Chapter 36 : The Battle of Badr II - Preparations Flashcards
Did Abu Lahab, Utbah Ibn Rabiah and Umayyah Ibn Khalaf participate in The Battle of Badr
- According to dream of Atikah Ibn Abdul Muttalib, every household participated in The Battle of Badr
Abu Lahab
- However, Abu Lahab [ Uncle of The Prophet ] decided not to go and instead found someone to go in his place
- The person who was sent in his place was Al As Ibn Wai’l who had an outstanding loan of 4,000 Dirhams with Abu Lahab
- So Abu Lahab said :-
” Go in my place and I’ll forgive this loan and wipe it out [ Thus this person went and Abu Lahab did not]. “
Utbah Ibn Rabiah
- Utbah Ibn Rabiah [ Father of Hind and Father In Law of Abu Sufyan ] also initially did not go as he was a blood relative of The Prophet
- However, his brother Shaybah Ibn Rabiah said :-
” If we abandon our people at a time such a crucial time, then for the rest of our lives we will have to suffer mockery and humiliation. “
- Thus, he also participated in The Battle of Badr
Umayyah Ibn Khalaf
- Umayyah Ibn Khalaf [ Previous Master of Bilal Ibn Rabah ] was the stereotypical coward [ Overly fed huge man wearing fancy garments, etc that has a lot of money and slaves but no skills of war ]
- When Umayyah heard of The Battle, he found someone to represent him and paid him a small fortune and said :-
” This man will represent me. “
- However, Umayyah was ultimately one of the seniors / leaders of Quraysh and his presence would bring great morale to the troops so Abu Jahl said :-
” If you do not go, this will demoralize many people. You are The Sayyid of this whole valley and so you must go ! “
- Still Umayyah was hesitant
- Abu Jahl then went to Uqba and they devised a tactic to make sure he goes out
- When Umayyah was sitting in the public space on a fancy carpet with his entourage, Uqba Ibn Abi Mu’ayt came to him with a perfume burner and coal underneath it [ Of the type that women use ] and he said :-
” This is your gift O Umayyah ! Perfume yourself as you are worthy of being perfumed [ Basically they are insulting him saying he is no man ]. “
- Umayyah understood what was going on and so he stood up and cursed Uqba and whoever sent Uqba [ He knows Uqba is not smart enough to do this to himself ] and he was so insulted that he changed his mind
The events of the intestines being thrown on The Prophet
- On one occasion, when The Prophet was praying in the courtyard of the Kaabah, Uqba brought the waste of a slaughtered camel [ Intestines, Blood, Dung, etc ] upon the suggestion of other Quraysh leaders who were gathered there and placed it upon The Prophet’s back while he was in prostration
- The Prophet remained in that position until his daughter Fatima came and removed it
- When this happened, The Prophet stood up and made a supplication to God :-
” O God, I leave you to deal with … [ Whereby he mentioned all of the 7 or 8 people involved by name such as Umayyah, Abu Jahl, Uqba, etc ] “
- Every single one whom The Prophet mentioned will be of the first people to die in The Battle of Badr
The Quraysh Army
- It is said that there were 1,300 people in which Abu Jahl was their undisputed leader
- They also had :-
1) Over 100 Horses
2) Over 600 Suits of Armor
3) Over 500 Camels [ Not only to ride but also to use as food ] [ It is said that they slaughtered 10 Camels every day for sustenance ]
4) Singing Girls for Morale Boosting
- A Verse from The Quran is as follows :-
” Be not like those who left their homes exulting to be seen by men who turn [ Others ] away from the way of Allah while Allah comprehends what they do. “
Al Quran [ 8 : 47 ]
- This Verse is a prohibition on following in the footsteps of those Cocky Two Faced Hypocrites [ Qurayshi’s ] who block others from The Path of God
- Once Abu Sufyan felt that The Caravan was safe and beyond the reach of Muslims, he sent someone to tell The Quraysh that his Caravan is now safe and they can go back
- He said :-
” Go tell the army to return “
- Once the person met the army, they reconvened to decide what to do
- Utbah said :-
” Let’s go back, The Caravan is safe. “
- But Abu Jahl said :-
” No. We will go to Badr and we will stay there for 3 days, drink our wine, have our woman sing for us and let the news spread in all of Arabia that we are A Nation to be feared. “
