We mentioned a new emphasis of the political freedom of the muslims.

For the fir

st time there is an independant state; they act as a political body. In Madinah
they have the beginnings of a republic and a political entity. As we mentioned b
efore there were two threats facing the muslims: internal and external. As for t
he internal threats, Madinah was not yet unified. There would always be a group
of people not happy i.e. the munafiqoon (hypocrites). The prophet PBUH dealt wit
h them until the end of his life. Another issue was the jews who had to be dealt
with. Externally the main difficulty right now is only Mecca. But slowly the en
tire Arabia would be involved for the first time in human history. The entire Pe
ninsula would be polarised between two camps - and this would ultimately lead to
the unifcation of Arabia under the prophet PBUH.
The history of the Madanih seerah is thus a history of military expiditions. We
want to know more but ultimately whatever was recorded were the most important e
vents - and these military expiditons WERE the most important events.
We discussed the minor events before Badr. One of them was the sareeah tul Nakhl
a. Some sahabah were sent to find out information outside of Mecca; they saw a c
aravan with booty and decided to capture it in the sacred month of Rajab, killin
g one person in the process. The prophet PBUH said "I didnt tell you to fight or
kill anyone". And Allah revealed the verse in Surah Baqarah. The other incident
was the Ghazwa tul Ushayra which was the part 1 of the battle of Badr. How so?
The prophet PBUH knew the caravan of Abu Suffyan was going northwards to Syria.
So the Gazwa tul Ushayra was the intended caravan on the way up - the battle of
Badr is the same caravan on the way down i.e. Gazwa tul Ushayra is phase one. By
the time the prophet PBUH got there Abu Suffyan found out what happened and he
went another route. So because of Gazwa tul Ushayra Abu Suffyan was on high aler
t and the concept of targeting caravans goes back even before this.
One of the paticular incidences shows us the targeting of caravans was something
even the Ansar thought about. Sa'ad ibn Mu'ad - the leader, most vibrant and dy
namic Ansar, was a close friend of Ummaya ibn Khalaf (the owner of Bilal) in the
times of Jaheleya. So whenever Ummaya went north, he would stay at the house of
Sa'ad. And likewise Sa'ad stayed with Ummaya whenever he went Mecca. One time f
or a business trip after the Hijrah Sa'ad went Mecca, and it was the custom of t
he time they would always to do tawaaf. So Sa'ad asks Ummaya "when shall I do a
good time to do tawaaf?" Ummaya said "go at a time when no one else is there". W
hy? Because it was known Sa'ad is helping the prophet PBUH. Note his Islam is no
t known but what is known is that he is supporting and protecting the muslims so Ummaya says "go right in the heat of the sun when everyone is asleep". Lo and
behold Allah willed they meet Abu Jahal and asks Ummaya "who is your friend?" I
ndeed no one does tawaaf at this time. Ummaya says "this is Sa'ad ibn Mu'ad from
Yathrib" and so Abu Jahal gets angry and says "How is it possible that you are
performing tawaaf around the house in safety after you have given protection to
these renegades (i.e. the quraysh called the muslims 'saboa', 'sooba' renegades
who've left the religion of their forefathers) and claim you will help them; now
you come to Mecca, show your face and do tawaaf, walahi were it not for the fac
t that you're a guest of Ummaya you would not return home in one peice". This is
an open threat contradicting Islam and their own pagan religion since indeed th
ey believed the haram was sacred, all the way from the time of Ibrahim AS. When
it comes to Islam, the double standards however are there! Abu Jahal didn't even
know Sa'ad is a muslim. Rather he is saying "you're helping the muslims - that
is enough of a crime that you shouldn't be here". Sa'ad got very angry, raised h
is voice and said "if you are going to threaten me, and deprive me of tawaaf, I
will deprive you of your trade routes to Syria!" And so the concept of targettin
g the caravans was something they though about. And in Badr, that's exactly what
he did: Sa'ad targetted the carvans of the Quraysh.
What is Badr? Its the name of a human who dug up a well. It was called the well
of badr. And that whole plane/area around the well was then called the plane of

Badr - its in between Mecca and Madinah, closer to Madinah than to Mecca. It tak
es around 1hr 10 mins to get to Badr from Mecca by car. In those days it took ar
ound 3 days. Interestingly, less than a month before Badr the change of the Qibl
ah happened and it's a significant correlation. The change literally occurs 3 we
eks before Badr; there is no doubt there's a symbolic change taking place. The d
irection changed to Mecca and the muslims were granted the greatest victory of e
arly Islam. Its as if there's a sign that now the Qiblah has changed, and you've
won the battle of Badr, slowly Mecca will be yours.
