038 - The Battle of Badr 3

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As we mentioned last time, the Prophet PBUH had to verify from the Ansar whether they were willing to fight — and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh stood up and gave a beautiful speech.

Preparations for the Battle: The Muslims

When the Prophet PBUH saw the enthusiasm coming from the sahaba, he began the preparations for the war. He divided the army into three flanks, and he gave the primary flag which was white to Mus'ab ibn Umayr. (Note: The Prophet PBUH had different flags in every battle — sometimes white, sometimes black, and sometimes other colors.) On the right-hand side, he PBUH placed Ali ibn Abi Talib, and he gave him all of the Muhajirun. On the left side, he placed Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, and he gave him all of the Ansar. According to one report, the Prophet PBUH had a backup group as well —maybe for reinforcements— and he placed them under the charge of Qays ibn Abi Sa'sa'a (قيس بن أبي صعصعة). But the two primary groups were the ones on the right and left.

Two lessons from this:

1) In this division between the Muhajirun and the Ansar, we learn that Islam takes into account cultural and ethnic divisions. The Prophet PBUH divided up the Ansar and Muhajirun because they both knew each other better. They felt more comfortable around each other. Thus, the attitude of some Muslims in our time to ignore culture completely is extreme and wrong. Allah clearly says, "We have made you into peoples [i.e., ethnicities/races] and tribes" [Quran, 49:13]. So Allah is saying He has made us into various ethnicities so that we can get to know each other. In other words, if we were all the same, how would anyone stand out? We wouldn't. Each one of us has a personal identity. So the Prophet PBUH took advantage of this ethnic division. Birds of a feather flock together — people of a particular area will socialize more with each other — and there is nothing inherently un-Islamic about this, as long as it is not taken to an extreme.


2) When you give the position of leadership, you need to give it to those people who are respected in the community.

2a) Notice the Prophet PBUH put in charge of them young dynamic visionaries (Ali & Sa'd), and both of them were of their noblemen. There is a reality that you cannot deny: there are certain people in every community that are more respected than others; some people have qualities that set them apart from others; some people have leadership, charisma, etc., that make them respected amongst their peers. The Prophet PBUH didn't choose a nobody to lead — he chose those who would have the respect of their respective ethnicities. And indeed, Ali is the great-grandson of Abdul Muttalib; everyone loved and adored him. His lineage and everything were of the highest caliber. Similarly, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh was the future leader of the Ansar. So once again, we see the element of pragmatism: when you give the position of leadership, you need to give it to those people who are respected in the community.

2b) Notice also that the Prophet PBUH chose as the flag bearer someone whom both the Ansar and the Muhajirun look up to, i.e., Mus'ab ibn Umayr. He is of course a Muhajir and a Qureshi, but he is the earliest of people to emigrate to Madinah, and therefore, the respect he has amongst the Ansar is unparalleled, as most of the Ansar converted at his hands. He was the 'most Madani' of the Muhajirun — respected by both the Muhajirun and the Ansar. Hence the Prophet PBUH chose him to symbolize the entire army. This shows us the wisdom of the Prophet PBUH.

(Footnote about flag bearer: One of the main purposes of the flag bearer is to mark your army and make it easier to organize. And although honorable, it's a very dangerous position; because the flag bearer is always the target of the enemy. The enemy wants the flag to fall because it symbolizes omen. When the other army sees the flag fall, it encourages them and gives them a morale boost. And therefore, the flag bearer is always the center of attack. Also note that the flag bearer is always impaired since he has one hand holding the flag. So he cannot fight to the same level as those who are not holding the flag.)

The Prophet PBUH arrived at Badr before the Quraysh — preceded them by a day. He came to the Plains of Badr on the 16th of Ramadan, 2 AH. And he immediately set up his camp and tents on the outskirts of the plains. Before he had set up camp, one of the scouts, al-Hubab ibn al-Mundhir (الحباب بن المنذر) asked him, "Ya Rasulullah, this place that you have decided for us to camp, is this something Allah has told you to do such that we are not allowed to move one inch forward or backward, or is it your own opinion based on tactics and strategies of war?" The Prophet PBUH said, "No, this is my own strategy." So he said, "In that case, ya Rasulullah, I suggest we don't camp at the corner of the plain, rather, we should proceed until we are beyond the midpoint, and therefore the wells of Badr will be behind us. In this case, we shall have plenty of water, and they (the enemy) will have to rely on their jugs and canisters." And of course, not having access to water is a big demoralizing factor. The Prophet PBUH followed this advice and said, "You have directed us to the better opinion." In one narration, it's said that Jibril AS came down to tell the Prophet PBUH, "Follow the advice of al-Hubab." So the Prophet PBUH proceeded onward until the Muslims had blocked all of the wells and camped there. The Prophet PBUH put all the wells behind him and blocked the smaller wells after taking water out and putting the water into the big well. And the biggest well was positioned such that it was in the center of the Muslim camp.

