The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 143
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 143 perception to believe as if God had sent these leaders of the Quraish, to serve as prey for the Muslims. The place where the Muslim army encamped was not ideal. At this, Ḥabbāb bin Mundhir ra inquired of the Holy Prophet sa as to whether he had selected this place according to divine revelation or merely as a strategy of war. Upon this, the Holy Prophet sa said, “No divine commandment has been received in this regard, if you wish to make a proposal, then please do so. ” Ḥabbāb submitted, “Then in my opinion, this place is not ideal. It would be better to advance and take possession of the spring located closest to the Quraish. I am aware of this spring and its water is quite pleasant and generally plentiful as well. ” The Holy Prophet sa approved of this proposal and until then, since the Quraish were still encamped on the opposite side of the hillock, and the spring was unoccupied, the Muslims advanced and took possession of this spring. However, as mentioned in the Holy Qur’ān, even at that time, the water of the spring was not as plentiful as usual, and the Muslims were faced with a shortage of water. In addition to this, the side of the valley where the Muslims were positioned was not ideal either, because it was very sandy, which made it difficult to maintain firm footing. After a place to setup camp had been selected, upon the proposal of Sa‘d bin Mu‘ādh ra , chieftain of the Aus, a sort of tent was prepared for the Holy Prophet sa to one side of the field. Sa‘d ra tied the mount of the Holy Prophet sa close to the tent and said: “O Messenger of Allāh! Take a seat in this tent, and we shall fight the enemy in the name of Allāh. If Allāh grants us victory, then this is our very desire. But if God-forbid, the matter takes a turn for the worse, then take your mount and reach Madīnah in any way possible. There you shall find our brethren and kindred, who are no less than us in love and sincerity. However, since they were unaware that they would be confronted by war in this campaign, they have not come along. Otherwise, they would never have remained behind. When they become aware of the state of affairs, they shall not desist in laying down their lives to protect you. ” 1 1 * Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 27, Thumma Dakhalatis-Sanatuth-Thāniyatu Minal-Hijrah / Dhikru Waq‘ati Badril- Kubrā, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002) * As-Sīratun-Nabawiyyah, By Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdul-Mālik bin Hishām, p. 422, Dhikru Ru’yā ‘Ātikata binti ‘Abdil-Muṭṭalib / Ẓafrul-Muslimīna Bi-Rajulaini Min Quraish, Dārul-Kutubil- ‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001)