We get to the incident of Gazwa tul Badr inal kubra. It's called the great battl
e of Badr since last time we mentioned a minor battle of badr Gazwa tul Badr ina
l sugra (this small battle took place close to Badr but had nothing to do with t
he Quraysh or carvans). Gazwa tul Ushayra took place Jumada al-awwal on the 2nd
year of the Hijrah. When the time came they expected the caravan to come back in
Ramadna, the prophet PBUH sent multiple spies to see where the caravan has reac
hed. So over the course of every few days the prophet PBUH sends a few people. A
nnas ibn Malik said the prophet PBUH sent a spy to inform him of the caravan - a
nd when he informed the prophet PBUH no one else was in the room except for Anna
s since he's a 7 year old child. In another hadith the prophet PBUH sent Talha i
bn Ubaydillah and Sa'ad ibn Zaid (two famous sahabah) and they waited and follow
ed the caravan for a while, until it passed by and they returned to Madinah. And
they reported it was under the command of Abu Suffyan and it had around 1000 ca
mels in its entourage. Early history books say the Quraysh had never had such a
large caravan (most likely due to economic factors; confiscation of muslim lands
etc). This was a fortune in that day: the net worth would be around a tens of m
illion dollars. This would change the entire treasury and state of the Islamic s
tate. Again this does not make the prophet PBUH a highway robber; it's the least
we expect. Also Ibn Ishaaq mentions there was hardly household in Mecca except
they had an investment on the caravan - this was the main source of income. They
were not farmers, rather trading was their backbone and livelihood. The prophet
PBUH knew full well if he took this caravan the Meccan economy would collapse;
and further the Islamic state would flourish.
So the prophet PBUH gathered some sahabah. In Muslim its reported the prophet PB
UH didn't announce where he's going - he just said "we have a mission, whoever h
as his camel ready should come with me". Some said "our animal is just over ther
e, let me get it ready" but the prophet PBUH said "no, we are leaving right now
- only those whose animal is ready should come". In Ibn Ishaaq the prophet PBUH
said "this is the caravan of the Quraysh and it has in it the money of the Quray
sh; let us go retrieve it". It seems when he stood in the masjid he didn't annou
nce who, where or what. Why? In the masjid there could be spies, hypocrites etc.
Madinah still had spies and munaafiqs - after Badr shirk didn't exist in Madina
h. So the prophet PBUH did not make any public announcement. And indeed it's the
ultimate suprise tactic to say "we are leaving right now". After the sahabah ga
thered he told them "we are going to attack the caravans". This shows again and
again the maticulous planning of the prophet PBUH. In the baya tul Akabah he sta
tioned Ali in one place, Humza in another, met in the dead of night etc. It was
upmost suprise and caution. No one knew where they were going - the prophet PBUH
didn't even give the sahabah preperation. Why? Its reported there were only 40
armed guards to this 1000s camels fortune. The prophet PBUH realised "if we only
have 200/300 people that's all we need". So the prophet PBUH said "whoever's re
ady lets go now!" This is why we understand Badr was not meant to be a war. It w
as meant to be quick and easy confiscation - the muslims would outnumber the 40
guards, the guards would either run or stay and die, and the entire camels would
be taken. What's vital is speed and urgency - what's needed is the Quraysh not
find out. But Allah willed otherwise. Note this also explains why none of the sa
habah were fully armed - the animals that were taken were animals that happen to
be there only. The entire army only had two. There were less than 100 camels fo
r a group of 300 people. Why? It was meant to be easy prey. They just have to go
, show them 300 people and take the prize.

So the prophet PBUH when he reaches the first encampment and sets up tents, he t
akes a detailed survey of everyone participating. He makes an assessment - and h
e notices there are two people that are too young to participate. Abdullah ibn O
mar was one of them, they were under 14. Note in those times 14 was considered t
o be 18 i.e. they matured much faster. Every battle we saw this: 11, 13 year old
s wanted to participate. We have dumbed down our own youth - in every society wh
en you were 14/15 hundreds of years ago you were an 'adult'. Nowadays we have 't
eenage years'. Anyway, the two under age warriors went back.