This incident is one of dozens of examples of the Prophet PBUH taking advice from the sahaba and sometimes even changing his opinion based on it. The concept of shura is shown over and over again. He would always take the opinions of the sahaba.

Also in this incident, al-Hubab demonstrated that sometimes, the Prophet PBUH did things from his own opinion.

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Tangent: Did the Prophet PBUH Sometimes Make His Own Ijtihad?

Now note this issue is a huge topic in Usul al-Fiqh: Did the Prophet PBUH sometimes do things from his own opinion, not from Allah SWT? And this incident of the well suggests sometimes he did. This is true. There's not a problem to say that. But the problem is that some people take this exception and make a general rule out of it, e.g., by saying, "Look, we see in this incident that the Prophet PBUH sometimes did things from his own opinion. Therefore, we can go through the whole sunnah and pick and choose what was a personal opinion that he used to do, and what was from Allah." And this understanding is wrong for many reasons:

1. You cannot extrapolate the incident of Badr into shariah. The incident of Badr is a particular strategy of war. You cannot say when the Prophet PBUH commanded us to pray that that was just his opinion. The shariah is what he is *commanding* you to do. Whereas the location he is camping at Badr, there is no shariah to be derived, as the Battle of Badr is only going to take place once. We don't do Badr every year. When the Prophet PBUH camps at Badr, he is not intending to *legislate a position* of where to camp at Badr. Whereas when he prays, fasts, legislates laws for inheritance, divorce, marriage, etc., all of this is shariah — he intends for the Muslims [across all generations] to follow him. Therefore, we cannot equate the one-time incident of Badr with the rest of the shariah.

2. Notice al-Hubab had to ask him PBUH point blank — he didn't assume he could understand which one is from Allah's wahy and which one is from the Prophet's PBUH opinion — "Ya Rasulullah, is this from Allah's wahy, or is it from your ijtihad?" We obviously cannot do this now, as the Prophet PBUH is no longer living amongst us.

The basic rule is that whatever the Prophet PBUH said and did, it becomes our shariah.

Sometimes, the Prophet PBUH was asked, "Is this something you are commanding, or is this just a suggestion?" — but this was very rare. Usually, the sahaba listened-and-obeyed. There are literally dozens of examples where the sahaba would hear something and they would apply the ruling so literally that sometimes it borders on the unimaginable:

1) One such is that during an expedition, the Prophet PBUH commanded no one to enter his tent. One of the sahaba was outside and he had a pressing need; so he asked the Prophet PBUH, "Ya Rasulullah, may I enter the tent? I need to speak to you." The Prophet PBUH said yes. But then the sahaba remembered the commandment that you are not supposed to enter, so he asked, "Ya Rasulullah, can I enter with my whole body or just part of my body?" because he was confused and didn't want to break the command of the Prophet PBUH.

2) Another incident is, once, the Prophet PBUH was giving a khutbah, and he mentioned to someone, "Stop." And a sahabi who was walking through the door didn't see the context of the word "stop," so he literally stopped mid-door with one of his feet in the air.

We can go on and on...

3) The Prophet PBUH in the Battle of Khaybar told Ali ibn Abi Talib, "Go forth and do not come back until you are victorious." And Ali RA walked 10 spaces, but then he had a question — and he was about to turn around, but then he realized the Prophet PBUH said, "Don't come back until you are victorious" — so because he didn't want to turn around, he shouted out loud, "Ya Rasulullah! What should I tell them?" He was being so literal that he didn't even turn around. He didn't want to turn his back until he was victorious.

And we have hundreds of examples like this. Whereas, there is only one or two instances where a sahabi asked, "Is this wahy from Allah or is this just a suggestion?":

1) This incident with al-Hubab is one of them.

