Three Hundred

Vulture asked the clay, "O my brother, it was said that the battle between Talut army and the Philistines prefigures the battle of Badr. So, tell us about the Battle of Badr!" The clay said, "Talut departed with three hundred and nineteen men, at Badr, a small number of Muslims would face a much larger army and defeat it. The Muslim army numbered about three hundred, most of whom were from among the Ansaar. Narrated Al-Bara, radhiyallahu 'anhu,

كُنَّا نَتَحَدَّثُ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ بَدْرٍ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ وَبِضْعَةَ عَشَرَ، بِعِدَّةِ أَصْحَابِ طَالُوتَ الَّذِينَ جَاوَزُوا مَعَهُ النَّهَرَ، وَمَا جَاوَزَ مَعَهُ إِلاَّ مُؤْمِنٌ‏.‏

"We used to say that the warriors of Badr were over three-hundred-and-ten, as many as the Companions of Thalut who crossed the river with him; and none crossed the river with him but a believer." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, radhiyallahu 'anhu, reported,

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم خَرَجَ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ فِي ثَلاَثِمِائَةٍ وَخَمْسَةَ عَشَرَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ حُفَاةٌ فَاحْمِلْهُمُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ عُرَاةٌ فَاكْسُهُمُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّهُمْ جِيَاعٌ فَأَشْبِعْهُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَفَتَحَ اللَّهُ لَهُ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ فَانْقَلَبُوا حِينَ انْقَلَبُوا وَمَا مِنْهُمْ رَجُلٌ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ رَجَعَ بِجَمَلٍ أَوْ جَمَلَيْنِ وَاكْتَسَوْا وَشَبِعُوا

"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) went out on the day of Badr along with three hundred and fifteen (men). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'O Allah, they are on foot, provide mount for them; O Allah , they are naked, clothe them; O Allah, they are hungry, provide food for them.' Allah then bestowed victory on them. They returned when they were clothed. There was no man of them but he returned with one or two camels; they were clothed and ate to their fill." - [Sunan Abi Dawud; Hasan by Al-Albani]

This battle took place on the 17th of Ramadaan 2 AH. The reason for it was that the Prophet (ﷺ) had gone out with some of his Companions to intercept a Quraysh caravan that was returning from Syria to Makkah. He did not want to fight, but the caravan, which was led by Abu Sufyaan, escaped after sending word to Quraysh to mobilize troops to protect the caravan. So Quraysh sent out approximately one thousand fighters, including six hundred men in annour and one hundred horsemen in armour in addition to the infantry who wore annour. There were also seven hundred camels, and singers beating drums and singing songs insulting the Muslims.
The Muslim army had with them seventy camels and only two or three horses. Small groups took it in turns to ride the camels. Before battle was joined, the Prophet (ﷺ) wanted to consult his Companions, especially the Ansaar, about engaging in battle. The Muhaajiroon were in favour of fighting, and spoke well. Then the Ansaar realized that he was waiting for them to speak, so Sa‘d ibn Mu'aadh, who was the leader of the Ansaar, said,
“O Messenger of Allah, we believe in you, we declare your truth, and we witness that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you wish, we are with you. By Allah, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it, we would plunge into it with you, and not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy in combat. It may well be that Allah will let us show you something which will bring you joy, so take us along with Allah’s blessing.” Others said likewise, and the Messenger was delighted at that. Then he said, “ Forward with the blessings of Allah, and be of good cheer, for Allah has promised me one of the two parties, either the caravan or the army.”

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) went on until he reached the closest water to Badr and camped there. Al-Hubaab ibn al-Mundhir said to him, “ O’ Messenger of Allah, is this a place that Allah has ordered you to occupy, so that we can neither advance nor withdraw from it, or is it a matter of opinion and military tactics?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied. “Rather, it is a matter of opinion and military tactics.” Al-Hubaab pointed out that it would be better to go on to another place that was more suitable and where the Muslims would be better able to cut off the water supply of Badr from the mushrikeen. So the Prophet (ﷺ) and his Companions got up and went to the place that Al-Hubaab had suggested. They established themselves there, then Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh suggested that a hut be built for the Prophet (ﷺ) behind the Muslim ranks, then if Allah granted them victory, that would be what he wanted, but if the outcome were otherwise, he would be able to mount his camel and go back to the people in Madeenah. Sa‘d said to him, “ O Messenger of Allah, there are people who have stayed behind, and who are just as deeply attached to you as we are. If they thought that you w ould be fighting, they would not have stayed behind.”

The Prophet (ﷺ) prayed for him, and issued commands that a hut be built. When the two groups met, the Prophet (ﷺ) started to straighten the Muslim ranks, encouraging them to fight and to seek martyrdom. He said,
‘‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul, no man will fight and be killed today, bearing that w'ith patience and seeking reward, advancing and not retreating, but Allah will admit him to Paradise.”

