Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad and War: Difference between revisions

According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Muhammad b. Ishaq--someone not to be doubted--Abu Hurayrah: When these cities were conquered in the time of 'Umar, 'Uthman, and afterward, [Abu Hurayrah] used to say, "Conquer for yourselves whatever seems good to you, for, by the one who holds Abu Hurayrah's soul in His hand, you have conquered no city, neither shall you conquer any until the Day of Resurrection, but that Muhammad was given its keys beforehand."

How the Apostle was Treated by his Own People:

When the Quraysh became distressed by the trouble caused by the enmity between them and the apostle and those of their people who accepted. his teaching, they stirred up against him foolish men who called him a liar, insulted him and accused him of being a poet, a sorcerer, a diviner, and of being possessed. However, the apostle continued to proclaim what God had ordered him to proclaim, concealing nothing, and exciting their dislike by contemning their religion, forsaking their idols, and leaving them to their unbelief.
Yahya b. 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr on the authority of his father from 'Abdullah b: 'Amr b. al-'As told me that the latter was asked what was the worst way in which Quraysh showed their enmity to the apostle. He replied: 'I was with them one day when the notables had gathered m the Hijr and the apostle was mentioned. They said that they had never known anything like the trouble they had endured from this fellow; he had declared their mode of life foolish, insulted their forefathers, reviled their religion, divided the community, and cursed their gods. What they had borne Was past all bearing, or words to that effect.'
While they were thus discussing him the apostle came towards them and kissed the black stone, then he passed them as he walked round the temple. As he passed they said some injurious things about him. [the original Arabic word used here is غَمَزُوهُ, which can also literally mean they merely "blinked". This same word has been translated to mean "they blinked" in a similar context in authoritative translations of other Islamic scriptures, such as in Sahih Bukhari 8:82:813] This I could see from his expression. He went on and as he passed them the second time they attacked him similarly. This I could see from his expression. Then he passed the third time, and they did the same. He stopped and said, 'Will you listen to me O Quraysh? By him who holds my life in His hand I bring you slaughter.' This word so struck the people that not one of them but stood silent and still; even one who had hitherto been most violent spoke to him in the kindest way possible, saying, 'Depart, O Abu'l-Qasim, for by God you are not violent.' So the apostle went away, and on the morrow they assembled in the Hijr, I being there too, and they asked one another if they remembered what had taken place between them and the apostle so that when he openly said something unpleasant they let him alone. While they were talking thus the apostle appeared, and they leaped upon him as one man and encircled him, saying, I Are you the one who said so-and·so against our gods and our religion?' The apostle said, 'Yes, I am the one who said that.' And I saw one of them seize his robe. Then Abu Bakr interposed himself weeping and saying, 'Would you kill a man for saying Allah is my Lord I' Then they left him. That is the worst that I ever saw Quraysh do to him.

One of the family of Umm Kulthum, Abu Bakr's daughter, told me that she said, 'Abu Bakr returned that day with the hair of his head torn. He was a very hairy man and they had dragged him along by his beard'

(Now the report goes back to `Abdallah b. Abi Bakr who states:) The expedition of Zayd b. Harithah, Ja`far b. Abi Talib, and 'Abdallah b. Rawahah to Mu'tah in the land of Syria; the expedition of Ka`b b. `Umayr al-Ghifari to Dhat Atlah in the land of Syria, where he and his companions were killed; the expedition of 'Uyaynah b. Hisn to the Band al-`Anbar of the Band Tamim. It is reported by them that the Messenger of God sent `Uyaynah to them, who raided them, killed some of their people, and took the others captive.
Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Ibn lshaq--`Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatadah: `A'ishah said to the Messenger of God, "O Messenger of God, I must free a slave of the sons of Isma'il." He replied, "These captives of the Banu al-`Anbar are coming now. We will give you one, and you can set him free." Ibn Ishaq states: When their captives were brought to the Messenger of God, a deputation of the Band Tamim rode with them until they arrived before the Messenger of God. Among them were Rabi`ah b. Rufay`, Sabrah b. `Amr, al-Qa`qa` b. Ma`bad, Wardan b. Muhriz, Qays b. `Asim, Malik b. `Amr, al-Agra` b. Habis, Hanzalah b. Darim, and Firas b. Habis. Among their women who were taken captive on that day were Asma' bt. Malik; Ka`s bt. Ari; Najwah bt. Nahd; Jumay`ah bt. Qays; and `Amrah bt. Matar.

Ibn ‘Awn said “I wrote to Nafi’ asking him about summoning the polytheists (to Islam) at the time of fighting. So, he wrote to me “This was in the early days of Islam. The Prophet of Allaah(ﷺ) attacked Banu Al Mustaliq while they were inattentive and their cattle were drinking water. So their fighters were killed and the survivors (i.e., women and children) were taken prisoners. On that day Juwairiyyah daughter of Al Harith was obtained. ‘Abd Allaah narrated this to me, he was in that army.” Abu Dawud said “This is a good tradition narrtted by Ibn ‘Awn from Nafi’ and no one shared him in narrating it.”

Narrated Anas: The Prophet set out for Khaibar and reached it at night. He used not to attack if he reached the people at night, till the day broke. So, when the day dawned, the Jews came out with their bags and spades. When they saw the Prophet; they said, "Muhammad and his army!" The Prophet said, Allahu--Akbar! (Allah is Greater) and Khaibar is ruined, for whenever we approach a nation (i.e. enemy to fight) then it will be a miserable morning for those who have been warned."

Narrated Anas: The Prophet offered the Fajr Prayer near Khaibar when it was still dark and then said, "Allahu-Akbar! Khaibar is destroyed, for whenever we approach a (hostile) nation (to fight), then evil will be the morning for those who have been warned." Then the inhabitants of Khaibar came out running on the roads. The Prophet had their warriors killed, their offspring and woman taken as captives. Safiya was amongst the captives, She first came in the share of Dahya Alkali but later on she belonged to the Prophet . The Prophet made her manumission as her 'Mahr'.

I have heard that the apostle gave Ibn Luqaym al-'Absi the hens and domestic animals which were in Khaybar. The conquest took place in Safar. Ibn Luqaym said:

Nata was stormed by the apostle's squadron

Fully armed, powerful, and strong.

It was certain of humiliation when it was split up

With the men of Aslam and Ghifar in its midst.

They attacked B. 'Amr b. Zur'a in the morning

And Shaqq's people met a day of gloom.

They trailed their cloaks' in their plains

And left only hens cackling among the trees.

Every fort had a man of 'Abdu'l-Ashhal or B. aI-Najjar

Busy with their horses,

And Emigrants who had displayed their badges

Above their helms, never thinking of flight.

I knew that Muhammad would conquer

And would stay there many Safars.

The Jews in the fighting that day

Opened their eyes in the dust.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 517-518, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 340-341, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

Narrated 'Aisha: When Allah's Apostle returned on the day (of the battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench), he put down his arms and took a bath. Then Gabriel whose head was covered with dust, came to him saying, "You have put down your arms! By Allah, I have not put down my arms yet." Allah's Apostle said, "Where (to go now)?" Gabriel said, "This way," pointing towards the tribe of Bani Quraiza. So Allah's Apostle went out towards them .

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: When the tribe of Bani Quraiza was ready to accept Sad's judgment, Allah's Apostle sent for Sad who was near to him. Sad came, riding a donkey and when he came near, Allah's Apostle said (to the Ansar), "Stand up for your leader." Then Sad came and sat beside Allah's Apostle who said to him. "These people are ready to accept your judgment." Sad said, "I give the judgment that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as prisoners." The Prophet then remarked, "O Sad! You have judged amongst them with (or similar to) the judgment of the King Allah."

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: Some people (i.e. the Jews of Bani bin Quraiza) agreed to accept the verdict of Sad bin Muadh so the Prophet sent for him (i.e. Sad bin Muadh). He came riding a donkey, and when he approached the Mosque, the Prophet said, "Get up for the best amongst you." or said, "Get up for your chief." Then the Prophet said, "O Sad! These people have agreed to accept your verdict." Sad said, "I judge that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as captives." The Prophet said, "You have given a judgment similar to Allah's Judgment (or the King's judgment)."

