Battle of Badr The Battle of Badr ( ) , fought 13 March 624 CE ( 17 Ramadan , 2 AH in the Islamic calendar ) in the Hejaz region of western Arabia ( present - day Saudi Arabia ) , was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad ' s struggle with his opponents among the Quraish in Mecca . The battle has been passed down in Islamic history as a decisive victory attributable to divine intervention , or by secular sources to the strategic genius of Muhammad . It is one of the few battles specifically mentioned in the Quran . Most contemporary knowledge of the battle at Badr comes from traditional Islamic accounts , both hadiths and biographies of Muhammad , recorded in written form some time after the battle . Prior to the battle , the Muslims and Meccans had fought several smaller skirmishes in late 623 and early 624 , as the Muslim " ghazawāt " ( prophet - led battles ) had become more frequent . Badr , however , was the first large - scale engagement between the two forces . Advancing to a strong defensive position , Muhammad ' s well - disciplined force broke the Meccan lines , killing several important Quraishi leaders including Muslims ' chief antagonist Abu Jahl . For the early Muslims the battle was the first sign that they might eventually defeat their enemies among the Meccans . Mecca at that time was one of the richest and most powerful cities in Arabia , fielding an army three times larger than that of the Muslims . The Muslim victory also signalled other tribes that a new power had arisen in Arabia and strengthened Muhammad ' s position as leader of the often fractious community in Medina . Background . Muhammad was born in Mecca around 571 CE into the Quraish tribe . In 622 , to escape persecution of Muslims by the Meccans , Muhammad and many of his followers migrated from Mecca to the neighboring city of Medina . This migration is called the " Hijra " . Following the Hijra , tensions between Mecca and Medina escalated and hostilities broke out in 623 when the Muslims began a series of raids on Quraishi caravans in order to economically pressurize Mecca who ' s chief ' s were plotting and gaining allies against Medina . Since Medina was located just off Mecca ' s main trade route , the Muslims were in an ideal position to do this . Even though many Muslims were Quraish themselves , they believed that they were entitled to such raids because the Meccans had expelled them from their property , homes and tribes , a serious offense in hospitality - oriented Arabia . It also provided a means for the Muslim community to carve out an independent economic position at Medina , where their political position was far from secure . The Meccans obviously took a different view . Their caravns had always been under protection since many tibes saw them as the " Custodians " or " Keepers " of " The House of God " and they saw the Muslim raids as banditry at best , as well as a potential threat to their livelihood and prestige . In late 623 and early 624 , the Muslim " ghazawāt " grew increasingly brazen and commonplace . In September 623 , Muhammad himself led a force of 200 in an unsuccessful raid against a large caravan . Shortly thereafter , the Meccans launched their own " raid " against Medina , although its purpose was just to steal some livestock which belonged to the Muslims . In January 624 , the Muslims ambushed a Meccan caravan near Nakhlah , only forty kilometers outside of Mecca , killing one of the guards and formally inaugurating a blood feud with the Meccans . Worse , from a Meccan standpoint , the raid occurred in the month of Rajab , a truce month sacred to the Meccans in which fighting was prohibited and a clear affront to their pagan traditions . Battle . In the spring of 624 , Muhammad received word from his intelligence sources that one of the richest trade caravans of the year , commanded by Abu Sufyan and guarded by thirty to forty men , was travelling from Syria to Mecca . Because of the caravan ' s size , or perhaps because of the previous failures to intercept a caravan , Muhammad gathered an army of over 313 men , the largest army the Muslims had ever put in the field . The goods contained in the caravan were the belongings of the Muslims which were taken by the Meccans following the migration to Madinah . The march to Badr . Muhammad ' s forces included Abu Bakr , Umar , Ali , Hamza , Mus ` ab ibn ` Umair , Az - Zubair bin Al - ' Awwam , Ammar ibn Yasir , and Abu Dharr al - Ghifari . The Muslims also brought seventy camels and two horses , meaning that they either had to walk or fit three to four men per camel . However , many early Muslim sources indicate that no serious fighting was expected , and the future Caliph Uthman stayed behind to care for his sick wife Ruqayyah , the daughter of the Prophet . Salman the Persian also couldn ' t join the battle , as he was still not a free man . Many of the Quraishi nobles , including Amr ibn Hishām , Walid ibn Utba , Shaiba , and Umayah ibn Khalaf , joined the Meccan army . Their reasons varied : some were out to protect their financial interests in the caravan ; others wanted to avenge Ibn al - Hadrami , the guard killed at Nakhlah ; finally , a few must have wanted to take part in what was expected to be an easy victory against the Muslims . Amr ibn Hishām is described as shaming at least one noble , Umayah ibn Khalaf , into joining the expedition . By this time Muhammad ' s companions were approaching the wells where he planned to either waylay the caravan , or to fight the Meccan army at Badr , along the Syrian trade route where the caravan would be expected to stop or the Meccan army to come for its protection . However , several Muslim scouts were discovered by scouts from the caravan and Abu Sufyan made a hasty turn