Battle of Badr – An immortal victory

Salaam and welcome to our exclusive programme on the anniversary of a very important day in Islamic history and consequently in the annals of human civilization.

The month of Ramadhan has certain important events, and one such occurrence was an armed encounter forced upon Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) by the infidels of Mecca at a place called Badr, which turned out to be a decisive victory for Muslims. In the words of God, as mentioned in ayah 123 of Surah Aal-e Imran: "Certainly Allah helped you at Badr, when you were abased [in the enemy’s eyes]. So be wary of Allah so that you may give thanks."

The ayah that we recited relates to the Battle of Badr that occurred on the 17^th of Ramadhan in the second year of the Hijra. The Muslims, who until then were debased and held in low esteem by the arrogantly ignorant Arab pagans, dramatically turned the tide against their heavily-armed, numerically superior, and wealthy opponents, to the extent that some began to puff with pride. It is because of this reason that God reprimands them. He exhorts them to be grateful to Him and be mindful of Divine Authority for the victory over the infidel army that was more than three times the size of the 313 poorly armed Muslims, was impossible except for Unseen Help – through angels led by Gabriel and Michael.

It is also obvious from the ayahs of the Holy Qur'an that not all Muslims that had participated in this immortal event had the same degree of faith. This was borne out by later events, especially after the Prophet's passing away, when some of these self-styled 'privileged participants' of Badr, not just deprived the real hero of Badr – that is, Imam Ali (AS) – of his political authority, but contributed to the seizure of the leadership of the Muslims by those vanquished at Badr.

To be more precise, it was their appointment of Mu'awiyah, the son of the Prophet's archenemy, Abu Sufyan, as governor of the large and important province of Shaam (present day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Occupied Palestine) that enabled the former hardcore pagans, the Omayyads, to cause sedition in Muslim ranks and eventually seize the caliphate.

Thus, the Battle of Badr so decisively sifted truth from falsehood that not even the camouflage of Islam could conceal the innate animosity of the defeated elements towards Islam and Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). This is evident by the gloating of Abu Sufyan's grandson, Yazid, 59 years later in Damascus at the sight of the severed head of the Prophet's grandson. Despite claiming to be caliph of Muslims, the son of Mu'awiyah, could not conceal his inherent pagan beliefs, as he admitted that by killing Imam Husain (AS) at Karbala, he had avenged the death of his pagan ancestors who died while attacking the Prophet and Muslims at Badr in 2 AH.

The Battle of Badr draws the permanent line between faith and hypocrisy, between truth and falsehood, and between virtue and vice, since its impact continues to be universal and inspirational for Muslims all over the globe to this day. To the horror of the enemies of humanity, it placed on the centre-stage the valour on the battlefield of the Prophet's young cousin and son-in-law, Imam Ali (AS), who some two years earlier had volunteered to sleep on the Prophet's bed in Mecca so that his cousin could migrate to Medina undetected by the bloodthirsty hordes surrounding the abode of Divine Revelation. Here it would not be out of context to refer to the following verses composed on the valour of Imam Ali (AS) by noted Arabic poet al-Himyari on the victory on this immortal occasion:

"By God and His blessings do I solemnly swear,

 —For a man is answerable for what he says—

That piety was natural to Ali, son of Abu Taleb,

Verily he was a supernal guide,

And His virtues surpassed the ummah’s combined merits.

Truthful of speech and sincerity itself in intentions,

He was not one to be deluded by vanities.

In the thick of battle, aflame with the flares of spearpoints

When even the gallant sought to avoid the heat

 He strolled in the midst of enemy troops

 Sword in hand, sparkling at its edges,

 Or like a lion sauntering along with his cubs

 On a hunting trip, having emerged from its den

 He was the one who was greeted that night

 By Michael, Gabriel and Israfeel,

 Each accompanied with the troops of thousand angels.

 Descended for help on that night at Badr

 They hovered above like the flocks of birds."

The Battle of Badr proves that defending the Islamic or national interests in the face of aggression or terrorism, in the month of Ramadhan is permitted by God. This is indeed a firm refutation of the pleas of modern day aggressors and terrorists, who when the tide turns against them, call for peace and ceasefire in the blessed month of fasting. The true believers should beware of the plots of the faithless in this regard. Ramadhan is indeed a time for contemplation in order to sift truth from falsehood.

AS/SS