As the Koraysh began to advance, the Prophet (sa) called upon his companions to form their ranks and spoke to them with words of encouragement, and they knew Allah was with them. Their lines were as straight as arrow with one exception, an Ansar by the name of Sawad, stood slightly more forward than the rest, so the Prophet (sa) went to him and gently prodded his midriff with an arrow. Sawad seized upon the opportunity and said, "O Messenger of Allah, you have hurt me, Allah has sent you with truth and justice, so give me my rights." Upon this, the Prophet (sa) uncovered his midriff and Sawad bent down and kissed it. The Prophet (sa) asked him what had prompted him to do this whereupon Sawad said, "O Messenger of Allah, with matters as they are, and if it is written, it is my wish that my last moments should be spent with you −− that my skin has touched yours." Upon hearing these moving remarks, the Prophet (sa) supplicated to Allah asking for blessings upon Sawad. Not long after, the Prophet (sa) withdrew to his shelter with Abu Bakr and prayed to Allah for help. After his prayer, a short slumber overtook him and upon waking he said to Abu Bakr, "Be well pleased, Allah has sent His help to you. Gabriel is here and in his hand is the rein of a horse which he leads, and he is armed for the conflict!" By now the Koraysh army had drawn nearer and Allah in His Mercy made their numbers appear considerably smaller than they were to the believers; the unbelievers were now only a short distance from the reservoir. Referring to their numbers an the prompts of satan, Allah says in the Al-Quran:
"Indeed, there was a sign for you in the two armies which met on the battlefield. One was fighting in the way of Allah, and another unbelieving. They (the believers) saw with their eyes that they were twice their own number. But Allah strengthens with His victory whom He will. Surely, in that there was a lesson for those possessed of eyes." Al-Quran 3:13
"And when Allah made them appear to you in a vision as a small band, had He showed them to you as many, your courage would have failed you and you would have quarreled over the affair. But Allah saved; He knows the innermost thoughts in the chests. And when you met them, He showed them in your eyes as being few, and decreased (your number) in their eyes so that Allah might determine what was ordained. To Allah all matters return. Believers, when you meet an army stand firm and remember Allah abundantly, in order that you are prosperous. Obey Allah and His Messenger and do not dispute with one another lest you should lose courage and your resolve weaken. Have patience − Allah is with those who are patient. Do not be like those who left their homes elated with insolence and showing off to people, barring others from the Path of Allah − but Allah encompasses what the do. And when satan made their foul deeds seem fair to them, he said: ‘No man shall conquer you this day. I shall be your savior.’ But when the two armies came within sight of each other he took to his heels saying: ‘I reject you, for I can see what you cannot. I fear Allah, Allah is Stern in retribution.’" Al-Quran 8:43−48
Al Aswad, Abdullah Asad's son from the tribe of Makhzum, known for his disagreeable personality, was the first to initiate hostilities as he cried out defiantly, "I will drink from their reservoir, destroy it or else die before reaching it." Hamza, Abdul Muttalib's son challenged him and as the two engaged in combat, Hamza struck him with such force that his foot and shin were severed and flew through the air. Al Aswad was determined to fulfill his word and crawled towards the reservoir, however, Hamza killed him and his body fell into it. Utba, Rabia's son, accompanied by his brother Shayba and his son were the next to challenge and cried out for one−to−one combat. From the Ansar three men stepped forward, they were the brothers Awf and Muawwidh, the sons of Afra and another, probably, Abdullah, the son of Rawaha. Utba asked who they were, and they replied, "We are from the Ansar," whereupon Utba replied, "Our affair is not with you, we know that you are equal to us in lineage but we wish to fight those of similar standing from our own tribe." At that moment, someone from the Koraysh called out:
"Muhammad, send out against us our peers from our own tribe!" The Prophet (sa) called upon Ubayda, Harith's son, Hamza and Ali to go forth to meet their enemies and as they approached, the Koraysh asked them to identify themselves. After their identifications had been made known the Koraysh accepted to fight them. Ubayda fought Utba, Hamza fought Shayba, and Ali fought Shayba’s son. The fight between Ali and Shayba's son, and Hamza and Shayba was over quickly −− both Ali and Hamza killed the enemies of Allah. Meanwhile Ubayda and Utba had struck each other twice and Ubayda had fallen victim. When Hamza and Ali saw what had befallen their companion they turned upon Utba and he did not live to see the evening. Gently, Hamza and Ali carried Ubayda to the Prophet (sa). His leg had been severed and he had lost a tremendous amount of blood. When he saw the Prophet (sa) he gazed up at him and asked, "O Messenger of Allah, am I to be a martyr?" "Indeed you are," replied the Prophet (sa) in a soft tone and Ubayda was happy. Then Ubayda said in his weakened voice, "If Abu Talib were alive today he would know that his words: 'We will not give him up until we lie dead around him, forgetting our women and children,' have been fulfilled in me." Three out of the four enemies of Islam that lay dead on the battlefield were killed by Hamza and were related to a high−ranking woman named Hind. Such was Hind's hatred of Hamza that she swore to take her revenge as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Before the armies advanced on each other, the Prophet (sa) ordered his companions not to attack until he gave the word, and told them that in the event they should find themselves surrounded by the enemy they were to keep them at bay by showering their arrows above their heads. He also told them that among the Koraysh were those that had been forced to take up arms against them and if they happened to encounter any of them they must not kill them. Those people were Abbas, the Prophet's uncle, the children of Hashim and Abdul Bakhtari who had supported the Prophet (sa) on several occasions. Meanwhile, the adrenaline coursed quickly through the veins of the Koraysh and in their anxiousness to ignite the conflict two arrows were fired. The first struck Mihja, the freedman of Omar who became the next believer to be martyred, then the second arrow pierced the neck of Haritha, Suraka's son from the tribe of Najjar as he drank from the reservoir.