Bani An-Nadir and Bani Quraiza fought (against the Prophet violating their peace treaty), so the Prophet exiled Bani An-Nadir and allowed Bani Quraiza to remain at their places (in Medina) taking nothing from them till they fought against the Prophet again) . He then killed their men and distributed their women, children and property among the Muslims, but some of them came to the Prophet and he granted them safety, and they embraced Islam. He exiled all the Jews from Medina. They were the Jews of Bani Qainuqa', the tribe of 'Abdullah bin Salam and the Jews of Bani Haritha and all the other Jews of Medina.

Narrated Anas: As if I am just now looking at the dust rising in the street of Banu Ghanm (in Medina) because of the marching of Gabriel's regiment when Allah's Apostle set out to Banu Quraiza (to attack them).

Narrated Al-Bara: The Prophet said to Hassan, "Abuse them (with your poems), and Gabriel is with you (i.e, supports you)." (Through another group of sub narrators) Al-Bara bin Azib said, "On the day of Quraiza's (besiege), Allah's Apostle said to Hassan bin Thabit, 'Abuse them (with your poems), and Gabriel is with you (i.e. supports you).' "

Narrated Abdullah bin Kab bin Malik: Who, from among Kab's sons, was the guide of Kab when he became blind: I heard Kab bin Malik narrating the story of (the Ghazwa of) Tabuk in which he failed to take part. Kab said, "I did not remain behind Allah's Apostle in any Ghazwa that he fought except the Ghazwa of Tabuk, and I failed to take part in the Ghazwa of Badr, but Allah did not admonish anyone who had not participated in it, for in fact, Allah's Apostle had gone out in search of the caravan of Quraish till Allah made them (i.e. the Muslims) and their enemy meet without any appointment. I witnessed the night of Al-'Aqaba (pledge) with Allah's Apostle when we pledged for Islam, and I would not exchange it for the Badr battle although the Badr battle is more popular amongst the people than it (i.e. Al-'Aqaba pledge). As for my news (in this battle of Tabuk), I had never been stronger or wealthier than I was when I remained behind the Prophet in that Ghazwa...

Narrated Abu Said: The people of (the tribe of) Quraiza agreed upon to accept the verdict of Sa'd. The Prophet sent for him (Sa'd) and he came. The Prophet said (to those people), "Get up for your chief or the best among you!" Sa'd sat beside the Prophet and the Prophet said (to him), "These people have agreed to accept your verdict." Sa'd said, "So I give my judgment that their warriors should be killed and their women and children should be taken as captives." The Prophet said, "You have judged according to the King's (Allah's) judgment." (See Hadith No. 447, Vol. 5)

It has been narrated on the authority of Ibn Umar that the Jews of Banu Nadir and Banu Quraizi fought against the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) who expelled Banu Nadir, and allowed Quraiza to stay on, and granted favour to them until they too fought against him Then he killed their men, and distributed their women, children and properties among the Muslims, except that some of them had joined the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) who granted them security. They embraced Islam. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) turned out all the Jews of Medlina. Banu Qainuqa' (the tribe of 'Abdullah b. Salim) and the Jews of Banu Haritha and every other Jew who was in Medina.

It has been narrated on the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri who said: The people of Quraiza surrendered accepting the decision of Sa'd b. Mu'adh about them. Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent for Sa'd who came to him riding a donkey. When he approached the mosque, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to the Ansar: Stand up to receive your chieftain. Then he said (to Sa'd): These people have surrendered accepting your decision. He (Sa'd) said: You will kill their fighters and capture their women and children. (Hearing this), the Propbot (may peace he tpon him) said: You have adjudged by the command of God. The narrator is reported to have said: Perhaps he said: You have adjuged by the decision of a king.

Ibn Muthanna (in his version of the tradition) has not mentioned the alternative words.

It has been narrated on the authority of A'isha who said: Sa'd was wounded on the day of the Battle of the Ditch. A man from the Quraish called Ibn al-Ariqah shot at him an arrow which pierced the artery in the middle of his forearm. The Messenger of Allah (may peacce be upon him) pitched a tent for him in the mosque and would inquire after him being in close proximity. When he returned from the Ditch and laid down his arms and took a bath, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and he was removing dust from his hair (as if he had just returned from the battle). The latter said: You have laid down arms. By God, we haven't (yet) laid them down. So march against them. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) asked: Where? He poirftad to Banu Quraiza. So the Messenger of Allah (may peace he upon him) fought against them. They surrendered at the command of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), but he referred the decision about them to Sa'd who said: I decide about them that those of them who can fight be killed, their women and children taken prisoners and their properties distributed (among the Muslims).

Expedition Led by Hamzah:
Al-Waqidi asserts that in this year, in Ramadan, seven months after the Hijrah (about March 623), the Messenger of God entrusted a white banner to Hamzah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib with the command of thirty men of the Emigrants. Their aim was to intercept the caravans of Quraysh. Hamzah met Abu Jahl at the head of three hundred men. Majdi b. 'Amr al-Juhani intervened between them, and they separated without a battle. The banner of Hamzah was carried by Abu Marthad.

Expedition Led by Muhammad to al-Abwa':
According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah b. al-Fadl--Muhammad b. Ishaq: The Messenger of God came to Medina on the twelfth of Rabi' al-Awwal (September 24, 622), and remained there for the rest of Rabi' al-Awwal, Rabi' al-Akhir, the two Jumadas, Rajab, Sha'ban, Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhu al-Qa'dah, Dhu al-Hijjah--the pilgrimage in that month was directed by the polytheists-and Muharram. In Safar (which began August 4, 623), nearly twelve months after his arrival in Medina on the twelfth of Rabi' alAwwal, he went out on a raid as far as Waddan, searching for Quraysh and the Banu Damrah b. Bakr b. 'Abd Manat b. Kinanah. This was the expedition of al-Abwa', in the course of which the Banu Damrah made a treaty of friendship with him; their fellow tribesman and chief, Makhshi b. 'Amr, acted on their behalf. Then the Messenger of God returned to Medina without any fighting, and remained there for the rest of Safar and the beginning of Rabi' al-Awwal.

Expeditions Led by the Messenger of God:

In this year, according to all the Sirah-writers, the Messenger of God personally led the expedition of Al-Abwa', or, as it is sometimes called, Waddan; the two places are six miles apart and opposite one another. When he went there, the Messenger of God left Sa'd b. 'Ubadah b. Dulaym in command of Medina ' On this expedition his banner was carried by Hamzah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib, and was, it is said, white.
Al-Waqidi asserts that he stayed there for fifteen days and then returned to Medina.

According to Al-Waqidi: Then the Messenger of God went on an expedition at the head of two hundred of his companions in the month of Rabi' al-Akhir (which began October 2, 623), and reached Buwat. His intention was to intercept the caravan of Quraysh, led by Umayyah b. Khalaf with a hundred men of Quraysh and two thousand five hundred camels. In the end he returned to Medina without fighting. His banner was carried by Sa'd b. Abi Waggas, and he left Sa'd b. Mu'adh in command of Medina during this expedition.

Questions After the Return to Medina:

Some of the family of 'Abd Allah b. Jahsh relate that he said to his companions, "The Messenger of God receives a fifth of the booty you have taken." This was before God made (surrendering) a fifth of booty taken a duty. He set aside a fifth of the booty for the Messenger of God and divided the rest between his companions. When they reached the Messenger of God he said, "I did not order you to fight in the sacred month," and he impounded the caravan and the two captives and refused to take anything of it. When the Messenger of God said this they were aghast and thought that they were ruined, and the Muslims rebuked them severely for what they had done, saying to them, "You have done what you were not commanded to do, and have fought in the sacred month when you were not commanded to fight." Quraysh said, "Muhammad and his companions have violated the sacred month and shed blood in it, have seized property in it and taken men captive in it." Those Muslims who were (still) in Mecca refuted this, saying, "They seized what they seized in (the following month) Sha'ban." The Jews, seeing in this (event) an omen unfavourable to the Messenger of God, said, "'Amr b. al-Hadrami was killed by Waqid b. 'Abd Allah. "Amr' means war is flourishing ('amarat); 'al-Hadrami' means war is at hand (hadarat); 'Wagid b. 'Abd Allah' means war is set ablaze (waqadat)." However God turned this to their disadvantage, not their advantage, and when people began to say this frequently God revealed to His Messenger: "They question thee with regard to warfare in the sacred month. . . ."" When the Qur'anic passage concerning this matter was revealed, and God relieved the Muslims from the fear in which they found themselves, the Messenger of God took possession of the caravan and the two prisoners. Quraysh sent to him to ransom 'Uthman b. 'Abd Allah and al-Hakam b. Kaysan, but the Messenger of God said, "We will not release them to you on payment of ransom until our two companions (meaning Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas

and 'Utbah b. Ghazwan) get back, for we are afraid that you may harm them. If you kill them, we will kill your companions." Sa'd and 'Utbah came back, however, and the Messenger of God released the (prisoners) on payment of ransom. As for al-Hakam b. Kaysan, he became a Muslim, and an excellent one; he remained with the Messenger of God until he was killed as a martyr at the battle of Bi'r Ma'unah.