2) Another is the incident of Barirah (بريرة) who was a slave and married to a slave. One day, she was freed. In Islamic fiqh, when the slave is freed and s/he has a marriage, it is up to them whether to continue the marriage or not. So, now that Barirah becomes free, she has the right to continue or annul the marriage (faskh - فسخ). She decided to annul it. And so her husband Mughith (مغيث) begged and cried, "Please take me back," etc. But Barirah didn't even look back, and they were going around the city like this. Ibn Abbas said, "I saw Mughith's beard was wet with tears crying out, 'O Barirah! O Barirah!'" The Prophet PBUH saw the two of them walking around the city like this, so he said to Barirah, "O Barirah, why don't you take him back?" She asked, "Ya Rasulullah, are you commanding me or is it just a suggestion?" The Prophet PBUH said, "No, I am just reconciling," i.e., just a suggestion. So she said, "I have no need of him."

We can literally count these types of incidents on the fingers of one hand. In fact, some say these were the only two incidents in the whole seerah where this happened.

So in conclusion, it is extreme and wrong to misuse these two incidents and say, "The Prophet PBUH did not command any laws that are of a legal nature and it was all his personal opinion, so we don't have to follow them. What we follow is only theology and rituals (salah, zakat, etc.), so don't tell us to follow hudud, marriage and divorce, financial transactions, etc. — because these were all his personal opinions." Again, this is extreme and wrong. The basic ruling is whatever the Prophet PBUH said and did, it becomes our shariah, including the laws of marriage and divorce, financial transactions, etc.

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The Rain & the Sleep

After the Muslims took all the water out of the small wells and transported it to the big wells, this is when Sa'd ibn Mu'adh suggested, "Ya Rasulullah, why don't we make for you a special khayma (خيمة) (i.e., headquarters) where you can monitor the battle?" The Prophet PBUH agreed, and the sahaba chose an area where he could see the battle, and built for him a headquarters on the Plains of Badr. And night fell and the Quraysh were seen on the horizon. It was thus known to all that the battle would take place the very next morning.

It is narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad that the Prophet PBUH spent the whole night awake making du'a to Allah SWT and making prolonged sajdah. And he said, "O Allah, if You destroy this group, You are not going to be worshiped on earth" — because he PBUH is the final prophet. And in the middle of the night, light rain began to fall, and the people had to take their belongings and shelter themselves under trees, shrubs, and maybe in the shade of their camels. And the Prophet PBUH continued to pray and make du'a until finally, the dawn broke. And he was the one who said, "O people, time for salah." And thus began the 17th of Ramadan in the 2nd year of the Hijrah. According to modern historians, this is March 17th 624 CE. And it was a Friday.

In Surah al-Anfal, Allah mentions both the rain and the sleep as being miracles from Him. He says, "When sleep overcame you, this was a blessing from Him. And He sent down for you from the skies rain to purify you [with a physical bath], to wipe away the filth of shaytan from you [with a spiritual bath], and to make your footsteps firm" [see Quran, 8:11]. Subhan'Allah, when there is no rain, the desert sand is very difficult to walk on; and conversely, too much rain makes it impossible to walk as it becomes muddy; but the right amount of rain will make the sand firm — and Allah caused the Muslim's side of the field to become firm.

It's reported in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad that Ali RA said, "If you could only have seen us on the night of Badr, every one of us was dead asleep, except for the Prophet PBUH who was praying behind a tree and making du'a until the morning." And subhan'Allah, this is a miracle — why? Because the night before anything (e.g., big test, exam, even more so a battle) you are so nervous that you cannot sleep — yet, the sahaba were fast asleep. This is truly a miracle and a gift from Allah, as He said in verse [8:11]. Imagine the affairs of the Quraysh: Worry, concern, and no sleep. And again, we know if Allah helps you, there is none that can overcome you. It's also said —even though there doesn't seem to be any authentic isnad— that the Quraysh side received a downpour of rain, which is the worst.

