In a recent article in the Urdu daily Roznama Islam, Pakistani columnist Zia-ur-Rehman Zia discussed the lessons that Muslims must learn from the the Battle of Badr, fought during Ramadan in 624 between a group of 313 early Muslims led by Muhammad and a 1,000 men from the Meccan Quraysh tribe. In the article, titled "The Lesson of the Battle of Badr," Zia stressed that the Companions of Muhammad were so spirited by the idea of jihad and the orders of Allah and Muhammad that they triumphed despite being outnumbered.
"That army [from the Quraysh tribe] was such that they had lots of weapons and mounts, but they could not stand in front of this handful of soldiers of Allah. Seventy were killed [from the Quraysh], as many were captured, and the rest escaped. This was the power of faith that had been established in the hearts of the Companions," he wrote.
Following are excerpts from the article, as translated from Urdu:[1]
"Today, Muslims Are Suffering Because Of The Absence Of This Spirit [Of Jihad]; The Unbelievers Have Invaded From All Sides; Muslims Are Being Persecuted In Every Way; The Whole Ummah Is Surrounded By Troubles, Although The Number Of Muslims Is Not Small"
"The Battle of Badr took place on the 17th of Ramadan, 2nd Hijri [March 624]. It was the first battle between Islam and unbelief, which was led by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH). There were very few Muslims in this battle, only 313, with few mounts or weapons, compared to 1,000 unbelievers of Mecca, who were fully armed and had an abundance of animals.
"Apparently, there was no competition between the two armies, yet the Muslims under the leadership of the Holy Prophet PBUH leapt into the battlefield with their faith in Allah and victory became their destiny. We learn many lessons from this battle, some of the most important of which are the power that kept the Sahaba [Companions of Muhammad] steadfast. How did 313 unarmed Muslims, who had an extreme shortage of weapons and mounts, fight an army of 1,000?
"That army [of Meccan unbelievers] was such that they had lots of weapons and mounts, but they could not stand in front of this handful of soldiers of Allah. Seventy were killed [from the Quraysh], as many were captured, and the rest escaped. This was the power of faith that had been established in the hearts of the Companions. It was their passion to obey the orders of Allah and His Messenger that made them excel in every field. This was the result of the heat of the candle of faith that was burning in their hearts.
"Today, Muslims are suffering because of the absence of this spirit. The unbelievers have invaded from all sides. Muslims are being persecuted in every way. The whole Ummah is surrounded by troubles, although the number of Muslims is not small. Today, there are about two billion Muslims living in the world, which is almost a quarter of the total population of the world. Despite this, they are so oppressed that whoever wants starts oppressing them without any interference. There is no one to care for Muslims. The reason for this is the weakness of faith among Muslims. The love of the [material] world has settled in the hearts of Muslims.
"The Messenger of Allah, PBUH, said: 'The time is about to come when other Ummahs will call one another against you...' So, someone said, 'Would it be because of our scarcity and shortage these days?' The Prophet said: 'No, but you will be many in number in those days, but you will be like foam, like the foam of a flood. Allah Almighty will remove your fear from the chests of your enemies and will put wahn [illusion] in your hearts.' Someone asked, oh Messenger of Allah! What is wahn. He, peace be upon him, said: 'The love of the world and the disgust of death.'"
"At The Battle Of Badr, The Muslims Had Their Relatives In Front [Among The Unbelievers Of Mecca]; One's Brother And Another's Father Were The Opponents; But These Mujahideen Of Allah Did Not Consider Anyone In The Fight Against Religion And Raised The Sword Against Everyone"
"Today, Muslims are running toward materialism, because of which they are moving away from religion. They have become so blind in making friends with the infidels and in adopting their ways that they have forgotten the pure teachings of their religion. They are so immersed in reconciliation, negotiation, and expedience that they have forgotten jihad. Due to being overpowered by the infidels, they keep engaging in negotiations and advocate for their commitment to peace. They call it their pacifism, but the fact is that this is not pacifism, it is cowardice.
"In the Battle of Badr, the Muslims had their relatives in front [among the unbelievers of Mecca]; one's brother and another's father were the opponents. But these mujahideen of Allah did not consider anyone in the fight against religion and raised the sword against everyone. Forget befriending the unbelievers, they even fight their blood relatives.
"On the other hand, we are ready to sacrifice everything of ours for friendship with the infidels who are sitting across seven seas. At apparent level, we are not very weak; we have all kinds of modern weapons. Rather, Allah the almighty has also blessed Pakistan with nuclear power because of which Pakistan is counted among the militarily powerful countries. Despite this, why are we so afraid?
"There is only one answer to this: there was a spirit of jihad among the Companions; they wanted paradise instead of this material world. Nothing prevented them from obeying the orders of Allah and His Messenger. On the contrary, our condition is that we have become so engrossed in the love of the world that now we find it difficult to even offer prayer, jihad is a far distant thing.
"Apart from that, we are always involved in sin, every sin that is forbidden by the holy shari'a, we are constantly doing it. Lies, backbiting, bribery, corruption, theft, robbery, adultery, nakedness, and indecency, dishonesty, inaccuracies in sale and purchase, every evil is found in our society. We must do what Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) have forbidden, because of which Allah the exalted is displeased.
"Therefore, we have to leave all these social evils and follow the orders of Allah and give up cowardice and develop the spirit of jihad in ourselves. This is the only way to restore the lost dignity of Muslims. Even today, if the Muslims create within themselves the spirit of the Companions, then the aid of Allah may descend in the same way as it descended in the field of Badr."
[1] Roznama Islam (Pakistan), March 29, 2024.