Subsequently Abu Sufyan and the horsemen of Quraysh who were with him returned from Syria, following the coastal road. When the Messenger of God heard about them he called together his companions and told them of the wealth they had with them and the fewness of their numbers. The Muslims set out with no other object than Abu Sufyan and the horsemen with him. They did not think that these were anything but (easy) booty and did not suppose that there would be a great battle when they met them. It is concerning this that God revealed, "And ye longed that other than the armed one might be yours."

When Abd Sufyan heard that the companions of the Messenger of God were on their way to intercept him, he sent to Quraysh (saying), "Muhammad and his companions are going to intercept your caravan, so protect your merchandise." When Quraysh heard this, since all the clans of Ka'b b. Lu'ayy were represented in Abd Sufyan's caravan, the people of Mecca hastened towards it. The body of men was drawn from the clans comprised in the Banu Ka'b b. Lu'ayy but did not contain any of the clan of 'Amir , except for some of the subclan of Malik b. Hisl. Neither the Messenger of God nor his companions heard about this force from Mecca until the Prophet reached Badr, which was on the route of those horsemen of Quraysh who had taken the coastal road to Syria. Abu Sufyan then doubled back from Badr and kept to the coastal road, being afraid of an ambush at Badr.

The Prophet marched forward and spent the night near Badr. He sent al-Zubayr b. al-'Awwam at the head of a group of his companions to the water of Badr. They did not suppose that Quraysh had come out against them, but while the Prophet was standing in prayer some water-carriers of Quraysh suddenly came to draw water at the water of Badr. Among these water-carriers was a black slave of the Banu al-Hajjaj. The men whom the Messenger of God had sent with al-Zubayr to the water seized him, while some of the slave's companions escaped towards Quraysh. They brought him to the Messenger of God in his bivouac, and questioned him about Abu Sufyan and his companions, having no idea that he was not of that party. The slave began to tell them about (the protecting force of) Quraysh, which of them had set out and who their leaders were, and gave them a true account. This account, however, was the most unwelcome possible, for the only object of their expedition at the time was Abu Sufyan and his companions. Meanwhile the Prophet was praying, bowing and prostrating himself, (and also) seeing and hearing the treatment of the slave. When (the slave) told them that Quraysh had come to meet them, they began to beat him and call him a liar, saying, "You are trying to conceal the hereabouts of Abu Sufyan and his companions." When they beat him severely and asked him about Abu Sufyan and his companions, although he had no knowledge about them and was only one of Quraysh's water-carriers he said, "Yes, this is Abu Sufyan." In fact the convoy was below them, as is referred to in the word of God: "When ye were on the near bank ( of the valley) and they were on the yonder bank, and the caravan was below you (on the coast plain). . . ." up to ". . . a thing that must be done."

Concerning this raid Abu Bakr composed the following.

Could you not sleep because of the spectre of Salma in the sandy valleys,

And the important event that happened in the tribe?

You see that neither admonition not a prophet's call

Can save some of Lu'ayy from unbelief;

A truthful prophet came to them and they gave him the lie,

And said, 'You shall not live among us.'

When we called them to the truth they turned their backs,

They howled like bitches driven back panting to their lairs;

With how many of them have we tries of kinship,

Yet to abandon piety did not weigh upon them;

If they turn back from their unbelief and disobedience

(For the good the lawful is not like the abominable);

If they follow their idolatry and error

God's punishment on them will not tarry;

We are men of Ghalib's highest stock

From which nobility comes through many branches;

I swear by the lord of camels urged on at even by singing,

Their feet protected by old leather thongs,

Like the red-backed deer that haunt Mecca

Going down to the well's slimy cistern;

I swear, and I am no perjurer,

If they do not quickly repent of their error,

A valiant band will descend upon them,

Which will leave women husbandless.

It will leave dead men, with vultures wheeling round,

It will not spare the infidels as Ibn Harith did.

Give the Banu Sahm with you a message

And every infidel who is trying to do evil;

If you assail my honour in your evil opinion

I will not assail yours.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 281-282, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 592-593, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

And when the Quran came down about that and God relieved the Muslims of their anxiety in the matter, the apostle took the caravan and the prisoners. Quraysh sent to him to redeem 'Uthman and al-Hakam, and the apostle said, We will not let you redeem them until our two companions come,' meaning Sa'd and 'Utba, 'for we fear for them on your account. If you kill them, we will kill your two friends.' So when Sa'd and 'Utba turned up the apostle let them redeem them. As for al-Hakam he became a good Muslim and stayed with the apostle until he was killed as a martyr at Bi'r Ma'una. 'Uthman went back to Mecca and died there as an unbeliever. When 'Abdullah and his companions were relieved of their anxiety when the Quran carne down, they were anxious for reward, and said, 'Can we hope that it will count as a raid for which we shall be given the reward of combatants?' So God sent down concerning them: 'Those who believe and have emigrated and fought in the way of God, these may hope for God's mercy, for God is forgiving, merciful.' That is, God gave them the greatest hopes therein. The tradition about this comics from aI-Zuhri and Yazid b. Ruman from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr.
One of 'Abdullah's family mentioned that God divided the booty when He made it permissible and gave four-fifths to whom God had allowed to take it and one-fifth to God and His apostle. So it remained on the basis of what 'Abdullah had done with the booty of that caravan

Muhammad b. Muslim al-Zuhri and 'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatada and 'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr and Yazid b. Ruman from 'Urwa b. al-Zubayr, and other scholars of ours from Ibn 'Abbas, each one of them told me some of this story and their account is collected in what I have drawn up of the story Badr. They said that when the apostle heard about Abu Sufyan coming from Syria, he summoned the Muslims and said, 'This is the Quraysh caravan containing their property. Go out to attack it, perhaps God will give it as a prey.' The people answered his summons, some eagerly, others reluctantly because they had not thought that the apostle would go to war. When he got near to the Hijaz, Abu Sufyan was seeking news, and questioning every rider in his anxiety, until he got news from some riders that Muhammad had called out his companions against him and his caravan. he took alarm at that and hired Damdam b. 'Amr al-Ghifari and sent him to Mecca, ordering him to call out Quraysh in defence of their property, and to tell them that Muhammad was lying in wait for it with his companions. So Damdam left for Mecca at full speed.

So the apostle was afraid that the Ansar would not feel obliged to help him unless he was attacked by an enemy in Medina, and that they would not feel it incumbent upon them to go with him against an enemy outside their territory. When he spoke these words Sa'd b. Mu'adh said, 'It seems as if you mean us,' and when he said that he did, Sa'd said, 'We believe in you, we declare your truth, 'and we witness that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you wish, we are with you; and by God, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it, we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy in combat. It may well be that God will let us show you something which will bring you joy, so take us along with God's blessing.' The apostle was delighted at Sa'd's words which greatly encouraged him. Then he said, 'Forward in good heart, for God has promised me one of the two parties, and by God, it is as though I now saw the enemy lying prostrate.'

When Quraysh advanced he met them and threw dust in their faces, and God put them to flight.

Before the Prophet met the force from Mecca a horseman from Abu Sufyan and his convoy came to these and said, "Go back! "--meaning that Quraysh was to withdraw while they were at al-Juhfah. They said, "By God, we will not go back without halting at Badr and staying there for three nights so that the men of Hijaz who have come to us can see us, for none of the Arabs will see us and our army and dare to fight us." They are the people concerning whom God said, ". . . who came forth from their dwellings boastfully and to be seen of men."

The Meccan force and the Prophet met and God gave victory to His Messenger, shamed the leaders of the unbelievers, and satisfied the Muslims' thirst for revenge on them.

Quraysh, having marched forth at daybreak, now carne on. When the apostle saw them descending from the hill 'Aqanqal into the valley, he cried, 'O God, here come the Quraysh in their vanity and pride, contending with Thee and calling Thy apostle a liar. O God, grant the help which Thou didst promise me. Destroy them this morning!'

