The Battle of Badr (6)

The news of Badr reaches Makkah and Madinah

The pagans who had escaped carried the news of their defeat back to Makkah. The Makkans were crushed and disgraced. Unwilling to give the Muslims, still in Makkah a chance to see them grieve; they prohibited mourning over their dead and captured.

Refraining from mourning, however, would not be easy. For example, Aswad bin Muttalib lost three sons at Badr, and he desperately wanted to lament for his dead sons. One night he heard a woman weeping uncontrollably and he assumed that mourning had been permitted. He immediately sent a slave to find out if it was so. He found out that mourning was still banned – the woman was crying for her lost camel. When he learned this, he raged: “She cries because her camel is lost and restlessness has disrupted her sleep? Cry not over the camel, but over Badr where fortune fell on an evil day!”

The Prophet sent two messengers to announce the victory to the people of Madinah. Abdullah bin Rawaha went to northern Madinah, while Zayd bin Haritha went to southern Madinah. The people of Madinah had been worried, especially as the Jews had spread rumours that the mighty Quraysh had overpowered the Muslims. When the Prophet’s messengers arrived, the people shouted, “Allahu Akbar! Allah is Most Great!” The Muslims were jubilant. Allah had given them victory, and they were serene in their belief that Allah would reward those Muslims who fell in battle.

Return to Madinah

While the Muslims were heading back to Madinah, the Prophet received a revelation from Allah concerning the distribution of the spoils of war. One-fifth of the booty was set aside for the Prophet , and the rest was to be distributed among those who fought in the battle. He became the first prophet who was allowed to share in the spoils of war. Allah also ordained that Nadir bin Harith be executed, and Ali beheaded him. Later, the command to kill Utbah bin Abu Mu’ayt was given, and Asim bin Thabit Ansari beheaded him (but some sources indicate that it was Ali bin Abi Talib who slew him).

Upon hearing the news of the great victory, many of the citizens of Madinah travelled toward Badr in hopes of being the first to congratulate the Prophet . They met the victorious Muslims in Ruha, and accompanied them back to Madinah. The sight of the triumphant Muslims entering Madinah with dozens of captives led many people to become Muslim.