الحمد لله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على سيد المرسلين وعلى آله وأصحابه أمعين
In the last episode, we came to learn about the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah, how the people of Madinah had gathered to welcome him, and how the women and children sang songs to show how glad they were to see him.
Stay at Quba
Allah’s Messenger (S) spent ten nights at Quba, a place at the entrance of Madinah and also laid the foundation of a Masjid in Quba. He used to lead the Muslims in prayer in this place till he left for the city of Madinah. Everyone wanted to host the Prophet (S) at their house out of their love for him. But he politely told them that his she-camel was guided by Allah, and he would get down from it where it kneels down by itself. They let the camel go until she finally knelt down beside a house belonging to the Bani an-Najjar, the tribe to whom the Prophet’s mother was related. He stayed at the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari.
The first thing that the Prophet (S) did after settling in Madinah is the construction of his Masjid. There was a land that was used as a drying-place for dates and belonged to two young orphan boys. They offered to give it to the Prophet (S) but he insisted on paying them for it, and so their guardian, who was present, made the necessary arrangements.
He ordered that a mosque and a place for him to live be built on the site. All the Muslims worked together to finish it quickly. Even the Prophet (S) joined in. It was here that the Muslims would pray and meet to make important decisions and plans. The building was quite plain and simple. The floor was beaten earth and the roof of palm leaves was held up by tree trunks. Two stones marked the direction of prayer. Allah’s Messenger and his companions offered their salat facing towards Bait al-Maqdis (i.e. Masjid al-Aqsa) for a period of 16 or 17 months. After that the direction of prayer was changed towards the Ka’bah in Makkah.
After the building of the Masjid, the Prophet (S) wanted to strengthen the relationship between the people called the Muhajir or Emigrants, who had left Makkah with him, and the people of Madinah, who were known as the Ansar, or Helpers. Each man from Madinah took as his brother a man from Makkah, sharing everything with him and treating him as a member of his own family. This was the beginning of the Islamic brotherhood.
In the early days of Islam, the times for prayer were not announced and so the Muslims would come to the mosque and wait for the prayer so as not to miss it. The Prophet (S) wondered how to tell the people that it was time for prayers. He discussed it with his friends, and at first two ideas were put forward; that of blowing a horn as the Jews did, and that of using a wooden clapper like the Christians. Then a man called ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd came to the Prophet (S) and told him he had had a dream in which he had seen a man dressed all in green, holding a wooden clapper. He had said to the man, ‘Would you sell me your clapper in order to call the people to prayer?’ The man had replied, ‘A better way to call the people to prayer is to say:
God is the greatest (Allahu akbar); chanted four times.
I testify that there is no God but Allah (Ashhadu anna la ila ill Allah); chanted twice.
I testify that Mohammed is God’s Prophet (Ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul Allah); chanted twice.
Come to prayer (Hayya alas salah); chanted twice.
Come to security/salvation (Hayya alal falah); chanted twice.
God is the greatest (Allahu akbar); chanted twice.
There is no God but Allah (La ilah ill Allah); chanted once.
Another line is sometimes added to the first prayer of the day ( fajr): Prayer is better than sleep (Assalatu khayrum minan naum); chanted twice.
No matter what the local language is, the call to prayer is always recited in Arabic, the language of the Quran.
When the Prophet (S) heard this, he said it was a true vision from Allah. He sent for Bilal, who had a beautiful, strong voice, and ordered him to call the people to prayer in just this way. Bilal did so and soon after ‘Umar came out of his house and told the Prophet (S) that he had seen exactly the same vision himself. The Prophet (S) replied, ‘Allah be praised for that.’ The adhan, or call to prayer, which came to ‘Abdullah ibn Zayd in his dream and was performed by Bilal on the instruction of the Prophet (S), is the one we still hear today being called from the minarets of mosques all over the world.
The Battle Of Badr
The Muslims who had gone to Madinah, had left all their belongings behind in Makkah and these had been taken by their enemies. Thus, when the Muslims heard that Abu Sufyan, one of the leaders of Quraysh, was on his way back to Makkah from Syria with a large caravan of goods, they decided that the time had come for them to retrieve some of their losses. The Prophet (S) gave the Muslims permission for this attack and everyone began to get ready for the raid, for it had been revealed:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍ فِيهِ قُلْ قِتَالٌ فِيهِ كَبِيرٌ وَصَدٌّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَكُفْرٌ بِهِ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَإِخْرَاجُ أَهْلِهِ مِنْهُ أَكْبَرُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ
“They ask you about fighting during the Holy Month. Say, “Fighting during it is deplorable; but to bar others from Allah’s path, and to disbelieve in Him, and to prevent access to the Holy Mosque, and to expel its people from it, are more deplorable with Allah. And persecution is more serious than killing…” (al-Baqarah, 2:217).
The retrieval of their goods, however, was not their only reason for wanting to attack the caravan. The Muslims did not think they should simply remain safely in Madinah; they wanted to spread the message of Islam. They thus felt that if Quraysh wanted freedom to trade in safety, then the Muslims must also have freedom to believe in Allah, to follow His Messenger (S), and to spread His Word.
It was, therefore, thought that the best and only way to get Quraysh to understand this was to attack what was most important to them – a caravan. Abu Sufyan, in the meantime, heard about the Muslims’ plan and quickly sent a message to Quraysh in Makkah, telling them that the caravan was in danger and asking for help. As a result nearly all Quraysh came out to help him defend the caravan. There were a thousand men and two hundred horses. The women also went along to cheer the men on with their singing. Unaware of this, the Prophet (S) set out with his followers.
