The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 149
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 149 danger. On the other hand, upon seeing the Anṣār , ‘Utbah and his comrades cried out, “What do we know of you. Bring before us our equals. ” Hence, Ḥamzah ra , ‘Alī ra and ‘Ubaidah ra stepped forward. According to the Arab custom, each side identified itself, after which, ‘Ubaidah bin Al-Ḥārith ra confronted Walīd, Ḥamzah ra confronted ‘Utbah and ‘Alī ra confronted Shaibah. 1 Ḥamzah ra and ‘Alī ra put their adversaries to dust in merely two strikes. However, two or four strong blows were exchanged between ‘Ubaidah ra and Walīd. Eventually, both fell to the ground sustaining heavy wounds at the hands of the other. At this, Ḥamzah ra and ‘Alī ra quickly advanced and brought an end to Walīd, and carried ‘Ubaidah ra back to their camp. ‘Ubaidah ra , however, was unable to recover from his injuries, and passed away on the journey back from Badr. After these duels, the Holy Prophet sa retired to his tent, but prior to leaving, he instructed that, “Until I give you the command, a full assault should not be waged. ” Then he added, “If the disbelievers launch a sudden attack, repel them with your arrows first. But use your arrows wisely, so that you do not empty your quivers uselessly. Take out your swords, only when the two armies meet. ” It was perhaps at this time that the Holy Prophet sa addressed the Companions and said: “There are some people among the army of the Quraish who have not come to participate in this campaign with pleasure; rather, they have only come along under the pressure of the chieftains of the Quraish. Similarly, there are also such people in this army, who in our time of hardship, dealt with us generously when we were in Makkah. It is our obligation to repay their benevolence. As such, if a Muslim subdues any such individual, he should not cause him any harm. ” Among the first category of people, the Holy Prophet sa specifically mentioned the name of ‘Abbās bin ‘Abdil-Muṭṭalib and in the second category of people, he mentioned the name of Abul-Bakhtarī, and forbade their killing. However, the course of events took such an unavoidable turn that Abul- Bakhtarī could not be spared from death. Nonetheless, prior to his death he 1 Sunanu Abī Dāwūd, Kitābul-Jihād, Bābu Fil-Mubārazah, Ḥadīth No. 2665