Badr Caravan
This has been analyzed in detail in the book Hayat e Rasool Ummi by Dr. Khalid Masood, translated into English by his daughter Nikhat Sattar, in the title, The Life of the Gentile Prophet (SWS). Its summary goes as follows: Keeping all evidence and the time required for travel between the various convoys in mind, a more plausible explanation is that when Abū Sufyān heard that a large group of Muslims had arrived at Dhū al-‘Ashīrah when he had left it on his way from Makkah to Syria, he assumed that they were planning to rob his convoy, and that although he had been safe until then, they might be waiting for him and the convoy could be in danger. To pre-empt this, he sent a man, Ḍhamḍam Bin ‘Amr to the Quraysh with the message that they should make special preparations to protect the convoy on its way back. After sending the message, he proceeded to Syria. When Ḍhamḍam reached Makkah, the incident of the sariyyah of ‘Abdullāh Bin Jaḥash had just happened and the Quraysh began to see this vague assumption as a reality. Some Idolaters also said that the Muslims had the wrong perception that they could repeat the incident of Nakhlah. The Quraysh leaders used this danger to incite the feeling of honour among their people, but the plan they made was to use the protection of the convoy as a ploy to eliminate the Muslims forever. Hence, they made elaborate arrangements which suited their real purpose of waging war. They had plenty of time for this, as the convoy would take time to come from Syria. As the time of the convoy’s arrival came near, God showed a dream to His Prophet (sws) that aChapter 28 : The Life of the Gentile Prophet (sws) – Ḥayāt-i Rasūl-i Ummī 274 trade convoy was coming from one side, and the Quraysh army from the other. He instructed the Prophet (sws) to call the Muslims out, and promised him that Muslims would be granted victory over one of these two groups. The Prophet (sws) gathered his people together, told them about his dream and about both possibilities and gave orders to prepare for war. Because the fight would be tough, he gave instructions to prepare accordingly. The Muslims were oppressed, poor and without many possessions. Some expressed the wish that they should not have to fight in such conditions of poverty and that they be allowed to attack the trade convoy. Other companions saw in this a confrontation between Islam and disbelief and they understood that the time had come for the promise for the defeat of falsehood to be fulfilled. Biographers, referring to this situation, write: “When the Prophet (sws) motivated his people for war, some took it as an ordinary happening, but others felt its weight. This happened because people did not believe that the Prophet (sws) would face war”.1 We believe that this is a description of the psychological condition of two groups of Muslims. One understood the seriousness of the issue and prepared accordingly. The other remained under the presumption of meeting the trade convoy, and thought that the idea of a war was too farfetched. Coincidentally, the narratives that have been collected by the oldest biographers represent those related to the second group; this is why historians have not given importance to the first view, although events show that the majority held these views.