- Notice here, there is no discussion of a battle
- The main objective was to Protect The Caravan
- So even though Abu Jahl said to carry on, around 300 - 350 people consisting of Banu Zuhrah and other Small Tribes returned back to Makkah [ 1 / 4 of The Army went back which was Demoralizing ]
- The Quraysh was differing among themselves and as we will come to, we will see that The Muslims was also differing among themselves
- So Both Parties didn’t want to go but God has already decreed that The Battle of Badr will take place :-
” When you were on the nearer canyon side [ bil-udwatal-dunya ] and they were on the farther canyon side [ bil-udwatal-quswa ] while The Caravan [ rakb ] was below you. Had you made A tryst [ Agreement ] with each other, you would have broken the tryst [ Agreement ]. But [ It came to pass ] so that Allah could bring about A matter that was to be done so that whoever perishes, perishes according to A clear proof and whosoever lives, lives according to a clear proof. Allah is All Hearing, All Knowing. “
Al Quran [ 8 : 42 ]
The Muslim Army
- When The Prophet saw the enthusiasm of some of his companions, he began the preparations for war
- He divided the army into 3 groups :-
1) The Central Group led by Mus’ab Ibn Umayr who was The Flag Bearer in which the main flag was white
2) The Group On The Right Side led by Ali Ibn Abu Talib [ Comprised of all The Muhajireen ]
3) The Group On The Left Side led by Sa’d Ibn Muadh [ Comprised of all The Ansar ]
- In this division between The Muhajireen and The Ansar we can see the wisdom of The Prophet
- Islam does not necessarily have A negative outlook on Cultural and Ethnic Divisions [ However, These realities must be considered ]
- The Prophet divided up The Ansar and The Muhajireen because they both knew each other better and felt more comfortable around each other
- When you give the position of Leadership, you need to give it to those people who are respected in the community [ Leaders need to be both Competent and Respected ]
- Notice also The Prophet chose Mus’ab Ibn Umayr as The Flag Bearer as he is respected by both The Muhajireen and The Ansar
- He is of course A Muharijeen [ And A Qurayshi ] but he is the earliest of people to Immigrate to Madinah therefore the respect he has amongst The Ansar is unparalleled as most of The Ansar converted at his hands
What was the function of A Standard / Flag Bearer
- To give the fighters A Visual Signal as to where the army was
- If in the course of a battle, you were separated from your unit, one would look around until you saw The Standard Bearer and then try to get close to it
- The Standard Bearer is normally in close proximity to The Unit Leader
- When The Standard Bearer falls, The Unit Members did not have A visual point to rally around or return and the possibility that The Leader had fallen was great
- The Falling of The Flag usually demoralizes A Military Unit and gives A Morale Boost to the enemies
Where was The Prophet during The Battle of Badr
- The companions erected A Special Tent for The Prophet
- They 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
- A narration by Imam Ali is as follows :-
” When A situation became tense and when two sides came close to each other [ In Battle ], we would seek out The Messenger of God for protection and there was no one closer to the enemy than him. “
Makarim Al Akhlaq by Al Hasan Ibn Al Fadl Al Tabrisi [ Shia Scholar ]
- The Prophet spent the whole night awake supplicating to God and making prolonged Sajdah
- The Prophet also said :-
” O God, if you destroy this group, You are not going to be worshipped on this world. “
A Restful Night
- In the middle of the night, light rain began to fall :-
” [ Remember ] when He blanketed you with sleepiness [ nu’as ], security [ amnatan ] from Him and sent upon you water from the sky to purify you and wash away Satan’s dirt [ rijz ] and to fortify your hearts and steady your feet. “
Al Quran [ 8 : 11 ]
- This Verse means the following
1) The rain fell upon them [ The Believers ] to Purify them, wash away Satan’s Whispers and make their hearts Firm [ To make them Brave ]
2) The rain also fell in order to grant them a Firm Foothold during The Battle by Making the Sand Sticky for them but Muddy for The Enemy [ Since they were at a slightly higher altitude then The Quraysh ]