Muslim narrated on the authority of " Umar Ibn Al-Khattab who said,

لَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمُ بَدْرٍ ح وَحَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - حَدَّثَنَا عُمَرُ بْنُ يُونُسَ الْحَنَفِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عِكْرِمَةُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ - هُوَ سِمَاكٌ الْحَنَفِيُّ - حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ قَالَ لَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمُ بَدْرٍ نَظَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَهُمْ أَلْفٌ وَأَصْحَابُهُ ثَلاَثُمِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ رَجُلاً فَاسْتَقْبَلَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الْقِبْلَةَ ثُمَّ مَدَّ يَدَيْهِ فَجَعَلَ يَهْتِفُ بِرَبِّهِ ‏"‏ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْجِزْ لِي مَا وَعَدْتَنِي اللَّهُمَّ آتِ مَا وَعَدْتَنِي اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ تَهْلِكْ هَذِهِ الْعِصَابَةُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الإِسْلاَمِ لاَ تُعْبَدْ فِي الأَرْضِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَمَازَالَ يَهْتِفُ بِرَبِّهِ مَادًّا يَدَيْهِ مُسْتَقْبِلَ الْقِبْلَةِ حَتَّى سَقَطَ رِدَاؤُهُ عَنْ مَنْكِبَيْهِ فَأَتَاهُ أَبُو بَكْرٍ فَأَخَذَ رِدَاءَهُ فَأَلْقَاهُ عَلَى مَنْكِبَيْهِ ثُمَّ الْتَزَمَهُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ ‏.‏ وَقَالَ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ كَذَاكَ مُنَاشَدَتُكَ رَبَّكَ فَإِنَّهُ سَيُنْجِزُ لَكَ مَا وَعَدَكَ فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‏{‏ إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُمْ بِأَلْفٍ مِنَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ‏}‏ فَأَمَدَّهُ اللَّهُ بِالْمَلاَئِكَةِ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ فَحَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ بَيْنَمَا رَجُلٌ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَشْتَدُّ فِي أَثَرِ رَجُلٍ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ أَمَامَهُ إِذْ سَمِعَ ضَرْبَةً بِالسَّوْطِ فَوْقَهُ وَصَوْتَ الْفَارِسِ يَقُولُ أَقْدِمْ حَيْزُومُ ‏.‏ فَنَظَرَ إِلَى الْمُشْرِكِ أَمَامَهُ فَخَرَّ مُسْتَلْقِيًا فَنَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ فَإِذَا هُوَ قَدْ خُطِمَ أَنْفُهُ وَشُقَّ وَجْهُهُ كَضَرْبَةِ السَّوْطِ فَاخْضَرَّ ذَلِكَ أَجْمَعُ ‏.‏ فَجَاءَ الأَنْصَارِيُّ فَحَدَّثَ بِذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ ‏"‏ صَدَقْتَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مَدَدِ السَّمَاءِ الثَّالِثَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَتَلُوا يَوْمَئِذٍ سَبْعِينَ وَأَسَرُوا سَبْعِينَ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو زُمَيْلٍ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَلَمَّا أَسَرُوا الأُسَارَى قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لأَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ ‏"‏ مَا تَرَوْنَ فِي هَؤُلاَءِ الأُسَارَى ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ هُمْ بَنُو الْعَمِّ وَالْعَشِيرَةِ أَرَى أَنْ تَأْخُذَ مِنْهُمْ فِدْيَةً فَتَكُونُ لَنَا قُوَّةً عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ فَعَسَى اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهْدِيَهُمْ لِلإِسْلاَمِ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ مَا تَرَى يَا ابْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قُلْتُ لاَ وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا أَرَى الَّذِي رَأَى أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَلَكِنِّي أَرَى أَنْ تُمَكِّنَّا فَنَضْرِبَ أَعْنَاقَهُمْ فَتُمَكِّنَ عَلِيًّا مِنْ عَقِيلٍ فَيَضْرِبَ عُنُقَهُ وَتُمَكِّنِّي مِنْ فُلاَنٍ - نَسِيبًا لِعُمَرَ - فَأَضْرِبَ عُنُقَهُ فَإِنَّ هَؤُلاَءِ أَئِمَّةُ الْكُفْرِ وَصَنَادِيدُهَا فَهَوِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَا قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَلَمْ يَهْوَ مَا قُلْتُ فَلَمَّا كَانَ مِنَ الْغَدِ جِئْتُ فَإِذَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَأَبُو بَكْرٍ قَاعِدَيْنِ يَبْكِيَانِ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنِي مِنْ أَىِّ شَىْءٍ تَبْكِي أَنْتَ وَصَاحِبُكَ فَإِنْ وَجَدْتُ بُكَاءً بَكَيْتُ وَإِنْ لَمْ أَجِدْ بُكَاءً تَبَاكَيْتُ لِبُكَائِكُمَا ‏.‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَبْكِي لِلَّذِي عَرَضَ عَلَىَّ أَصْحَابُكَ مِنْ أَخْذِهِمُ الْفِدَاءَ لَقَدْ عُرِضَ عَلَىَّ عَذَابُهُمْ أَدْنَى مِنْ هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ شَجَرَةٍ قَرِيبَةٍ مِنْ نَبِيِّ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏.‏ وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‏{‏ مَا كَانَ لِنَبِيٍّ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُ أَسْرَى حَتَّى يُثْخِنَ فِي الأَرْضِ‏}‏ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ ‏{‏ فَكُلُوا مِمَّا غَنِمْتُمْ حَلاَلاً طَيِّبًا‏}‏ فَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْغَنِيمَةَ لَهُمْ ‏.‏

