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Prophets

What happened at the Battle of Badr?

Badr was the first decisive battle — fewer than 320 Muslims against nearly three times their number. Ibn Kathīr's account traces the intelligence, the Prophet's ﷺ duʿāʾ, and the angelic reinforcement, anchored to the Qurʾān and the classical sīrah sources.

10 passages from 5 books in the library

From the cited passages, Badr is treated mainly as a point of reference in the hadith literature — the scholars weigh which narrations belong to it. Bukhari is cited, through al-Bara ibn Azib, on the number of the Prophet's ﷺ companions present at Badr, and Muslim is cited through Umar ibn al-Khattab on the battle. The passages also examine the report prohibiting the cursing of the dead of Badr (narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya) and carefully correct a claim that Aisha was present, noting she was not. For the fuller narrative, the surrounding chapters in the library should be heard.

Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.

Where the answer comes from

The classical approach.

These passages are drawn from 5 books by Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Dhahabī, Ibn Battuta, and Imam al-Ghazali — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.

Read them closely. If a passage doesn't sit right, open the full book in the library and listen to the chapter around it. Context in the classical tradition is everything.

Cover of Volume 3 — The Sīrah: From the First Revelation to Badr
Volume 3 — The Sīrah: From the First Revelation to Badr
Ibn Kathir · Al-Bidāya wal-Nihāya

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "is no need to go out in vain. They listened to him, and not a single man from the Banu Zuhra attended the Battle of Badr. Al-Akhnas was influential among them, and there was no clan of the Quraysh without some people setting out, except for the Banu Adi, from whom no one went. The Banu Zuhra returned with Al-Akhnas, so neither of these two tribes had anyone present at Badr. Ibn Ishaq narrated that the people proceeded until they camped at al-Udwāt al-Quswa of the valley, behind al-Aqnaqīl and the valley's belly, which is Yāliyāl, between Badr and the dense al-Aqnaqīl where the Quraysh were. The well at Badr was in al-Udwāt al-Dunyā from the belly of Yāliyāl to Medina."

  2. "arrived in Medina and bequeathed a third of his wealth to him, which the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, returned to his heirs. His son Bishr witnessed Badr, Uhud, and the Battle of the Trench, and died as a martyr in Khaybar after eating from the poisoned sheep with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. Sinan ibn Saifi, al-Tufail ibn al-Numan, and Maqeel ibn al-Mundir were Badr participants. Masud ibn Zayd and Dahak ibn Harithah were also among the Badr participants. Yazid ibn Kidam and Jubair ibn Sakhr were Badr participants, as were al-Tufail ibn Malik, Kab ibn Malik, and Sulaim ibn Amir. Qutba ibn Amir and his brother"

  3. "Abu Mas'ud Uqba ibn Amr, noted by Ibn Ishaq as the youngest to witness the Pledge of Aqaba, did not participate in Badr. Ziyad ibn Labid, Furwa ibn Amr, and Khalid ibn Qais were Badr participants. Rafi ibn Malik was a leader, and Daqwan ibn Abd Qais was known as a Muhajir Ansari, staying with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, in Mecca until he migrated. He was a Badr participant and was killed on the day of Uhud. Abad ibn Qais and his brother Al-Harith were Badr participants. Al-Bara ibn Marur was a leader and the first to pledge allegiance, according to the Banu Salimah. He died before the Prophet, peace be upon him,"

  4. "Bakr al-Siddiq when al-Siddiq divorced her, and this was when God prohibited polytheists from Muslims, and her name was Umm Bakr. Umm Bakr greets with peace and is there for me after my people any peace. So what is in the well of Badr from the singers and the noble drinks? Now consider the introduction of the book. What is it about the well of Badr that is adorned with the finest of treasures? How many times have you seen the beauty of Badr among the herds and the noble offerings? How many times have you witnessed the splendor of Badr, in the grand ambitions and the great endeavors, and the companions of the noble"

Cover of Volume 1
Volume 1
Imam al-Dhahabī · Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalā

13th–14th century · Damascus, Syria
Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — the monumental biographical dictionary of Islamic scholarship, from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Dhahabī's own era. A working-scholar reference used for seven centuries.
More on Imam al-Dhahabī → · Provenance →

