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What happened at the Battle of Badr?
In 624 Muhammad’s people met a Meccan force at Badr. The Qur’an calls it a victory given while they were few, and it names the day the two armies met.
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Badr was a battle in 624 between Muhammad’s people and a Meccan force. The Qur’an calls it a victory God gave while the believers were few, and it names the day the two armies met.
Key points
- Qur’an 3:123
And already had Allāh given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were weak [i.e., few in number]. Then fear Allāh; perhaps you will be grateful.
Qur’an 3:123 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ says God had already given victory at Badr while they were weak, that is, few. - Qur’an 8:41
And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.
Qur’an 8:41 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ assigns one fifth of the war booty to God, the Messenger, near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the traveler, and it calls that day the day the two armies met. - Qur’an 8:12
[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."
Qur’an 8:12 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ says God told the angels to strike the disbelievers upon the necks and to strike off every fingertip. - Sahih al-Bukhari 3957
Narrated Al-Bara: The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul's (i.e. Talut's) companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him and they were over three-hundred-and-ten men. By Allah, none crossed the river with him but a believer. (See Qur'an 2:249)
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ says the companions who took part were over three hundred and ten men. - Christians confess the Jesus who told Peter to put the sword back, in Matthew 26:52
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:52 · King James Version.
The Qur’an on Badr
Qur’an 3:123And already had Allāh given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were weak [i.e., few in number]. Then fear Allāh; perhaps you will be grateful.
Qur’an 3:123 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:
And already had Allāh given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were weak [i.e., few in number]. Then fear Allāh; perhaps you will be grateful.
Qur’an 3:123 · Saheeh International
Qur’an 8:41And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.
Qur’an 8:41 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:
And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.
Qur’an 8:41 · Saheeh International
Qur’an 8:12[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."
Qur’an 8:12 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International) says:
[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, “I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.”
Qur’an 8:12 · Saheeh International
The number in a Sunni hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957Narrated Al-Bara: The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul's (i.e. Talut's) companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him and they were over three-hundred-and-ten men. By Allah, none crossed the river with him but a believer. (See Qur'an 2:249)
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (Muhammad Muhsin Khan) says:
Narrated Al-Bara: The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul’s (i.e. Talut’s) companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him and they were over three-hundred-and-ten men. By Allah, none crossed the river with him but a believer. (See Qur’an 2:249)
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 · Muhammad Muhsin Khan
If you’re talking with a Shia Muslim
Qur’an 3:123And already had Allāh given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were weak [i.e., few in number]. Then fear Allāh; perhaps you will be grateful.
Qur’an 3:123 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗, Qur’an 8:41And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.
Qur’an 8:41 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗, and Qur’an 8:12[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, "I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip."
Qur’an 8:12 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ are Qur’an. The count of a little over three hundred and ten is Sahih al-Bukhari 3957Narrated Al-Bara: The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul's (i.e. Talut's) companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him and they were over three-hundred-and-ten men. By Allah, none crossed the river with him but a believer. (See Qur'an 2:249)
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗, a Sunni collection. Which Muslims accept which hadith?
The Christian claim
Matthew 26:52Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:52 · King James Version (King James Version) records Jesus in the garden:
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:52 · King James Version
Christians confess that Jesus, crucified and raised. They do not take Badr as the pattern of his kingdom. Did Jesus die on the cross?
Frequently asked questions
When was Badr?
The battle is placed in 624, the second year after the Hijra of 622. When was Islam founded? Who was Muhammad?
Does the Qur’an mention the fifth of the booty?
Yes. Qur’an 8:41And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allāh is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allāh and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion [i.e., decisive encounter] - the day when the two armies met [at Badr]. And Allāh, over all things, is competent.
Qur’an 8:41 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ states it and ties it to the day the two armies met at Badr.
What came next in Medina?
The siege of a Jewish tribe after the Trench is What happened to the Banu Qurayza?.
References
- Qur’an, 3:123; 8:41; 8:12
And already had Allāh given you victory at [the battle of] Badr while you were weak [i.e., few in number]. Then fear Allāh; perhaps you will be grateful.
Qur’an 3:123 · Saheeh InternationalOpen on quran.com ↗ (Saheeh International, as published on Quran.com. The link is the first passage, 3:123.) - Sahih al-Bukhari, 3957
Narrated Al-Bara: The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul's (i.e. Talut's) companions who crossed the river (of Jordan) with him and they were over three-hundred-and-ten men. By Allah, none crossed the river with him but a believer. (See Qur'an 2:249)
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 · Muhammad Muhsin KhanOpen on sunnah.com ↗ (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan.) - Gospel of Matthew, 26:52
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
Matthew 26:52 · King James Version. King James Version
See also
- How did Muhammad die? — Muslim sources say Muhammad died in Medina in 632, at sixty-three, and that in his last illness he still felt the poison from a sheep he had eaten at Khaybar.
- How many wives did Muhammad have? — The Qur’an permits Muhammad more wives than the four it allows other men. Muslim historians name Khadijah first, and Sunni hadith name Aisha among those who followed.
- How Old Was Aisha When She Married Muhammad? — In Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, Aisha says she was married at six and that the marriage was consummated at nine. Those reports also say she remained with him nine years, until his death at sixty-three.
- Is Muhammad the Paraclete or Ahmad? — Some Muslims hear Muhammad in Jesus' promise of the Comforter, and in the name Ahmad in Qur'an 61:6. John 14–16 says who that person is.
- Is Muhammad the Prophet of Deuteronomy 18? — Qur'an 7:157 says the unlettered prophet is written in the Torah and the Gospel. Deuteronomy 18 is the passage most often offered.