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet said on the day (of the battle) of Badr, "This is Gabriel holding the head of his horse and equipped with arms for the battle.

Narrated Rifaa: (who was one of the Badr warriors) Gabriel came to the Prophet and said, "How do you look upon the warriors of Badr among yourselves?" The Prophet said, "As the best of the Muslims." or said a similar statement. On that, Gabriel said, "And so are the Angels who participated in the Badr (battle)."

Mihja', the mawla of 'Umar b. al-Khattab, was struck by an arrow and killed. He was the first Muslim to be killed. Then Harithah b. Suragah, one of the Banu 'Adi b. al-Najjar, was struck by an arrow as he was drinking at the cistern and was killed. Then the Messenger of God went out to his men and urged them to battle. He promised every man that he could keep all the booty he took, and then said, "By him in whose hands Muhammad's soul rests, if any man fights them today and is killed, fighting steadfastly and with resignation, going forward and not turning back, then God will cause him to enter Paradise." 'Umayr b. al-Humam, the brother of the Banu Salimah, who was holding some dates in his hand and eating them, said, "Excellent! All that stands between me and entering Paradise is being killed by these people!" Then he threw down the dates, took his sword, and fought the enemy until he was killed, reciting the following lines:

I hasten to God without provision except fear of God and working for the Hereafter

And patience in God in the struggle, for every other provision is liable to be exhausted

Except for fear of God, piety and right guidance.

According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Muhammad b. Ishaq--'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatadah: 'Awf b. al-Harith, known as Ibn 'Afra', said, "O Messenger of God, what makes the Lord laugh with joy at his servant?" He replied, "Plunging his hand into the enemy without armour." So he took off a coat of mail he was wearing and threw it away; then he took his sword and fought the enemy until he was killed.

Then the apostle took a handful of small pebbles and said, turning towards Quraysh, 'Foul be those faces!' Then he threw the pebbles at them and ordered his companions to charge. The foe was routed. God slew many of their chiefs and made captive many of their nobles. Meanwhile the apostle was in the hut and Sa'd b. Mu'adh was standing at the door of the hut girt with his sword. With him were some of the Ansar guarding the apostle for fear lest the enemy' should come back at him. While the folk were laying hands on the prisoners the apostle, as I have been told, saw displeasure on the face of Sa'd at what they were doing. He said to him; 'You seem to dislike what the people arc doing.' 'Yes, by God,' he replied, 'it is the first defeat that God has brought on the infidel and I would rather see them slaughtered than left alive.'

Narrated Ibn Abbas: The believers who failed to join the Ghazwa of Badr and those who took part in it are not equal (in reward).

Narrated 'Urwa: Az-Zubair said, "I met Ubaida bin Said bin Al-As on the day (of the battle) of Badr and he was covered with armor; so much that only his eyes were visible. He was surnamed Abu Dhat-al-Karish. He said (proudly), 'I am Abu-al-Karish.' I attacked him with the spear and pierced his eye and he died. I put my foot over his body to pull (that spear) out, but even then I had to use a great force to take it out as its both ends were bent." 'Urwa said, "Later on Allah's Apostle asked Az-Zubair for the spear and he gave it to him. When Allah's Apostle died, Az-Zubair took it back. After that Abu Bakr demanded it and he gave it to him, and when Abu Bakr died, Az-Zubair took it back. 'Umar then demanded it from him and he gave it to him. When 'Umar died, Az-Zubair took it back, and then 'Uthman demanded it from him and he gave it to him. When 'Uthman was martyred, the spear remained with Ali's offspring. Then 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair demanded it back, and it remained with him till he was martyred.

On the day of Badr I passed him as he was standing with his son 'All b. Umayyah, holding his hand. I had with me some coats of mail which I had taken as plunder, which I was carrying, and when he saw me he said, "'Abd 'Amr! "--so I did not answer him. Then he said, "'Abd al-Ilah!"--and I said, "Yes." "Would you like to take me (as prisoner?" he asked. "I will be more use to you than those coats of mail which you are carrying." I said, "Yes! Come here then." I flung away the coats of mail and took his hand and his son 'Ali's hand while he said, "I have never seen a day like this. Have you no need for milk?" Then I left, taking the two of them with me. According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Muhammad b. Ishaq--'Abd al-Wahid b. Abi 'Awn--Sa'd b. Ibrahim b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf--his father--'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf: Umayyah b. Khalaf said to me, while I was between him and his son, holding them by the hands, "'Abd al-Ilah, who is that man in your army wearing an ostrich feather on his chest as a mark of identification?" I said, "That is Hamzah b. 'Abd al-Muttalib." He said, "He is the one who wrought such havoc on us." 'Abd al-Rahman continued: And, by God, while I was leading them, Bilal saw him with me. It was Umayyah who used to torture Bilal in Mecca in an attempt to make him abandon Islam. He used to take him out to the sun-baked ground of Mecca when it was scorching hot and make him lie down on his back. Then he would order a huge boulder to be placed on his chest, and then he would say, "You will stay like this until you leave the faith of Muhammad." Bilal would say, "God is one, God is one." When he saw Umayyah Bilal said, "The head of disbelief, Umayyah b. Khalaf ! May I not be spared, if they are spared!" I said, "Bilal, would you harm my captives?" "May I not be spared, if they are spared!" he replied. "Do you hear what I am saying, son of the black woman?" I asked. "May I not be spared if they are spared!" he said. Then he shouted at the top of his voice, "O Helpers of God, the head of disbelief, Umayyah b. Khalaf! May I not be spared if he is spared!"
People surrounded us and placed us under a kind of restraint, while I was trying to protect Umayyah. One man struck his son, who fell down. Umayyah gave a scream the like of which I have never heard. I said, "Save yourself, for there is no escape (for him). By God, I cannot do anything for you." Then they hacked at them with their swords until they had finished with them. 'Abd al-Rahman used to say, "May God have mercy on Bilal! I lost my coats of mail, and he deprived me of my captives."

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud: The Prophet faced the Ka'ba and invoked evil on some people of Quraish, on Shaiba bin Rabi'a, 'Utba bin Rabi'a, Al-Walid bin 'Utba and Abu Jahl bin Hisham. I bear witness, by Allah, that I saw them all dead, putrefied by the sun as that day was a very hot day.

Narrated Salim's father: That he heard Allah's Apostle, when raising his head from bowing of the first Rak'a of the morning prayer, saying, "O Allah! Curse so-and-so and so-and-so" after he had said, "Allah hears him who sends his praises to Him. Our Lord, all the Praises are for you!" So Allah revealed:-- "Not for you (O Muhammad! )......(till the end of Verse) they are indeed wrong-doers." (3.128) Salim bin 'Abdullah said' "Allah's Apostle used to invoke evil upon Safwan bin Umaiya, Suhail bin 'Amr and Al-Harith bin Hisham. So the Verse was revealed:-- "Not for you (O Muhammad!)......(till the end of Verse) For they are indeed wrong-doers." (3.128)

Abdullah b. Abu Bakr told me he was told as from Ibn 'Abbas: 'A man of B. Ghifar told me: I and a cousin of mine went up a hill from which we could look down on Badr, we being polytheists waiting to see the result of the battle so that we could join in the looting. And while we were on the hill. a cloud came near and we heard the neighing of horses and I heard one sayin "Forward, Hayzum!" As for my cousin, his heart burst asunder and he died on the spot; I almost perished, then I pulled myself together.'

'Abdullah b. Abu Bakr from one of b. Sa'ida from Abu Usayd Malik b. Rabi'a who was present at Badr told him after he had lost his sight: 'If I were in Badr today and had my sight I could show you the glen from which the angels emerged. I have not the slightest doubt on the point.'
My father Ishaq b. Yasar from men of B. Mazin b. al-Najjar from Abu Da'ud al-Mazini, who was at Badr, told me: 'I was pursuing a polytheist at Badr to smite him, when his head fell off before I could get at him with my sword, and I knew that someone else had killed him.'
One above suspicion from Miqsam, freedman of 'Abdullah b. aI-Harith from 'Abdullah b. 'Abbas, told me, 'The sign of the angels at Badr was white turbans flowing behind them: at Hunayn they wore red turbans'.

One above suspicion from Miqsam from Ibn 'Abbas told me: The angels did not fight in any battle but Badr. In the other battles they were there as reinforcements, hut they did not fight.

