1b. Battle of Badr: First Battle of Islam at Badr in Self-Defense, Honouring the first warriors of Islam

1b.
In the Battle of Badr Bilal's eyes fell on Umayyah ibn Khalaf and he
realized that Abdur Rahman wanted to favour him. He, therefore, cried
aloud: "O friends of Allah! Umayyah ibn Khalaf is one of the chiefs of
unbelievers. He should not be allowed to live". The Muslims encircled
Umayyahibn Khalaf from all sides and put him and his son to death.
Abdullah ibn Masud, a companion of Prophet Muhammad (saw), was the
first person to openly recite Glorious Qur'an in front of a gathering.
He participated in all the battles of ProphetMuhammad (saw) but was so
short that even when hestood up among people who were sitting, he
wouldnot rise above them! It wasfor this reason that in the battle of
Badr, he requested Prophet Muhammad (saw): "I do not possess the
strength tofight in the battle of Badr; can you assign me some task by
means of which I too can attain the same reward as those who fight?"
"Look amongst the dying infidels and if you happen to find anyone of
them stillalive, kill them," Prophet Muhammad (saw) replied.
Abdullah ibn Masud narrates: "As I moved in the midst of people who
seemed to be dead, I came to Abu Jahl, the most unyielding enemy of
Prophet Muhammad (saw). He still had some life left inhim.
"I thank Allah (SWT) that He has humiliated you," I said as I sat on
his chest. Abu Jahl opened his eyes and grunted, "Woe unto you! Who
has been victorious?" "Victory is for Allah and His Prophet, and it is
for this reason that I shall kill you," I replied, placing my foot on
his neck.
With great arrogance, he cried, "O' tiny shepherd! You have placed
your foot on a very exalted place. Do know that nothing is more
painful for me than to be killed by a dwarf like you. Oh! Why did not
one of thesons of Abdul Muttalib kill me?"
I severed his head from his body and appeared before Prophet Muhammad
(saw)."Glad tidings to you, O' Prophet of Allah! This is thehead of
Abu Jahl."
"Abu Jahl was more sinful and worse than Firawn of the time of Musa
(as) . When Firawn was convinced that he would perish, he believed in
Allah (SWT), whereas when Abu Jahl became certain of his impending
doom, he calledupon al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat to save him," Prophet
Muhammad (saw) remarked later.
Many Muslim historians believe that in the Battle ofBadr single
combats and collective attacks continuedtill midday and the battle
came to an end after noontide, when Quraysh fled and some of them were
captured. The martyrsof Badr were buried in a corner of the
battlefield. Their graves still exist and devoted Muslims visit themto
offer their respects. Afterburying the martyrs Prophet Muhammad (saw)
performed afternoon prayers at that place and came out of the desert
of Badr before sunset.
In this battle fourteen men from amongst the Muslims were killed. As
regards Quraysh seventy of them were killed and seventy others were
captured.
The forces of truth and falsehood faced each other for the first time
in the Valley of Badr. The number of the army of truth did not exceed
313 whereas the army of falsehood was three times as big as that. The
Muslims were not properly equipped. Their means of transport consisted
of about seventy camels and a few horses, while the enemy had comewith
full strength to knock down Islam, consisting of 1000 strong men with
700 camels and 100 horses. In spite of all this, however, truth was
victorious and the enemy returned to Makkah after having sustained
heavy losses.
Note: Abu Lahab who had not participated in this battle of Badr and
had sentsomeone else in his own place was sitting by the well of
Zamzam. Suddenly people brought the news that Abu Sufyan had arrived.
Abu Lahab said:"Tell him to see me as earlyas possible". Abu Sufyan
came, sat by the side of Abu Lahab and gave a detailed account of the
happenings at Badr. Agitation and fear struck Abu Lahab's heart like
lightening. After burning inhigh fever for seven days he died of some
mysterious disease./

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1a. Battle of Badr: First Battle of Islam at Badr in Self-Defense, Honouring the first warriors of Islam