  1. "The Prophet appointed him as the leader over sixty riders from the Muhajirun and gave him a banner. This was the first banner to be raised in Islam. They encountered the Quraysh, led by Abu Sufyan, at Thaniyyat al-Murra. This was the first battle that took place in Islam. This was narrated by Ibn Ishaq. [Notable Participants of Badr] Among the notable participants of the Battle of Badr were Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, Sa'd, al-Zubayr, Abu 'Ubaydah, 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf, Zayd ibn Harithah, Mistah ibn Uthathah, Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr, Ibn Mas'ud, al-Miqdad, Suhayb, Ammar, Abu Salamah, Zayd ibn al-Khattab, Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, 'Abbad ibn Bishr, Abu al-Haytham ibn al-Tayhan,"

  2. "and he had three sword wounds; one on his shoulder was so deep that fingers could be inserted into it. He received two wounds on the day of Badr and one on the day of Yarmouk. Urwa recounted that after Ibn Al-Zubayr was killed, Abdul Malik ibn Marwan asked him if he recognized Al-Zubayr's sword. Urwa confirmed, noting a notch made on the day of Badr. Abdul Malik unsheathed it, saw the notch, and remarked, "It bears notches from the clashes of armies." The sword was valued at three thousand, and one of them took it, though Urwa wished he had taken it."

Cover of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
Ibn Kathir · Timeless Classics

14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir → · Provenance →

  1. "I say: among the Emigrants who were martyred that day were Malik ibn Amr, a confederate of the Banu Ghanm, an emigrant and a veteran of Badr; Yazid ibn Ruqaysh ibn Rabab al-Asadi, a veteran of Badr; al-Hakam ibn Said ibn al-As ibn Umayya al-Umawi; Hasan ibn Malik ibn Buhayna, brother of Abd Allah ibn Malik al-Azdi, a confederate of the Banu al-Muttalib ibn Abd Manaf; Amir ibn al-Bakr al-Laythi, a confederate of the Banu Adi and a veteran of Badr; Malik ibn Rabia, a confederate of the Banu Abd Shams; Abu Umayya Safwan ibn Umayya ibn Amr; Yazid ibn Aws, a confederate of the Banu Abd al-Dar;"

  2. "And Uqba ibn Amir ibn Nabi ibn Zayd ibn Haram al-Salami, who was present at the first Aqaba, at Badr, and at what followed it. And Thabit ibn Hizal of the Banu Salim ibn Awf, a veteran of Badr, according to one report. And Abu Aqil ibn Abd Allah ibn Thalaba of the Banu Jahjaba, who was present at Badr and at what followed it."

Cover of Volume One: From Tangier to the Lands of the East
Volume One: From Tangier to the Lands of the East
Ibn Battuta · Rihla — The Travels of Ibn Battuta

14th century · Tangier, Morocco
The Riḥlah — a 30-year, 75,000-mile journey across three continents, and the most important travel account of the pre-modern world.
More on Ibn Battuta → · Provenance →

  1. "to Asfan, then to Kulais, and after four stages we descended into the Valley of Fish. After five more stages we reached Badr. These stages consisted of two journeys a day, one post-dawn and the other by afternoon. We journeyed from Badr to Al-Safra, where we rested for a day, and then to the blessed Medina, a three-day journey. There we visited the Messenger of Allah, may peace and blessings be upon him. For a second time and stayed in the Honored City, may Allah bless it, for six days, carrying water for a three-day journey. We departed, settling on the third day in the Valley of the Bride, replenishing our water supplies"

Cover of Book 24: Evils of the Tongue
Book 24: Evils of the Tongue
Imam al-Ghazali · Ihya’ ‘Ulum al-Din

11th–12th century · Ṭūs, Khurāsān
Reviving the inner life of Islam through the Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn — one of the most influential works ever written in any religious tradition.
More on Imam al-Ghazali → · Provenance →

  1. "The hadith about distributing spoils in Hunayn and al-Abbas ibn Mardas’s poetry: “Neither Badr nor Habus would Outdo Mirdas in a gathering, Nor was I ever inferior to them, And who they belittle today will not be raised.” The Prophet's order to metaphorically "Cut off his tongue" is related by Muslim from the hadith of Rafi‘ ibn Khadij, where the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, gave Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Safwan ibn Umayya, Uyayna ibn Hisn ibn Badr, and al-Akra‘ ibn Habis each a hundred camels, and gave less to al-Abbas ibn Mardas, leading him to recite poetry."

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