The Battle of Badr fought Saturday, March 13, 624 AD (17
RamadanRamadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Quran was revealed.Ramadan is the holiest of months in the Islamic calendar, and fasting in this month is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to...
, 2 AH in the
Islamic calendarThe Hijri calendar , also known as the Muslim calendar or Islamic calendar , is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or 355 days. It is used to date events in many Muslim countries , and used by Muslims everywhere to determine the proper day on which to celebrate Islamic...
) in the
Hejazal-Hejaz, also Hijaz is a region in the west of present-day Saudi Arabia. Defined primarily by its western border on the Red Sea, it extends from Haql on the Gulf of Aqaba to Jizan. Its main city is Jeddah, but it is probably better known for the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
region of western Arabia (present-day
Saudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
), was a key battle in the early days of
IslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and a turning point in
MuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. The battle has been passed down in Islamic history as a decisive victory attributable to
divine interventionA miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
, or by secular sources to the strategic genius of Muhammad. It is one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Quran. Most contemporary knowledge of the battle at
BadrBadr is a town in Al Medina Province, western of Saudi Arabia. It is located at around about from the Islamic holy city of Medina....
comes from traditional Islamic accounts, both
hadithThe term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s and
biographies of MuhammadThe sīrat rasūl allāh or al-sīra al-nabawiyya or just al-sīra, is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad from which, in addition to the Qur'an and Hadith, most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived.-Etymology:In the...
, recorded in written form some time after the battle.
Prior to the battle, the Muslims and Meccans had fought several smaller skirmishes in late 623 and early 624, as the Muslim
ghazawātGhazi or ghazah is an Arabic term that means "to raid/foray." From it evolved the word "Ghazwa" which specifically refers to a battle led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad.In English language literature the word often appears as razzia, deriving from French, although it probably...
(prophet-led battles) had become more frequent. Badr, however, was the first large-scale engagement between the two forces. Advancing to a strong
defensive positionDefense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
, Muhammad's well-disciplined force broke the Meccan lines, killing several important Quraishi leaders including Muhammad's chief antagonist,
'Amr ibn Hishām‘Amr ibn Hishām , better known as Abu al-Hakam, was one of the Meccan pagan Quraysh leaders, known for his hostility against and persecution of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims in Mecca....
. For the early Muslims the battle was the first sign that they might eventually defeat their enemies among the Meccans. Mecca at that time was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Arabia, fielding an army three times larger than that of the Muslims. The Muslim victory also signalled other tribes that a new power had arisen in Arabia and strengthened Muhammad’s position as leader of the often fractious community in Medina.
Background
At the time of the battle, Arabia was sparsely populated by a number of Arabic-speaking people. Some were
BedouinThe Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
; pastoral
nomadNomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s organized in tribes; some were
farmerA farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s living either in oases in the north or in the more fertile and thickly settled areas to the south (now
YemenThe Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and
OmanOman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...
). The majority of Arabs were adherents of numerous polytheistic
religionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
s. There were also tribes that followed
JudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
,
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
(including
NestorianismNestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
),and
ZoroastrianismZoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
.
Muhammad was born in Mecca around 571 AD into the
Banū HāshimBanū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
clan of the Quraish
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
. When he was about forty years old, he received a divine revelation through angel
JibreelIn Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
while meditating in cave Hira outside Mecca. He began to preach to his kinfolk first privately and then publicly. Response to his preaching both attracted followers and antagonized others. During this period Muhammad was protected by his uncle
Abū TālibAbi Tlib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib also known as Abu Talib ibn al-Muttalib.Talib was in reality the elder son of Abd Munāf and elder brother to Ali Ibn Abd Munāf. He was an head of Bani Hashim clan of Quraysh tribe of Mecca in Arabia. He was married to Fatima bint Asad and was an uncle of the...
. His uncle's death in 619 A.D. encouraged Muhammad's enemies, especially the notable Makhzumite
Amr ibn Hishām‘Amr ibn Hishām , better known as Abu al-Hakam, was one of the Meccan pagan Quraysh leaders, known for his hostility against and persecution of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims in Mecca....
