The Battle of Badr or sometimes called The Raid of Badr (Arabic: غَزْوَةُ بَدْرٍ [ɣazwatu badr]; Ghazwatu Badr), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (Arabic: يَوْمُ الْفُرْقَانْ, Arabic pronunciation: [jawm'ul fur'qaːn]; Yawm al-Furqan) in the Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan, 2 AH), near the present-day city of Badr, Medina Province in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad, commanding an army of his Sahaba, defeated an army of the Quraysh led by Amr ibn Hisham, better known among Muslims as Abu Jahl. The battle marked the beginning of the six-year war between Muhammad and his tribe.
A few days before the battle, when he learnt of a Meccan caravan returning from the Levant led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, Muhammad gathered a small expeditionary force to raid it. Abu Sufyan, learning of the Muslim plan to ambush his caravan, changed course and took a longer route away from Muhammad's base at Medina and sent a messenger to Mecca, asking for help. Amr ibn Hisham commanded an army nearly one-thousand strong, approaching Badr and encamping at the dune al-'Udwatul Quswa.
Badr was the first large-scale engagement between the Muslims and the Quraysh Meccans. Advancing from the north, the Muslims faced the Meccans. The battle began with duels between the warriors on both sides, following which the Meccans charged upon the Muslims under a cover of arrows. The Muslims countered their charge and broke the Meccan lines, killing several important Qurayshi leaders, including Amr ibn Hisham and Umayyah ibn Khalaf.
The Muslim victory strengthened Muhammad's position; The Medinese eagerly joined his future expeditions, and tribes outside Medina openly allied with Muhammad. The battle has been passed down in Islamic history as a decisive victory attributable to divine intervention, and by other sources to the strategic prowess of Muhammad.
After the Hijra (migration to Medina) in 622 CE, the population of Medina chose Muhammad to be the leader of the community. Muhammad's followers decided to raid the caravans of the Meccans as they passed by Medina.
In early 624, a caravan of the Quraysh led by Abu Sufyan ibn Harb carrying wealth and goods from the Levant (possibly Gaza) was returning to Mecca. It was carrying merchandise worth 50,000 dinars and guarded by 70 men. The caravan was extraordinarily large, possibly because several smaller caravans may have grouped for safety. All the leading Meccan financiers had a share in this trading venture, and thus had a strong interest in it returning.
Muhammad learned of the caravan and decided to intercept it for two reasons. First, there was the continuation of the policy to recover wealth from the Quraysh, as the Quraysh had confiscated Muslims' properties in Mecca after the hijrah. Secondly, a successful attack would impress the Meccans and could act as a deterrent against a future attack on Medina.
Abu Sufyan sent word to Mecca that the caravan was in danger, asking for reinforcements to escort it as it passed by Medina. Traditional Muslim sources write that Abu Sufyan's spies had informed him of Muslim preparations to attack, a view accepted by Ramadan. But Watt writes given that it took the Meccan army a week to get to Badr, Abu Sufyan must have sent his request before the Muslim preparations began. Watt points out Abu Sufyan was "one of the most astute men in Mecca" and must have anticipated the Muslim attack.
Muhammad had gathered a small expeditionary force of around 300 men to intercept the caravan. Abu Sufyan's spies informed him of the Muslims' plot to ambush his caravan. Fearing the loss of wealth that was imminent, Abu Sufyan sent the messenger Damdam ibn Amr al-Ghifari to the Quraysh. Damdam, upon his arrival at the Ka'bah, cut off the nose and ears of his camel, turned its saddle upside down, tore off his shirt and cried:
"O Quraysh! Your merchandise! It is with Abu Sufyan. The caravan is being intercepted by Muhammad and his companions. I cannot say what would have happened to them. Help! Help!"Abu Sufyan had rerouted his caravan toward the Red Sea and escaped the Muslim threat by Damdam's arrival at Mecca.