Abu Jahl and Other Meccan Dead:

According to Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Muhammad (ibn Ishaq)--Thawr b. Zayd the mawla of the Banu al-Dil--'Ikrimah the mawla of Ibn 'Abbas-Ibn 'Abbas: also 'Abd Allah b. Ab-I Bakr: Mu'adh b. 'Amr b. al-Jamuh the brother of the Banu Salimah used to say, "When the Messenger of God had finished with his enemy, he gave orders that Abu Jahl should be searched for among the dead, and said, 'O God, let him not have escaped you!" The first man who encountered Abu Jahl was Mu'adh b. 'Amr b. al-Jamuh, who said, "Abu Jahl was in a sort of thicket and I heard the people saying, 'We cannot get at Abu al-Hakam.' When I heard this, I made him my mark, and I made my way toward him. When he was within my reach, I attacked him and struck him a blow which severed his foot and half his leg. By God, when it flew off I could only compare it to a date-stone which flies out of a date-stone crusher when it is struck.

"Then his son 'Ikrimah struck me on the shoulder and struck off my arm, which dangled at my side from a piece of skin. The fighting prevented me from reaching him after that. I fought the whole day, dragging my arm behind me. When it began to hurt me, I put my foot on it and stood on it until I pulled it off." Mu'adh survived this wound and lived until the caliphate of 'Uthman b. 'Affan

Narrated Abdullah: That he came across Abu Jahl while he was on the point of death on the day of Badr. Abu Jahl said, "You should not be proud that you have killed me nor I am ashamed of being killed by my own folk."

Mu'awwidh b. 'Afra' passed Abu Jahl as he lay there helpless and smote him until he left him at his last gasp. He himself went on fighting until he was killed. Then 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud passed by Abu Jahl when the apostle had ordered that he was to be searched for among the slain. I have heard that the apostle had told them that if he was hidden among the corpses they were to look for the trace of a scar on his knee. When they both were young they had been pressed together at the table of 'Abdullah b. Jud'an. He was thinner than Abu Jahl and he gave him a push which sent him to his knees and one of them was scratched so deeply that it left a permanent scar. 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud said that he found him at his last gasp and put his foot his neck (for he had once clawed at him and punched him in Mecca), and said to him: 'Has God put you to shame, you enemy of God?' He replied' How has He shamed me? Am I anything more remarkable than a man you have killed? Tell me how the battle went. He told him that it went in favour of God and His apostle.

Men of B. Makhzum assert that Ibn Mas'ud used to say: He said to me, 'You have climbed high, you little shepherd.' Then I cut off his head and brought it to the apostle saying, 'This is the head of the enemy of God, Abu Jahl.' He said, 'By God than Whom there is no other, is it?' (This used to be his oath.) 'Yes,' I said, and I threw his head before the apostle and he gave thanks to God.

'Ukkashab. Mihsan b. Hurthan al-Asadi, ally of B. 'Abdu Shams, fought at Badr until his sword was broken in his hand. He came to the apostle who gave him a wooden cudgel telling him to fight with that. When he took It he brandished It and it became in his hand a long, strong, gleaming sword, and he fought with It until God gave victory to the Muslims. The sword was called al-'Aun and he had it with him in all the battles he fought with the apostle until finally he was killed in the rebellion, still holding it.

Then the apostle went forward until when he came out of the pass of al-Safra' he halted on the sandhill between the pass and al-Naziya called Sayar at a tree there and divided the booty which God had granted to the Muslims equally.' Then he marched until he reached Rauha' when the Muslims met him congratulating him and the Muslims on the victory God had given him. Salama b. Salama--so 'Asim b. 'Umar b. Qatada and Yazid b. Ruman told me--said, 'What are you congratulating us about? By God, we only met some bald old women like the sacrificial camels who are hobbled, and we slaughtered them!' The apostle smiled and said, 'But, nephew, those were the chiefs'. When the apostle was in al-Safra', al-Nadr was killed by 'Ali, as a learned Meccan told me. When he was in 'Irqu'l-Zabya 'Uqba was killed. He had been captured by 'Abdullah b. Salima, one of the B. al-'Ajlan.

So he [a Meccan] came and sat with him while the people stood round, and when he asked his nephew for the news he said, "As soon as we met the party we turned our backs and they were killing and capturing us just as they pleased; and by God I don't blame the people for that. We met men in white on piebald horses between heaven and earth, and by God they spared nothing and none could withstand them." So I lifted the rope of the tent and said: "Those were the angels."

Yahya b. 'Abbad b. 'Abdullah b. al-Zubayr from his father 'Abbad told me that Quraysh bewailed their dead. Then they said, 'Do not do this, for the news will reach Muhammad and his companions and they will rejoice over your misfortune; and do not send messengers' about your captives but hold back so that Muhammad and his companions may not demand excessive ransoms.' AI-Aswad b. al-Muttalib had lost three of his sons: Zama'a, 'Aqil, and al-Harith b. Zama'a, and he wanted to bewail them. Meanwhile he heard a weeping woman, and as he was blind he told a servant to go and see whether lamentation had been permitted, for if Quraysh were weeping over their dead he might weep for Zam'a Abu Hakima, for he was consumed by a burning sorrow. The servant returned to say that it was a woman weeping over a camel she had lost.

'Abdullah b. Rawal.la or Abu Khaythama, brother of B. Salim b. 'Auf, said of this affair of Zaynab's;

Tidings reached me of their wicked treatment of Zaynab,

So criminal that men could not imagine it.

Muhammad was not put to shame when she was sent forth

Because of the result of the bloody war between us.

From his alliance with I)amt.bm' and his war with us

Abu Sufyan got but disappointment and remorse.

We bound his son 'Amr and his sworn friend together

In well-wrought jangling irons.

I swear we shall never lack soldiers,

Army leaders with many a champion.

Driving before us infidel Quraysh until we subdue them

With a halter above their noses (and) with a branding iron.

We will drive them to the ends of Najd and Nakhla.

If they drop to the lowland we will pursue them with horse and foot

So that our road will never deviate.

We will bring upon them the fate of 'Ad and Jurhum.

A people that disobeyed Muhammad will regret it.

And what a time for showing repentance!

Tell Abu Sufyan if you meet him

'If you arc not sincere in worship, and embrace Islam

Then shame will come on you speedily in this life

And in bell you will wear a garment of molten pitch for ever!'

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 315-316, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 655-656, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

Some Poetry About the Battle of Badr:

Of the poetry about the battle of Badr which the two parties bandied between them in reference to what happened therein are the lines of Hamza b. 'Abdu'I-Muttalib:

Surely one of time's wonders

(Though roads to death are plain to see)

Is that a people should destroy themselves and perish

By encouraging one another to disobedience and disbelief.

The night they all set out for Badr

And became death's pawns in its well.

We had sought but their caravan, naught else,

But they came to us and we met unexpectedly.'

When we met there was no way out

Save with a thrust from dun-coloured straight-fashioned shafts

And a blow with swords which severed their heads,

Swords that glittered as they smote.

We left the erring 'Utba lying dead

And Shayba among the slain thrown in the well;

'Amr lay dead among their protectors

And the keening women rent their garments for him,

The noble women of Lu'ayy b. Ghalib

Who surpass the best of Fihr.

Those were folk who were killed in their error

And they left a banner not prepared for victory

A banner of error whose people Iblis led.

He betrayed them (the evil one is prone to treachery).

When he saw things clearly he said to them,

'I am quit of you. I can no longer endure,

I see what you do not see, I fear God's punishment

For He is invincible.'

He led them to death so that they perished

While ho knew what they could not know.

On the day of the well they mustered a thousand,

We three hundred like excited white stallions.

With us were God's armies when He reinforced us with them

In a place that will ever be renowned.

Under our banner Gabriel attacked with them

In the fray where they met their death.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 340, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 8-9, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

'Ali b. Abu Talib said:

Have you not seen how God favoured His apostle

With the favour of a strong, powerful, and gracious one.

How He brought humiliation on the unbelievers

Who were put to shame in captivity and death,

While the apostle of God's victory was glorious

He being sent by God in righteousness.

He brought the Furqan sent down from God,

Its signs' are plain to men of sense.

Some firmly believed in that and were convinced

And (thanks to God) became one people;

Others disbelieved, their minds went astray

And the Lord of the throne brought repeated calamities upon them;

At Badr He gave them into the power of His apostle

And an angry army who did valiantly.

They smote them with their trusty swords,

Furbished well, and polished.

How many a lusty youngster,

Many a hardy warrior did they leave prone.

