Setting Out Toward Badr

At the place of Rawha’, the Prophet ﷺ ordered that the army be counted.

When they were counted, it was found that the number of fighters was 313.

The Prophet ﷺ was pleased to hear this and said:

“This is the same number as that of the companions of Talut who reached the river with him.”

(Talut was a righteous warrior king of the Children of Israel. Under his leadership, 313 Muslims defeated the army of the disbelieving king named Jalut.)

There were only five horses in the army.

There were approximately seventy camels.

Therefore, one camel was assigned to a group of three or four men.

The camel assigned to the Prophet ﷺ was shared by two other companions.

The Prophet ﷺ would also ride this camel according to his turn, and when it was the turn of his companions, he would tell them to ride.

Although they would express their desire to give their turns to the Prophet ﷺ, they would say:

“O Messenger of Allah! You remain riding. We will walk.”

In response, the Prophet ﷺ would say:

“You two are not stronger than me in walking, nor am I free of the need for its reward compared with you.”

(That is, I too desire the reward just as you both do.)

At Rawha’, one camel became exhausted and sat down.

When the Prophet ﷺ passed by it, he learned that the camel had become tired and was unable to get up.

The Prophet ﷺ took some water, rinsed his mouth with it, and put the water from his mouth into the camel owner’s vessel. He then put it into the camel’s mouth.

The camel immediately stood up and then walked so quickly that it caught up with the army.

No signs of tiredness remained on it.

“You will receive the reward of staying here, as well as the reward of participating in Jihad.”

On this occasion, the Prophet ﷺ appointed Hazrat Abu Lubabah رضي الله عنه as his deputy in Madinah.

Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah and Sa‘id ibn Zayd رضي الله عنهما were assigned the responsibility of gathering intelligence. The two of them were sent ahead of the army so that they could bring news about the Qurayshi trading caravan.

The Noble Prophet ﷺ had already sent them from Madinah.

The Islamic army proceeded onward from Rawha’.

At the place of ‘Arq al-Zabiyah, they met a desert-dwelling man. They could not obtain any information about the enemy from him.

The army then moved forward again.

In this way, the Islamic army reached the valley of Dhafiran.

At this place, the Prophet ﷺ received information that the Quraysh of Makkah had already left Makkah with an army to save their caravan.

Upon receiving this information, the Prophet ﷺ gathered the entire army at one place and consulted them.

The Muslims had departed from Madinah only to intercept a trading caravan. They had not set out to confront a regular army.

The Companions رضي الله عنهم then gave their opinions one after another.

Hazrat Miqdad رضي الله عنه said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Allah Almighty has commanded you, so act according to His command. We are with you.

“By Allah, we will not say to you what the Children of Israel said to Musa عليه السلام:

‘You and your Lord go and fight; we will remain sitting here.’

“Rather, we say: We are with you. We will fight in front of you, behind you, and to your right and left. We will fight until our last breath.”

When the Prophet ﷺ heard the speech of Hazrat Miqdad رضي الله عنه, his face shone with happiness.

He began to smile and prayed for Hazrat Miqdad رضي الله عنه.

Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Hazrat ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما also delivered speeches.

After their speeches, the Noble Prophet ﷺ looked toward the Ansari Companions because, until then, none of them had stood up to speak.

The Ansar understood the Prophet’s ﷺ indication.

Therefore, Hazrat Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh رضي الله عنه stood up and said:

“O Messenger of Allah! Perhaps your indication is toward us.

“Then we say that we have already believed, confirmed you, and testified to your truth. We will obey your command and remain obedient to you in every circumstance.”

After hearing his speech, signs of happiness appeared on the face of the Prophet ﷺ.

He then said:

“Now rise, move forward, and march. There is good news for you. Allah Almighty has promised me that He will grant us victory.”

Leaving the valley of Dhafiran, the Prophet ﷺ reached Badr.

By this time, the Qurayshi army had also reached near Badr.

The Prophet ﷺ sent Hazrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه to obtain information about the Qurayshi army.

They found two water-carriers.

They were water-carriers belonging to the Qurayshi army.

A great deal of information about the army was obtained from these two men.

They also told them the names of the prominent chiefs who were present in the army.

Upon this, the Noble Prophet ﷺ said to his Companions رضي الله عنهم:

“Makkah has brought out its heart and liver and sent them against you.”

That is, they had sent all their most honorable and prominent people.

Meanwhile, Abu Sufyan رضي الله عنه had changed the route of the caravan, and in this way his caravan was saved.

However, the army that had come to save the caravan now came face-to-face with the Islamic army.

When Abu Sufyan رضي الله عنه saw that the caravan had now been saved, he sent a message to Abu Jahl telling him:

“Return to Makkah, because we have escaped from the Islamic army.”

But Abu Jahl refused to return.

The Qurayshi army camped at Badr in a place where the water was nearby.

On the other hand, the place where the Islamic army camped was at a distance from the water.

This caused difficulty for the Muslims.

Then Allah Almighty sent rain there, removing their difficulty concerning water.

However, the same rain caused difficulty for the disbelievers.

They became unable to leave their camp.

In other words, the rain became a mercy for the Muslims and a hardship for the disbelievers.

When morning came, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ announced:

“People! Prepare yourselves for prayer.”

Thus, the Fajr prayer was offered.

Then, when the Prophet ﷺ addressed the Companions رضي الله عنهم, he said:

“I encourage you toward that which Allah has encouraged you. At times of hardship and difficulty, patience causes Allah Almighty to protect you from all difficulties and grants you relief from all sorrows.”

Now the Prophet ﷺ moved forward with the army and reached the water before the Quraysh.

There was a spring of water at Badr.

When the Prophet ﷺ was seen stopping there, Hazrat Hubab رضي الله عنه said:

“O Messenger of Allah! This place is not suitable for camping. I know this area very well.

“You should camp at the place that is closest to the enemy’s water.

“We will build a reservoir there and collect water in it. In this way, we will have drinking water.

“We will fill in the other wells and water sources, so the enemy will not have access to water.”

The Prophet ﷺ greatly liked his suggestion.

According to one narration, Hazrat Jibril عليه السلام brought the message of Allah Almighty at that very time and informed him that the opinion of Hazrat Hubab رضي الله عنه was excellent.

Following this advice, the Prophet ﷺ moved forward with the army and reached the spring that was closest to the place where the Quraysh had camped.

The Muslims camped there, and the Prophet ﷺ ordered them to fill in the other wells.