The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 121
III - Early Battles, Commencement of Fasting, Alteration of the Qiblah and Initial Discussion on the Battle of Badr 121 as such, blocking their passage was a part of their protection and self-defense program. Fourthly, the Quraish’s livelihood primarily depended on trade, and for this reason, the interception of these caravans was an excellent means by which to bring the Quraish to their senses, stop them from their acts of war, and to press them towards reconciliation and the establishment of peace. Furthermore, the purpose of intercepting these caravans was not to pillage and plunder. On the contrary, as the Holy Qur’ān clearly states, in this specific campaign, the Muslims were not interested in the caravan due to its wealth; rather, it was because there was a lesser concern of difficulty and hardship in fighting it. Now remains the issue of that point which has been mentioned by the Holy Qur’ān in addition to the historical account. Even this point cannot be declared as contradictory to history, because there is no such statement in the historical account which conflicts with this point. Albeit, this is an extra detail which we derive from the Holy Qur’ān and an indication has been made to this in various historical accounts as well. In any case, this is the only detail which may be considered as requiring an elaboration from a historical perspective. According to the Qur’ānic exposition, this detail is that when the Holy Prophet sa set out from Madīnah, at the time, there were some Muslims who considered this campaign of the Holy Prophet sa to be a difficult and sensitive task. The question which naturally arises is: which factor resulted in the development of this feeling in the hearts of the Companions? If it was merely the interception of the caravan that was in mind, then in the presence of a devoted community of over 300, this feeling would not have existed. Hence, this proves that along with the news of the caravan there was another thought as well which worried the Companions. What was that thought exactly? The answer to this question is not clearly ascertained from history, nor has the Holy Qur’ān clearly mentioned it. Hence, in this respect a presumption must be made, but luckily, it is not difficult to do so, because history and the Holy Qur’ān have both alluded to the army of the Quraish in parallel to mention of the caravan. In this entire account, if there is anything which seems that it could have possibly instilled fear in the hearts of the Muslims, then it was the news of the army of the Quraish. Hence, it must be accepted that the news of the army of the Quraish must have also been received whilst still in Madīnah. As a result of this, the fear probably clung to the Muslims that if they encountered the army, then they would be made to confront severe hardship.