جنگِ بدر کے بعد مقتولینِ مکہ سے رسول ﷺ کا خطاب

It is narrated from Abu Talha (may Allah be pleased with him) that, by the command of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, on the day of Badr the bodies of twenty-four (24) great chiefs of the Quraysh were thrown into a filthy well of Badr. It was the Prophet's ﷺ practice that when he was granted victory over a people, he would stay three days on the battlefield. So when the third day came at Badr, by his ﷺ command a saddle-litter was fastened on his mount; then he ﷺ set out on foot and the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) followed behind, until he ﷺ stood at the edge (of the well). Then he began to call out to them by their names and their fathers' names: "O so-and-so son of so-and-so, and O so-and-so son of so-and-so! Would it not have pleased you had you obeyed Allah and His Messenger ﷺ? For we have found true what our Lord promised us — have you found true what your Lord promised you?" Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! How can you speak to bodies that have no soul in them? The Prophet ﷺ said: "By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad ﷺ, you do not hear what I am saying any better than they do" — and in one narration: "you are no better at hearing than they are, but they cannot reply."

On the seventeenth (17th) of the blessed Ramadan the Battle of Badr took place, which was a very great event in the history of Islam and a mighty, momentous encounter. Since the thirteen years of the Makkan period had been an era of enduring dreadful calamities and boundless hardships — such that a handful of Muslims had to migrate to Abyssinia and Madinah, while the dangerous and deadly scheme of the leaders of disbelief and the chiefs of the polytheists was, in every case, to wipe out the Muslims, their plan being even (God forbid) to kill the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — and since the Muslims had passed through a school of patience, steadfastness and miraculous perseverance, and, through the blessing of the company of the Prophet ﷺ, had reached the peak of perfection, and the true essence of Islamic unity and brotherhood had settled in their hearts, they were then, in the Madinan life, granted divine permission to take action. Thus, from the beginning of the Madinan period, the Muslims' expeditions against the polytheists began. In short, in the Madinan life the capacity for jihad was created, and by establishing the system of Islamic brotherhood among the Muslims their collective economy was set right; in Surah Anfal and Surah Tawbah, Badr and its related matters are described in detail.

It is as though the Battle of Badr occurred by the will of Allah Most High, so that the roots of tawhid (divine oneness) might be made firm and enduring with the utmost depth, and polytheism might be utterly destroyed. From the jihad of Badr the very message is received that the foundation stone of divine government had now been laid and a worldwide Islamic brotherhood had taken shape; and it is the natural demand upon its faithful that, as a worldwide Islamic brotherhood of unity and fraternity, they should discharge the duty of bearing witness to the truth before all humanity, so that through the enforcement of the Qur'an and Sunnah the effects of oppression and ignorance may end and the values of knowledge and justice may prevail.

On the horizon of Badr, the sun of tawhid rose over the whole world for ever; that is why the Qur'an also named the Battle of Badr "Yawm al-Furqan" (the Day of Distinction), for it was the day of the final decision. This encounter ended in the crushing defeat of the polytheists and the clear victory of the Muslims, for seventy (70) of the leaders of disbelief among the Quraysh and the chiefs of the polytheists were slain in great humiliation at the hands of the mujahidin on the field of Badr; and their ringleader, and the Pharaoh of this Ummah, Abu Jahl, was among those killed. Also among these were eleven of the fourteen men who had sat in Makkah and plotted the scheme to kill the Messenger of Allah ﷺ — they too were killed on that same day; and three of them who survived later embraced Islam. A special feature of Badr is that Allah Most High mentioned its victory in Surah Al-Imran, and detailed all its parts in most eloquent style in Surah Anfal and Surah Tawbah. The Muslim Ummah should look at the realities and historical background of the Battle of Badr and make its aims and goal a guiding lamp. Would that the Muslims and the Muslim world, in the present circumstances, would take a lesson from the historic role of Badr and create Islamic unity and brotherhood within themselves, and take to heart this historic event too — that the true goal was accomplished a few years later in the form of the conquest of Makkah, which was also on the twentieth (20th) of the blessed Ramadan, by which the whole Arabian Peninsula became the centre of a worldwide Islamic brotherhood and the light of the dominance of tawhid spread on a global level, so that the world of humanity might witness the dominance and manifestation of true Islam — becoming for it a conclusive proof.

The history of Islam tells us that, against the disbelievers, the Muslims could never obtain superiority in numbers or in the equipment of war; the Muslims always attained superiority on the battlefield on the basis of their spirit of faith. Even today we must never forget this reality: that the Muslim's real weapon is his faith, not an abundance of bombs, missiles and war material — for bombs, missiles and war material may become useless, or the enemy may seize them; but if the strength of faith is intact, fewness of numbers and scarcity of equipment can never harm the Muslim.

The disbeliever, when he is one, relies upon the sword;
the believer, when he is one, fights on as a soldier even without a blade.

The victory of the Muslims is conditional only upon faith in Allah and reliance (tawakkul) upon Him; for when faith remains intact and there is complete trust in Allah Most High, then Allah Most High Himself becomes the guardian of His religion and sends luminous creation (the angels) to their aid. Allah Most High says:

"I will help you with a thousand angels, coming one after another." (Al-Anfal — 9)

Create the atmosphere of Badr, and for your victory the angels
can descend from the heavens even now, rank upon rank.