(better known by Muslims as "Abu Jahl"), to step up the persecution of the Muslim community.
In 622, with open acts of violence being committed against Muslims by the Quraishi tribesmen, Muhammad and many of his followers migrated to the neighboring city of
MedinaMedina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
. This migration is called the
HijraThe Hijra is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. Alternate spellings of this Arabic word are Hijrah, Hijrat or Hegira, the latter following the spelling rules of Latin.- Hijra of Muhammad :In September 622, warned of a plot to...
and marked the beginning of Muhammad's reign as both a political as well as a religious leader.
The battle
In the spring of 624, Muhammad received word from his intelligence sources that a trade caravan, commanded by Abu Sufyan and guarded by thirty to forty men, was traveling from
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
back to
MeccaMecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. Abu Sufyan sent a message via Damdam, in fear of being attacked by Muslims, to warn Mecca and to get reinforcements. As the trade caravan was carrying a great deal of wealth, the Quraish responded well to the call, and an army of 1300 men was sent for its protection later which was reduced by 300 due to another message sent by Abu Sufyan assuring his safe return.
The march to Badr
When Muhammad received the news of the Meccan army, he called his companions and asked his companions to help him in the battle,some of these companions were
Abu Bakr Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
,
Umar`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
,
Ali' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, Hamza, Mus`ab ibn `Umair,
Az-Zubair bin Al-‘AwwamZubair ibn al-Awwam, was a companion of Muhammad, father to Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and later one of the most successful commanders of the Rashidun army and served under the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar.Zubair, who was a cousin of the prophet Muhammad, was an early convert to Islam.He served...
,
Ammar ibn YasirʻAmmār ibn Yāsir al-Ansi was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was one of the Muhajirun, and referred to as by Shia Muslims as one of the Four Companions....
,
Abu Dharr al-GhifariJundub ibn Junādah ibn Sakan , better known as Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī was an early convert to Islam. When he converted, Muhammad gave him a new name, Abdullah. He belonged to the Banu Ghifar, the Ghifar tribe. No date of birth is known...
. The Muslims also brought seventy camels and two horses, meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel. However, many early Muslim sources indicate that no serious fighting was expected, and the future Caliph
UthmanUthman ibn Affan was one of the companions of Islamic prophet, Muhammad. He played a major role in early Islamic history as the third Sunni Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliph....
stayed behind to care for his sick wife
RuqayyahRuqayyah bint Muhammad was the second daughter of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and his first wife Khadija. She was amongst the earliest converts to Islam. She had married Utbah ibn Abu Lahab, but he divorced her after her conversion to Islam, after which she married Uthman bin Affan...
,the daughter of the Prophet.
Salman the PersianSalman the Persian or Salman al Farisi was one of Muhammad's companions.During some of his later meetings with the other Sahaba, he was referred to as Abu Abdullah .-Birth place:...
also couldn't join the battle, as he was still not a free man.
Many of the Quraishi nobles, including
Amr ibn Hishām‘Amr ibn Hishām , better known as Abu al-Hakam, was one of the Meccan pagan Quraysh leaders, known for his hostility against and persecution of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the early Muslims in Mecca....
,
Walid ibn UtbaWalid ibn Utbah was the son of Utba ibn Rabi'ah and brother of Hind bint Utbah of the Quraysh. He was a fierce Meccan warrior who was killed by Ali in the traditional 3 champions' combat duel on the day of the Battle of Badr before the full battle began...
, Shaiba, and
Umayah ibn KhalafUmayyah ibn Khalaf ibn Safwan was a Meccan Arab, a leading member of the Quraish and head of the of Bani Jumah. He was an opponent of the Muslims led by Muhammad and is best known as the master of Bilal ibn Ribah, a slave he tortured for converting to Islam....
, joined the Meccan army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Ibn al-Hadrami, the guard killed at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims. Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble, Umayah ibn Khalaf, into joining the expedition.
