The Battle of Badr 624 AD

By the end of this episode, you will be able to answer three questions. Why did the Quraish send an army toward Badr? How mismatched were the two forces? And how were the prisoners of war treated? Welcome to PodThis and Study Session.

We're starting with the origins of the Battle of Badr. This was the first major engagement after the migration to Madinah. The conflict took place in 624 A.D. That date is also known as 2nd A.H. It was the first time the Muslims of Madinah met the Quraish of Mecca in a full battle. The relationship between these two groups had grown worse since the migration. The main reason for this decline was the capture of trade routes. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had taken control of the routes used by the Quraish. The Muslims eventually heard that a Meccan caravan was passing near Madinah. They waited for it at a location known as the wells of Badr. Abu Sufyan was the leader of this caravan. He feared the Muslims would intercept the trade goods. He sent an urgent plea for help to Makkah. The Meccans quickly gathered a large army of about 1300 men to protect the caravan. This force was led by a man named Abu Jahl. The army was on its way when Abu Sufyan took a different route. He reached Makkah safely. He then sent a message to the army telling them they could return home. This news led to a disagreement among the Meccan leaders. About 300 men chose to go back home. Abu Jahl insisted that they should still move forward to encounter the Muslims. The Meccan army was reduced to 1000 men as they continued their advance toward Badr.

The way these two mismatched armies were made up shows the reality of the fighting that followed the move against the trade routes. You can see how big the challenge was just by looking at the resources each side brought to the wells. The Muslim army had three hundred and thirteen men. They only had two horses and seventy camels to share between them. On the other side, the Quraish brought one thousand men. They were equipped with two hundred horses and seven hundred camels. On the night before the battle, rain fell across the sandy ground. For the Muslims, this rain was a mercy. It made the sand firm and smooth under their feet. The Holy Prophet prayed for victory. He asked for his small group of men to be protected so that faith itself would not be destroyed. The Quran says that Allah answered by promising the help of a thousand angels in ranks. According to the text, the armies looked small to each other at first. This seems to have encouraged the Muslims while making the Meccans feel overconfident. The fighting took place on the seventeenth of Ramadan. It started with traditional duels where Hamza and Ali killed their opponents. After these individual fights, the general battle began. The Muslims followed a specific order of engagement. They used arrows first, then stones, and finally swords. At the height of the fighting, the Prophet threw a handful of dust toward the pagans. This act led to a sandstorm. The Quran describes this event as the intervention of Allah rather than a human effort. The Meccans eventually fled. They left 70 dead and 70 prisoners behind. A small number of Muslims were martyred in the struggle. This group included 6 Muhajirin. These were the people who had migrated from Mecca. There were also 8 Ansar. These were the local helpers from Madinah. The Prophet chose to treat the captured men with honor. He allowed prisoners who could read and write to earn their freedom by teaching 10 Muslim children. He even freed the poor and the elderly without asking for any ransom at all. Question. Who led the Meccan caravan that the Muslims were waiting for near the wells of Badr? Answer. Abu Sufyan led the Meccan caravan.

The recap quiz starts now. Try to answer each question in your head before I give you the answer. This is a great way to see how much of the material you've remembered. Question. In what year did the Battle of Badr take place? Answer. The battle took place in 624 A.D. This is also known as 2nd A.H. Question. Why did the Meccan army's strength drop from 1,300 men down to 1,000? Answer. Abu Sufyan reached Makkah safely using a different route and asked the army to return. This caused 300 of the Makkans to leave while others insisted on an encounter. Question. What was the equipment mismatch between the Muslim army and the Quraish? Answer. There were 313 Muslims with only 2 horses and 70 camels. They faced 1,000 Quraish who had 200 horses and 700 camels. Question. What were the Prophet's specific instructions for the general battle? Answer. The Muslims were told to first shoot arrows at the Makkans. Then the men threw stones and lastly fought with swords in their hands. Question. How could literate prisoners earn their freedom after the battle? Answer. Literate prisoners were freed after they taught ten Muslim children. The poor and the old captives were freed without any ransom.

How many of five? Replay the chapter for each one you missed.