towards Yanbu . The Muslim plan . When the word reached the Muslim army about the departure of the Meccan army , Muhammad immediately called a council of war , since there was still time to retreat and because many of the fighters there were recent converts ( called " Ansar " or " Helpers " to distinguish them from the Quraishi Muslims ) , who had only pledged to defend Medina . Under the terms of the Constitution of Medina , they would have been within their rights to refuse to fight and leave the army . However , according to tradition , they pledged to fight as well , with Sa ' d bin ' Ubada declaring , " If you [ Muhammad ] order us to plunge our horses into the sea , we would do so . " However , the Muslims still hoped to avoid a pitched battle and continued to march towards Badr . By 11 March both armies were about a day ' s march from Badr . Several Muslim warriors ( including , according to some sources , Ali ) who had ridden ahead of the main column captured two Meccan water carriers at the Badr wells . Expecting them to say they were with the caravan , the Muslims were horrified to hear them say they were with the main Quraishi army . Some traditions also say that , upon hearing the names of all the Quraishi nobles accompanying the army , Muhammad exclaimed " Mecca hath thrown unto you the best morsels of her liver . " The next day Muhammad ordered a forced march to Badr and arrived before the Meccans . The Badr wells were located on the gentle slope of the eastern side of a valley called " Yalyal " . The western side of the valley was hemmed in by a large hill called ' Aqanqal . When the Muslim army arrived from the east , Muhammad initially chose to form his army at the first well he encountered . Hubab ibn al - Mundhir , however , asked him if this choice was divine instruction or Muhammad ' s own opinion . When Muhammad responded in the latter , Hubab suggested that the Muslims occupy the well closest to the Quraishi army , and block off the other ones . Muhammad accepted this decision and moved right away . The Meccan plan . By contrast , while little is known about the progress of the Quraishi army from the time it left Mecca until its arrival just outside Badr , several things are worth noting : although many Arab armies brought their women and children along on campaigns both to motivate and care for the men , the Meccan army did not . Also , the Quraish apparently made little or no effort to contact the many allies they had scattered throughout the Hijaz . Both facts suggest the Quraish lacked the time to prepare for a proper campaign in their haste to protect the caravan . Besides it is believed since they knew they had outnumbered the Muslims by three to one , they expected an easy victory . When the Quraishi reached Juhfah , just south of Badr , they received a message from Abu Sufyan telling them the caravan was safely behind them , and that they could therefore return to Mecca . At this point , according to Karen Armstrong , a power struggle broke out in the Meccan army . Abu Jahl wanted to continue , but several of the clans present , including Banu Zuhrah and Banu Adi , promptly went home . Armstrong suggests they may have been concerned about the power that Abu Jahl would gain from crushing the Muslims . The Banu Hashim tribe wanted to leave , but was threatened by Abu Jahl to stay . Despite these losses , Abu Jahl was still determined to fight , boasting " We will not go back until we have been to Badr . " During this period , Abu Sufyan and several other men from the caravan joined the main army . The day of battle . At midnight on 13 March , the Quraish broke camp and marched into the valley of Badr . It had rained the previous day and they struggled to move their horses and camels up the hill of ' Aqanqal . After they descended from ' Aqanqal , the Meccans set up another camp inside the valley . While they rested , they sent out a scout , Umayr ibn Wahb to reconnoitre the Muslim lines . Umayr reported that Muhammad ' s army was small , and that there were no other Muslim reinforcements which might join the battle . However , he also predicted extremely heavy Quraishi casualties in the event of an attack ( One hadith refers to him seeing " the camels of [ Medina ] laden with certain death " ) . This further demoralized the Quraish , as Arab battles were traditionally low - casualty affairs , and set off another round of bickering among the Quraishi leadership . However , according to Arab traditions Amr ibn Hishām quashed the remaining dissent by appealing to the Quraishi ' s sense of honor and demanding that they fulfill their blood vengeance . The battle began with champions from both armies emerging to engage in combat . Three of the Ansar emerged from the Muslim ranks , only to be shouted back by the Meccans , who were nervous about starting any unnecessary feuds and only wanted to fight the Quraishi Muslims . So Hamza approached forward and called on Ubayda and Ali to join him . The Muslims dispatched the Meccan champions in a three - on - three melee . Hamza killed his opponent Utba ibn Rabi ' ah ; Ali killed his opponent Walid ibn Utba ; Ubayda was wounded by his opponent Shaybah ibn Rabi ' ah , but eventually killed him . So this was a victorious traditional 3 on 3 combat for the Muslims . Now both armies began striking arrows at each other . A few Muslims and an unknown number of Quraish warriors were killed . Before the real attack began , Muhammad had given orders for the Muslims to attack with their ranged weapons , and only engage the Quraish with melee weapons when they advanced . Now he gave the order to charge , throwing a handful of pebbles at the Meccans in what was probably a traditional Arabian gesture while yelling " Defaced be those faces ! " The Muslim