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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 and have complete trust in Allah Ta’ala. Many mystical incidents took place during that historical battle, and are mentioned in the Holy Qurān.
Allah Ta’ala states in one verse,
اِذْ یُغَشِّیْكُمُ النُّعَاسَ اَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَ یُنَزِّلُ عَلَیْكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً لِّیُطَهِّرَكُمْ بِهٖ وَ یُذْهِبَ عَنْكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّیْطٰنِ وَ لِیَرْبِطَ عَلٰی قُلُوْبِكُمْ وَ یُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الْاَقْدَامَؕ
When He caused the drowsiness to overcome you, it was tranquility from Him, and sent down water from the sky upon you to purify you with it, and to remove the impurity of Satan from you, and to give your hearts fortitude and firmly establish your feet with it. {Holy Qurān 8:11}
Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Masood (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) said, “If drowsiness occurs during battle, it is a sign of tranquility and comes from Allah; but if it occurs during prayer, it is from Satan.” This is also evident from the fact that a person who fears for his life does not feel sleepy or drowsy. Rather, he remains in anxiety and agitation.
Some commentators have said that when the Muslims became fearful for their lives and when they were suffering from severe thirst, Allah Ta’ala caused drowsiness to descend upon them. Through this they found relief, their fatigue and thirst were alleviated, and they became capable of fighting the enemy. This drowsiness was therefore a blessing for them, and it came upon all of them at once.
On the day of the Battle of Badr, the Muslims descended into a sandy area where their feet and the feet of their animals were sinking into the sand. The polytheists had already reached and taken control of the water before them. Furthermore, among the Companions, some needed to perform ablution, others required a ritual bath, and there was severe thirst. At that moment Satan cast a whispering doubt, saying, “You claim that you are upon the truth, that among you is the Prophet of Allah, and that you are the people of Allah. Yet the polytheists have gained the upper hand and reached the water before you, while you are offering prayers without ablution and without bathing. How then can you hope to gain victory over the enemy?”
Allah Ta’ala then sent rain, which soaked the land. The Muslims drank from it, performed their ritual baths and ablutions, gave water to their animals, and filled their containers. The dust settled, and the ground became firm enough for their feet to stand upon. Thus the whispering of Shaitān disappeared, the hearts of the Companions became content, and this blessing became a sign and means of attaining victory and triumph. {Tafseer Khazāin-ul-Irfān}
Allah Ta’ala further states 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. {Holy Qurān 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, 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 verse,
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 in series.”
{Holy Qurān 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.” {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. {Ibid}
In another narration it is stated that first one thousand angels came, then three thousand, and then five thousand. Hazrat Ibn Abbas (Radiallahu Ta’ala Anh) said that on that day the Muslims were pursuing the disbelievers, and the disbeliever would be running ahead of the Muslim. Suddenly, the sound of a whip would be heard from above, along with the words of a rider, “Advance, O Haizūm!” (Haizūm is the name of the horse of Hazrat Jibreel (Alaihis Salaam).) Then it would be seen that the disbeliever had fallen dead, his nose had been cut off by a sword and his face had been wounded. When the Companions reported these observations to Rasoolullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), he said, “This was help from the third heaven.” {Tafseer Khazāin-ul-Irfān}
جاں نثارانِ بدر و اُحد پر درود
حق گزارانِ بیعت پہ لاکھوں سلام
Upon the brave-hearts of Badr and Uhud, immense blessings
Upon those who fulfilled the right of their allegiance, millions of salutations
{Hadāiq-e-Bakhshish}
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 Āmeen.