Also, notice the concern of the Prophet PBUH — even though he is the prophet of Allah and he puts his trust in Allah, still he is concerned about what can he do for his people as a leader. So he begs Allah all night in sajdah. In fact, it's reported in al-Tabarani that Ibn Mas'ud said, "I have never seen anyone pleading more than the Prophet PBUH was pleading on the night of Badr." The question arises: Did he PBUH go to sleep at all? Ibn Kathir says he did doze off, and it was in this dozing off that Allah SWT showed him the dream. What dream? It's referenced in the Quran, that, "Allah showed them (the Quraysh) to you as being small in number; if He had shown them to you as big as they were, you would have despaired and differed with each other. But Allah protected you (by not showing the real quantity)" [Quran, 8:43]. Note that "not showing the real quantity" is not misinformation. Allah never does anything incorrectly. If there are 100 people and you see 10 of them, then these are simply 10 out of the 100. There is nothing incorrect about that. If Allah showed 150 out of 100, this would have been incorrect, but He SWT did not do that. Rather, He showed the Prophet PBUH a dream of a section of the Quraysh army. And this section is a correct, valid, and true section. So because Allah showed him their quantity to be fewer than they actually were, when the Prophet PBUH woke up, he felt a surge of confidence. He was optimistic. This is of the mercy of Allah SWT.

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Aligning the Muslim Army

As the sun rose up —and the Muslims have prayed Salah al-Fajr— the Prophet PBUH is now starting to align the Muslim army. And he did a tactic that was never done before amongst the Arabs. This a tactic that we all know of, but amongst the Arabs, they did not have this tactic. The Arabs of old used the tactic of al-Kar wa al-Far (الكر والفر - hit and run) which is to attack in circles — they would attack and then come back and recuperate, and then they go out and attack and then come back and recuperate, so on and so forth. On the contrary, the tactic of the Prophet PBUH is the modern tactic that we are all used to, which is military battalions marching in rows. Allah AWJ references this in the Quran [61:4]. This tactic was not known to the Arabs. But Allah taught our Prophet PBUH this tactic, and this is now the standard practice of all armies in the world. Of course, in Badr, the Muslims didn't have all of the weapons — but eventually, in future battles, the front row is going to have the javelins and spears; the back row is going to have the bow and arrow, and the middle rows are going to have the swords. In Badr, they only had some of these weapons, but nonetheless, they did what they could. The Prophet PBUH did not go through any military school; rather, Allah AWJ blessed him with this intuition of how to arrange the army. This tactic of course worked out for the betterment of the Muslims.

And the Prophet PBUH was walking between the rows straightening them like he straightens the rows for salah. And he had a stick that he would use to tap people to make the rows completely straight. And there was one sahabi, Suwad (سواد), who was standing in front of the line (i.e., was not in the line), so the Prophet PBUH poked him in the stomach and said, "O Suwad, straighten up." Suwad said, "Ya Rasulullah, you have poked me and caused pain without any cause (i.e., unjustly). And Allah has sent you with Truth and justice, so I demand justice." Immediately, the Prophet PBUH drops the stick, raises his shirt, and says, "Here is qisas (قصاص)." i.e., "Here, poke me back." Subhan'Allah. And Suwad immediately bowed down and hugged and kissed the skin of the Prophet PBUH that was exposed, and the Prophet PBUH asked, "What is this, O Suwad?" Suwad said, "Ya Rasulullah, you see the situation we are in. So if I die, I wish that my last breath/time be that my skin touches your skin before my death." Subhan'Allah. He didn't die in the battle, but the point is he was very clever — he plotted to kiss and hug the Prophet PBUH. So the Prophet PBUH made du'a for him and asked Allah to bless him.

From this incident, we learn that in the Sight of Allah SWT, when it comes to rights and privileges and wrongs and zulm, everybody is the same. Kings and peasants, they are all under the shariah of Allah SWT. And that is why the Prophet PBUH was so literal when he said, "Yes, you are right. I shouldn't have poked you without any reason; so do it back to me." This is why our religion led the world for as long as it did. The leader and the led, the ruler and those who were ruled, they were all equivalent in the Eyes of Allah SWT. And we all know the famous story where, sometimes, even the khalifa, when he went to court, was judged as being wrong. The famous story of the Jew and Ali RA: When Ali was taken to court, the judge ruled against him, and he RA accepted the judgment. And the Jew immediately accepted Islam and said, "This religion that causes a judge to judge against the khalifa has to be the religion of Truth."

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As the sun is rising and finally the two armies can see one another, the Prophet PBUH sees a man galloping (on a red camel) back and forth in the lines of the Quraysh — and the Prophet PBUH says to the Muslims, "If there is any good in the Quraysh, it is in that person. And if they have any good in them, they shall listen to him." In another version, he said, "If they listen to him, they shall be successful." And the Prophet PBUH said to Ali RA, "O Ali, call out to Hamzah (who is standing right in the front) and ask him, 'Who is that man, and what is he saying?'" Note we infer from this that Allah SWT gave the Prophet PBUH wahy that the man on the red camel was saying something good, but the content of his speech was not specified. (Who was this man and what was he saying, we will talk about it in a while.)