By this time Muhammad's companions were approaching the wells where he planned to either waylay the caravan, or to fight the meccan army at Badr, along the Syrian trade route where the caravan would be expected to stop or the meccan army to come for its protection. However, several Muslim scouts were discovered by scouts from the caravan and Abu Sufyan made a hasty turn towards Yanbu.
The Muslim plan
When the word reached the Muslim army about the departure of the Meccan army, Muhammad immediately called a
council of warA council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated and coordinated by staff officers, and then implemented by...
, since there was still time to retreat and because many of the fighters there were recent converts (called
AnsarAnsar is an Islamic term that literally means "helpers" and denotes the Medinan citizens that helped Muhammad and the Muhajirun on the arrival to the city after the migration to Medina...
or "Helpers" to distinguish them from the Quraishi Muslims), who had only pledged to defend Medina. Under the terms of the
Constitution of MedinaThe Constitution of Medina , also known as the Charter of Medina, was drafted by the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It constituted a formal agreement between Muhammad and all of the significant tribes and families of Yathrib , including Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans. This constitution formed the...
, they would have been within their rights to refuse to fight and leave the army. However, according to tradition, they pledged to fight as well, with Sa'd bin 'Ubada declaring, "If you [Muhammad] order us to plunge our horses into the sea, we would do so." However, the Muslims still hoped to avoid a pitched battle and continued to march towards Badr.
By March 11 both armies were about a day's march from Badr. Several Muslim warriors (including, according to some sources,
Ali' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
) who had ridden ahead of the main column captured two Meccan water carriers at the Badr wells. Expecting them to say they were with the caravan, the Muslims were horrified to hear them say they were with the main Quraishi army. Some traditions also say that, upon hearing the names of all the Quraishi nobles accompanying the army, Muhammad exclaimed "Mecca hath thrown unto you the best morsels of her liver." The next day Muhammad ordered a forced march to Badr and arrived before the Meccans.
The Badr wells were located on the gentle slope of the eastern side of a valley called "Yalyal". The western side of the valley was hemmed in by a large hill called 'Aqanqal. When the Muslim army arrived from the east, Muhammad initially chose to form his army at the first well he encountered. Hubab ibn al-Muhdir, however, asked him if this choice was divine instruction or Muhammad's own opinion. When Muhammad responded in the latter, Hubab suggested that the Muslims occupy
the well closest to the Quraishi army, and block off the other ones. Muhammad accepted this decision and moved right away. According to Tariq Ramadan, this showed that Muhammad was not an autocratic leader, and allowed his followers to contradict him without considering this as a sign of
disrespectRespect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
.
The Meccan plan
By contrast, while little is known about the progress of the Quraishi army from the time it left Mecca until its arrival just outside Badr, several things are worth noting: although many Arab armies brought their women and children along on campaigns both to motivate and care for the men, the Meccan army did not. Also, the Quraish apparently made little or no effort to contact the many tribes allies they had scattered throughout the Hijaz. Both facts suggest the Quraish lacked the time to prepare for a proper campaign in their haste to protect the caravan. Besides it is believed since they knew they had outnumbered the Muslims by three to one, they expected an easy victory.
When the Quraishi reached Juhfah, just south of Badr, they received a message from Abu Sufyan telling them the caravan was safely behind them, and that they could therefore return to Mecca. At this point, according to Karen Armstrong, a power struggle broke out in the Meccan army. Abu Jahl wanted to continue, but several of the clans present, including
Banu ZuhrahBanu Zuhrah is a clan of the Quraish tribe.Akhnas ibn Shariq al-Thaqifi and the Banu Zuhrah where with the Meccan as part of the escort that preceded the battle of Badr, but since he believed the caravan to be safe, he did not join Quraish on their way to a festival in badr...
and
Banu AdiBanu Adi is a clan of the Quraish tribe.Banu Adi were with the Meccans as part of the escort that preceded the Battle of Badr, they did not join Quraish further.-list:Among the clan members can be found:*Khattab ibn Nufayl. Father of Caliph Omar...
