The Mystical Battle at Badr

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The Battle of Badr was a battle between truth and falsehood and a manifestation that the help of Allah Ta’ala is always with those who are on the truth. The Holy Qur’an bears testament to the help from the unseen that Allah Ta’ala provided to Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and his Companions.  

Allah Ta’ala says in the Holy Qur’an,

وَاِذْ يُرِيْكُمُوْهُمْ اِذِ الْتَقَيْتُمْ فِىْ اَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيْلًا وَّيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِىْ اَعْيُنِهِمْ لِيَقْضِىَ اللّٰهُ اَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُوْلًا ؕ وَاِلَى اللّٰهِ تُرْجَعُ الْاُمُوْرُ ؕ

And (remember O Muslims) when at the time of fighting He made the disbelievers seem few to you, and you as few in their sight, in order that Allah may conclude the work that must be done; and towards Allah is the return of all affairs. {Surah 8:44}

With regard to this, Allah Ta’ala manifested three miracles of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), through which the courage and resolve of the Companions had increased. 

Firstly, before the battle Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) saw a dream in which the disbelievers in Badr were very few in number. When he narrated this to the Companions they became happy and their courage increased, seeing that they had not come prepared to fight. 

Secondly, when the battle was about to begin and the rows of warriors had been arranged on both sides, the disbelievers appeared very few in number to the believers, which confirmed the dream of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and further increased the courage of the Companions. Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) narrates, “On the day of Badr, the disbelievers seemed to be very few in number. Having looked at them, I asked the person standing next to me, ‘What do you think? They should be about seventy in number?’ He replied, ‘My thought is that they are about a hundred.’  Thereafter we got hold of one of their men and said to him, ‘Tell us how many there are in your army!’ He replied, ‘One thousand.’ {Baihaqi}  

Thirdly, at that point even the Muslims seemed very few in number to the disbelievers such that Abu Jahl remarked, “What must we fight with this handful of an army. Let us just tie them in ropes and take them back to Makkah.” Due to this, the disbelievers got more courage to engage in the battle, but when the battle had started, the Muslims appeared in a very large number to the disbelievers, due to which they had lost courage. This incident is alluded to in the above-mentioned verse. {Tafseer Naeemi}  

At the crucial time when the battle was about to begin, Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) supplicated to Allah Ta’ala for assistance saying, “O Allah, fulfill the promise which You made to me.” So lost was he in the meditation and remembrance of Allah Ta’ala that he did not even feel his shawl fall off his blessed shoulders. Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also made Sajdah and beseeched the following, “O Allah! If these servants of Yours are destroyed, there shall be none to worship you till the Day of Judgment.” {Seerat Ibn Hishām

Hazrat Sayyiduna Siddiq-e-Akbar (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) could not bear to see him in such a state of restlessness. He lifted the shawl of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), placed it back on his shoulders and respectfully said, “Allah Ta’ala will indeed fulfil the promise that He made to you.” 

Allah Ta’ala then revealed the following,

اِذْ تَسْتَغِيْثُوْنَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ اَنِّىْ مُمِدُّكُمْ بِاَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ مُرْدِفِيْنَ ؕ

When you (O Beloved Prophet) were pleading to your Lord for help, so He answered your prayers that, “I will help you with a thousand angels, one following the other.” {Surah 8:9}

At that point, one thousand angels descended row after row on all four sides of the enemy and Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “O Abu Bakr! Be pleased! Look, here is Jibreel (Alaihis Salaam) adorned with a yellow turban, holding onto the reigns of his horse between the earth and the sky.” Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) further stated that when Hazrat Jibreel (Alaihis Salaam) descended onto the earth, for some time he went out of sight, but thereafter reappeared and said, “The help of Allah Ta’ala has come to you because you had made Dua to Him.”  SubhanAllah!  {Al-Khasāis-ul-Kubra

It is stated that after this, the Companions were seeing strange things happening. Some Companions would wield their sword intending to kill a disbeliever but before their sword could touch the enemy, the enemy would become beheaded and his head would fall on the ground. Sometimes, they would be running after a disbeliever but would suddenly hear the sounds of the disbeliever being beaten up until he would fall on the ground dead, with severe wounds on his face. {Al-Khasāis-ul-Kubra}

Such was the miraculous help of Allah Ta’ala during this mystical battle that took place on the plains of Badr.

May Allah Ta’ala grant us an atom of the courage of the Companions of Badr to sacrifice our lives for the sake of Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), Allahumma Ameen.

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