"When it was the day on which the Battle of Badr was fought, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) cast a glance at the infidels, and they were one thousand while his own Companions were three hundred and nineteen. The Prophet (ﷺ) turned (his face) towards the Qibla. Then he stretched his hands and began his supplication to his Rabb, 'O Allah! Accomplish for me what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah! Bring about what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah! If this small band of Muslims is destroyed. Thou will not be worshipped on this earth." He continued his supplication to his Rabb, stretching his hands, facing the Qibla, until his mantle slipped down from his shoulders. So Abu Bakr came to him, picked up his mantle and put it on his shoulders. Then he embraced him from behind and said, 'Prophet of Allah, this prayer of yours to your Rabb will suffice you, and He will fulfill for you what He has promised you.' So Allah, the Glorious and Exalted, revealed (the Qur'anic verse), "When ye appealed to your Rabb for help, He responded to your call (saying): I will help you with one thousand angels coming in succession." So Allah helped him with angels. Abu Zumail said that the hadith was narrated to him by Ibn `Abbas who said: While on that day a Muslim was chasing a disbeliever who was going ahead of him, he heard over him the swishing of the whip and the voice of the rider saying: Go ahead, Haizum! He glanced at the polytheist who had (now) fallen down on his back. When he looked at him (carefully he found that) there was a scar on his nose and his face was torn as if it had been lashed with a whip, and had turned green with its poison. An Ansari came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and related this (event) to him. He said: You have told the truth. This was the help from the third heaven. The Muslims that day (i.e. the day of the Battle of Badr) killed seventy persons and captured seventy. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to Abu Bakr and `Umar, radhiyallahu 'anhum, 'What is your opinion about these captives?' Abu Bakr said, 'They are our kith and kin. I think you should release them after getting from them a ransom. This will be a source of strength to us against the infidels. It is quite possible that Allah may guide them to Islam.' Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'What is your opinion, Ibn Khattab?' He said, 'Messenger of Allah, I do not hold the same opinion as Abu Bakr. I am of the opinion that you should hand them over to us so that we may cut off their heads. Hand over `Aqil to `Ali that he may cut off his head, and hand over such and such relative to me that I may cut off his head. They are leaders of the disbelievers and veterans among them.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) approved the opinion of Abu Bakr and did not approve what I said. The next day when I came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), I found that both he and Abu Bakr were sitting shedding tears. I said, 'Messenger of Allah, why are you and your Companion shedding tears? Tell me the reason. For I will weep, or I will at least pretend to weep in sympathy with you.' The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'I weep for what has happened to your companions for taking ransom (from the prisoners). I was shown the torture to which they were subjected. It was brought to me as close as this tree.' (He pointed to a tree close to him.) Then Allah revealed the verse, "It is not befitting for a prophet that he should take prisoners until the force of the disbelievers has been crushed..." to the end of the verse, "so eat ye the spoils of war, (it is) lawful and pure. So Allah made booty lawful for them."

Athough the Muslims were much fewer in number, they gained a great victory, destroyed the army of Quraish and killed most of its leaders. Among the leading men of Quraish who killed were Abu Jahl and Umayyah Ibn Khalaf, who was killed by his former slave, Bilal. Moreover, 70 men of Quraish had been taken prisoners. Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah,

لَمَّا كَانَ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ أُتِيَ بِأُسَارَى، وَأُتِيَ بِالْعَبَّاسِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ ثَوْبٌ، فَنَظَرَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَهُ قَمِيصًا فَوَجَدُوا قَمِيصَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أُبَىٍّ يَقْدُرُ عَلَيْهِ، فَكَسَاهُ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِيَّاهُ، فَلِذَلِكَ نَزَعَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَمِيصَهُ الَّذِي أَلْبَسَهُ‏.‏ قَالَ ابْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ كَانَتْ لَهُ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَدٌ فَأَحَبَّ أَنْ يُكَافِئَهُ‏.‏

"When it was the day (of the battle) of Badr, prisoners of war were brought including Al-Abbas who was undressed. The Prophet (ﷺ) looked for a shirt for him. It was found that the shirt of `Abdullah bin Ubai would do, so the Prophet (ﷺ) let him wear it. That was the reason why the Prophet (ﷺ) took off and gave his own shirt to `Abdullah. (The narrator adds, "He had done the Prophet (ﷺ) some favor for which the Prophet liked to reward him.")" - [Sahih al-Bukhari]

On the day of Badr, the Prophet (ﷺ) ordered that the corpses of twenty-four leaders of Quraish should be thrown into one of the dirty dry wells of Badr. It was a habit of the Prophet (ﷺ) that whenever he conquered some people, he used to stay at the battlefield for three nights. So, on the third day of the battle of Badr, he ordered that his she-camel be saddled, then he set out, and his Companions followed him saying among themselves, “Definitely he (i.e., the Prophet (ﷺ)) is proceeding for some great purpose.” When he (ﷺ) halted at the edge of the well, he (ﷺ) addressed the corpses of the Quraishi by their names and their fathers’ names, “O so-and-so, son of so-and-so and O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Would it have pleased you if you had obeyed Allah and His Messenger? We have found true what our Rabb promised us. Have you too found true what your Rabb promised you?” " Umar said, “ O Allah 's Messenger! You are speaking to bodies that have no souls!” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "By Him in Whose Hand Muhammad's soul is, you do not hear, what I say better than they do."
Commenting on this narration, Qatadah said, "Allah brought them to life (again) to let them hear him, to reprimand them and slight them and take revenge over them and caused them to feel remorseful and regretful."

At Badr, the angels participated in fighting. Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Rafi' Al-Zurqi who was one of the Badr warriors that Jibril came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said,

"‏ مَا تَعُدُّونَ أَهْلَ بَدْرٍ فِيكُمْ قَالَ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ ـ أَوْ كَلِمَةً نَحْوَهَا ـ قَالَ وَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا مِنَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ ‏"

"How do you look upon the warriors of Badr among yourselves?" The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "As the best of the Muslims." or said a similar statement. On that, Jibril said, "And so are the Angels who participated in the Badr (battle)."

In this context, Ibn Ishaq reported that Waqid Al-Laith said that I was pursuing a polytheist at Badr to smite him, when his head fell off before I could get at him with my sword, and I knew that someone else had killed him. Ibn ' Abbas, radhiyallahu 'anhu, said that the Angels did not fight in any battle but Badr. In the other battles they were there as reinforcements, but they did not fight.

The first one of the Muslim army who died a martyr was Mahja', the slave of ' Umar Ibn Al-Khattab; the second was Harithah Ibn Suraqah. Both Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated on the authority of Anas that Harithah was martyred on the day (of the battle) of Badr, and he was a young boy then. His mother, Umm Ar-Rubaiy'i bint Al-Bara', came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said,

يا رسول الله ألا تحدثني عن حارثة‏.‏ وكان قتل يوم بدر، فإن كان في الجنة صبرت، وإن كان غير ذلك اجتهدت عليه في البكاء، فقال‏:‏ ‏ "‏يا أم حارثة إنها جنان في الجنة، وإن ابنك أصاب الفردوس الأعلى‏"

"O Messenger of Allah! Will you not tell me about Harithah? (He was killed in the battle of Badr). If he is in Jannah I shall show endurance, but if he has met another fate, I may exert myself in weeping for him." He (ﷺ) replied, "O mother of Harithah, in in the gardens of Jannah there are many ranks, and your son has attained Al-Firdaus, the highest."

Then the clay said, "O my brothers and sisters, people do not appreciate health until they are struck down by sickness, nor do they value wealth until poverty besets them. And who were capable of learning faster than the Muhajirin and the Ansar from the lessons of the past? Islam entered Madinah at a time when the forces of unbelief were pursuing it from even- angle, and the Muslims sought refuge in their new settlement as soldiers would seek refuge in their fortress. They kept themselves prepared so that no one might attack them from any direction. They had learnt bitterly from the years of experience in Makkah that weakness led to humiliation and tribulation."

وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنْتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

"And already had Allah given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were few in number. Then fear Allah; perhaps you will be grateful." - [QS.3:123]

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References :
- Dr. Mustafa as-Sibaa'ie, The Life of Prophet Muhammad Highlight and Lesson, IIPH
- Ibn Kathir, The Battles of the Prophet, Dar al-Manarah
- Muhammad al-Ghazali, Fiqh-us-Seerah, IIFSO