, promptly went home. Armstrong suggests they may have been concerned about the power that Abu Jahl would gain from crushing the Muslims. A contingent of
Banu HashimBanū Hāshim was a clan in the Quraysh tribe. Muhammad, was a member of this clan; his great-grandfather was Hashim, for whom the clan is named. Members of this clan are referred to by the Anglicised version of their name as Hashemites, or Huseini or Hasani...
, hesitant to fight their own clansmen, also left with them. Despite these losses, Abu Jahl was still determined to fight, boasting "We will not go back until we have been to Badr." During this period, Abu Sufyan and several other men from the caravan joined the main army.
The day of battle
At midnight on March 13, the Quraish broke camp and marched into the valley of Badr. It had rained the previous day and they struggled to move their horses and camels up the hill of 'Aqanqal. After they descended from 'Aqanqal, the Meccans set up another camp inside the valley. While they rested, they sent out a scout,
Umayr ibn WahbUmayr ibn Wahb was the father of Wahb ibn Umayr. Both participated in the Battle of Badr, and although Umayr escaped, his son was taken prisoner by the Muslims....
to reconnoitre the Muslim lines. Umayr reported that Muhammad's army was small, and that there were no other Muslim reinforcements which might join the battle. However, he also predicted extremely heavy Quraishi casualties in the event of an attack (One hadith refers to him seeing "the camels of [Medina] laden with certain death"). This further demoralized the Quraish, as Arab battles were traditionally low-casualty affairs, and set off another round of bickering among the Quraishi leadership. However, according to Arab traditions Amr ibn Hishām quashed the remaining dissent by appealing to the Quraishi's sense of honor and demanding that they fulfill their blood vengeance.
The battle began with champions from both armies emerging to engage in combat. Three of the Ansar emerged from the Muslim ranks, only to be shouted back by the Meccans, who were nervous about starting any unnecessary feuds and only wanted to fight the Quraishi Muslims. So Hamza approached forward and called on Ubayda and Ali to join him. The Muslims dispatched the Meccan champions in a three-on-three melee. Hamza killed his opponent Utba, Ali killed his opponent Walid ibn Utba, then after Ubayda was wounded by his opponent Shayba, Ubayda then killed him. So this was a victorious traditional 3 on 3 combat for the Muslims.
Now both armies began striking arrows at each other. A few Muslims and an unknown number of Quraish warriors were killed. Before the real attack began, Muhammad had given orders for the Muslims to attack with their ranged weapons, and only engage the Quraish with
meleeMelee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
weapons when they advanced. Now he gave the order to charge, throwing a handful of pebbles at the Meccans in what was probably a traditional Arabian gesture while yelling "Defaced be those faces!" The Muslim army yelled "Yā manṣūr amit!" "O thou whom God hath made victorious, slay!" and rushed the Quraishi lines. The Meccans, understrength and unenthusiastic about fighting, promptly broke and ran. The battle itself only lasted a few hours and was over by the early afternoon. The Qur'an describes the force of the Muslim attack in many verses, which refer to thousands of angels descending from Heaven at Badr to terrify the Quraish. It should be noted that early Muslim sources take this account literally, and there are several hadith where Muhammad discusses the Angel Jibreel and the role he played in the battle.
Casualties and prisoners
Al-Bukhari lists Meccan losses as seventy dead and seventy captured. This would be 15%-16% of the Quraishi army, unless the actual number of Meccan troops present at Badr was significantly lower, in which case the percentage of troops lost would have been higher. 'Ali alone accounted for 18 of the dead Meccans. Muslim losses are commonly listed at fourteen killed, about 4% of their engaged forces. Sources do not indicate the number of wounded on either side.
