Also illustrative of the general moral norm of equality in Islam is the Prophet’s insistence, en route to Badr, on being treated exactly as an ordinary soldier, as far as the facility of transportation was concerned. At the rather advanced age of fifty-four, he insisted on having an equal share in walking beside or riding the camel that he was sharing with two of his Companions:
‘You are not more capable of marching than I, and I am not less in need for other-worldly reward than you!’ insisted the Prophet (peace be upon him).
The fortitude, high spirit and fitness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were indeed remarkable, comparable if not, surpassing those of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, at that time in his early twenties, and Marthad Ibn Abī Marthad al-Ghanawī, also a powerful young man of extraordinary physique, who worked as a blacksmith. But more important, and more significant than the Prophet’s physical fitness at fifty-four, was his keenness to put into practice the principles which were integral parts, central to his Prophetic teaching, the norms and values he ardently advocated. The hardship which the gracious Prophet (peace be upon him) took upon himself in his insistence on giving a practical example, could be grasped and appreciated, if we remember that the march towards Badr was started on the 8th of Ramaḍān, of the second year of the Hijrah. The distance between Madīnah and the valley of Badr, which is approximately 80 miles, took the Muslims about seven or eight days, since the battle took place on the 17th of Ramaḍān.
3.3 How did the Battle Take Place?
In attempting to answer this question, no elaborate details will be given, because they are available in most of the standard texts on the sīrah. However, for the sake of completeness in the present account, a sketchy account of the event will be attempted, while the main emphasis will continue to be on gaining better understanding and appreciation of the phenomenon of Badr and its significance in Islamic history.
When the Muslims learned of the escape of the caravan and the presence of a powerful the Quraysh force at the other end of the valley of Badr, some of them were obviously disappointed. They had been asked to come out in pursuit of a commercial caravan, with the prospects of booty and inflicting a loss on their adversaries, the Quraysh. Then, those prospects were replaced by the possibility of having to fight that powerful force: some of the Muslims were not yet psychologically prepared to engage so formidable an enemy, especially in view of the great discrepancy in the relative numerical strength of the two forces.
The Muslims’ army consisted altogether of three hundred and five men, seventy camels, and two horses. Of the men, eighty-three were Muhājirīn, sixty-one were of the Aws and the rest were of the Khazraj. The army of the Quraysh consisted of almost a thousand soldiers, well equipped, many of whom were on horseback. Most of the gallant leaders of the Quraysh were there.
At first, there was some hesitation and anxiety in the Muslims’ camp. But God and the gracious Prophet (peace be upon him) assured them of God’s backing and of the imminent victory over the enemy.
3.4 The Qur’ān’s Depiction of the Situation
The Qur’ān depicted the condition of the Muslims army as follows:
Even as your lord caused you to go forth from your home, with the Truth, and surely a party of the believers were averse (to this). They argue with you of the truth, after it has been explained to them, as if they have been driven to death, with their eyes wide open. And when God promised you one of the two bands (of the enemy) that it would be yours, and you longed that other than the armed one might be yours. But God willed that the truth should triumph by His words and that He would eradicate the unbelievers. [al-Anfāl 8:5-7]
The Muslim Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were a superior band of men and women, yet they remained men of flesh and blood, because some of them, at some times, showed visible signs of human weakness and frailty. God had accepted their best offering, and had forgiven their weakness and failings. In the frank, honest and truthful style of the Qur’ān, nothing is concealed, no embarrassment is meant, only to display and take cognizance of all the facts of the situation. The above Qur’ānic verses of al-Anfāl make it very clear that the timing of the Battle of Badr was determined by God alone. Other Qur’ānic verses convey the same impression.
When you were in the near hill (of the valley) and they were on the farther and the caravan was below you (on the coast plain). And had you made an appointment to meet one another, you surely would have failed to keep the appointment, but (it happened, as it did, without the forethought of either of you), that Allah might conclude a thing that must be done; that he who perished (on that day) might perish by a clear sign, and he who lived, might live by a clear sign. Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. When Allah showed you them, in your dream, as few, and had He shown them as many, you would have lost heart; and quarrelled about the matter but Allah saved (you). He is surely knowing of what is in the breasts (of man). And when He showed them, when you encountered, in your eyes (Muslims) as few and made you few in their eyes, that Allah may conclude a matter that must be done. Unto Allah all matters are returned. [al-Anfāl 8:42-44]
Thus, the impression is further confirmed that Badr had been exclusively conceived and meticulously executed by God alone; that the Prophet, the Muslims and the Quraysh unbelievers were all drawn into it by various devices of Divine making. Moreover, God prepared the stage for the battle, and eventually sent His soldiers of the angels, dressed like Arabs, with white turbans, and led by Gabriel himself (in yellow).
The Qur’ān gives minute details of God’s involvement and the help He rendered to the Muslims, and the defeat which He inflicted upon their enemy:
When you were crying and calling upon your Lord for help, and He answered you: I will reinforce you with a thousand angels, riding behind you… Allah wrought this not, save as good tidings, and that your hearts thereby might be at rest. Victory comes only from Allah. Surely Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. When He was causing slumber to fall upon you, as a reassurance from Him, and sent down water from the sky upon you, that thereby He might purify you, and remove from you the defilement of Satan, and to strengthen your heart, and to confirm your feet. When your Lord was revealing to the angels, ‘I am with you’, so confirm the believers, I shall cast into the hearts of the unbelievers terror; so smite upon the necks, and smite every finger of them. [al-Anfāl 8:9-12]
Notwithstanding all these demonstrations from the Qur’ān, that God was Himself commanding the Muslims’ side on the Battle of Badr, the Qur’ān, at the same time, makes it amply clear that God’s succour was not meted out arbitrarily. In some sense, it was succour well-deserved by the Muslims, because they had been severely tried, and they had withstood the trial for almost fifteen years, since the beginning of the call to Islam in Makkah. Badr itself was yet another such tremendous trial, and they had succeeded in it, when they were few in numbers and poorly armed, half-hungry, and with no previous experience in combat. They fought gallantly, and they successfully challenged the might of the Quraysh.
The Qur’ānic text went straight to emphasize this aspect of the matter:
Those only are the believers who, when God is mentioned, their hearts quake, and when His verses recited to them, it increases them in faith, and in their Lord they put their trust. Those who perform the prayer, and expend of what We have provided them, those are the true believers; for them are degrees (of honour) with their Lord, and forgiveness and generous provision. [al-Anfāl 8:2-4]
In order that God’s victory would be complete for them, the Qur’ān exhorted the Muslims of Badr to live up to what was expected of them, when they met their enemy on the battlefield. This was their role, which they had to fulfil, if they were to qualify, in the decisive last moments, for God’s victory, which was already close at hand:
O believers, when you encounter the unbelievers marching