1a.
As opposed to the suggestion of Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl insisted that
they should go to the region of Badr, stay there for three days, kill
camels, drink wine and hear the minstrelgirls sing so that their
valour might reach the earsof the Arabs and they should have a high
regard for them forever.
The fascinating words of Abu Jahl made Quraysh wait at that place and
halt at an elevated point in the desert behind a mound. Heavy rain
made movement difficult for them and kept them from proceeding
further.
On the 17th of Ramadan of the second year of migration (2AH or 624 CE)
Quraysh descended, early in the morning, from behind the sandy mound
into the desert of Badr under the leadership of Abu Jahl. When Prophet
Muhammad (saw) saw them he raised his face to the sky and said: "O
Allah! Quraysh are up, with pride and arrogance, to fight against You
and to deny Your Prophet! Send the aid which You have promised me and
destroy them today!"
It was an old custom of theArabs that in the beginningof a battle
single combats were resorted to, and later general fighting began.
Three famous warriors of Quraysh came out of their ranks and
challenged for a fight. They were two brothers Utbah and Shaybah, sons
of Rabiyyah, and Walid bin Utbah and all of them were fully armed.
They roared and ran their horses in the field and called their
opponents to fight. Three brave men from amongst the Ansars named Awf,
Ma'uz and Abdullah Rawahah came out of the ranks of the Muslims.
Utbah, however, realized that they were from Madina and said to them:
"We have nothing todo with you". Then a man (from amongst Quraysh)
shouted: "O Muhammad! Send our equals to fight with us!" Prophet
Muhammad (saw) turned his face to Ubaydah, Hamzah and Ali and
said:"Get up". The three brave men covered their heads and faces and
of they wentto the battlefield. All the three persons introduced
themselves. Utbah accepted all of them for a combat and said: "Yes,
you are our equals".
Some say that in this combat each warrior fought with his rival of the
same age. Ali, who was theyoungest of them, met Walid (maternal uncle
of Mu'awiyah), the middle-aged amongst the Muslims (Hamzah) faced
Utbah (maternal grandfather of Mu'awiyah) and Ubaydah, who was the
oldest amongst the Muslim combatants fought with Shaybah, who was
oldest from the other side. Ibn Hisham, however, says thatthe opponent
of Hamzah was Shaybah and that of Ubaydah was Utbah.
Historians write that Ali and Hamzah killed their opponents in the
very first moment and then hurried to help Ubaydah and killed his
adversary as well.
As a consequence of the warriors of Quraysh being killed general
attack started, and Quraysh beganattacking in groups. Prophet Muhammad
(saw) ordered that the Muslims should refrain from attacking and
should prevent the advance of the enemy by means of archery.
The character of Prophet Muhammad (saw), whose posture in the
battlefield was described by Imam Ali,the Commander of the Faithful,
is as follows:"Every time when fighting became intense we took refuge
with Prophet Muhammad (saw). None of us was nearer to the enemy than
he".
Then Prophet Muhammad (saw) returned to the seat of command and with
his heart overflowing with faith, turned his face to the Aimighty and
said: "O Lord!If this group is annihilated today, none else will
worship you on the face of the earth."
Then Prophet Muhammad (saw) picked up some dust and throwing it
towards Quraysh, said: "May your faces be metamorphosed!" Thereafter
he gave orders for general attack.
Allah had helped you at Badr, when you were a contemptible little
force: Then fear Allah in order to show your gratitude. Whenyou did
say to the believers: Does it not suffice you that your Creator should
help you with three thousand angelssent down. (Surah al-e-Imran,
3:123-124)
The signs of victory of the Muslims began to appear soon. The enemies
were stricken with terror and began to flee. The Muslims, who were
fighting with the help of their faith, and knew that both killing and
being killed were blessings of Allah (SWT), were perfectly undaunted
and nothing stopped their advance.
Bilal, the Ethiopian , was a slave of Umayyah ibn Khalaf in the past.
As Bilal had embraced Islam while he was a slave, Umayyah ibn Khalaf
used to torture him severely. In order to make him abjure Islam he
used to make him lie on hot sand during the summer season and placeda
big stone on his chest. Even in that condition Bilal used to say:
'Ahad! Ahad! Ahad!' (Allah is One, Allah isOne, Allah is One). The
Ethiopian slave suffered a good deal until Hazrat Abu Bakr purchased
and set him free.
:->

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1. Battle of Badr: First Battle of Islam at Badr in Self-Defense, Honouring the first warriors of Islam