army yelled " " Yā manṣūr amit ! " " " O thou whom God hath made victorious , slay ! " and rushed the Quraishi lines . The Meccans , understrength and unenthusiastic about fighting , promptly broke and ran . The battle itself only lasted a few hours and was over by the early afternoon . The Qur ' an describes the force of the Muslim attack in many verses , which refer to thousands of angels descending from Heaven at Badr to terrify the Quraish . It should be noted that Muslim sources take this account literally , and there are several hadith where Muhammad discusses the Angel Jibreel and the role he played in the battle . Aftermath . Implications . The Battle of Badr was extremely influential in the rise of two men who would determine the course of history on the Arabian peninsula for the next century . The first was Muhammad , who was transformed overnight from a Meccan outcast into a major leader . Marshall Hodgson adds that Badr forced the other Arabs to " regard the Muslims as challengers and potential inheritors to the prestige and the political role of the [ Quraish ] . " Shortly thereafter he expelled the Banu Qaynuqa , one of the Jewish tribes at Medina that had been threatening his political position , and who had assaulted a Muslim woman which led to their expulsion for breaking the peace treaty . At the same time Abd - Allah ibn Ubayy , Muhammad ' s chief opponent in Medina , found his own position seriously weakened . Henceforth , he would only be able to mount limited challenges to Muhammad . The other major beneficiary of the Battle of Badr was Abu Sufyan . The death of Amr ibn Hashim , as well as many other Quraishi nobles gave Abu Sufyan the opportunity , almost by default , to become chief of the Quraish . As a result , when Muhammad marched into Mecca six years later , it was Abu Sufyan who helped negotiate its peaceful surrender . Abu Sufyan subsequently became a high - ranking official in the Muslim Empire , and his son Muawiya would later go on to found the Umayyad Caliphate . In later days having fought at Badr became so significant that Ibn Ishaq included a complete name - by - name roster of the Muslim army in his biography of Muhammad . In many hadiths , individuals who fought at Badr are identified as such as a formality , and they may have even received a stipend in later years . The death of the last of the Badr veterans occurred during the First Islamic civil war . As Paul K . Davis sums up , " Mohammed ' s victory confirmed his authority as leader of Islam ; by impressing local tribes that joined him , the expansion of Islam began . " Historical sources . Badr in the Quran . The Battle of Badr is one of the few battles explicitly discussed in the Qur ' an . It is even mentioned by name as part of a comparison with the Battle of Uhud . Qur ' an : Al - i - Imran According to Abdullah Yusuf Ali , the term " gratitude " may be a reference to discipline . At Badr , the Muslim forces had allegedly maintained firm discipline , whereas at Uhud they broke ranks to pursue the Meccans , allowing Meccan cavalry to flank and rout their army . The idea of Badr as a furqan , an Islamic miracle , is mentioned again in the same surah . Qur ' an : Al - i - Imran Badr is also the subject of Sura 8 : " Al - Anfal " , which details military conduct and operations . " Al - Anfal " means " the spoils " and is a reference to the post - battle discussion in the Muslim army over how to divide up the plunder from the Quraishi army . Though the Sura does not name Badr , it describes the battle , and several of the verses are commonly thought to have been from or shortly after the battle . Traditional Muslim accounts . Most knowledge of the Battle of Badr comes either from the traditional Islamic accounts , Quran and Hadiths ( records of the life and times of Muhammad ) . In the English speaking world , it is not known if there are earlier written records other than the traditional Islamic accounts since Arabic at that time in the Hijaz was primarily an oral language . People relied mostly on oral traditions . Muslim scholars interpret the Book of Isaiah 21 : 13 – 17 as a prophecy of the Battle of Badr : ( 13 ) The oracle concerning Arabia . In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge , O caravans of Dedanites . ( 14 ) To the thirsty bring water , meet the fugitive with bread , O inhabitants of the land of Tema . ( 15 ) For they have fled from the swords , from the drawn sword , from the bent bow , and from the press of battle . ( 16 ) For thus the Lord said to me , " Within a year , according to the years of a hireling , all the glory of Kedar will come to an end ; ( 17 ) and the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few ; for the LORD , the God of Israel , has spoken . " Executions . After the battle Muhammad decided to return to Medina . While Muhammad was returning to Medina , he reportedly received a revelation regarding the distribution of war booty . According to Muslim scholar Saifur Rahman al Mubarakpuri , two captives – Nadr bin Harith and Uqbah bin Abi Muait – were decapitated by Ali because they equaled to " criminals of war in modern terminology " . In modern culture . " Badr " has become popular among Muslim armies and paramilitary organizations . " Operation Badr " was used to describe Egypt ' s offensive in the 1973 Yom Kippur War as well as Pakistan ' s actions in the 1999 Kargil War . Iranian offensive operations against Iraq in the late 1980s were also named after Badr . During the 2011 Libyan civil war , the rebel leadership stated that they selected the date of the assault on Tripoli to be the 20th of Ramadan , marking the anniversary of the Battle of Badr . The Battle of Badr was featured in the 1976 film " The Message " , and the 2004 animated movie .