Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 214
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 214 eyes? Nay, if ye will weep, let us weep over Badr; weep for Uqail and for Harith the Lion of Lions. ’ There was much in the battle of Badr, which Muhammad could represent as a special interposition of the Deity on his behalf. Not only was it a decisive victory gained over a force three times his own in number, but the slain on the enemy side included in a remarkable manner many of his most influential opponents. In addition to the chief men killed or made prisoners, Abu Lahab, who was not present in the battle, died a few days after the return of the fugitive army, as if the decree marking out the enemies o f the Prophet was inevitable (Sir William Muir, Life of Muhammad, p. 236). The battle was productive of grave and lasting consequences both for the pagans and the Muslims. It was not only decisive and important in the history of Islam, but also proved an outstanding landmark in human history. That is why the Holy Quran describes it as the Day of Discrimination between falsehood and truth (8:42). It is true that after Badr there were several other battles fought between Quraish and the Muslims, which involved much larger numbers on both sides and in which the Muslims were sometimes faced with great odds, but the spine of Quraish was broken in Badr which no surgical operation could thereafter repair permanently. The number of combatants killed on the side of Quraish was nothing remarkable in itself, what was remarkable was the qualit y and importance of those who had been slain. It was this that the Holy Quran has described as cutting off the root