After the Victory
When all the polytheists had been placed into the pit, the Noble Prophet ﷺ stood at one side of the pit.
It was nighttime.
According to a narration in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, whenever the Noble Prophet ﷺ achieved victory in a battle, he would stay at that very place for three nights.
On the third day, he ordered the army to prepare.
As he was departing from there, the Prophet ﷺ stood with the Companions رضي الله عنهم at the edge of the pit, addressed the bodies lying there, and said:
“O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! And O so-and-so, son of so-and-so! Have you now seen how true the promise of Allah and His Messenger was? I have certainly found true the promise that Allah Almighty made to me.”
The Prophet ﷺ also called some of the people by their names.
For example, he said:
“O ‘Utbah ibn Rabi‘ah, O Shaybah ibn Rabi‘ah, O Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and O Abu Jahl ibn Hisham!
“You were members of the family of a Prophet, yet you proved to be extremely wicked. You rejected me while other people affirmed me.
“You expelled me from my homeland, while others gave me refuge.
“You fought against me, while others supported me.”
When Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنه heard these words of the Prophet ﷺ, he said:
“O Messenger of Allah! You are speaking to men who are lifeless bodies.”
In response, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“What I am saying, you are not hearing as much as these people are hearing, but they are no longer able to respond.”
The Noble Prophet ﷺ sent news of the victory to Madinah.
Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah رضي الله عنه brought the news of the victory to Madinah.
He announced the good news in a loud voice:
“O Ansar! Receive the good news of the safety of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and of the killing and capture of the polytheists.
“Among the Qurayshi leaders, so-and-so and so-and-so have been killed, while so-and-so and so-and-so have been captured.”
When the enemy of Allah, the Jewish man Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf, heard this good news from him, he became furious and began denying it.
At the same time, he said:
“If Muhammad ﷺ has killed all these great warriors, then living on the surface of the earth is worse than living beneath it.”
(That is, death is better than life.)
The news of the victory reached Madinah at a time when the daughter of the Noble Prophet ﷺ had already passed away there.
Her husband, Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه, and the Companions who were present were burying her and leveling the soil of her grave.
When the Noble Prophet ﷺ was informed about the death of Hazrat Ruqayyah رضي الله عنها, he said:
“Alhamdulillah! All praise and thanks belong to Allah. Even the burial of noble daughters is an honor.”
After hearing the news of the victory, one hypocrite said:
“The actual matter is that your companions have been defeated and scattered, and now they will never be able to gather together again.
“Muhammad ﷺ has come back while sitting.
“If Muhammad ﷺ were alive, he would have mounted his she-camel himself. But this Zayd has become so confused that he himself does not even know what he is saying.”
Upon this, Hazrat Usamah رضي الله عنه said to him:
“O enemy of Allah! Let Muhammad ﷺ come back, and then you will find out who has achieved victory and who has suffered defeat.”
Then the Noble Prophet ﷺ set out toward Madinah.
When he reached the valley of Safra’ on the way, he distributed the spoils of war there.
The spoils included one hundred and fifty camels and ten horses.
In addition, all kinds of goods, weapons, clothing, and countless hides, wool, and other items were included in the spoils.
The polytheists had brought these things with them for trade.
On this occasion, the Prophet ﷺ announced:
“Whoever killed a polytheist, that polytheist’s belongings belong to him; and whoever captured a polytheist, that person will be his prisoner.”
The Prophet ﷺ also allocated shares from the spoils to those people who had not been able to attend the Battle of Badr.
These were people whom the Noble Prophet ﷺ himself had prevented from participating in the battle for certain reasons.
Hazrat Ruqayyah رضي الله عنها was extremely ill, and Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه himself had developed smallpox.
Therefore, the Prophet ﷺ counted Hazrat ‘Uthman رضي الله عنه among the Companions of Badr.
Similarly, there was Hazrat Abu Lubabah رضي الله عنه.
The Prophet ﷺ himself had left him behind in Madinah as his representative and protector of the people there.
Likewise, Hazrat ‘Asim ibn ‘Adi رضي الله عنه had been left by the Prophet ﷺ with the people of Quba and ‘Aliyah.
In the same way, the Prophet ﷺ also allocated shares to those people who had been sent to gather information about the enemy.
These people had returned only after the battle had ended.
At this same place, the Prophet ﷺ ordered that one of the Qurayshi prisoners, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, be executed.
This man used extremely harsh words regarding the Noble Qur’an and the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
Likewise, a little farther ahead, the Prophet ﷺ ordered the execution of ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt.
He too was a great troublemaker.
On one occasion, he had attempted to spit on the blessed face of the Prophet ﷺ.
On another occasion, when he saw the Prophet ﷺ in prostration during prayer, he placed the entrails of a camel upon the Prophet’s neck.
The Prophet ﷺ had said to him:
“Whenever I meet you outside Makkah, I will meet you in such a condition that I will cut off your head with a sword.”
After this, the Noble Prophet ﷺ continued forward and eventually reached the outskirts of Madinah.
The people had come out of Madinah so that they could welcome the Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims and congratulate them on their victory.
Then, when the Prophet ﷺ entered Madinah, the young girls of the city welcomed him by beating the duff.
At that time, they were singing:
“The full moon has risen before us; for this blessing, we must always remain grateful to Allah Almighty.”
On the other hand, the news of the Quraysh’s defeat reached Makkah.
The person who brought the news called out:
“People! ‘Utbah and Shaybah have been killed. Abu Jahl and Umayyah have also been killed, and so-and-so and so-and-so among the leaders of Quraysh have also been killed.
“So-and-so and so-and-so have been taken prisoner.”
This news was horrifying.
After hearing it, Abu Lahab came out, dragging himself along.
At that very moment, Abu Sufyan ibn al-Harith رضي الله عنه arrived there.
He was the cousin of the Noble Prophet ﷺ.
At that time, he had not yet accepted Islam.
He had participated in the Battle of Badr on the side of the polytheists.
As soon as Abu Lahab saw him, he asked:
“Come closer to me and tell me… What news do you have?”