The final count was around 315, some mention 313 or 317. Basically 310 and an od
d number. Around 83 of the muhajiroon, 62 of the Aws and 170 of the khazraj. The
y were double the Aws - firstly because they were more, secondly the % of muslim
s in the khazraj was more in the Aws. Why? The khazraj was generally the poorer
tribe therefore the poorer embrace before the rich. There were less than 100 cam
els; some books mention 70, so every three people shared a camel. So they would
take shifts and turns walking and then riding the camel.
Note there has to be significance to this number 310 and something. In a hadith
the prophet PBUH was asked "How many rasul?". The prophet PBUH said "310 and som
ething". Also the number of people fighting with Dawud AS against Goliath was 31
0 and something.
So the sahabah shared a camel, and the prophet PBUH was assigned the camel of Al
i ibn Abi Talib, along with Abu Lubaba. He was the famous sahabi who tied himsel
f to the masjid as an act of repentance - out of guilt he deprived himself of fo
od and water and said "I wont leave until Allah forgives me". He was almost abou
t to die when Allah revealed his repentance in the Quran. But he said no "until
the prophet PBUH comes and frees me I won't leave". Now imagine if you had to sh
are a camel with the prophet PBUH - both Ali and Abu Lubaba insisted "we will wa
lk and you take the camel". The response of the prophet PBUH is so profound. For
get Islam, he is the general, the commander and leader! The leader never travels
in the same way as a soilder/private. So if he rode it no one would have object
ed. Alternatively he could have been strict and said "no lets share". Rather the
prophet PBUH said "the two of you are not any younger/stronger, and I am not in
any less in need of the ajar than the two of you". Technically Ali RA was aroun
d mid 20s, the prophet PBUH is 54/55. So actually the prophet PBUH is the senior
in age. SubhanAllah he is saying "I am doing this for the reward of Allah just
like you". And it goes without saying the psychological reprucations of the prop
het PBUH walking: if you see the prophet PBUH walking - you cannot complain! Thi
s is the wisdom. Why was he so respected? Because he acted like a true prophet o
f Allah. And indeed when Umar conquers to Jeresalum, he walks in while his slave
is on the camel. And the people thought Umar was the slave and the slave was Um
ar! What leader walks while his slave rides the camel. Where did Umar learn this
from? Of course the prophet PBUH.
Again the seerah is composed of small incidents so we try to connect these 'disc
onnected incidents'. Another disconnected incident that happened before Badr is
the lack of participation of Hudhayfa ibn Yaman, and his father Yaman ibn Hakam.
They wanted to participate in Badr but they were held back because of a promise
they made to the Quraysh. These two were once captured by the Quraysh, and inst
ead of killing them the Quraysh said "lets make them promise they wont fight aga
inst us". Note these weren't muhajirs, his father wasn't from Mecca or Madinah he came to Madinah in his days of Jaheleya; he became a sahabi along with his s
on. So they aren't madani or meccan, rather they are people who are caught up in
the situation. So the Quraysh said "we won't kill you but promise us you won't
fight against us". When the prophet PBUH heard this he forbade them to fight in
Badar or any Gazwa against the Quraysh. This shows us a muslim is true to his wo
rd no matter what - treaties must be respected and honoured. Legally binding con
tracts have to be upheld. This shows us it's not allowed from a shariah perspect

ive to break ones word: therefore, if you have a visa and passport and live in a
western country, you cannot be a traitor to the state. Even though they were on
the verge of death by the Quraysh, they still gave their word and when the prop
het PBUH heard this he did not accept them to fight in Badr. Allah says "Oh you
who believe fulfill your promises".
Another incident that occured when the prophet PBUH is leaving Madinah, one of t
he pagans of Madinah known for his bravery and fighting skills, he marched up to
the prophet PBUH and said "I wish to join you". The sahabah were happy to see h
im because they were getting a strong man. But the prophet PBUH asked him "do yo
u testify that Allah is one and your Lord and I am the messenger?" He said no. I
n response the prophet PBUH said "We do not ask for help from pagans". So the ma
n stayed where he was, and a few hours later caught up and again asked "allow me
to come with you". Again the prophet PBUH asked him "do you testify..." he said
"no". And so the prophet PBUH replied "we do not get help from pagans". A few h
ours later he comes back and asks to join again. The prophet PBUH asks "do you t
estify..." and this time he says yes and recites the kalma. At that point he joi
ned the gathering of the muslims.
