The Battle of Badr
The first decisive encounter between Islam and idolatry, which God called the Day of Distinction. Three hundred and thirteen against about a thousand — and the victory came, with the chiefs of Quraysh slain.
In brief
- Date
- 17 Ramadan, 2 AH — March 624 CE.
- Place
- The valley of Badr, between Mecca and Medina, some 150 km south-west of Medina.
- The Muslims
- 313 men, with a few horses and seventy camels ridden in turns.
- Quraysh
- About 1,000 fighters, with a hundred horses and seven hundred camels.
- The outcome
- 70 of Quraysh killed and 70 captured, among them Abū Jahl, Umayya ibn Khalaf, ʿUtba and Shayba. 14 Muslims were martyred.
- In the Qurʾān
- Sūrat al-Anfāl was revealed about it, and: “God had already given you victory at Badr while you were few.”
His story
The Prophet ﷺ set out to intercept a Quraysh caravan returning from Syria with Abū Sufyān. The caravan escaped and the army of Quraysh advanced instead. He consulted his Companions, and Saʿd ibn Muʿādh rose for the Anṣār: “Go on to what you intend, and we are with you. By Him who sent you with the truth, were you to take us into this sea and plunge in, we would plunge in with you.”
He spent the night praying: “O God, fulfil for me what You promised. O God, if You destroy this band of the people of Islam, You will not be worshipped on earth” — until his cloak fell from his shoulders and Abū Bakr took it up, saying: “Enough of your entreaty to your Lord.”
God reinforced the Muslims with angels, and the battle ended in a crushing defeat for Quraysh. The people of Badr hold a rank in Islam beyond reach; he ﷺ said: “Perhaps God looked upon the people of Badr and said: do what you will, for I have forgiven you.”