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| Battle of Badar |
The surprising thing is that, from a military point of view, the number of people involved in this war was minimal, but the importance of this war was so high that in the holy book of Muslims, this day is also called Yum al-Furqan, i.e. the day of judgment.
How important was this war for the new Muslim state of Medinah politically, militarily, and economically, before that, do you know why the field of Badr was important and how it got its name?
Battlefield of Badar:
About 80 miles from Madinah, Badr is an oval-shaped plain four and a half miles wide, surrounded by mountains.
This field already had a historical and economic status, that is the trade route from Yemen to Syria passed through this field, on which the caravans used to travel, and the roads to Mecca and Medina also met at this point. The coast of the Red Sea is about ten miles from here.
There are several reasons for naming this place Badr. The first reason is that a man named Badr Bin Yakhlid had dug a well here, the water of which was extremely transparent.
There is a tradition that the reflection of the moon was also seen in this well and since the moon is also called Badr, hence the name of this place got Badr due to both the relationships.
According to Daria Maarif Islamiyah, in the pre-Islamic period of Jahiliyyah, a big festival was held at this place every year from the 1st of Dhul-Qad to the 8th of Dhul-Qad.
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| Badar Field |
Even before the migration to Madinah, the rulers of Makkah were against the Muslims, but there was more than one factor involved in the atmosphere of war between Makkah and Madinah.
In Rajab two Hijri, a Makkah leader Umro bin Al-Hazrami was killed by the Muslims. According to local traditions, the Prophet of Islam paid the blood for this accidental killing, but the Quraysh chiefs living in Makkah were enraged by this killing.
An incident occurred in Sha'ban two Hijri when a Quraysh caravan loaded with wealth was coming from Syria to Makkah when a rumor spread that the Muslims wanted to attack the caravan. The leader of this caravan was Abu Sufyan, who sent a messenger towards Makkah in response to which a caravan of Quraysh from Makkah left for Medina to help Abu Sufyan's caravan.
According to Daria Maarif Islamiyah, this caravan returning from Syria reached Makkah safely. What should have happened now was that the people of Quraish should have called back this caravan moving towards Madinah, but at the insistence of Abu Jahl, the people of Quraish continued to move towards Madinah and on the 16th of Ramadan, two Hijri, they camped at the place of Badr. The number of these people is said to be between nine hundred to one thousand and all these people were armed.
The Prophet of Islam also went to Badr on the 12th of Ramadan and reached near Badr on the 13th of March 624 according to 17th Ramadan 2 Hijri with 313 people, after the news of Quraysh's departure to Makkah.
Even at that time, some men of Quraysh tried to avoid war, but due to Abu Jahl's obstinacy, this effort was not successful, and ranks were formed for competition.
Beginning and End of War
According to the alignment of the Muslims, Hazrat Zubair bin Al-Awam was the leader of Memna and Hazrat Mqdwar bin Umro was posted on Mesra, while the leader of the army was the Prophet of Islam himself.
The command of the rear part of the army i.e. Saqqah was entrusted to Hazrat Qays bin Sa'sa'ah. Hazrat Musab bin Umeer was carrying the flag, the biggest symbol of the army. The letter of the Muslims was the identity “Ya Mansoor Umma”'.
According to Arab tradition, the war began with a single combat in which three Quraysh fighters were killed and then the battle of Ghamsan began. During the battle, two young Ansar boys, Mu'awz and Mu'az, also killed Abu Jahl of Makkah.
On the other hand, the dice of war began to turn in favor of the Muslims. Although the people of Quraysh were far more in number, after individual fighting, the army of Muslims attacked the Quraysh at once on the order of the Prophet of Islam, which changed the map of the battle and caused a stampede in the army of Quraysh.
During this time, many important people of Quraish were killed, whose total number was 70. Out of these 70, 36 were killed by Hazrat Ali alone.
70 people from Quraysh were arrested and it was decided that they should be freed by taking a ransom of 4,000 dirhams from them and those who know how to read and write should teach 10 children of Ansar to read and write.
Significance of Badr War
This battle was significant in many respects and perhaps that is why it is considered as one of the few decisive battles of the world, although numerically it was not a huge battle.
According to the Cambridge History of Islam, the significance of the outcome of this battle was both political and religious. According to the book, on the one hand, dozens of important leaders of Mecca were killed whose administrative and commercial skills were irreplaceable.
It is written in the Cambridge History of Islam that despite the majority of numbers, the defeat of Makkah on the one hand reduced their confidence and rank, and on the other hand, it also made clear the dangers posed to the trade route of Makkah after this battle, because Makkah all wealth depended on this trade. That is, the reputation of the Quraysh was badly damaged and their trade route to Syria became unsafe thus their value among other tribes also decreased.
The people of Makkah were certainly damaged in every aspect by this war. Above all, the loss of honor and dignity. Quraysh Makkah had a prominent position in the Arabian Peninsula. They were considered to be the advocates and defenders of the old system of Arabia, but they were defeated by a small, trained group of pioneers of an entirely new system.
According to traditions, it was obvious that this defeat would be mentioned in the remote areas of the Arabian Peninsula, so to avoid infamy, the people of Makkah decided that this defeat would be mourned in silence, and no one would remember (in poetry) their slain and will not cry.
Along with this silent mourning, the determination should be maintained that the defeat of Badr will be avenged as soon as possible.
According to Cambridge, on the other hand, for the Muslims, the outcome of this war was proof that they and their religion were right and superior, thus increasing their confidence. After this battle, the Muslims emerged as a force and the state of Madinah became stable.
This victory also impressed the Jews living in Madinah.
It should be noted that this battle was also very important from a military point of view because it was the first time that the Muslims fought a war under the leadership of the Prophet of Islam and if the Muslims had been defeated in it, it was quite possible that Islam would have been wiped out. This is the reason why this day was named Yum al-Furqan in the Qur'an, meaning the day of judgment.
Daria Maarif Islamiyah has analyzed that this battle was decisive in the sense that the Muslims got the opportunity to test their strength on the battlefield for the first time and despite the opponent's weapons and the abundance of people, the victory increased the courage of the Muslims and raised their determination. One effect of this was that the other tribes of the Arabian Peninsula were awed by the power of the Muslims and believed in the righteousness of the Muslims.
For more interesting article click the link: Islamic History
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