On this hadith: "We do not ask for help from pagans" we have varying opinions. T
he four schools of thought differ as to the extent of its implications. "Can you
get the help of a non muslim army?" There is a spectrum of opinion. Imam an Naw
ai says "this hadith shows the general rule is you don't ask help from the pagan
army. The prophet PBUH himself asked helped from Abdullah ibn Uraikat for the
Hijrah i.e. a pagan!" Think about it - this man could have got 100 camels as a r
eward for turning the prophet PBUH in. But he didn't - so based on this Imam an
Nawai says if a mushrik is genuinely good and its dire circumstances you can ask
. Similarly the prophet PBUH asked help from Mut'im ibn Adi after Abu Lahab stop
ped giving protection to him (after Abu Talib died). Also Islam dosen't ask us t
o look in the chests of people. The time, place and circumstance - the whole sto
ry seems fishy. But Islam says "judge people by outward - leave the inner to All
ah". The prophet PBUH asked him three times "are you a muslim etc?" And there's
a lot of money to be gained from being a muslim. But only on the third time he s
aid "ok yes". Note also there's no denying Islam incentivises people through mon
ey etc. If they convert for any reason, because Islam is true - we are very conf
ident they will eventually convert for the right reason. Indeed if someone conve
rts for secondary reasons, eventually imaan will enter their heart.
It seems we can guess the prophet PBUH left Madinah on 12th Ramadan. And ibn Umm
e Maktoom was in charge while he left - and subhanAllah this person was blind bu
t he is still in charge. This shows Islam does not discriminate to any disabilit
y. He was a wise and logical thinking man so he was put in charge by the prophet
PBUH. Abu Suffyan is coming back from Syria and he's taking extra precautions.
Why? Because he already found out during the Gazwa tul Ushayra he was close to g
et caught by just one day. Thus on the way back he took extra measures so much s
o he sent delegations out to spy on any spies. It's said some beadouins mentione
d they say "two men" who were spying on the camp. They took Abu Suffyan to Talha
and Zaid and he examined their camp and markings. In his intellegance he open u
p the camel dung and found date seeds of Madinah. Then he said "these are the da
tes of Yathrib". So Abu Suffyan panics - therefore this panic causes him to go i
nto overdrive mode. Both of which saved him, but also brought about the biggest
disaster the Quraysh had ever faced.
1. He took an unknown route. He went from a much farther route - bypassing the e
ntire city.
2. Sent for reinforcements by sending his fastest rider, Dhum Dhum ibn Amir al G
afaree, to say "unless you do something your money will be destroyed". It was tr
uly very fast - this was probably taking place on the 10th. The two spies went b
ack to the prophet PBUH and as soon as they told him the prophet PBUH said "righ

t now let's go" - look at the quickness. So within 2/3 days, Dhum Dhum reaches M
ecca and they all arrive to Badr.
One last thing to discuss: the dream of Aatika bint Abdul Muttalib, the full sis
ter of Abdullah ibn Abu Talib, and she is the full aunty of the prophet PBUH. Ib
n Ishaaq mentions the only aunt of the prophet PBUH who accepted Islam is Saffiy
ah RA. However ibn Sa'ad says Aatika also accepted Islam. Its said she migrated
to Madinah after this and died there. But we don't have a single report about an
ything from Aatika - had she converted we would have heard some narrations. But
Ibn Ishaaq is the earlier and greater authority here. One things for sure: we on
ly hear her about this dream.
So Aatika had a dream three days before Dhum Dhum arrived. She called her brothe
r Abbas; she was closest to him in age and bond. She said "I saw a dream I am ve
ry concerned about". She said "In my dream in three days a crier will come to Me
cca, racing on his camel, and he first goes to the masjid and cries out "Oh you
traitors meet your death in three days from now (i.e. 6 days)" and then the crie
r is on top of the ka'bah and says the same thing. Then he's on top of the mount
ain of Abu Kubays (highest local peak) and says the same". Why are they traitors
? Because for the first time in Arab history they've broken tribes up, and broke
n the ties of kinship. Also they're traitors of Ibrahim AS religion. She continu
es "this crier picks up a large rock, topples it down the mountain, cracks up at
the base and keeps on rolling until every house is hit". Clearly its showing wh
atever announcement is made, it will mean every house in Mecca will be struck by
a calamity - indeed not a single household was spared in Badr. Abbas became ver
y worried and said "its very dangerous, if you tell it you will get into trouble
so keep it to yourself". We know seeing dreams is something Allah blesses peopl
e with. Abbas said don't tell anyone: yet, he couldn't follow his own advice. He
tells his best friend Al Waleed ibn Utbah and says "dont tell anyone". But he t
ells his father Utbah etc. Within some time, all in Mecca knew about the dream.
