Until the Battle of Badr, God’s Messenger had not sought help from the Helpers in military expeditions. This was the first occasion when the Helpers would prove their commitment to support Islam. Without addressing them directly, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, again put the same two alternatives before his audience. Realizing that God’s Messenger aimed to ascertain the views of the Helpers on the question, Sa‘d ibn Mu‘adh rose and spoke as follows:

O Messenger of God! I think your question is directed to the Helpers. We have believed in you, affirmed the veracity of your claim to be the Messenger of God, and borne witness to the truth of your teachings. We took the oath of allegiance to you that we would hear and obey you. O Messenger of God! Do as you wish! By the One Who has sent you with the truth, if you were to take us to the sea and plunge into it, none of us should remain behind. So take us along to the battlefield with God’s blessings. (2)

The decision was given in favour of fighting. This was also the decree of God:

God promised you that one of the two hosts would be yours, and you wished that the one with no power should be yours. But God willed to establish the truth through His words and to annihilate the unbelievers to the last remnant, that He might prove the truth to be true and falsify falsehood, even if the sinful are averse. (al-Anfal, 8.7-8)

The Makkan army consisted of 1000 fighters, including 600 soldiers in coats of mail, and 200 cavalry. They were accompanied by singers and dancers. Whenever the army halted, dancing and drinking parties were held. Also the army arrogantly vaunted its military power and numerical strength before the tribes and localities which fell on the way, and boasted of its invincibility. (3) What was even worse was that they were not fighting for any lofty ideal.

Against the force of the Makkan army, the Muslim army was made up of 313 fighters. Of these, 86 were Emigrants and the rest, the Helpers. Such was the scarcity of resources that only two or three Muslims had horses. The number of camels was no more than 70 so that three or four persons took turns on each camel. God’s Messenger himself took turns with two persons. When they asked him to ride the camel to exclude themselves from the turns, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, answered: You are no better in strength than me. Concerning the reward, I am not in less need of it than you. (4)

The Muslim soldiers were fully devoted to the cause of Islam and were fired with the zeal to sacrifice their lives for their cause. In order to accomplish what He had already decreed, God made the Makkan army appear as small in number in the dream God’s Messenger had, just as He made the number of the Muslims appear smaller in the eyes of the Makkans (al-Anfal, 8.44).

The two armies finally encountered each other at Badr. The Makkan army outnumbered the Muslims by three to one. Moreover, the Muslims were scantily equipped. However, they would fight for the most sublime of causes, to establish God’s religion based on belief, good morals and justice. They were deeply convinced of the truth of this cause and accordingly ready to sacrifice their lives. They had reached the battlefield earlier than their opponents and been positioned around the wells. Apart from that, the heavy downpour which had come the previous night, was to the advantage of the Muslims. It had provided them with an abundant water supply which they quickly stored in large reservoirs. Rain had also compacted the loose sand in the upper part of the valley where they had pitched their tents. This helped the Muslims plant their feet firmly and facilitated their movement. But in the lower part of the valley, where the Quraysh army was stationed, the ground had turned marshy. In addition to all those Divine blessings, God brought on them drowsiness and gave them a feeling of peace and security (al-Anfal, 8.11).

God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, positioned his army in the upper part of the valley overlooking the whole of the battlefield, and divided them into three parts, one centre and two flanks. The central force consisted of the leading figures among the Emigrants and Helpers, who were foremost in devotion to God’s Messenger. Mus‘ab ibn ‘Umayr was carrying the standard of God’s Messenger. Mus‘ab belonged to one of the richest families of Makka. He had accepted Islam as an adolescent. He was very handsome, and when he used to go out, before his conversion, in silken clothes, the Makkan girls used to stare at him from the windows of their houses. However, after he embraced Islam, he became a whole-hearted follower of God’s Messenger. He sacrificed whatever he had in the way of God and finally died a martyr at the Battle of Uhud, during which he was again the standard-bearer of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. When he lost his right arm, he took the standard in his left hand, and when a blow of an enemy sword took it away too, he was left with a ‘head’ to protect God’s Messenger, before whom he was finally martyred. (5)