Battle of Badr

The Battle of Badr took place in March 624 C.E., in the Arabian town of Badr between the Muslim army and a relief column of the Makkan Quraysh tribe. The latter had originally set out to protect their homeward-bound trade caravan that the Muslims were about to raid. Prior to this, the Prophet ﷺ had ordered his followers to carry out several raids on Quraysh caravans, which, despite initial failures, finally succeeded in gaining their first plunder at Nakhla, when the Quraysh were observing a holy month forbidding them from shedding blood.

In addition to many smaller caravans, the Quraysh sent two major caravans each year. One of these was sent to Syria in the autumn of 623, led by Abū Ṣufyān b. Ḥarb and carrying the investments of all the Makkans. The Muslims tried to ambush it on its departure, but failed. On the caravan's return journey, the Prophet ﷺ planned to raid it again. The caravan reportedly consisted of 1,000 camels and 50,000 dinars worth of goods. At Zarqa, Abū Sufyān got wind of the Prophet's ﷺ intention and sent a messenger to Makkah for help. A relief column, said to have been 1,000 strong, under Abū Jahl then set out to protect the caravan.

Approaching the watering place of Badr, Abū Sufyān, fearing the Muslims' possible attack, conducted a reconnaissance. When he discovered that two Muslim scouts had just visited the town and left, he hastily diverted the caravan to the coastal road to the west, even though it would deprive them of access to fresh water. Once at a safe distance, he sent another messenger to update the relief column. Upon learning of the caravan's safe escape, the column, already bivouacked about 3 miles from Badr, faced a split. Some, whose close relatives were among the Muslims, chose to return home, leaving behind an estimated 600–700 men. When the Prophet ﷺ learned of the column's presence from their water carriers, he immediately ordered his followers to seal the wells with sand and stones, leaving only one for him and the Muslims, thus forcing the remaining Quraysh to fight for water.

The battle began with duels between champions of both sides and escalated into wild melee. While the Muslims were fueled by the promises of paradise, the Quraysh were not only grappling with thirst, but many were reluctant to kill their kin among the Muslims. They had assumed that a mere show of force would be enough to scare off the Muslims, and had not expected such ferocity from them. Shortly before noon, when they could no longer see their leader Abū Jahl hovering above them after his horse fell, the Quraysh column broke in disarray and turned to flight. The Muslims slashed them as they fled, and managed to acquire a number of captives for ransom, as well as booty, which, though not as abundant as that brought by the caravan, was still considerable.