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Battle of Badr

The tensions between the Makkans and Madinites led to the Battle of Badr in 642 AD. Muhammad decided to intercept caravans from Makkah to compensate for past abuses against Muslims and wealth they left in Makkah. A caravan led by Abu Sufyan was returning from Syria, but spies told him of Muhammad's plan to ambush it. Abu Sufyan had the caravan rerouted and sent a messenger to warn Makkah, increasing tensions. In March 642, Muhammad intercepted the Makkan army of 900 men with his 300 at Badr, where the terrain advantages helped the Muslims win despite being outnumbered.

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102 views2 pages

Battle of Badr

The tensions between the Makkans and Madinites led to the Battle of Badr in 642 AD. Muhammad decided to intercept caravans from Makkah to compensate for past abuses against Muslims and wealth they left in Makkah. A caravan led by Abu Sufyan was returning from Syria, but spies told him of Muhammad's plan to ambush it. Abu Sufyan had the caravan rerouted and sent a messenger to warn Makkah, increasing tensions. In March 642, Muhammad intercepted the Makkan army of 900 men with his 300 at Badr, where the terrain advantages helped the Muslims win despite being outnumbered.

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Aatikah
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Battle of Badr

Q: What were the causes that increased the tension between the
Makkans and the Madinites and eventually led to the Battle of Badr?
Ans: The battle of Badr was on March 13, 642 AD. It was two years after the
Prophet migrated to Medina. the population of Medina chose Muhammad to be
the leader of the community. Muhammad decided to raid the caravans of the
Makkans as they passed by Medina, considering it recompensating for the years of
abuse the Muhajirun faced under the Quraysh and for the wealth they were forced
to leave back at Mecca. In early 624, a caravan of the Quraysh led by Abu Sufyan
ibn Harb carrying wealth and goods from the Levant was returning to Mecca.
Knowing of the threat of Muhammad's growing influence in the region, routinely
sent spies to check on Muhammad and warn him of any Muslim movement in the
area.
Muhammad had gathered a small expeditionary force of around 300 men to
intercept the caravan. Abu Sufyan's spies informed him of the Muslims' plot to
ambush his caravan. Fearing the loss of wealth that was imminent, Abu Sufyan
sent the messenger Damdam bin 'Amr al-Ghifari to the Quraish. Damdam, upon
his arrival at the Ka'bah, cut off the nose and ears of his camel, turned its saddle
upside down, tore off his shirt and cried. "O Quraish! Your merchandise! It is with
Abu Sufyan. The caravan is being intercepted by Muhammad and his companions.
I cannot say what would have happened to them. Help! Help!". Abu Sufyan had
rerouted his caravan toward the Red Sea and escaped the Muslim threat by
Damdam's arrival at Mecca. Map depicting the battlefield, with al-'Udwatul Dunya
and al-'Udwatul Quswa, shown to the right. The valley of Badr is surrounded by
two large sand dunes to the east, called al-'Udwatud Dunya (the near side of the
valley) and al-'Udwatul Quswa (the far side of the valley). The Qur'an speaks of
these two in Surah 8, verse 42. The west of the valley was covered by the al-Asfal
Mountain (Jabal Al-Asfal) with an opening between it and another hill in the
northwest. Between al-'Udwatud Dunya and al-'Udwatul Quswa was an opening,
which was the primary route to Medina. Muhammad and his army did not
approach the battlefield from here, they came from the north, as they were
originally planning to target the caravan, which was moving from the Levant in the
north, to Mecca in the south. Between al-'Udwatul Quswa and the hill covering the
southern part of the battlefield was another opening, which was the primary route
from Mecca. The Quraish had encamped in the south-eastern portion of the valley
near the road to Mecca, while Muhammad and his army had encamped in some
date-palms in the north. They had taken a well near the center of the western
margin of al-'Udwatul Dunya and destroyed the other wells near the road to
Medina to prevent the Makkans from getting any water. Another well situated at
the end of the road to Mecca was later filled with the dead bodies of the dead
Makkans. On the night of 11 March (15 Ramadan), it had rained over the
battlefield and the surrounding region. Muslims believe this was a blessing from
Allah for the believers and a curse for the disbelievers, who suffered hardship in
trying to climb the muddy slope. The Muslims moved towards the peak of the
mountain and stood there. They were very less Muslims compared to the Makkans
but when the Makkans looked up towards the Muslims it looked as if they were a
larger number. The Muslims also built a well for themselves on the mountain to
store water for themselves and the Makkans would have no water left. Leaving
parched the battle began. Since the Muslims were on a higher level, the arrows
which were shot by the Makkans couldn’t reach the Muslim since the upward force
wasn’t strong enough but when the Muslims shot their arrow, their downward
force was much stronger so the arrows were faster and rougher. The Muslims won
this Battle even though they were more than 750 men less. Another reason they
won was because they had faith, faith in Allah and Allah led them through this step
by step.

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