The valley of Badr is surrounded by two large sand dunes to the east, called al-'Udwatud Dunya (the near side of the valley) and al-'Udwatul Quswa (the far side of the valley). The west of the valley was covered by the al-Asfal Mountain (Jabal Al-Asfal) with an opening between it and another hill in the northwest.
Between al-'Udwatud Dunya and al-'Udwatul Quswa was an opening, which was the primary route to Medina. Muhammad and his army did not approach the battlefield from here, they came from the north, as they were originally planning to target the caravan, which was moving from the Levant in the north, to Mecca in the south. Between al-'Udwatul Quswa and the hill covering the southern part of the battlefield was another opening, which was the primary route from Mecca.
The Quraysh had encamped in the south-eastern portion of the valley near the road to Mecca, while Muhammad and his army had encamped at some date-palms in the north. They had taken a well near the center of the western margin of al-'Udwatul Dunya and destroyed the other wells near the road to Medina to prevent the Meccans from getting any water. Another well situated at the end of the road to Mecca was later filled with the bodies of the dead Meccans.
On the night of 11 March (15 Ramadan), it had rained over the battlefield and the surrounding region. Muslims believe this was a blessing from Allah for the believers and a curse for the disbelievers, who suffered hardship in trying to climb the muddy slope.
Muhammad was able to gather an army of 313–317 men. Sources vary upon the exact number, but the generally accepted number is 313. This army consisted of 82 Muhajirun, 61 men from the Aws and 170 men from the Khazraj. They were not well-equipped for a major conflict nor prepared. They only had two horses, and those belonged to Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Miqdad ibn Aswad. The entire army had 70 camels, meaning that they had one camel for two to three men to ride alternatively. Muhammad shared a camel with Ali ibn Abi Talib and Marthad ibn Abi Marthad al-Ghanawi. The guardianship and administration of Medina was entrusted with Abd Allah ibn Umm Maktum, but later with Abu Lubaba ibn Abd al-Mundhir. Muhammad handed a white standard to Mus'ab ibn Umayr al-'Abdari. The army was divided into two battalions: one of the 82 Muhajirun and the other of the 231 Ansar. The flag of the Muhajirun was carried by Ali ibn Abi Talib, while that of the Ansar was carried by Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Zubayr commanded the right flank, while Miqdad commanded the left. And the rear of the army was commanded by Qays ibn Abi Sa'sa'a.
With Muhammad in the lead, the army marched out along the main road to Mecca, from the north. At Safra', he dispatched Basbas al-Juhani and Adi al-Juhani to scout for the Quraysh. The future Caliph Uthman stayed behind to take care of his sick wife Ruqayya, the daughter of Muhammad, who later died from illness. Salman al-Farsi also could not join the battle, as he was still not a free man.
All of the clans of the Quraysh except the Banu Adi quickly assembled an excited army of around 1300 men, 100 horses and a large number of camels. Moving swiftly towards Badr, they passed the valleys of 'Usfan, Qadid and al-Juhfah. At al-Juhfah, another messenger from Abu Sufyan informed them of the safety of their merchandise and wealth. Upon receiving this message, the Meccan army expressed delight and showed a desire to return home. Amr ibn Hisham was not interested in returning and insisted on proceeding to Badr, and holding a feast there to show the Muslims and the surrounding tribes that they were superior. Despite Amr's threat and insistence, the Banu Zuhrah, numbering around 300, broke away from the army and returned to Mecca, on the advice of Al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq. Muhammad's clan, the Banu Hashim, also attempted to break away but were threatened by Amr to stay. Many of the Qurayshi nobles, including Amr ibn Hisham, al-Walid ibn Utba, Utba ibn Rabi'a, and Umayya ibn Khalaf, joined the Meccan army. Their reasons varied: some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan; others wanted to avenge Amr ibn al-Hadrami, a guard killed in one of the caravan ambushes at Nakhlah; finally, a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims. Amr ibn Hisham is described as shaming Umayyah ibn Khalaf into joining the expedition.