The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 126
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 126 Muhājirīn , the rest of the Muslims remained completely unaware of this. It was in this very state that they set out from Madīnah, until they reached close to Badr, and suddenly encountered the army of the Quraish. 1 ُ وَاللّٰه ُ اَعْلَم Now, the question as to what resulted in the battle of Badr, from the perspective of the disbelievers, i. e. , under what fundamental purpose did the army of the Quraish set out from Makkah? In regards to this, the Holy Qur’ān alludes to the following reality: “O ye Muslims! be not like those disbelievers who came forth from their homes arrogantly and to make a display of themselves; and their purpose was to create hindrances in the religion of Allāh by force. However, Allāh encompassed their designs leaving them frustrated and unsuccessful. ” 2 It is ascertained from this verse that irrespective of whether there was a prompting factor or not, in this campaign, the actual fundamental purpose of the Quraish of Makkah was based on the bloody designs they held for Islām and the Founder of Islām. Security of the caravan or the idea of revenge for the murder of ‘Amr bin Ḥaḍramī, were merely a ruse by which they incited the masses, and managed to maintain their vehemence. History also supports this very notion. As such, upon receiving news of the danger of the caravan, instead of setting out immediately, the Quraish departed three days later, fully prepared with all of their equipment and supplies. Furthermore, despite receiving news that the caravan had safely escaped, they insisted upon arrogantly marching forward. Then, in the very field of battle when some people proposed that they abstain from war, Abū Jahl and others very harshly insisted upon fighting, and as a result, everyone agreed. All of these factors are conclusive testimony of the fact that in actuality, securing the caravan or the idea of seeking revenge for the murder of ‘Amr bin Ḥaḍramī, were merely excuses. The actual objective was to erase Islām and annihilate the Muslims. After this fundamental discussion, we begin to mention the events 1 And Allāh knows best [Publishers] 2 Al-Anfāl (8:48)