THE ORDER TO FIGHT
The engagement was about to begin; the Prophet (sa) picked up a handful of small pebbles and said as he looked toward the Koraysh, "May their faces be defaced," then he threw the pebbles toward them and commanded his companions saying, "Now, stand up and proceed towards Paradise. Its extent encompasses the heavens and the earth!" When Umair, Hamam's son, heard this he inquired, "O Messenger of Allah (sa) does Paradise encompass the heavens and the earth?" "Yes," he answered, Umair exclaimed, "Well, well," so the Prophet (sa) asked, "What prompted you to say this". Umair answered: "O Messenger of Allah (sa) by Allah, I uttered these words to express the hope that I might become an inhabitant of Paradise." Whereupon the Messenger of Allah (sa) smiled as he gave him the good news, "You are indeed one of its inhabitants." With happiness in his heart he took some dates from his quiver and began to eat them, then paused saying, "If I were to survive until I finished eating these dates, that would indeed be a long interval." So he threw down the remaining dates, plunged into the conflict, and fought with great courage until he was martyred. The Prophet (sa) heartened his companions saying, "By Allah, in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad,
there is no man killed this day; fighting against them with unwavering courage advancing and not retreating that Allah will not cause to enter Paradise." The promise of Paradise was the best reward they could ever hope for and the intensity of the engagement accelerated.
THE SWORD OF UKASHAH
As Ukashah, from the tribe of Jahsh, fought valiantly against the unbelievers, his sword broke so he returned to the Prophet (sa) to request another weapon. Instead of a sword, the Prophet (sa) gave him a wooden club. As Ukashah took hold of it, a miracle occurred, the club was transformed into a strong, long shinning sword and he threw himself once more in the heat of the conflict. From that time onward, Ukashah used the sword in every conflict and called it "Al Awn" which means Divine Help. At some point later on, the Prophet (sa) told his companions that 70,000 people from his nation would enter Paradise like the full moon. Ukashah asked if he could be among them, whereupon the Prophet (sa) supplicated for him. When an Ansar heard this he asked the Prophet (sa) for the same but he was too late and told, "Ukashah has beaten you to it, the prayer has been offered."