During the course of the fighting, the Muslims took a number of Meccan Quraish prisoner. Their fate sparked an immediate controversy in the Muslim army. The initial fear was that the Meccan army might rally and that the Muslims couldn't spare any men to guard the prisoners. Sa'eed and Umar were in favor of killing the prisoners, but Abu Bakr argued for clemency. Muhammad eventually sided with Abu Bakr, and most prisoners were spared, either because of clan relations (one was Muhammad's son-in-law), desire for ransom, or the hope that they would later convert to Islam (in fact, several later did). At least two high-ranking Meccans, including Umayyah, were executed after the battle for their open enmity towards the Muslims, and two other Quraysh who had dumped a bucket of sheep excrement over Muhammad during his days at Mecca were also killed during the return to Medina. In the case of Umayyah, his former slave Bilal was so intent on killing him that his companions even stabbed one of the Muslims guarding Umayyah.
Shortly before he departed Badr, Muhammad also gave the order for over twenty of the dead Quraishis to be buried in the well at Badr. Multiple hadiths refer to this incident, which was apparently a major cause for outrage among the Quraish of Mecca. Shortly thereafter, several Muslims who had been recently captured by allies of the Meccans were brought into the city of Mecca and executed in revenge for the defeat.
According to the traditional
blood feud"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges...
(similar to
Blood LawBlood Law is the practice in traditional American Indian customary law where responsibility for seeing that homicide is punished falls on the clan of the victim. The responsibility for revenge fell to a close family member . In contrast to the Western notion of justice, blood law was based on...
) any Meccans related to those killed at Badr would feel compelled to take vengeance against members of the tribe who had killed their relatives. On the Muslim side, there was also a heavy desire for vengeance, as
they had been persecutedIn the early days of Islam at Mecca, the new Muslims were often subjected to abuse and persecution.-Overview:Some were killed, such as Sumayyah bint Khabbab, the seventh convert to Islam, who was tortured first by Abu Jahl...
and tortured by the Quraishi Meccans for years. However, after the initial executions, the surviving prisoners were quartered with Muslim families in Medina and treated well, as kin .
Implications
The Battle of Badr was extremely influential in the rise of two men who would determine the course of history on the Arabian peninsula for the next century. The first was Muhammad, who was transformed overnight from a Meccan outcast into a major leader. Marshall Hodgson adds that Badr forced the other Arabs to "regard the Muslims as challengers and potential inheritors to the prestige and the political role of the [Quraish]." The victory at Badr also allowed Muhammad to consolidate his own position at Medina. Shortly thereafter he expelled the
Banu QaynuqaThe Banu Qaynuqa was one of the three main Jewish tribes living in the 7th century of Medina, now in Saudi Arabia...
, one of the Jewish tribes at Medina that had been threatening his political position, and who had assaulted a Muslim woman which led to their expulsion for breaking the peace treaty. At the same time Abd-Allah ibn Ubayy, Muhammad's chief opponent in Medina, found his own position seriously weakened. Henceforth, he would only be able to mount limited challenges to Muhammad.
The other major beneficiary of the Battle of Badr was Abu Sufyan. The death of Amr ibn Hashim, as well as many other Quraishi nobles gave Abu Sufyan the opportunity, almost by default, to become chief of the Quraish. As a result, when Muhammad marched into Mecca six years later, it was Abu Sufyan who helped negotiate its peaceful surrender. Abu Sufyan subsequently became a high-ranking official in the Muslim Empire, and his son Muawiya would later go on to found the Umayyad Caliphate.
In later days having fought at Badr became so significant that
Ibn IshaqMuḥammad ibn Isḥaq ibn Yasār ibn Khiyār was an Arab Muslim historian and hagiographer...
included a complete name-by-name roster of the Muslim army in his biography of Muhammad. In many hadiths, individuals who fought at Badr are identified as such as a formality, and they may have even received a stipend in later years. The death of the last of the Badr veterans occurred during the First Islamic civil war.
As Paul K. Davis sums up, "Mohammed’s victory confirmed his authority as leader of Islam; by impressing local tribes that joined him, the expansion of Islam began."
