Battle of Badr

"And indeed Allah assisted you at Badr when you were weak, so be careful (to your duty) to Allah so that you may be of the thankful ones.  When you said to the believers 'Does it not suffice you that your Lord should assist you with three thousand angels sent down." Qur'an - Suratu Ale Imran 3:122 

The battle of Badr was the first of the great battles of Islam.

When the Prophet heard the news that there was a trade caravan going to Syria from Makka under the leadership of Abu Sufyan he sent two men to gather information about it.  It was discovered that it was a large caravan in which all the Makkans had shares.  The Quraysh had decided to put all their savings into it and use the profits on arms, horses and other items of war to use against the Muslims.

The news was disturbing. The Prophet (pbuh) left Madina with 313 men, 2 horses and 70 camels to go to Badr which was a stopping point for the caravans.

The Quraysh had confiscated all the property of all the Muslims who had left Makka for Madina and the Prophet therefore decided to confiscate the property of the caravan in compensation.

Abu Sufyan feared an attack from the Muslims and sent a messenger to Makka telling them of his fears.  On receiving the message, an army of 1000 men, 100 horses and 700 camels under the leadership of Abu Jahl left Makka to go to Badr.

Meanwhile Abu Sufyan took a different route back to Makka avoiding Badr.  Once he was back in Makka he called Abu Jahl back but Abu Jahl was too proud and wanted to crush the Muslims with his large army.

The two armies met at Badr on 17th Ramadhan 2 A.H.

In the beginning as per Arab custom, single combat (one to one) took place.  The famous Quraysh warriors Utbah, Shayba and Walid came to challenge three 'Ansars' from Madina.  The Quraysh refused to fight any of the 'Ansars', demanding their 'equals' and so the Prophet (pbuh) sent Ubayda, Hamza and Imam Ali (pbuh). The three from the opposition were killed (Ubayda was hurt). The Quraysh got disturbed and began attacking en masse.

In the thick of the battle the Prophet prayed to Allah. In Suratul Anfal Allah gave the answer

"When you asked for help from your Lord, He answered you.  Indeed I will aid you with a thousand of the angels in rows after rows".  Qur'an - Suratul Anfal 8:9

The enemies got frightened and began to retreat. The skill of Imam Ali (pbuh), the other Muslim soldiers and the sight of so many angels struck terror in the enemies hearts. 70 of them were killed including their leader Abu Jahl.  Imam Ali (pbuh) killed 36 of them.14 Muslims were martyred.

70 prisoners were taken by the Muslims. The prisoners were treated with kindness and some became Muslims. In later days some of the prisoners said: "Blessed be the men of Madina, they made us ride whilst they walked, they gave us wheat and bread to eat when there was little of it contenting themselves with plain dates".

The rich prisoners paid ransom and were set free. Others were asked to gain their freedom by teaching 10 Muslims to read and write.