Their keening women spent a sleepless night,

Their tears now strong, now weak.

They keen for erring 'Utba and his son,

And Shayba and Abu Jahl

And Dhu'I-Rijl and Ibn Jud'an also,

With burning throats in mourning garb displaying bereavement.

Dead in Badr's well lay many,

Brave in war, generous in times of dearth;

Error called them and some responded

(For error has ways easy to adopt).

Now they are in Hell,

Too occupied to rage furiously against us

Al-Harith b. Hisham b. al-Mughira answered him thus:

I wonder at folk whose fool sings

Of folly captious and vain,

Singing about the slain at Badr

When young and old vied in glorious endeavour,

The brave swordsman of Lu'ayy, Ibn Ghalib,

Thrusting in battle, feasting the hungry in times of dearth;

They died nobly, they did not sell their family

For strangers alien in stock and homeland,

Like you who have made Ghassan your special friends

Instead of us-a sorry deed,

An impious, odious crime, and a severing of the ties of blood;

Men of judgement and understanding perceive your wrongdoing,

True, they are men who have passed away,

But the best death is on the battlefield.

Rejoice not that you have killed them,

For their death will bring you repeated disaster.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 341-342, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 11-12, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

Narrated Al-Bara bin Azib: ... On the day (of the battle) of Badr, the Prophet and his companions had caused the 'Pagans to lose 140 men, seventy of whom were captured and seventy were killed...

Aba Talha reported: When it was the Day of Badr and Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) had gained victory over them (the Meccans), he commanded more than twenty persons, and in another hadith these are counted as twenty-four persons, from the non-believers of the Quraish to be thrown into the well of Badr. The rest of the hadith is the same.

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: The Prophet looked at the people of the well (the well in which the bodies of the pagans killed in the Battle of Badr were thrown) and said, "Have you found true what your Lord promised you?" Somebody said to him, "You are addressing dead people." He replied, "You do not hear better than they but they cannot reply."

Ka'b b. Malik brother of the B. Salima said:

I wonder at God's deed, since He

Docs what He wills, none can defeat Him.

He decreed that we should meet at Badr

An evil band (and evil ever leads to death).

They had summoned their neighbours on all sides

Until they formed a great host.

At us alone they came with ill intent,

Ka'b and 'Amir and all of them.

With us was God's apostle with Aus round him

Like a strong impregnable fortress

The tribes of Banu Najjar beneath his banner

Advancing in light armour while the dust rose high.

When we met them and every steadfast warrior

Ventured his life with his comrades

We testified to the unity of God

And that His apostle brought the truth.

When our light swords were unsheathed

'Twas as though fires flashed at their movement.

With them we smote them and they scattered

And the impious met death,

Abu Jahl lay dead on his face

And 'Utba our swords left in the dust.

Shayba and AI-Taymi they left on the battlefield,

Everyone of them denied Him who sitteth on the throne.

They became fuel for Hell,

For every unbeliever must go there.

It will consume them, while the stoker

Increases its heat with pieces of iron and stone.

God's apostle had called them to him

But they turned away, saying, 'You are nothing but a sorcerer.'

Because God willed to destroy them,

And none can avert what He decrees.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 344, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 14-15, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

Hassan also said:

The Banu. Asad were disappointed and their raiders returned

On the day of the Well in misery and disgrace.

Abu'I-'As soon lay dead on the ground:

Hurled from the back of his galloping steed:

He met his end with his weapons, good fighter as he was

When he lay still in death.

The man Zam'a we left with his throat severed,

His life blood flowing away,

His forehead cushioned in the dust,

His nostrils defiled with filth;

Ibn Qays escaped with a remnant of his tribe

Covered with wounds, at the point of death.

Hassan also said:

Can anyone say if the Meccans know

How we slew the unbelievers in their evil hour?

We killed their leaders in the battle

And they returned a shattered force;

We killed Abu Jahl and 'Utba before him,

And Shayba fell forward with his hands outstretched.'

We killed Suwayd and 'Utba after him.

Tu'ma also in the dust of combat.

Many a noble, generous man we sIew

Of lofty line, illustrious among his people.

We left them as meat for hyaenas

Later to burn in Hell fire.

I'faith Malik's horsemen and their followers were no protection

When they met us at Badr.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 348, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 20-22, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

Abu Usama also said:

Who will send a messenger from me

With news that a shrewd man will confirm?

Do not you know how I kept returning to the fight at Badr

When the swords flashed around you,

When the army's leaders were left prostrate,

their heads like slices of melon?

A gloomy fate, to the people's hurt,

Came upon you in the valley of Badr;

My resolution saved them from disaster

And God's help and a well-conceived plan.

I returned alone from al-Abwa'

When you were surrounded bv the enemy

Helpless, if anyone attacked you

Wounded and bleeding by the side of Kurash.

Whenever a comrade in distress called

For my aid in an evil day

A brother or ally in such case,

Much as I love my life I answered his call.

I returned to the fray, dispelling gloom,

And shot when faces showed hostility.

Many an adversary have I left on the ground

To rise painfully like a broken twig.

When battle was joined I dealt him a blow

That drew blood-his arteries murmured aloud:

That is what I did on the day of Badr.

Before that I was resourceful and steadfast,

Your brother as you know in war and famine

Whose evils are ever with us,

Your champion undaunted by darkest night or superior numbers.

Out into the bitter black might I plunged

When the freezing wind forces dogs to shelter.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, p. 357, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, p. 36-38, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

The Messenger of God liked what Abu Bakr said and did not like what I said, and accepted ransoms for the captives. The next day I went to the Prophet in the morning. He was sitting with Abu Bakr, and they were weeping. I said, "O Messenger of God, tell me, what has made you and your companion weep? If I find cause to weep, I will weep with you, and if not, I will pretend to weep because you are weeping." The Messenger of God said, "It is because of the taking of ransoms which has been laid before your companions. It was laid before me that I should punish them, more nearly than this tree (and he pointed to a nearby tree)." God revealed: "It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land..." to the words, "(Had it not been for an ordinance of Allah which had gone before) ... an awful doom had come upon you on account of what ye took." After that, God made the booty lawful for them. In the following year, at Uhud, they were punished for what they had done. Seventy men of the companions of the Messenger of God were killed, and seventy were taken captive. (Muhammad's) lateral incisor was broken, his helmet was shattered on his head, and the blood flowed over his face; the Prophet 's companions fled and took to the mountain. (Then) God revealed: "And was it so, when a disaster smote you, though ye had smitten (them with a disaster) twice (as great), that ye said, How is this? Say (unto them, O Muhammad): It is from yourselves. 'Lo! Allah is able to do all things.'" And this other verse was revealed: "When ye climbed (the hill) and paid no heed to anyone, while the messenger in your rear was calling you (to fight). Therefore, he rewarded you grief for (his) grief that (he might teach) you not to sorrow either for that which ye missed or for that which befell you.... Then after grief he sent down security for you."

The Campaign Against the Banu Qaynuqa':
Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari) says: The Messenger of God remained in Medina after his return from Badr. When he first came to Medina he had made a compact with its Jews that they would not aid anyone against him and that if any enemy attacked him there they would come to his aid. After the Messenger of God killed many polytheists of Quraysh at Badr, (the Jews) were envious and behaved badly towards him, saying, "Muhammad has not met anyone who is good at fighting. Had he met us, he would have had a battle which would be unlike a battle with anyone else." They also infringed the contract in various ways

The Expedition to al-Qaradah:

Al-Waqidi says: in Jumada al-Akhirah (which began November 19, 624) of this year the expedition to al-Qaradah took place. Its leader is said to have been Zayd b. Harithah. This is the first expedition led by Zayd b. Harithah.
According to Abu Ja`far (al-Tabari)--Ibn Humayd--Salamah--Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God sent Zayd b. Harithah on an expedition in which he captured the caravan of Quraysh led by Abu Sufyan b. Harb at Qaradah, a watering place in Najd. After what happened at the battle of Badr, Quraysh were afraid to take the road which they used to follow to Syria and instead took the Iraq route. A number of their merchants set out, and among them was Abu Sufyan b. Harb with a large amount of silver, since this was the main part of their merchandise. They hired a man of Bakr b. Wa'il named Furat b. Hayyan to guide them along this route. The Messenger of God sent out Zayd b. Harithah, who met them at that watering place and captured the caravan and its goods, but was unable to take the men. He then brought the caravan to the Messenger of God.

Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari) says: As for al-Wagidi, he asserts that the reason for this expedition was that Quraysh said, "Muhammad has damaged our trade, and sits astride our road." Abu Sufyan and Safwan b. Umayyah then argued, "If we stay in Mecca we will consume our capital." Abu Zam'ah al-Aswad said, "I will show you a man who will guide you along the Najdi route; he would find his way if he followed it with his eyes shut." Safwan said, "Who is he? Our need for water is small , for winter is upon us." He said, "Furst b. Hayyan." They summoned him and hired him. He led them out, it being winter, and took them by Dhat 'Irq and then by Ghamrah. The news of the caravan reached the Prophet, as also the information that it contained much wealth and silver vessels which were being carried by Safwan b. Umayyah. Zayd b. Harithah therefore set out, intercepted the caravan, and made himself master of it, although the leading men escaped. The fifth (khums) was twenty thousand (dirhams); the Messenger of God took it and divided the other four fifths among the members of the expedition. Furst b. Hayyan al-'Ijli was taken captive. They said to him, "If you accept Islam, the Messenger of God will not kill you." When the Messenger of God summoned him to Islam, he accepted it, and was allowed to go free.

'We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve,' i.e. that by which I was helping you against them because they associated with Me that for which I gave them no warrant; i.e. do not think that they will have the final victory over you, while you hold fast to Me and follow My commandment, because of the disaster which befell you through sins which you committed whereby you went against My commandment In disobedience and also disobeyed the prophet.

The apostle besieged them for twenty-five nights until they were sore pressed and God cast terror into their hearts.
Now Huyayy b. Akhtab had gone With B. Qurayza Into their forts when Quraysh and Ghatafan had withdrawn and left them, to keep his word to Ka'b b. Asad; and when they felt sure that the apostle would not leave them until he had made an end of them Ka'b b. Asad said to them: 'O Jews, you can see what has happened to you; I offer you three alternatives. Take which you please.' (i) We will follow this man and accept him as true, for by God it has become plain to you that he is a prophet who has been sent and that it is he that you find mentioned in your scripture; and then your lives, your property, your women and children will be saved. They said, 'We will never abandon the laws of the Torah and never change it for another.' He said, 'Then if you won't accept this suggestion (ii) let us kill our wives and children and send men with their swords drawn to Muhammad and his companions leaving no encumbrances behind us, until God decides between us and Muhammad. If we perish, we perish, and we shall not leave children behind us to cause us anxiety. If we conquer we can acquire other wives and children.' They said, 'Should we kill these poor creatures? What would be the good of life when they were dead?' He said, 'Then if you will nut accept this suggestion (iii) tonight is the eve of the sabbath and it may well be that Muhammad and his companions will feel secure from us then, so come down, perhaps we can take Muhammad and his companions by surprise.' They said: 'Are we to profane our sabbath and do on the sabbath what those before us of whom you well know did and were turned into apes?' He answered, 'Not a single man among you from the day of your birth has ever passed a night resolved to do what he knows ought to be done.'

Soon shall We cast terror into the hearts of the Unbelievers, for that they joined companions with Allah, for which He had sent no authority: their abode will be the Fire: And evil is the home of the wrong-doers!

O ye who believe! Remember the Grace of Allah, (bestowed) on you, when there came down on you hosts (to overwhelm you): But We sent against them a hurricane and forces that ye saw not: but Allah sees (clearly) all that ye do.

Thus God killed on the day of Uhud 22 polytheists.

Narrated Sahl bin Sad: Allah's Apostle said, "Tomorrow I will give the flag to a man with whose leadership Allah will grant (the Muslim) victory." So the people kept on thinking the whole night as to who would be given the flag. The next morning the people went to Allah's Apostle and every one of them hoped that he would be given the flag. The Prophet said, "Where is Ali bin Abi Talib?" The people replied, "He is suffering from eye trouble, O Allah's Apostle." He said, "Send for him and bring him to me." So when 'Ali came, the Prophet spat in his eyes and invoked good on him, and he became alright as if he had no ailment. The Prophet then gave him the flag. 'Ali said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall I fight them (i.e. enemy) till they become like us?" The Prophet said, "Proceed to them steadily till you approach near to them and then invite them to Islam and inform them of their duties towards Allah which Islam prescribes for them, for by Allah, if one man is guided on the right path (i.e. converted to Islam) through you, it would be better for you than (a great number of) red camels."

Narrated Qais: I heard Sad saying, "I was the first amongst the 'Arabs who shot an arrow for Allah's Cause. We used to fight along with the Prophets, while we had nothing to eat except the leaves of trees so that one's excrete would look like the excrete balls of camel or a sheep, containing nothing to mix them together. Today Banu Asad tribe blame me for not having understood Islam. I would be a loser if my deeds were in vain." Those people complained about Sad to 'Umar, claiming that he did not offer his prayers perfectly.

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas Allah's Wrath became severe on him whom the Prophet had killed in Allah's Cause. Allah's Wrath became severe on the people who caused the face of Allah's Prophet to bleed.

Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle used to say, "None has the right to be worshipped except Allah Alone (Who) honored His Warriors and made His Slave victorious, and He (Alone) defeated the (infidel) clans; so there is nothing after Him.

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar: Allah's Apostle led the Fear-prayer with one of the two batches of the army while the other (batch) faced the enemy. Then the first batch went away and took places of their companions (i.e. second batch) and the second batch came and he led his second Rak'a with them. Then he (i.e. the Prophet: finished his prayer with Taslim and then each of the two batches got up and completed their remaining one Rak'a.

Narrated Anas bin Malik: That the Prophet would not attack except near the time of Fajr, so if he heard the Adhan he would refrain, and if not, then he would attack. So he listened one day and heard a man saying: "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar," so he said: "Upon the Fitrah." Then he said: "I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah." So he said: "You have departed from the Fire."

(The report goes back to Abdallah b. Abi Bakr, who states:) The expedition of Ghalib b. `Abdallah al-Kalbi, the Kalb of Layth, to the land of the Band Murrah, in which Mirdas b. Nahik, an ally of theirs from al-Huraqah of Juhaynah, was killed by Usamah b. Zayd and a man of the Ansar. It is he about whom the Prophet said to Usamah, "Who will absolve you [from ignoring] the shahadah?" The expedition of 'Amr b. al-'As to Dhat al-Salasil; the expedition of Ibn Abi Hadrad and his companions to the valley of Idam; another expedition of Ibn Abi Hadrad al-Aslami to al-Ghabah; the expedition of 'Abd al-Rahman b. 'Awf. The Messenger of God sent an army to the seashore commanded by Abu 'Ubaydah b. al-Jarrah, which was the expedition of al-Khabat.

Expedition Led by Sad b. Abu Waqqas:

In this year, in Dhu al-Qa'dah, the Messenger of God entrusted to Sa'd b. Abi Waggas a white banner (for an expedition) to al-Kharrar. It was carried by al-Miqdad b. 'Amr.
According to Abu Bakr b. Ismail-his father-'Amir b. Sa'd-his father: I set out on foot at the head of twenty men (or, twenty-one men). We used to lie hidden by day and march at night, until we reached al-Kharrar on the fifth morning. The Messenger of God had enjoined me not to go beyond al-Kharrar, but the caravan had got to al-Kharrar a day before me; there were sixty men with it. Those who were with Sa'd were all from the Emigrants.

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): Ibn Ishaq's account of all these expeditions differs from that of al-Waqidi, which I have just related, and places them all in year 2.

Narrated Salama bin Al-Akwa: I fought in seven Ghazwat (i.e. battles) along with the Prophet and fought in nine battles, fought by armies dispatched by the Prophet. Once Abu Bakr was our commander and at another time, Usama was our commander.

Narrated Salama in another narration: I fought seven Ghazwat (i.e. battles) along with the Prophet and also fought in nine battles, fought by armies sent by the Prophet. Once Abu Bakr was our commander and another time, Usama was (our commander).

The Raid of Sa'd B. Abu Waqqas:

Meanwhile the apostle had sent Sa'd b. Abu Waqqas with eight men from the emigrants. He went as far as al-Kharrar in the Hijaz. Then he returned.

The Raid on Safwan, Which is the First Raid of Badr:

The apostle stayed only a few nights, less than ten, in Medina when he came back from raiding AI-'Ushayra, and then Kurz b. Jabir al-Fihri raided the pasturing camels of Medina. The apostle went out in search of him, until he reached a valley called Safawan, in the neighbourhood of Badr. Kurz escaped him and he could not overtake him. This was the first raid of Bach. Then the apostle returned to Medina and stayed there for the rest of Jumada'l Akhira, Rajab, and Sha'ban.