When the Prophet PBUH saw the Quraysh, once again, he began to raise his hands to Allah SWT and made du'a against the Quraysh, "O Allah, this is the Quraysh, they have come against You with their pride and arrogance, challenging You and rejecting Your Messenger. O Allah, Your Help that has been promised; O Allah, Your Help that has been promised; O Allah, Your Help that has been promised. O Allah, cause them to be destroyed today." He continued to make du'a even until the very last minute.

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The Quraysh Side

Now to the Quraysh side. On the morning of the 17th, the Quraysh are not sure yet what the size of the Muslim army is. So after Fajr, they send their most experienced scout Umayr ibn Wahab al-Jumahi (عمير بن وهب الجمحي). So he goes far and wide around the Plains of Badr to get an estimation as to how many Muslims there are. And he tells the Quraysh, "They are around 300 — but I feel there is a huge catastrophe about to happen. There are young men of Yathrib waiting to inflict death; a group of people who have no help other than their swords (i.e., no armor, not many spears, javelins, etc., nothing really) so they will be vicious in their fighting. By Allah, I don't think you will be able to kill anyone amongst them until they kill at least one of you. And if 300 of you die, then what pleasure will you gain for winning? (If ⅓ of you die, what's the point of this battle?) Now do as you please." So he is saying he sensed determination in the Muslims. And to this, Abu Jahal said, "We didn't ask for your advice."

Note that we are seeing there are still people in the Quraysh army who don't want to fight. More than 300 returned already. And the likes of Umayyah and Uqba didn't want to come — but Abu Jahal enticed them,  "Look, let's just camp at Badr, sing and get drunk for 3 days, and let the people hear that we are not scared of anybody." So there's talk of war, but there's still hope there's not going to be a battle. That is the position right now.

Another person trying to stop the battle was Hakim ibn Hizam. (Side note: His son, Hizam ibn Hakim ibn Hizam [حزام بن حكيم بن حزام], was a sahabi and was on the other side [Muslim's side].) Hakim goes to Utbah ibn Rabi'ah who didn't want war from day one, and he encourages him to mediate a truce, and asks, "Why don't you take on the blood money of al-Hadrami?" Note Amr al-Hadrami (عمرو بن الحضرمي) was the person who died when the six sahaba attacked the caravan in the Sacred Month. And the Quraysh were hyping this up, saying, "These are the people who killed al-Hadrami! We need to avenge him!" So Utbah said, "Okay, fine. If this is what is going to prevent bloodshed, I will pay the blood money" — it is A LOT of money. And he made a speech to the relatives of al-Hadrami that, "I will give the money," i.e., "Stop chanting his name (stop making him be the cause)." Hakim himself said, "Take the advice of this man," and Utbah said, "If someone accuses you of cowardice, mention my name and say that Utbah was the one who became a coward. Go ahead and say that, even though you know I am not a coward. For by Allah, what will you gain by fighting this man (the Prophet PBUH)? If you are able to defeat him, you will be killing your own father, brother, cousin, nephew, etc. How would you like it that you are amongst the murderers of your own brother, father, etc.?" meaning, "Even if you don't kill him, somebody in your side of the army will kill your father, son, etc. And how would you like it to see in Makkah somebody who killed your own brother, etc.?" He is evoking Jahiliyyah here — it was all about tribalism.

And he continues, "Let us return and leave Muhammad and his Companions to the rest of the Arabs. If they overcome him, this is what you want (and it won't be at our hands). And if it is the other case (i.e., he overcomes them), then surely, in his honor is our honor as well (i.e., isn't he a Qureshi at the end of the day?). And we will have an excuse for him to forgive us." (So this was when he was on his red camel going back and forth, and this was what the Prophet PBUH was seeing on the other side.) And when this happened, Hakim was so happy he rushed to Abu Jahal and said, "Utbah has agreed to pay the blood money of the Hadrami. So let us avoid this bloodshed." But Abu Jahal just mocked Hakim and said, "O Hakim, didn't Utbah find any messenger other than you?" i.e., "You are a servant of Utbah now?" Hakim responded and said, "I am not a messenger to him. I agree with the message. I want no bloodshed." When Abu Jahal finds out people are changing their minds, he goes to the blood brother of al-Hadrami and says, "Will you be happy to take some gold for your brother? Have you no shame?" So this young brother of al-Hadrami was persuaded, he stood up and gave a passionate talk to the army about his brother. Abu Jahal at this point said, "O Utbah, you have become a coward after looking at the army of the Muslims." And Utbah flipped. This is strange here; Utbah himself said, "Call me a coward" — but when Abu Jahal called him a coward, he flipped. And Utbah said, "This person (Abu Jahal) who perfumes his behind with perfume of women (making derogatory remarks), he accuses me of being a coward? He shall see who the real coward is." And at this, Utbah called his own brother and son to march out with him right then and there for the mubaraza (مبارزة - a duel to the death that precedes the war).