THE RECOMPENSE OF ABU JAHL
The Prophet (sa) had ordered his companions to be on the look−out for Abu Jahl. Muawwidh and Awf, the young sons of Afra caught sight of Abu Jahl as he rode his horse. Abu Jahl was strong and no match for a young boy so Afra's sons decided to attack him together and leapt upon him from either side of his horse and severely injured him as his horse ran off. The boys thought he was dead and left him, however, when he regained consciousness he crawled to safety into a nearby thicket. However, his escape had not gone unnoticed and Muadh, Amr's son overheard one of his companions report that Abu Jahl had been seen somewhere in a thicket, however, it was difficult to reach him. Muadh was not to be deterred and began searching for him. Shortly afterwards he found him and they engaged each other in fierce combat until Muadh struck him with such force that Abu Jahl's foot and shin were sliced off and literally flew through the air. When Ikrima, Abu Jahl's son, saw what had happened he turned upon Muadh and yielded him such a blow that his arm was virtually severed and hung on dangling by a piece of flesh. Muadh continued to fight with his other hand until the pain became too great for him to bear, so he knelt down, severed his arm completely then courageously continued to fight as best he could. Muadh was to survive the hostilities of that day and died during the caliphate of Othman. Sometime later, Muawwidh, Afra's son discovered Abu Jahl lying in the thicket and realized he was still alive. They engaged each other in combat during which both sustain severe injuries. At last, Muawwidh was able to inflict a tremendous blow to Abu Jahl and he fell unconsciousness to the ground. Muawwidh, whose hand had been severed, left Abu Jahl for dead, however, Abu Jahl still hung on to life. Muawwidh carried his severed hand to the Prophet (sa), who, by the Mercy of Allah replaced it and blew his saliva upon it. Immediately the hand was restored to its former position. Muawwidh returned to the hostilities, and continued to fight with all his might and was among those martyred that day at Badr. Later on during the day, after the cessation of hostilities, the Prophet (sa) ordered his companions to search for the body of Abu Jahl, telling them that they would be able to identify him by a scar just above his knee. Abdullah, Massaud's son found him in the throes of death and put his foot upon his neck and said, "Allah has put you to shame, you are the enemy of Allah!" Arrogant to the end, Abu Jahl replied, "How has He shamed me, am I anything other than a man you are about to kill?" How did the fighting go?" whereupon Abdullah informed him that it had been in favor of Allah and His Messenger (sa) then cut off his head.
MIRACLES DURING THE ENCOUNTER
Throughout the hostilities continuous winds had blown against the unbelievers. Allah had answered the supplication of His Prophet (sa) and his companions were not left alone to fight the hostilities by themselves:
"And when you (Prophet Muhammad) prayed to your Lord for help, He answered: 'I am sending to your aid a thousand angels in succession.'" Al-Quran 8:9
Directly after the hostilities the Prophet (sa) received another Revelation that informed: "It was not you who killed them, but Allah slew them, neither was it you who threw at them. Allah threw at them in order that He confers on the believers a fair benefit. Indeed, Allah is Hearing, Knowing." Al-Quran 8:17
Miraculous events occurred continually throughout the encounter. Many were the times, when the believers in pursuit of their enemy, found the heads of the unbelievers would fly off before they had chance to strike them. After the hostilities were over, during the search for their martyred companions, they noticed burn marks upon the necks of the dead unbelievers and drew the matter to the attention of the Prophet (sa). Prophet Muhammad (sa) told them that they were the marks left by the swords of the angels. Some of the companions were blessed to witness the angels fighting alongside them and reported that the hooves of their horses never touched the ground. Later, the Prophet (sa) spoke of the winds saying that the first had been brought by the Angel Gabriel, together with a thousand angels. The second by the Angel Mikhail, with a thousand angels on his right flank. The third by the Angel Israfil with a thousand angels on his left flank, and that the angels had fought alongside the believers wearing turbans with a piece of cloth hanging down at the back; as for their mounts, they were piebald horses. Amongst the many healing miracles that day was that of Khubayb, Yasaf's son. Khubayb's neck had been all but sliced in half and hung limply. When he came before the Prophet (sa) the Prophet gently repositioned the injured part, blew upon it with his saliva and his neck was immediately restored.
THE CLOUD OF ANGELS
A non−combatant from the tribe of Ghifar later told ibn Abbas that during the encounter he and his cousin had positioned themselves at the top of a hill overlooking the battlefield with the intention of looting once the hostilities were over. While they were waiting, a white cloud approached the hill, and in it they heard the whinnying of horses and a voice that struck terror into them saying, "Onward, Hayzum!" The man's cousin was terrified, it was too much for him and his head burst open and he died. The narrator himself told ibn Abbas that he too had almost died from absolute terror.
THE MARTYRS
Fourteen believers were martyred that day. Six were from the Muhajir and eight from the Ansar. Among their ranks were Umair, the young brother of Sa’ad who had pleaded with the Prophet (sa) to let him accompany them. When the time came to bury the martyrs the Prophet (sa) caringly informed his companions that their bodies should not be washed, as on the Day of Judgement their wounds will exude with the fragrance of musk, and so it was that they were laid to rest.
THE LOSSES OF THE UNBELIEVERS
As for the Koraysh, their loss was many times greater than the Muslims. Seventy unbelievers were killed many of whom were the chieftains of the Koraysh, and a further seventy taken captive for whom their tribesmen were to pay ransoms of between three or four thousand dirhams each. However, Prophet Muhammad (sa), was always merciful and set the standard of excellence by freeing many captives whose families were unable to pay the ransom.
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