When the caravan saw them they were afraid of them because they had camped near them. 'Ukkasha, who had shaved his head, looked down on them, and when they saw him they felt safe and said, 'They are pilgrims, you have nothing to fear from them.' The raiders took council among themselves, for this was the last day of Rajab, and they said, 'If you leave them alone tonight they will get into the sacred area and will be safe from you; and if you kill them you will kill them in the sacred month,' so they were hesitant and feared to attack them. Then they encouraged each other, and decided to kill as many as they could of them and take what they had. Waqid shot 'Ann b. al-Hadrami with an arrow and killed him, and 'Uthman and al-Hakam surrendered. Naufal escaped and eluded them. 'Abdullah and his companions took the caravan and the two prisoners and came to Medina with them. One of 'Abdullah's family mentioned that he said to his companions, 'A fifth of what we have taken belongs to the apostle.' (This was before God had appointed a fifth of the booty to him.) So he set apart for the apostle a fifth of the caravan, and divided the rest among his companions.

Abu Bakr said concerning 'Abdullah's raid (though others say that 'Abdullah himself it), when Quraysh said, 'Muhammad and his companions have broken the sacred month, shed blood therein, and taken booty and prisoners':

You count war in the holy month as a grave matter,

But graver is, if one judges rightly,

Your opposition to Muhammad's teaching, and your

Unbelief in it, which God sees and witnesses,

Your driving God's people from his mosque

So that none can be seen worshipping Him there,

Though you defame us for killing him,

More dangerous to Islam is the sinner who envies.

Our lances drank of Ibn al-Hadrami's blood

In Nakhla when Waqid lit the flame of war,

'Uthman ibn 'Abdullah is with us,

A leather band streaming with blood restrains him.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 288-289, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 1, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 605-606, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

'al-'Abbas said, "I got lip early to go round the temple" while Abu Jahl was sitting with a number of Quraysh talking about 'Atika's vision. When he saw me he said, 'Come to us when you have finished going round the temple.' When I had finished I went and sat with them, and he said, Banu 'Abdu 'l-Muttalib, since when have you had a prophetess among you?' 'And what do you mean by that?' I said. 'That vision which 'Atika saw,' he answered. I said, 'And what did she see?' He said, 'Are you not satisfied that your men should play the prophet that your women should do so also. 'Atika has alleged that in her vision someone said, "Come forth to war in three days." We shall keep an eye on you these three days, and if what she says is true, then it will be so; but if the three days pass and nothing happens, we will write you down as the greatest liars of the temple people among the Arabs.' Nothing much had passed between us except that I contradicted that and denied that she had seen anything. Then we separated. When night came every single woman of B. 'Abdu'I-Muttalib came to me and said, 'Have you allowed this evil rascal to attack your men, and then go on to insult your women while you listened? Have you no shame that you should listen to such things?' I said, 'By God, I have done something; nothing much passed between us but I swear by God that I will confront him, and if he repeats what he has said, I will rid you of him. On the third day after 'Atika's vision, while I was enraged, thinking that I had let something slip which I wanted to get from him, I went into the mosque and saw him, and as I was walking towards him to confront him so that he should repeat some of what he had said and I could attack him, for he was a thin man with sharp features, sharp tongue, and sharp sight, lo, he came out towards the door of the mosque hurriedly, and I said to myself, 'What is the matter with him, curse him, is all this for fear that I should insult him?' But lo, he had heard something which I did not hear, the voice of Damdam crying out in the bottom of the wadi, as he stood upon his camel, having cut its nose, turned its saddle round, and rent his shirt, while he was saying, 'O Quraysh, the transport camels, the transport camels! Muhammad and his companions are lying in wait for your property which is with Abu Sufyan. I do not think that you will overtake it. Help! Help!' This diverted him and me from our affair."

The apostle set out in the month of Ramadan. He gave the flag to Mus'ab b. Umayr b. Hashim b. 'Abdu Manaf b. 'Abdu'l-Dar. The apostle was preceded by two black flags, one with 'Ali called al-'Uqab and the other with one of the Ansar. His companions had seventy camels on which men rode in turns: the apostle with 'Ali and Marthad b. Abu Marthad al-Ghanawi one camel; Hamza and Zayd b. Haritha and Abu Kabsha and Anasa freedmen of the apostle one camel; and Abu Bakr and 'Umar and 'Abdu'I-Rahman b. 'Auf one camel. The apostle put over the rearguard Qays b. Abu Sa'sa'a brother of B. Mazin b. al-Najjar.

Among the verse composed about Dhu Qarad is the following from Hassan b. Thabit:

Were it not for what our horses suffered and what hurt their frogs

As they were led to the south of Saya last night,

They would have met you as they carried well-armed warriors

Noble in ancestry protecting their standard,

And the bastards would have rejoiced that we

Did not fight when Miqdad's horsemen came.

We were eight; they were a great force

Loud-voiced yet pricked by (our) lances (and) scattered.

We were of the people who followed them

And we gave free rein to every noble steed.

Yea, by the Lord of the camels that go to Mina

Traversing the great mountain passes (we will pursue you)

Till we make the horses stale' in the midst of your dwellings

And come back with your women and children,

Walking gently with every swift horse and mare

That turns swiftly in every battle.

A day in which they are led and a day of charges

Has worn out their quarters and altered the appearance of their backs.

Our horses are fed on milk

While war is kindled by passing winds.

Our sharp swords glittering cut through

Iron shields and pugnacious heads.

Allah put obstacles in their way to protect His sacred property

And to protect His dignity.'

They lived happily in their home, but

On the days of Dhu Qarad they were given the faces of slaves.

Ibn Ishaq (d. 768); Ibn Hisham (d. 833), A. Guillaume, ed, The Life of Muhammad [Sirat Rasul Allah], Oxford UP, pp. 488-489, ISBN 0-19-636033-1, 1955, https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up 
ابن إسحاق; ابن هشام, سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا, vol. 2, al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, pp. 285-286, https://app.turath.io/book/23833 

They hesitated and were afraid to advance upon them, but then they plucked up courage and agreed to kill as many of them as they could and to seize what they had with them. Waqid b. 'Abd Allah al-Tamimi shot an arrow at 'Amr b. al-Hadrami and killed him, and 'Uthman b. 'Abd Allah and al-Hakam b. Kaysan surrendered, but Nawfal b. 'Abd Allah escaped and they were unable to catch him. Then 'Abd Allah b. Jahsh and his companions took the caravan and the two captives back to the Messenger of God in Medina.

Questions After the Return to Medina:

Some of the family of 'Abd Allah b. Jahsh relate that he said to his companions, "The Messenger of God receives a fifth of the booty you have taken." This was before God made (surrendering) a fifth of booty taken a duty.", He set aside a fifth of the booty for the Messenger of God and divided the rest between his companions. When they reached the Messenger of God he said, "I did not order you to fight in the sacred month," and he impounded the caravan and the two captives and refused to take anything of it.

The Number of Muslims at Badr:

According to Abu Ja'far (al-Tabari): The Messenger of God went out, as I have been informed by authorities other than Ibn Ishaq, on 3 Ramadan (February 28, 624) at the head of over three hundred and ten of his companions. There is a difference of opinion as to how many more than (three hundred and) ten there were. Some say there were three hundred and thirteen men.
Those who say this.
According to Abu Kurayb--Abu Bakr b. 'Ayyash--Abu Ishaqal--Bara': We used to relate that the people of Badr on the day of Badr were like the number of people of Saul, three hundred men and thirteen men who crossed the river. The account ends at this point.
According to Muhammad b. `Ubayd al-Muharibi--Abu Malik al--Janbi-al-Hajjaj--al-Hakam--Miqsam--a `Abbas: The Emigrants on the day of Badr were seventy-seven men, and the Ansar were two hundred and thirty-six men. The banner of the Messenger of God was carried by 'Ali b. Abi Talib and the banner of the Ansar was carried by Sa'd b. `Ubadah.
According to Ibn Humayd-Salamah-Ibn Ishaq: Those who were present, took part in it, and reaped its reward were three hundred and fourteen men.
According to others: They were three hundred and eighteen.

Still others claim they were three hundred and seven. As for most of the early scholars, they (merely) say that there were over three hundred and ten men.