Notice the Prophet PBUH praised the wisdom of Utbah even though that wisdom was not coming from Islamic ideals — it was coming from Jahiliyyah; he wanted to stop the fight out of tribalism. It's not as if he is saying, "They are upon the Truth and we are upon batil." But this ideal of his, of not wanting to fight, is a good ideal. And what he said made a lot of sense, "How could you fight your own brothers and fathers, and then you go home and the murderers of your own brother will be your neighbor?"

What we learn here is: In the world that we live in, there are people who are defending ideals that might not be coming from Islam, but those ideals are good and virtuous in and of themselves, e.g., freedom of other people, the right for the government not to kill its own citizens, etc. There are many who support causes that are not coming from shariah (not coming from the Quran and sunnah), but those causes are causes that are just causes. E.g., no government should execute its own people without any trial, no government should send drones and just fire upon civilians, etc. And there are many people in these lands that are opposed to these policies. And there is nothing wrong with us —not just praising them— but getting involved with them and helping them out. Here is the Prophet PBUH saying, "If there is any wisdom in this whole qawm (قوم), it is in that person there," "If they have any good in them, they will listen to this man." They are idol worshipers, but they still have wisdom and good. Even though Utbah's ideals were coming from Jahiliyyah, still because those ideals were good, the Prophet PBUH called it wise ideals. This incident and the whole seerah shows us that a person can be good and bad at the same time, i.e., even idol worshipers can have principles that are worthy of admiration and respect, and yes, even support.

As the Quraysh line up, Abu Jahal stands up and makes a du'a to Allah loudly, "O Allah, whichever of the two of these armies has brought more evil, and cut the ties of kinship, and has brought the more unknown doctrines, let them meet their death today." Little did he know he was making du'a against the Quraysh army, as in all three of these counts the mushriks are more guilty than the Muslims. (1) The one who is bringing more evil, (2) the one who is cutting the ties of kinship, and (3) the one who is bringing new doctrines; the mushriks are more guilty in all these. The Prophet PBUH is bringing the doctrine of Ibrahim AS — the original doctrines of the Arabs (tawhid). And Abu Jahal is following the newer doctrine (paganism). Thus, he is making du'a against himself.

This is what Allah SWT says in the Quran, "If you are asking for victory, it is too late (i.e., the victory has already been given against you)" [see Quran, 8:19].

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Certain People Should Not Be Killed

The Prophet PBUH told the Muslim army that certain people should not be killed. In particular:

1. His uncle al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib (العباس بن عبد المطلب)
2. Abu al-Bukhturi ibn Hisham (أبو البختري بن هشام). One of the major things about him was he was one of the most important people to break the Boycott.

And he PBUH mentioned some others, and then said, "All of these people, they are fighting even though they don't want to. They have been forced to fight."

This shows us that not all enemies are the same. Even those in an army, some of them are better than others.

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The First Person to Die

There was an incident that occurred before the mubaraza (whether the night before or early morning) one person died from Abu Jahal's tribe and his name was al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi (الأسود بن عبد الأسد المخزومي). When the Quraysh came to the battlefield and saw all the water had been cut off, al-Aswad said, "I will be the one to get some water for you, or I will die trying." And so he attempted to sneak into the side where there were the wells, but Hamzah saw him and cut off his leg and then killed him before he reached the water. (Therefore, he was true in what he said: He died trying.) So he was thus the first person to be killed in the Battle of Badr.

