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Concept
Battle of Badr
Summary
The Battle of Badr (غَزْوَةُ بَدْرٍ ɣazwatu badr), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (يَوْمُ الْفُرْقَانْ, jawm'ul fur'qaːn) in the Qur'an and by Muslims, took place on 15 March 624 CE (Ramadan 19, 2 AH), near the present-day city of Badr, Al Madinah Province in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad, commanding an army of his Sahaba, defeated an army of the Quraysh led by Amr ibn Hishām, better known among Muslims as Abu Jahl. The battle marked the beginning of the six-year war between Muhammad and his tribe. Before the battle, the Muslims and the Meccans had fought several smaller skirmishes in late 623 and early 624.
Initially receiving no significant opposition from the people of Mecca, who were indifferent to his proselytizing activities, Muhammad began attacking their beliefs, causing tensions. Some time later, Muhammad brought his followers to migrate to Medina after successfully negotiating with the Banu Khazraj—of which his great-grandmother was from—and the Banu Aws to mediate their tribal conflicts. In that city, he took a keen interest in raiding Meccan trade caravans and plundering their goods. Prior to the battle, he had just obtained rich plunder from a caravan raided by his men at Nakhla. Later, he learned that a large Meccan caravan transporting abundant goods was returning from the Levant. He then sent over 300 men to intercept it at Badr, taking them seven days to get there. Abu Sufyan, who led the caravan, got wind of his plan and sent messengers on a fast journey to Mecca for help.
In response to the request, Amr ibn Hisham set out, bringing a force reportedly numbering about 950 men, and encamped near Badr behind a hill out of sight of Muhammad’s position. At the time when the caravan had safely escaped using another route, a number of the Quraysh army chose to withdraw, but the rest remained after being persuaded by Amr. In the evening, Muhammad became aware of their presence after capturing their water-carrier drawing water from the wells of Badr.
Official source
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