Battle of Badr
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The Battle of Badr was a seminal event in the formative days of Islam. It is mentioned by name in the Qur'an (3.122 which says literally 'And certainly Allah helped you at Badr and you were weak') in a context of warfare which is usually, as a whole, read to refer a different battle (Uhud) so that the understanding of 3.122 is that Allah supported you previously at Badr and will support you again. The 8th surat, which does not name Badr, is usually understood as describing the actual events on that day.
According to the historic traditions that have come down to us, the battle itself was an accident so far as the muslims were concerned and Muhammad was uncertain until the last moment that the bulk of his party would actually fight in his support. Victory at Badr crystalized Muhammad as a recognized effective combat leader and solidified his position in Madina.
The traditions describe the enemy at Badr as, essentially, the entire manpower of the Quraysh (although several groups are described as declining to take part). Their number is estimated at about 1000 men. Muhammad is reported to have had 314 followers.
In later days having been at Badr became so significant that Ibn Ishaq has included a complete name-by-name roster of the little army Muhammad led. There were 83 men from the Muslim Quraysh, emigrants from Mecca to Medina (almost all the able-bodied men) and 231 men from Medina. It was this battle that cemented the allegiance of the Medinans to the prophet.
A large trade caravan was reported to be travelling from Syria to Mecca, Muhammad assembled his force and attempted to intercept the caravan. The caravan managed to evade the attackers. Meanwhile, the people in Mecca collected their forces and rode out to teach Muhammad a lesson. It seems that they were expecting Muhammad to be leading no more than his Qurayshi followers whom the men from Mecca felt they could easily disperse.
The two forces met one another at the village of Badr between Medina and Mecca and, after resting overnight, fought a battle on the next day. No description of battle as a whole has come down to us and apparently the historians believed that Meccans broke almost immediately and the battle dissolved into a collection of single combats.
Ibn Ishaq reports (name-by-name) that 6 men from the Quraysh and 8 men from Medina were killed among the muslims and that 50 men from Mecca were killed and 43 more taken prisoner. It should be noted that Mecca was not crushed and got revenge at the later battle of Uhud.
External links
- The Battle of Badr (http://www.al-islam.org/history/history/badr.html)
- The first battle of Islam at Badr: Islamic Occasions Network (http://www.ezsoftech.com/islamic/badr.asp)
- Chronology of early Islam (http://www.carm.org/islam/islam_chronology.htm)fr:Bataille de Badr