The battle of Badr was the first of the great battles of Islam. The faithfuls were put to the first real test during this battle. Badr is the name of a celebrated well and a market-place of Arabia, and is so named after a certain Badr bin Quraish bin Mukhlad bin an-Nadr bin Kananah, who hailed from the clan of Ghaffar.
From the start of Ramdan, a report reached to Madina that a large trading caravan of Quraish was returning to Mecca from Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan bin Harb accompanied by fifty armed guards. It has been pointed out that this richly loaded caravan constituted a grave threat to the security of Madina, therefore, Prophet Mohammad(pbuh) dispatched Talha bin Ubaidullah and Saeed bin Zaid, to gather intelligence about the caravan and to report back. It was discovered that it was a large caravan in which all the Makkans had shares. The Quraish had decided to put all their savings into it and use the profits on arms, horses and other items of war to use against the Muslims.
From the start of Ramdan, a report reached to Madina that a large trading caravan of Quraish was returning to Mecca from Syria under the leadership of Abu Sufyan bin Harb accompanied by fifty armed guards. It has been pointed out that this richly loaded caravan constituted a grave threat to the security of Madina, therefore, Prophet Mohammad(pbuh) dispatched Talha bin Ubaidullah and Saeed bin Zaid, to gather intelligence about the caravan and to report back. It was discovered that it was a large caravan in which all the Makkans had shares. The Quraish had decided to put all their savings into it and use the profits on arms, horses and other items of war to use against the Muslims.
The news was highly disturbing. The Prophet (S.A.W) left Madina and decided to meet the caravan in Badr with 313 men. Among them only 2 were on horses and 70 had camels and the rest were on foot.
Allah, the Glorified and the Exalted, says in the Holy Qur'an:
And Allah certainly helped you at Badr when you were weak. So be in reverential awe of Allah that perhaps you may be thankful (3:123).
The beloved holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), together with 313 of his Companions and angels sent by Allah to help them, defeated about 1000 better armed polytheists of Makkah.
Habib Umar bin Hafiz (may Allah preserve him) places great emphasis on commemorating it and marks the event by completing the Qur’an in Tarawih on the eve of the 17th, after which there are big celebrations in Dar al-Mustafa attended by thousands. This year it also coincides with the end of the Dawrah. The rest of the night is spent in prayer, remembrance and supplication, since prayers are answered when the Qur’an is completed. On the following day at `Asr, the poem Jaliyat al-Kadr is read, in which the names of all the Companions that attended the Battle are mentioned.
O Allah! O The Ever-Living, O the Self-Existing by Whom all subsist, O The Responder, O The Giver, O The Loving One, O The Reckoner, O The Knower of mysteries,O The Creator of night and day. I beg of you for the sake of Your Most Beautiful Namesand the mystery of the Glorious Qur’an, and for the sake of Your Chosen Prophet Muhammad, on him be the choicest blessings and complete peace, and for the sake of the noble warriors of the Battle of Badr, that You help the religion of Islam and fulfil all our needs. O The Most Merciful of those who show mercy… Aameen!!
