Some Significant
Instances of Devotion
- The Prophet [PBUH] advised his companions to
preserve the lives of Banu Hashim who had gone out to Badr with
the polytheists unwillingly because they had feared the censure of
their people. Among them, he named Al-‘Abbas bin ‘Abdul Muttalib
and Abu Bukhtari bin Hisham. He ordered the Muslims to capture,
but not to kill them. Abu Hudhaifah bin ‘Utbah showed great
surprise and commented saying: "We kill our fathers, children,
brothers and members of our clan, and then come to spare
Al-‘Abbas? By Allâh! If I see him I will surely strike him with my
sword." On hearing these words, the Messenger of Allâh [pbuh],
addressing ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab, said "Is it fair that the face of
the Messenger’s uncle be struck with sword?" ‘Umar got indignant
and threatened to kill Abu Hudhaifah; the latter later said that
extreme fear had taken firm grip of him and felt that nothing
except martyrdom could expiate for his mistake. He was actually
killed later on during Al-Yamamah events.
- Abu Al-Bukhtari bin Hisham had already done his
best to restrain his people, the Makkans, from committing any act
of folly against the Prophet [PBUH] while the latter was still in
Makkah. He also neither hurt nor was reported to have uttered
anything repugnant with regard to the Prophet [pbuh]. He had as
well been among the people who tried to invalidate the boycott
alliance taken against Banu Hashim and Banu ‘Abdul Muttalib.
Here, however, in the battle of Badr
he insisted on fighting unless his compatriot was spared.
Al-Mujdhir bin Ziyad Al-Balwi, with whom he was engaged in combat,
replied that the other was not included in the Prophet [pbuh]’s
recommendation. The combat went on to end in Al-Bukhtari’s
death.
- ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Awf and Omaiyah bin Khalaf had
been close friends during the pre-Islamic era. When the battle of
Badr ended, ‘Abdur-Rahman saw Omaiyah and his son among the
captives. He threw away the armour he had as spoils, and walked
with them both. Bilal, the Prophet
[PBUH]’s caller for prayer, saw
Omaiyah and soon all the torture he had been put to at the hand of
this man dawned upon him, and swore he would have revenge on
Omaiyah. ‘Abdur-Rahman tried to ease the tension and address
embarrassing situation amicably but with no success. The Muslims
gathered around and struck Omaiyah’s son with swords. At this
point, ‘Abdur-Rahman called upon his old friend to run for his
life but he was put to swords from different people and lay down
dead. ‘Abdur-Rahman, completely helpless and resigned said: May
Allâh have mercy on Bilal, for he deprived me of the spoils, and I
have been stricken by the death of my two captives.
- On the moral level, the battle of Badr was an
inescapable conflict between the forces of good and those of evil.
In this context, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab did not spare the life of
any polytheist even his uncle on the maternal side Al-‘As bin
Hisham bin Al-Mugheerah.
- Abu Bakr shouted at his son ‘Abdur-Rahman, still
a polytheist and fighting with them, "Where is my wealth, you
wicked boy?" The son answered that it was gone with the
wind.
- When the battle ended, the Muslims began to hold
some polytheists in captivity. The Prophet [PBUH] looked into the
face of Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, the Head of the Prophet [PBUH]’s guards,
and understood that he was hateful to taking the enemy elements as
prisoners. Sa‘d agreed to what the Prophet [PBUH] said and added
that it was the first victory for the Muslims over the forces of
polytheism, and he had more liking for slaying them than sparing
their lives.
- On the day of Badr, the sword of ‘Ukashah bin
Mihsan Al-Asdi broke down so the Prophet [PBUH] gave him a log of
wood which he shook and it immediately turned into a long strong
white sword. ‘Ukashah went on using that same sword in most of the
Islamic conquests until he died in the process of the apostasy
wars.
- When the war activities had been concluded,
Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair Al-‘Abdari saw his brother, still a polytheist,
being handcuffed by a Ansari. Mus‘ab recommended that the Helper
tighten the knot for the prisoner’s mother was wealthy enough to
ransom her son. ‘Abu ‘Aziz, Mus‘ab’s brother, tried to appeal to
his brother through the family ties, but the latter firmly replied
that the Helper was more eligible for brotherhood than
him.
- When the Prophet [PBUH] ordered that the corpses
of the polytheists be dropped into an empty well, Abu Hudhaifah
bin ‘Utbah looked sadly at his dead father, who fought on the side
of the polytheists. The Prophet [PBUH] noticed that and asked him
about it. Hudhaifah said that he had never held the least doubt
that his father met his fate deservedly, but added that he wished
he had been guided to the path of Islam, and that is why he felt
sad. The Prophet [PBUH] whispered in his ears some comforting
words.
The outcome of the battle was as
aforementioned an ignominious rout for the polytheists and a
manifest victory for the Muslims. Fourteen Muslims were killed, of
whom six were from the Emigrants and eight from the Helpers. The
polytheists sustained heavy casualties, seventy were killed and a
like number taken prisoners. Many of the principal men of Makkah,
and some of Muhammad [pbuh]’s bitterest opponents, were among the
slain. Chief of these was Abu Jahl.
On the third day, the Messenger of
Allâh [PBUH] went out to look at the slain polytheists, and
said:
"What an evil
tribe you were as regards your Prophet, you belied me but the
others have believed; you let me down while the others have
supported me; you expelled me, whereas the others have sheltered
me."
He stood over the bodies of
twenty-four leaders of Quraish who had been thrown into one of the
wells, and started to call them by name and by the names of their
fathers, saying: "Would it not have been much better for you if you
had obeyed Allâh and His Messenger? Behold, we have found that our
Lord’s promise do come true; did you (also) find that the promises
of your Lord came true?" Thereupon, ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab said: "O
Messenger of Allâh! Why you speak to bodies that have no souls in
them?" The Prophet [pbuh] answered: "By Him in Whose hand is
Muhammad [PBUH]’s soul! You do not hear better what I am saying than
they do."
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