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The Mubaraza

We had mentioned that Utbah was the one who started the mubaraza. Mubaraza means a battle/championship/open bout —if you like— between specific people. The way the Arabs would have a war is that before the two armies actually engage one another, a few people would fight one-on-one — typically between some of the senior figures (but not the actual leader, because that would be too demoralizing for any group if they lose); usually between people of second-tier/rank if you like. This would give a morale boost to one of the two sides.

From the Quraysh side:
1. Utbah ibn Rabi'ah (عتبة بن ربيعة)
2. Utbah's younger brother Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah (شيبة بن ربيعة), and

3. Utbah's son al-Walid ibn Utbah (الوليد بن عتبة)

This is the cream of the crop of the Quraysh — second-tier, just one level below Abu Jahal. Utbah and Shaybah were elderly people, maybe in their early 60s or late 50s. They marched forth and shouted out, "Who will come forth and battle us?" Immediately, three young people from the Ansar stood up in their eagerness, and they were:

1. Awf ibn al-Harith (عوف بن الحارث), also known as Awf ibn Afra' (عوف بن عفراء)

2. Muawwidh ibn al-Harith (معوذ بن الحارث), also known as Muawwidh ibn Afra' (معوذ بن عفراء), and

3. Abdullah ibn Rawahah (عبد الله بن رواحة)

And all of them were very young. (Side note: Muawwidh ibn Afra' is one of two people who will eventually kill Abu Jahal — and we will talk about his story in the next episode.) They said, "We will battle you!" Utbah asked, "Who are you?" They introduced themselves but Utbah said, "We have no battle with you. We have no problem with you. We didn't come to fight you. We don't know you people, why should we fight you? We are fighting our own blood." Again, they are thinking pure Jahiliyyah. They really don't even see the point of fighting the Ansar. Think about that. They don't understand the bonds of Iman are stronger than bonds of blood. They are basically saying, "Send us our own," so then they called out, "O Muhammad, send us equals worthy of us!" And so the Prophet PBUH said, "Stand up, O Ubaydah ibn al-Harith, and you, O Hamzah, and you, O Ali."

1. Ubaydah ibn al-Harith ibn al-Muttalib (عبيدة بن الحارث بن المطلب)

2. Hamzah ibn Abdul Muttalib (حمزة بن عبد المطلب), and

3. Ali ibn Abi Talib ibn Abdul Muttalib (علي بن أبي طالب بن عبد المطلب)

So the Prophet PBUH sent out three people that were noblemen and core Qureshi. Utbah asked, "Who are you?" — because they were far away and he could not recognize them by their features. So they introduced themselves, and when Utbah heard the names, he said, "Noble adversaries. Come and let us fight!"

Ubaydah ibn al-Harith ibn al-Muttalib ibn Abd Manaf was the oldest of the three. Remember al-Muttalib is the uncle of Abdul Muttalib. So Ubaydah was the Prophet's PBUH father's second cousin. Note he is not Banu Hashim by the way, because Hashim is al-Muttalib's brother. But he is still a Qureshi (from Banu Abd Manaf's branch). He is the oldest among the three, so he goes towards Utbah, Hamzah goes to Utbah's younger brother Shaybah, and then of course the two youngsters are Ali and al-Walid, so they fight each other. (Some of the books of hadith mention different pairings, but this is Ibn Ishaq's version.) Indeed, it is the only logical pairing that each pairing is by age. It is said both Hamzah and Ali instantly pounced and killed their opponents without a single injury on themselves. As for Ubaydah, Utbah managed to slice his leg off, so Ubaydah fell down and Utbah was about to kill him, but by that time, both Hamzah and Ali had finished off the other two, so they came to the rescue of Ubaydah and killed Utbah. So Utbah's side: father, brother, and son all died, all because Utbah was insulted that Abu Jahal called him a coward. Think about that.

Allah references this mubaraza in Surah al-Hajj verse 19:

هَٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ

"These are the two people who are arguing about their Lord" [22:19].

According to the majority of the scholars of tafsir, this is a revelation regarding this mubaraza: One group has one position about their Lord, and another group has another position. And Ali RA used to say, "I will be the first person who will argue on the Day of Judgment since I was the first to kill on [the Day of] Badr. And this ayah came down about me." This is one of the interpretations of this verse.

Then Ubaydah was carried on the shoulders of Hamzah and Ali, and he died a few days later from the effects of the wounds — because his whole leg was cut off and they couldn't stop the bleeding. And he was an elderly man as it is. So he became an after-effect shaheed a few days later. As for now, when it appeared that all three of them came back safe, killing all three of the mushriks, this provided a big morale boost to the Muslims. And of course, this was just an 'appetizer' that Allah gave to the Muslims — and eventually, the whole victory would be theirs.