Badr in the Qur'an
The Battle of Badr is one of the few battles explicitly discussed in the
Qur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
. It is even mentioned by name as part of a comparison with the
Battle of UhudThe Battle of Uhud was fought on March 19, 625 at the valley located in front of Mount Uhud, in what is now northwestern Arabia. It occurred between a force from the Muslim community of Medina led by the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and a force led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb from Mecca, the town from...
.
Qur'an: Al-i-Imran
According to
Abdullah Yusuf AliHafiz Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, FRSL was an Indian Islamic scholar who translated the Qur'an into English. His translation of the Qur'an is one of the most widely-known and used in the English-speaking world....
, the term "gratitude" may be a reference to discipline. At Badr, the Muslim forces had allegedly maintained firm discipline, whereas at Uhud they broke ranks to pursue the Meccans, allowing Meccan cavalry to flank and rout their army. The idea of Badr as a furqan, an Islamic miracle, is mentioned again in the same surah.
Qur'an: Al-i-Imran
Badr is also the subject of Sura 8:
Al-AnfalSura Al-Anfal is the eighth chapter of the Qur'an, with 75 verses. It is a Medinan sura, completed after theBattle of Badr. It forms a pair with the next sura, At-Tawba.-Badr:...
, which details military conduct and operations. "Al-Anfal" means "the spoils" and is a reference to the post-battle discussion in the Muslim army over how to divide up the plunder from the Quraishi army. Though the Sura does not name Badr, it describes the battle, and several of the verses are commonly thought to have been from or shortly after the battle.
Traditional Muslim accounts
Most knowledge of the Battle of Badr comes either from the traditional Islamic accounts, Quran and Hadiths (records of the life and times of Muhammad). In the English speaking world, it is not known if there are earlier written records other than the traditional Islamic accounts since Arabic at that time in the Hijaz was primarily an oral language. People relied mostly on oral traditions.
Muslim exegetes interpret the Book of Isaiah 21:13-17 as a prophecy of the Battle of Badr:(13) The oracle concerning Arabia. In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge, O caravans of Dedanites. (14) To the thirsty bring water, meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema. (15) For they have fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, from the bent bow, and from the press of battle. (16) For thus the Lord said to me, "Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end; (17) and the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken."
Events after Badr
Muhammad decided to return to Medina. While Muhammad was returning to Medina, he reportedly received a revelation regarding the distribution of war booty.
According to Muslim scholar "Saifur Rahman al Mubarakpuri", a Quran verse was revealed ordering the execution of Nadr bin Harith. After this revelation, Nadr bin Harith was subsequently beheaded by
Ali' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
.
Later the command to kill Uqba bin Abu Muayt was given, and he was subsequently beheaded by Asim Bin Thabit Ansari (some sources say Ali beheaded him).
Military
Because of its place in Muslim history and connotations of victory against-all-odds, the name "Badr" has become popular among Muslim armies and paramilitary organizations. "Operation Badr" was used to describe
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's offensive in the 1973
Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
as well as
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's actions in the 1999
Kargil WarThe Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
. Several Iranian offensive operations against Iraq in the late 1980s were also named after Badr (Bader I, Bader II, Bader III, etc.).
During the
2011 Libyan Civil WarThe 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
, the rebel leadership stated that they selected the date of the assault on Tripoli to be the 20th of Ramadan, marking the anniversary of the Battle of Badr.
The Message
The Battle of Badr was featured in the 1976 film
The MessageMohammad, Messenger of God is a 1976 film directed by Moustapha Akkad chronicling the life and times of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam...
. Although the film was reasonably faithful to the event, it made some notable changes. The Quraishi army was depicted as having women in tow, when the women were noticeably absent. It also suffered no defections before the battle, though in the film Abu Sufyan refused to take part. The champions' combat in front of the wells consisted of three one-on-one fights, instead of a three-on-three melee. Also, since neither Muhammad nor Ali were shown (though Ali's sword was shown) due to religious concerns, Hamza became the nominal commander of the army. Both Amr ibn Hishām and Umayyah were killed in the battle, and their deaths marked the climax of the fighting.
See also
- Islamic military jurisprudence
- Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
- Military career of Muhammad
- Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
External links