However you see it there's clear doom and dread.
Official narration
In March 624 she reported a frightening dream to her brother Abbas. She had drea
med that a camel had halted near Mecca and that its rider had shouted: "Come for
th, O people, and do not leave your men to face a disaster that will come three
days hence!" Then the man had climbed a mountain and thrown down a rock, which h
ad shattered, spraying pieces on every building in the city. Abbas warned Atika
not to tell anyone about this dream, but he told a friend, who told his father,
and soon it was common knowledge in Mecca. Abu Jahl asked Abbas: "Are you not sa
tisfied that your men should play the prophet, that your women should do so also
? Atika has predicted that there will be war in three days. If the three days pa
ss and nothing happens, we will write you down as the greatest liars in Arabia."
Three days later, a messenger from Abu Sufyan arrived in the valley, stood up o
n his camel and tore his shirt, shouting: "O Quraysh, the merchant-camels, the m
erchant-camels! Muhammad and his companions are lying in wait for your property,
which is with Abu Sufyan. I do not think that you will overtake it. Help! Help!
" Thus alerted, the Quraysh armed themselves for the Battle of Badr.[3] However,
Atika's brother Abu Lahab did not join the army, saying he was afraid of Atika'
s predictive dream.[4]
So Abbas wakes up the next day and everyone in the city is gossiping. He goes ab
out his business then does tawaaf after Asr i.e. this was the custom. But he see
s Abu Jahal surrounded and says "Ya Abbas when you're done come here". He does t
awaaf and Abu Jahal says "O children of Abdul Muttalib, since when did you get a
female prophetess?" He is being sarcastic - Abbas says "what do you mean?". He
says "Are you not satisfied you have men that are prophets? If its true a crier
comes in three days; if it dosen't happen, we will make a sign that the Banu Abd
ul Muttalib are the most lying of the Arabs i.e. we will publically shame you".

Abbas narrates this hadith himself and he says he was so caught off guard he den
ies everything. The news of what Abu Jahal did to Abbas humiliated the whol Banu
Hashim tribe. Thus the Banu Abdul Muttalib are fuming - the women begin lashing
out at him "are you not a man?! Could you not defend your own women? Have you n
o shame? You and your tribe was dissed and you just took it?" Until Abbas said h
e decided the next day to publically refute Abu Jahal. He wakes up then the next
day and goes to find Abu Jahal. But "as soon as he saw me, he turned pale and t
urned his back to me - I went to go face him when I finally saw what had caused
Abu Jahal to act like this". Its the third day. The crier has arrived and Abu Ja
hal has already heard him. And the crier is none other than Dhum Dhum, and to ma
ke it more dramatic, he mutulated his own camel and smeared the blood over the c
amel, and entered Mecca riding backwards. And then he cried out "O Quraysh your
caravan, your property and money is being attacked by Muhammad right now and you
won't defend it unless you act immediately" - of course its all a lie, even his
appearance. No one touched him yet he's still bloodied up. His announcement was
"come and fight" but Aatika is saying rather this means "come and meet your dea
th".
Q and A
Usool al Fiqh: does the rulings to the muslims all apply to the prophet PBUH? So
me hadiths say you can't stand and drink water but its narrated he did so himsel
f. Thus it seems its makrooh, not forbidden.
Justification for stealing: it's unfair to read in our ethical values in their t
ime and place. Its unfair to assume we have a higher standard - attacking carava
ns was something every group did. There was no unified government. It was just t
he law of the jungle. Islam came and brought about a system of governance. In th
e establishment Islam had to go on the offensive and defensive. The Quraysh aren
't netural - they have persecuted the muslim for 13 years, they confiscated all
the property of the muslims, they expelled the muslims from their homes, totured
them etc. There is no treaty being broken. There is nothing problematic at all
- it's the least we can expect even according to modern standards. Its a state o
f war! Nowadays its much worse under the guise of democracy. Thousands are dying
.