It was the month of Ramadan and the Muslims were fasting. There were only three hundred and five of them, most of them Ansar, men from Madina. With them they had three horses and seventy camels, on which they rode in turns. They arrived in the area of Badr, some distance from Madinah where they made camp and waited for news of the caravan. Then they heard that Quraysh had set out from Makkah with a strong army. The situation had suddenly changed. They were no longer going to make a raid on a caravan. They were going to have to fight Quraysh.
The Prophet (S) gathered his men around him to find out what they wanted to do. First Abu Bakr, and then Umar spoke for the Muslims who had come from Makkah. They said they would obey the Prophet (S). But the Prophet (S) wanted to hear the opinion of the Ansar, because he did not want to force them into doing something they did not want to do. Sa’d Ibn Mu’adh, one of the leaders of the Ansar, got up and said, ‘We believe in you and we swear before all men that what you have brought is the truth. We have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey. So go where you wish, we are with you even if you should lead us into the sea!’ The Prophet (S) was greatly encouraged by these words and so it was agreed to fight.
Abu Sufyan learned where the Muslims were camped. He changed the course of the caravan and quickly took it out of their reach. He then sent word to Quraysh telling them that the caravan was safe and that they should return to Makkah. But the leaders of Quraysh were proud and stubborn men. They refused to return as they had made up their minds to show everyone how powerful they were by destroying the Muslims. Now there was a valley, at Badr, with wells on the side nearest Madina, and it was here that the Muslims took up position facing the valley with the wells behind them.
Quraysh meanwhile placed themselves on the other side of the valley. The Muslims then dug a reservoir, filled it with water from one of the wells, and made a barrier around it. In this way the Muslims had enough drinking water for themselves, while the Makkans would have to cross the valley and fight the Muslims in order to get water. The night before the battle, while the Muslims slept peacefully, a heavy rain fell.
إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ بِهِ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الْأَقْدَامَ
‘When He made the slumber fall upon you as a reassurance from Him and sent down water from the sky upon you, in order that He might purify you, and remove from you the fear of Satan, and to strengthen your hearts and to strengthen your foothold.” (al-Anfal, 8:11)
On the morning of Friday, the 17th of Ramadan, 2 A.H., (March 17th, AD), the two armies advanced and drew closer to one another. The rain was heavier on the side of Quraysh, making the ground soft and difficult. On the side of the Muslims, however, the rain had made the sand hard, making it easy for them to march. The Prophet (S) preferred the men to fight in ranks. As they prepared to march he noticed someone had stepped out in front of the others.
The Prophet (S) prodded him in the side with an arrow, saying, ‘Stand in line!’ The man, Sawad, exclaimed, ‘You have hurt me, O Messenger of Allah! Allah has sent you to be just and good.’ Prophet (S) lifted his shirt and said, ‘Then do the same to me. The man approached and kissed him on the spot instead, saying, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you see what is before us and I may not survive the battle. If this is my last time with you, I want the last thing I do in life to be this. ‘Shortly after he went into battle, and died a martyr.
Having examined the ranks, the Prophet (S) then went to a shelter made of palm branches from which he could command the battle. Abu Bakr stayed with him, while Sa’d ibn Mu’adh, with several of the Ansar, stood outside guarding the hut. When the Prophet (S) saw the enormous Quraysh army descending the hill into the valley, with all their banners and drums, he began to pray for the help which Allah had promised him. These were some of his words: ‘O Allah, here come Quraysh full of vanity and pride, who oppose You and call Your Messenger a liar. O Allah, if this little band (the Muslims) perishes today, there will be none left in the land to worship You.’ And these ayahs of Surat al-Anfal were revealed:
إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ () وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَى وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ
“When you appealed to your Lord for help, He answered you, “I am reinforcing you with one thousand angels in succession. Allah only made it a message of hope, and to set your hearts at rest. Victory comes only from Allah. Allah is Mighty and Wise.” (al-Anfal, 8:9-10).
At first the battle began in single combat when one of Quraysh swore that he would drink from the Muslims’ reservoir and then destroy it, or die in the attempt. Hamza, the Prophet’s uncle, came forward to face him and killed him. Three of the most important men of Quraysh then stepped forward and gave out a challenge for single combat.
The Prophet (S) sent out ‘Ali, Hamza, and ‘Ubaida ibn al-Harith, to face them. It was not long before Hamza and ‘Ali had killed their opponents. As for ‘Ubaida, he had wounded his enemy but was wounded himself, and so his two companions killed the wounded Makkan and carried ‘Ubaida back to the safety of the Muslim ranks.
After this, the two armies attacked each other and fighting broke out all around. The Muslim army held its ground against the great army of Quraysh and even though the Muslims were much fewer in number, they gained a great victory, destroying the Makkan army and killing most of its leaders.
Among the leading Makkans who died were Abu Jahl and Umayya ibn Khalaf, who was killed by his former slave, Bilal. Seeing that their leaders were nearly all dead, the remainder of
Quraysh retreated. The Prophet (S) sent word to Madinah to tell them of the victory. He then gathered up the spoils of war and divided them equally among the Muslims. Some of the Makkans had been taken prisoner and the Prophet (S) gave orders that they should be treated well until their relatives from among Quraysh came to fetch them.
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Resources and References:
Imam Ibn Kathir – Stories of the Prophets
Leila Azzam & Aisha Gouverneur – the Life of the Prophet Muhammad
Anwar Al-Awlaki – The Life of Muhammad (Makkan Period) & The Life of Muhammad (Medina Period): https://www.kalamullah.com/muhammad.html
Aisha Stacey – The Religion of Islam (islamreligion.com)
