The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 157
IV - Battle of Badr, Establishment of the Islāmic Empire and Destruction of the Chieftains of the Quraish 157 of religion. The Holy Prophet sa and the rest of the Muslims were satiated with emotions of gratitude and thankfulness. The Holy Prophet sa remained in the valley of Badr for three days. This time was spent to shroud and bury the martyrs and nurse the wounded. Similarly, it was during these days that the spoils were collected and sorted. The prisoners of the disbelievers, which equated to seventy, were secured and given into the custody of various Muslims. The Holy Prophet sa strictly directed the Muslims to treat the prisoners gently and kindly; and to ensure that their comforts were looked after. The Companions, who possessed a passionate love of fulfilling their Master’s every desire, acted upon this admonition so wonderfully that the like of it cannot be found in the history of the world. Hence, from among these prisoners, one prisoner named Abū ‘Azīz bin ‘Umair relates that: “Due to the exhortation of the Holy Prophet sa , the Anṣār would give me baked bread, but they themselves, would subsist on dates, etc. Many a time, it would so happen that even if they managed to procure a small piece of bread, they would give it to me, and would not eat it themselves. If I would ever return it to them in embarrassment, they would insist that I have it. ” 1 Those prisoners who did not have sufficient clothing, were given clothing. As such, ‘Abdullāh bin Ubayy gave ‘Abbās his shirt. 2 Sir William Muir admits to the kind treatment of these prisoners in the following words: “In pursuance of Mahomet’s commands, the citizens of Medina, and such of the Refugees as already had houses of their own, received the prisoners, and treat them with much consideration. ‘Blessings be on the men of Medina!’ said one of these prisoners in later days: ‘they made us ride, while they themselves walked: they gave us wheaten bread to eat when there was little of it, contenting themselves with dates. ’ It is not surprising that when, some time afterwards, their friends came to ransom them, several of the prisoners who had been thus 1 * Tārīkhur-Rusuli Wal-Mulūk (Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī), By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Jarīr Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Volume 3, p. 40, 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. 439, Dhikru Ru’yā ‘Ātikata binti ‘Abdil-Muṭṭalib / Maqtalun-Naḍri Wa ‘Uqbah, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2001) 2 Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābul-Jihād Was-Siyar, Bābul-Kiswati Lil-Usārā, Ḥadīth No. 3008