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The Army of 1,000 Angels

It's narrated in Sahih Muslim that when the Prophet PBUH lined up the army, he once again turned to face the qibla and made du'a, "O Allah, fulfill Your promise to me. O Allah, give me what You have promised. O Allah, if this group is destroyed, You shall not be worshiped on earth," and he raised his hands completely to the skies. This is one of the three postures that we learn from the sunnah about how to make du'a:

1. The most common posture: palms outwards (see the video at minute 1:12:00). And the Prophet PBUH explicitly said, "Do not ask Allah from the backs of your palms."

2. Sometimes the Prophet PBUH would make du'a by simply raising a finger (see the video at minute 1:12:27), especially for dhikr or istighfar (astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah).

3. And very rarely, he would raise his hands all the way up to the heavens (see the video at minute 1:12:46), palms facing outwards and up. On this occasion, you are allowed to raise your head up to the heavens. Otherwise, in salah, you never raise your eyes up. But at times of extreme problem and distress, the Prophet PBUH would literally raise his head and hands up to the heavens making du'a to Allah SWT.

The Prophet PBUH kept on making du'a so much that his upper garment fell off and his whole chest was exposed and open. At this, Abu Bakr RA stooped down, picked up the upper clothing, and wrapped it around the Prophet PBUH, hugged him from behind, and said, "Enough, ya Rasulullah, enough. Your Lord will give you as He promised."

Subhan'Allah, we notice here that the Prophet PBUH and Abu Bakr RA are perfecting two essential emotions: Hope and fear. You have to have both. Each one has a time when it deserves to be more than the other. Even though both are necessary, at this point in time, the Prophet PBUH had more fear, and Abu Bakr had more hope.

Abu Bakr had barely said "your Lord will give you as He promised" when the Prophet PBUH went into a trance, which means wahy was coming. Literally, as soon as he lowered his hands, Allah's response came. And this goes back to the hadith in Abu Dawud wherein the Prophet PBUH said, "When Allah's servant raises his hands up, Allah is embarrassed that those hands come back (down) without putting something in them." To Allah belongs the more perfect example — but if anyone of us with nobility feel shy when someone comes and asks of us, then how about Allah who is al-Karim (الكريم - the Most Generous)? And how about when His own Messenger is doing the asking? How can those hands come back without giving him something? So barely have those hands come down except that Jibril comes with wahy — and it is said that the Prophet's PBUH eyes were shut tight. And Ibn Mas'ud narrated that when the wahy ended, the Prophet PBUH turned around, and it was as if his face was the moon. The wahy made him so happy that his face is now like the moon. And he tells Abu Bakr RA, "Be happy, O Abu Bakr! For indeed, the help of Allah AWJ has come. This is Jibril AS (the Prophet PBUH is pointing), he has worn his turban and he is holding on to the straps of his horse guiding it through the valley." And Allah says in the Quran:

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ

"[Remember] when you asked help of your Lord, and He answered you, 'Indeed, I will reinforce you with a thousand from the angels, following one another'" [Quran, 8:9].

One angel could have taken care of all of the mushriks, but Allah SWT sent 1,000 angels! Subhan'Allah.

And the Prophet PBUH began reciting:

سَيُهْزَمُ الْجَمْعُ وَيُوَلُّونَ الدُّبُرَ

"The groups shall be defeated and they shall turn their backs and flee" [see Quran, 54:45]. Umar RA said he never understood this verse until the Prophet PBUH recited it on the morning of Badr.

The Prophet PBUH then stooped down, picked up some pebbles, threw them toward the direction of the Quraysh, and said, "شاهت الوجوه (May these faces be cursed)" 3 times. And every single person in the army of the Quraysh felt blinded by this (they got something in their eyes and nostrils), even though the Prophet PBUH was far away. This was a miracle. Allah says this in the Quran:

وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ رَمَىٰ

"...And it was not you [O Prophet] who threw [a handful of sand at the disbelievers], but it was Allah who did so..." [8:17].

And after this, the actual battle began.

[Transcribed by Br. Safwan Khan & Faizan]
safwan-khan@hotmail.com
[Re-revised by Br. Syed Haq & MAR, January 2024]