17th of the Holy month of Ramadhan: The great battle of Badr.

In such a day the 17th of the Holy month of Ramadhan, we recall the great battle of Badr that is one of the greatest and most famous battles of Islam and those who participated in it enjoyed a special distinction amongst the Muslims.

The battle of Badr was also the most horrific among the other battles, the first trial of Muslims, and the one taking place vehemently between the Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household)and the atheists of Quraysh.

God Almighty states about the trial of Muslims: {Even as your Lord caused you to go forth from your house with the truth, though a party of the believers were surely averse; They disputed with you about the truth after it had become clear, and they went forth as if they were being driven to death while they saw it.} (8:5-6).

This battle happened eighteen months after the immigration of the Holy Prophet (Allah's prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) to Madinah and Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was twenty seven years old.

The atheists of Quraysh insisted on fighting this battle, for they outnumbered the Muslims, though among them, there were far-sighted men who were not ignorant of the consequences of this battle, had taken part reluctantly, had been forced into the battle and challenged only their peers. The Messenger of Allah too warned his army not to fight them, saying: They only challenge their peers. Hence, the first person who was given mission to fight them was Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and his match was Walid ibn `Utbah, a man of courage and valor but he was killed by Imam Ali (peace be upon him) after a short fighting. Al-`As ibn Sa`id ibn al-`As was a man of courage and horror. For this reason, no one was ready to fight him. He too was killed by Imam Ali (peace be upon him).

Hanthalah ibn Abi-Sufyan too fought Imam Ali (peace be upon him) but he was killed. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) injured ibn `Adi, too. Then, Nawfal ibn Khuwaylid, who was highly-esteemed and obeyed by people of Quraysh, entered the battle. Nawfal was very clever and a mischief-maker and the one who had tied down Abu-Bakr and Talhah with a rope and had tortured them till he set them free with the mediation of others.

Once the Messenger of Allah found out that Nawfal had taken part in this battle, he raised his hands in prayer, saying: O Lord, eradicate him. Soon, he was killed by Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in a hand to hand fighting. After Nawfal’s perdition, the Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) said: Who will bring me the news of Nawfal? Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: O Messenger of Allah, I killed him. While rejoicing and saying: Allah is the Greatest, the Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) said: Thanks Lord who answered my prayer.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him) was in the front line of the battle fighting the atheists of Quraysh and killing them one after the other. In this battle, seventy of Quraysh leaders were killed by Imam Ali (peace be upon him) and the rest were killed by Muslims and three thousand angels who had taken part in the battle.

Following the killing of seventy courageous men of Quraysh, the Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) threw a handful of small sands on them, saying: May your faces turn ugly thereby they were all defeated and started fleeing.

In most reliable books, it is narrated that there was water shortage in the army of the Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) on the eve of the Battle of Badr. The Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) asked: “Who will take the water skin and bring water?”

No one volunteered as the night was very dark and a very cold wind was blowing. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) picked up a water skin and reached to the well of Badr. Since no bucket was available, he climbed into the well, filled the skin and returned from there. On the way a very sharp gust of wind approached which made it difficult to go on.

He sat down, till the wind blew. When he got up again a wind of that same intensity arose and he again sat down to let it pass and this happened thrice. And according to another report each time water leaked from the skin and he again used to fill it up and start again. When he returned to the Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) he asked him what had delayed him.

He said: “Three times there was such a terrible wind that its fury made me tremble.” The Holy Prophet (Allah’s prayers be upon him and upon his holy Household) asked: “Do you know what it was? The first time Jibraeel came with a thousand angels and passed you after saluting you. The second time Mikaeel came with a thousand angels and each of them saluted you. And the third time it was Israfeel with a thousand angels and they saluted you. All of them have arrived to help us.”