1.
The emigration of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to Madina had turned the
enemies from Makkah more hostile and they constantly kept on
thinkinghow they could overthrow him, and put an end to Islam. The
Makkans and their allies started to bring their raids to the very
outskirts of Madina, destroying the fruit trees ofthe Muslims and
carrying away their flocks.
Hence, the Battle of Badr is one of the greatest and most famous
battles of Islam. For the first time thefollowers of the new faith
were put into a serious test. This was a key battle in the early days
of Islam and proved to be a turning point in Islam's struggle with its
oppressive opponents, amongst them the Quraysh in Makkah. And those
who participated in it enjoyed a special distinction amongstthe
Muslims. The word 'Badri' is used in the biographies of the companions
of Prophet Muhammad (saw) for thosepersons who participated in the
Battle of Badr.
In the middle of Jamadi-ul-Awwal of the second year of migration a
report was received in Madina that a caravan was going from Makkah to
Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan and Prophet Muhammad (saw)
went up to Zatul Ashirah to pursue the caravan and stayed there till
the beginning of the following month, but could not lay hands on it.
One of the praiseworthy policies adopted by Prophet Muhammad (saw) in
all the battles was that he used to collect information about the
strength of the enemy and his location. The information received was
as under:
1. It is a big caravan and all Makkans have shares in its merchandise.
2. The leader of the caravanis Abu Sufyan and there are about forty
persons who guard it.
3. The merchandise is loaded on one thousand camels and its value is
about fifty thousand dinars.
As Quraysh had confiscatedthe property of Muslim Muhajirs residing in
Madina, it was only appropriate that the Muslims should also
confiscate their merchandise and if they persisted in withholding the
property of the MuhajirMuslims on account of theirenmity and
obstinacy, the Muslims should, as a retaliatory measure, divide their
merchandise amongstthemselves as war booty.
Prophet Muhammad (saw) stood up and said: "What isyour view in the matter?"
Miqdad stood up and said:"O Prophet of Allah! Our hearts are with you
and you should act according tothe orders given to you by Allah (SWT).
By Allah! We shall not tell you what BaniIsrael told Musa (as). When
Musa (as) asked them to perform Jihad they said to him: 'O Musa! You
and yourLord should go and perform Jihad and we shall sit here'. We,
however, tell you quite the reverse of it and say: Perform Jihad under
the auspices of the blessings of Allah (SWT) and we are also with you
and shall fight".
Prophet Muhammad (saw) was very much pleased to hear Miqdad's words
and prayed for him.
Prophet Muhammad (saw) left Madina with 313 men in the month of
Ramadan of the second year of migration to confiscate the property of
Quraysh encamped by the side of the well of Badr.
While going to Syria Abu Sufyan had realized that Prophet Muhammad
(saw) was pursuing his caravan. He was, therefore, careful at the time
of his return and enquired from other caravans whether Prophet
Muhammad (saw) had occupied the trade routes. It was reported to him
thatProphet Muhammad (saw) had left Madina along with his companions
and might be pursuing the caravan of Quraysh.
Abu Sufyan refrained from proceeding further. He did not see any
alternative except to inform Quraysh about the impending danger to the
caravan. In the mean time Abu Sufyan, changed the course of the
caravan and covering two stages of the journey at a time, took it out
of the zone of influence of Islam. He also appointed a man togo and
inform Quraysh that the caravan had been saved from attack by the
Muslims and they should, therefore, return to Makkahand leave it to
the Arabs tosettle the affairs with Prophet Muhammad (saw).
The news of the escape of Abu Sufyan's caravan circulated amongst the
Muslims. Those who had greedily kept an eye on themerchandise were
very much disturbed by this development. Allah (SWT) revealed the
following verse to strengthen their hearts:
Allah has promised to grant your victory over oneof the two bands (the
caravan and those who had come to defend it), butyou wished to fight
the one that was unarmed. He sought to fulfill His promiseand to
annihilate the unbelievers, so that truth should triumph and falsehood
be uprooted, though the wrongdoers wished otherwise. (Surah al-Anfal,
8:7)
:->

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Those who assert that they are Muslims but do not practice the real tenets of Islam are the bigots

Prophet Muhammad (saas)was a very modern, joyful person of broad
horizons who supported the arts and sciences.
Those who assert that they are Muslims but do not practice the real
tenetsof Islam are the bigots who are in the dark about the true
spirit of Islam andwho do not experience it!
Do not try to understand Islam by looking at the bigots . Learn Islam
from those true Muslims who live by Islam in compliance with the
spirit of the Qur'an.
A bigot is stark and sulky.
A Muslim is joyful, open and full of life!
A bigot hates women, children and animals.
A Muslim likes everything that is beautiful. He appreciates a woman's
value, watches over the children and loves animals, plants and all
living beings!
A bigot does not understand the arts, and dislikes arts and aesthetics.
A Muslim likes the arts andhas a very strong sense of aesthetics!
A bigot is against science.
A Muslim attaches great importance to science and contributes to
scientific progress!
A bigot can not speak graciously, he is aggressive.
A Muslim speaks the best of words, he is compassionate!
Both the life and spirit of abigot is dark.
A Muslim is full of life, he radiates light to his surroundings!
A bigot tends to fight. He is full of hate and rage.
A Muslim wants peace, love and friendship to reign!
A bigot is hostile towards Christians and Jews.
A Muslim approaches Christians and Jews with compassion.
He attaches importance to them and shows them respect!
A bigot does not like music, and takes no pleasure from music.
A Muslim loves music as a blessing created by Allah!
A bigot is unkempt and filthy!
A Muslim is very pure andbrilliant!
A bigot lives in nasty, dark places.
A Muslim loves the best quality and the most beautiful of everything!
A bigot devastates wherever he enters. He defiles and reduces the
quality of life overall.
A Muslim brings quality of life to wherever he enters. He takes
pleasure in beautifying the world!
A bigot does not know how to think; he acts in compliance with the
dogmas he has learned by heart.
A Muslim takes great pleasure from deep thinking. He acts by using his
wisdom and his conscience!
A bigot can not tolerate different thoughts.
A Muslim wants people of every school thought to express their opinion
as they wish!
A bigot finds the energy tolive by constantly inventing new enemies.
A Muslim makes an effort to befriend anyone who seems to harbor the
most negative opinion.
A bigot does not show courtesy.
A Muslim is excellent in hismanners and social conduct!
A bigot has an inferiority complex!
A Muslim has an extremelyconfident personality due to his trust in Allah!
And the most important ofall;
A bigot can not appreciate Allah's might as is due. He does not know
the love of Allah, he does not abide by the Qur'an and only follows
his idols.
A Muslim is in love with Allah. He lives for Allah, he is fully
attached to the Qur'an and he only seeks to earn Allah's good
pleasure!

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