Battle of Badr

The Battle of Badr was the first Muslim resistance against the Arab pagans. It was March 624, Muslim army consisting of “Ansars, host from Medina” and the Meccan exiles, against the powerful and arrogant Quraish, the lord of Mecca. This daring was not for pride, glory or kingship, this unequal battle was fought for a simple but magnificent belief, to worship Allah alone, “La Ilaha IL Lalah”. All negotiations with Mecca had failed; some of Muhammad’s followers were tortured and killed. Even a bid to Muhammad’s life was made.

 

The Meccans assembled that day in superior numbers, well equipped with armed fighters and 300 horses, numbering close to 1000 warriors. The believers, with 300 fighters, 70 camels and 2 horses didn’t had much to bank on except belief in Allah, Prophet and standing up for the noble cause. The Muslims stood confidently in a straight battle formation, patiently and sturdily. The Meccan spy went back to his masters saying he saw the “Muslim camels carrying death”, was dismissed as a dreamer. Victory over Muslims was certain, the confidence of Meccans rode high.

 

To the Arabs, pagan to the core, then for them there was no resurrection, no heaven or hell. A man was known through the glory of his ancestors and the genealogy chain, the virtue and strength of his tribe, and yes, through poems, man would live forever, made famous for his generosity and acts of bravery. Mecca housed the ancient Kaaba, and every year people from all Arabia would gather in Mecca for HAJJ, circumambulates by Kaaba and offer sacrifices. Though the Arabs believed in Allah as the supreme lord, they also worshipped many other deities. The Kaaba housed more than 360 idols, representing different gods for each occasion.

 

 It was pride in pre Islamic Arabia to bury daughters alive, alcoholism, killing and pillage was considered a part of life. The harsh landscape of Arabia worked very well for this temperament.

 

 Muhammad opposed such acts and invited them back to the religion of Abraham, to give charity, make no partners with Allah, rights for women, to live a noble and pious life, abstain from “riba”, looking after relatives, defending the weak in society, helping neighbors, no to adultery, gambling or alcohol. It was too much to ask for, and the Arabs had only been following their ancestors, and how possibly they could leave all this.

 

Just before the battle Muhammad prayed to Allah  for Muslim victory, Saad ibn Muadh the representative from Medina, spoke his famous words to Muhammad, “ We believe in you, we declare your truth and we witness that what you have brought is the truth, and we have given you our word and agreement to hear and obey; so go where you wish and we are with you; and by God, if you were to ask us to cross this sea and you plunged into it, we would plunge into it with you; not a man would stay behind. We do not dislike the idea of meeting your enemy tomorrow. We are experienced in war, trustworthy in combat”.    

                    

 

  As per the battle tradition those days, one to one dual was fought before the final call of battle, from Muslims came Ali Bin Abu Talib, cousin of Prophet, Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib, uncle of Prophet and Obeidah Bin Al Harith, cousin of Prophet. They faced the Meccan, “Sheibah, Al Waleed and Utbah, all 3 Meccans fell to Muslim warriors. The battle started and by mid day the once strong Meccan’s were routed, many killed and rest taken as prisoners of War, Prophet intervened and asked that prisoners be looked after well, with no disrespect or added injury to them. Later many of these prisoners accepted Islam, after experiencing its mercy and compassion from Prophet.

 

The battle of Badr was crucial to the new Muslims and Islam as an entity, had the Muslims lost this battle, the picture of Islam would have been very different. After suffering torture, humiliation and exile from the hands of Quraish, the day saved their existence, word spread fast among the tribes and desert Bedouins, that Muhammad and his Religion was to be taken seriously. The Arabs soon realized the truth in Muhammad’s voice and accepted Islam en mass, shunning their old beliefs and accepting the call of purity and accepting that “There is no God but Allah”, offering obligatory prayers, giving charity and living a pious life.

 

From that day onwards the flag of Islam and followers of Muhammad never stopped growing, till day Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world.

 

Muhammad, The Prophet Of Allah and Seal of Prophethood, May Peace Be Upon Him

Its cool to be a Muslim

A new generation is emerging. Young, happening, educated individuals and yet very much Muslims. While sitting recently with a group of young savvy’s discussing travel, the dialogue went all the road encircling our communication, and then someone mentioned Islam, I kept quiet to see their reaction, but with authority and details infact with much easiness Prophet, his colleagues and “hadits” were discussed, with it the beauty of Islam. It took me some time to sink in the thought that these dudes were not paper Muslims, with only Muslim names, but well balanced, positive, modern yet practicing Muslims, the guys knew it all, at least the basics.

 

 

I was drifted in my own thoughts, how often we hear from “moderates”, their opinion as to how Islam should be seen, many are happy to lay down new rules, principles and uproot the old fashioned medieval Islam, and even built a new one, very close to Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, actually how to cut Islam apart and add new pieces with spark of new versioned Islam.

 

 

Sadly, few of these so called moderates, social reformers or positive voices hardly know Islam, how many genuinely bothered to read a short biography of Prophet Muhammad. Apart from being the Prophet of Allah,  may peace be upon him,he was a man and lived among men, a social reformer, administrator, commander, philosopher, teacher, friend, father and husband. His life is worthy of being read and understood in detail. How a man uneducated, born in midst of desert eclipsed with the shadow of warring clans and Bedouins, developed the sense of brotherhood, love and security. He broke all ancient rules by proclaiming “There is no God but Allah”, and bore the pains and torture from his own people, and within his life time converted waves and waves of clans, tribes and individuals to the beauty of Islam, and worship of One Lord “Allah”. Within few years the disciples of Muhammad shook and brought the ancient and powerful Persian and Byzantine empires to knees.

 

 

Islam was not the blood thirsty religion then, as seen today by many, but was all about “SALAM”, PEACE, it was Christians then, who killed and persecuted the Jews. Again it was Christian monks not Muslims who burned and razed the legendary library of Alexandria. Thousands of women were burned alive by pious Christian men, accusing these women of heresy and witch craft.

 

 

What ancient civilizations and dynasties forged in centuries, Islam achieved in few decades. Not by sword but by call of brotherhood, equality of mankind, respect and rights for women, acknowledging orphans. Islam then meant “Brotherhood”, and each Muslim brother by religion, in his last speech Rasool said, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non Arab nor a non Arab has any superiority over an Arab, also the white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good actions”. This was thousand years before Gandhi, Martin Luther, and Mandela.

To catch up with this modern world we shunned our basic beliefs, made lawful what was not, we threw our literature, culture and adopted with much confusion, the passion for west, and undoubtly, west is going full throttle towards development and growth.

 

The “magrib azan” started with “Allah o Akbar”, calling the faithful, my new friend happily removed the I pod head phone and got up to pray, he was clean shaven, wore Jack Jones jeans, and on his hand was strapped the iconic Audemars Alinghi Carbon, with Allah o Akbar he was transformed into meditation and personal dialogue with Allah, with no mediator in between. Later I recollected the young dude never even once called himself a “moderate”, he was just a MUSLIM.