakr came to him, picked up his mantle and put it on his shoulders. Then he embraced him from behind and said: Prophet of Allah, this prayer of yours to your Lord will suffice you, and He will fulfill for you what He has promised you. So Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, revealed (the Qur'anic verse): "When ye appealed to your Lord for help, He responded to your call (saying): I will help you with one thousand angels coming in succession." So Allah helped him with angels. […]

In the morning, Friday the 17th of Ramadan, the two lines met. Rain had fallen in the night, and it firmed the sand beneath the Muslims' feet. The fighting began as it often did then, with champions stepping out from each side. Three men of the Quraysh, Utbah, his brother Shaybah and his son al-Walid, challenged the Muslims. Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, Hamzah and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) answered them. Hamzah and Ali quickly overcame their men and then helped Ubaydah, who had been badly wounded. He was carried back to the Prophet ﷺ and asked whether he was not a martyr, and he died of his wound on the road home. When these duels ended, the main armies engaged. The Muslims stood firm and fought in close ranks. The Quran says Allah sent angels to help the believers.

From the Quran

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَٱسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّى مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ ۝٩ وَمَا جَعَلَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِۦ قُلُوبُكُمْ ۚ وَمَا ٱلنَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ۝١٠ إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ ٱلنُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَآءً لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِۦ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ ٱلْأَقْدَامَ ۝١١

⁹˹Remember˺ when you cried out to your Lord for help, He answered, “I will reinforce you with a thousand angels—followed by many others.” ¹⁰And Allah made this a sign of victory and reassurance to your hearts. Victory comes only from Allah. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. ¹¹˹Remember˺ when He caused drowsiness to overcome you, giving you serenity. And He sent down rain from the sky to purify you, free you from Satan’s whispers, strengthen your hearts, and make ˹your˺ steps firm.

The battle lasted only a few hours. Abu Jahl, the most determined of the Makkan leaders, was killed. Two young men of the Ansar, both named Mu'adh, had asked which one he was, having heard how he used to insult the Prophet ﷺ. They struck him down together, and when they each claimed the kill, the Prophet ﷺ looked at both their swords and said that both had killed him. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) found him dying and finished him. Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who had tortured Bilal in the heat of Makkah, was recognised by Bilal on the field, and he was killed. The Quraysh broke and fled. About seventy of them were killed, among them several of their senior men, and about seventy were taken prisoner. Among the Quraysh dead were the men whom the Prophet ﷺ had named in prayer years before, after they laughed as camel entrails were laid on his back while he prostrated at the Kaaba. Fourteen Muslims died, six of the Muhajirun and eight of the Ansar. Their names were remembered with honour in Madinah.

Part threeThe prisoners and the aftermath

For the first time, the Muslims held prisoners. The Prophet ﷺ asked his Companions what to do. Abu Bakr advised accepting ransom, and Umar was for a stricter course. The Prophet ﷺ inclined towards ransom. Two captives who had led the persecution in Makkah, an-Nadr ibn al-Harith and Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt, were put to death. The rest were ransomed or freed. He told his Companions to treat the captives well, and some of them later recalled being given bread while their hosts ate dates.

Ransom was set according to what a man could afford. Some prisoners who could read and write could win their freedom by teaching ten Muslim children, which shows how seriously the Prophet ﷺ took learning. Some were freed without payment. Among the captives was Abu al-As, the husband of the Prophet's ﷺ daughter Zaynab. She sent a necklace as his ransom. The Prophet ﷺ and the Companions agreed to give it back and set him free.

Zayd ibn Harithah and Abdullah ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with them) rode ahead of the army to bring the news to Madinah, and it spread fast from there. In Makkah, the leading families had lost sons and fathers, and they were slow to accept it. In Madinah, a community that outsiders had thought small and weak had defeated an army three times its size. The Companions who fought at Badr were remembered with a special honour for the rest of their lives.

The victory did not end the danger. It sharpened it. Makkah began planning to strike back, and tensions grew inside Madinah too. Not long after Badr, a quarrel in the market of the Banu Qaynuqa turned violent, and when the Prophet ﷺ besieged their quarter, they were sent away from the city.

It meant the Muslims would have water and the Quraysh would not.

More on How to Muslim

• quran.howtomuslim.orgSurah al-Anfal, mappedThe surah revealed about Badr.
• guide.howtomuslim.orgHow to fastBadr fell in the first Ramadan the Muslims fasted.

WatchLectures for this chapter

Lecture Towards EternityO Messenger, Ep. 6: The Battle of Badr (opens on YouTube)

Lecture Islamic GuidanceThe First Battle In Islam: Badr (Seerah of Muhammad, part 57) (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Madinah
• the road to Badr
• the wells of Badr
• Makkah

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter