Chapter 35 : The Battle of Badr I - Prelude

Question 1

Expedition of Dhu Al Ushayrah [ Patrol of Dhu Al Ushayrah ]

Answer 1

• The Prophet took around 150 - 200 Companions to attack The Mother of All Caravans led by Abu Sufyan
• This is The Annual Caravan that went up to Syria which contained around 70 % - 80 % of wealth in Makkah [ Because anyone who has money in Makkah would invest in this Caravan ]
• The Prophet wanted to catch The Caravan as it went up to Syria
• However, their paths did not cross
• One of the People of Abu Sufyan’s Caravan had strayed and saw The Muslims
• He rushed back to inform his people and Abu Sufyan hastily went away that otherwise he would have not gone
• Abu Sufyan knows that he cannot come back unprepared so he sends an envoy back to Makkah making sure that they are prepared for him on the return journey
• The Quraysh will send an entire army and this was the set up for The Battle of Badr
• The Muslims were not expecting an army but Abu Sufyan was trying to be 10 steps ahead
• He sent a crier with false stories and exaggerations [ He told the crier to brush himself up, cause himself to bleed, tore his clothes up, etc and basically was causing frantic chaos in Makkah to get an army together and prepare for war ]
• And so they went berserk and gathered the largest army The Quraysh had ever seen

Question 2

Imam’s Ali’s title as Abu Turab

Answer 2

• There are multiple narrations which tells of the origin of the title of Abu Turab for Imam Ali

1) Ibn Hisham notes that the origin of Imam’s Ali’s title as Abu Turab [ Father of Dust ] goes back to The Expedition of Dhu Al Ushayrah. Imam Ali and Ammar were exploring an oasis and observing the date farming techniques of the people. They were tired and fell asleep in a soft patch of dust. Later, The Prophet woke them up and told Ali :-

” How are you, O Abu Turab [ Father of Dust ] [ Since he was covered in dust ]. “

2) Ibn Hisham tells another story in which Imam Ali gets angry at Fatima and then Ali smears mud on his head in penance [ Atonement ] when The Prophet sees him and says the same

3) Sahih Bukhari relates that Ali and Fatima were fighting and were angry at each other and Ali leaves and sleeps in the Mosque only to be awoken by The Prophet. The Report in Sahih Bukhari is narrated by Sahl Ibn Sa’d and says :-

” The most beloved names to Ali was Abu Turab and he used to be pleased when we called him by it for none named him Abu Turab [ For the first time ] but The Prophet. Once Ali got angry with [ His Wife ] Fatima and went out [ Of His House ] and slept near a wall in The Mosque. The Prophet came searching for him and someone said ‘ He is there, lying near the wall. ‘ The Prophet came to him while his [ Ali’s ] back was covered with dust. The Prophet started removing the dust from his back saying ‘ Get up O Abu Turab ! ‘ “

Why we [ Shia’s ] accept the first story but reject the other two

1) Ibn Hisham relates it through a connected chain back to Ammar whereas the other two are Marfu [ Disconnected ]

2) At the time of this expedition, Ali and Fatima are not yet living under one roof

3) This was Ali’s favourite Epithet [ Nickname ]. If it had been associated with Fatima’s anger then this would certainly not be the case

4) Sahih Bukhari has motive in pushing the 3rd story as he wants to bring Ali to the same level as Abu Bakr and Umar. He reports that Ali said ‘ Fatima died while still angry at the Shaykhayn. ‘ By relating this tory, he downplays the anger of Fatima

Question 3

Regarding The Makkan Caravan to Syria and The News of The Quraysh Army

Answer 3

• The Makkans had invested heavily in a Caravan to Syria led by Abu Sufyan
• It is reported that every single resident of Makkah had invested and that the total investment was 50 K Dinar [ Gold Coins ]
• To give a sense of how much money that is, one could purchase a sheep for 1 Dinar
• Today, A sheep costs about 300 USD so the total value of Abu Sufyan’s Caravan was about 15 Million USD in today’s currency
• Abu Sufyan knows that he cannot come back unprepared so he sends an envoy back to Makkah making sure that they are prepared for him on the return journey
• The Quraysh will send an entire army and this was the set up for The Battle of Badr
• The Muslims were not expecting an army but Abu Sufyan was trying to plan ahead
• Abu Sufyan sends Damdam Al Ghifari [ Same Tribe as Abu Dharr Al Ghifari ] to ride to Makkah and rile up the people to defend their Caravan and to make A show of it
• He told Damdam to brush himself up, cause himself to bleed, tore his clothes up, etc and basically was causing frantic chaos in Makkah to get an army together and prepare for war
• And so they went berserk and gathered the largest army The Quraysh had ever seen
• Meanwhile, The Prophet gathers 313 Men to raid Abu Sufyan’s Caravan on his return from Syria
• The Muslims are poorly clad [ Clothed ] with only 2 Horses belonging to Al Miqdad and Al Zubayr and 70 Camels on which they put 2 and 3 Riders
• They broke their fasts staring on 12th Ramadhan
• When they reached Al Suqya, The Prophet told them to drink
• He drank first to assure them
• Some disobeyed him and kept their fasts for the next 2 days
• The Prophet had a crier announce :-

” O you who have disobeyed, I have broken my fast so break your fast also. “

• When The Prophet receives news that The Quraysh is advancing towards him, he gathers his men and seeks their counsel in order to test their resolve
• The Ansar had only pledged to defend The Prophet within the borders of Madinah
• The Prophet informed his companions that The Caravan of Abu Sufyan has passed and now God has commanded him to fight The Quraysh
• Many of them were terrified by the prospect so The Prophet asked them to give him counsel
• Abu Bakr said :-

” O Messenger of God ! Quraysh are arrogant ! By God, they have never believed since they have rejected. By God, they have never been defeated since they’ve attained [ Glory ]. And you are not prepared for war. “

• The Prophet told him to sit
• Umar echoed a similar message and was also told to sit
• Then Al Miqdad Ibn Al Aswad says :-

” O Messenger of God ! … We have believed in you and confirmed everything you are. And we have testified that whatever you have brought is the truth from God. If you were to command us to jump into a blazing fire or to embrace a thorny bush, we would do it. And we will not give to you the reply that the Israelites gave to Moses when they said ‘ So go, both you and your Lord, and fight, we are staying right here ! [ Quran 5 : 24 ]. I swear by God that we will fight along your right side and your left side and in front of you. ‘ “

• The Prophet thanked him for his answer and showed his gratitude to him
• Then, Sa’d Ibn Muadh [ Chief of Banu Aws ] stands and says :-

” May my mother and father be sacrificed for you. We have believed in you and confirmed everything that you are. And we testify that whatever you have brought is the truth from God. So command us as you wish. By God, if you commanded us to dive into this sea, we would dive with you. Perhaps God will show you what will delight you. Take us forward with the blessing of God. “

• The Prophet after hearing the words of Al Miqdad and Sa’d, The Prophet said :-

” Okay, let’s go forward. Allah has promised either victory or martyrdom and both is a blessing of Allah. It is as if I see the corpse of Abu Jahl, Utbah Ibn Rabiah and some others [ These names are the ones who are killed during the battle ]. “

• The Prophet then advanced until he reached The Wells of Badr

Question 4

The Dream of Atikah Bint Abdul Muttalib

Answer 4

• Atikah Bint Abdul Muttalib [ Aunt of The Prophet ] had a terrifying dream 3 days before Damdam’s Arrival
• She woke up flustered and agitated and she called for her brother Abbas
• She said :-

” In my dream, I saw that in 3 days, A crier will come to Makkah racing on his camel and he first goes to The Kaabah and cries out ‘ O you traitors ! Meet your death in 3 days from now. And then the crier is on top of The Kaabah and says the same thing. Then he’s on top of the mountain of Abu Qubays and says the same thing. ‘ This crier picks up a large rock [ From The Mountain of Abu Qubays ], topples it down The Mountain, it cracks up at the base and it keeps on rolling until it hits every house in Makkah. “

• They understand this to mean that in 3 days, every household in Makkah will be hit with the calamity of death
• This prophecy is fulfilled though The Battle of Badr in which not a single Household of The Quraysh was spared
• Abbas warns his sister not to tell anyone yet he couldn’t follow his own advice and tells Al Walib Ibn Utbah Ibn Rabiah [ Brother of Hind Bint Utbah ]
• Al Walid promised not to tell anyone but he goes and tells his father and the news spread until all of Makkah knew about this dream
• However, Abbas still thinks that nobody knows
• Abbas goes to sleep and by the time he wakes up, everyone in the city is gossiping but he still doesn’t know and so he goes about his business then as was their custom, does Tawaf after Asr
• But he sees Abu Jahal surrounded with his men and says :-

” O Abbas, when your done, come here. “

• So he does Tawaf and then came to Abu Jahal
• Abu Jahal says :-

” O child of Abdul Muttalib, since when did you get a Female Prophetess ? “

• Abbas says :-

” What do you mean ? “

• Abu Jahl says :-

” Are you not satisfied that you have a man who claim to be A Prophet ? You now want woman to be predicting the future as well ? If it is true that a crier will come after 3 days then it will happen but if it does not happen then by Allah we will make a sign and place it on the door of The Kaabah that The Banu Abdul Muttalib are the most lying of the Arabs known to man [ Basically they will pubclicy shame them ]. “

• Exactly 3 days after Atikah’s Dream, Damdam makes a dramatic entrance into Makkah
• He mutilates his own camel and smeared blood over the camel, had torn his clothes, looked disheveled and entered Makkah riding backwards [ All of this gave the impression that he himself had also been attacked ]
• And then he cried out :-

” O Quraysh, your Caravan ! O Quraysh, your Caravan ! Your property and money with Abu Sufyan is being attacked by Muhammad and his companions right now ! And you will not be able to defend it unless you act immediately ! “