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A new Qiblah 
On Sha’ban, 2 A.H., the Qiblah (direction Muslims pray 
toward) was changed from Bait Al-Maqdis in Jerusalem to the 
Ka’bah in Makkah. The change was announced by Allah in a verse 
in the Qur’an. The Prophet and the sincere Muslims rejoiced 
over this change. The Hypocrites who had pretended to be 
Muslims, however, protested the change, and many of them 

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reverted to either Judaism or paganism, thereby purifying the 
ranks of Muslims. 
The Battle of Badr 
The military raids undertaken by the Muslims were minor 
until this point. They had been more exploratory than anything 
else, but they had served to initiate Muslims into the conduct of 
warfare. It was the Battle of Badr, however, that was a milestone 
for Islam as the first decisive battle between the Muslims and the 
Quraysh. The Prophet rode to Dhul Ashirah attempting to 
intercept a trade caravan from Makkah to Syria. The caravan, 
however, managed to flee to Syria. The Prophet then 
dispatched two men to Hawraa in Syria to await the caravan’s 
return. When the scouts spotted the caravan approaching, they 
hurried back to Madinah to inform the Prophet . Once the 
Prophet heard that the caravan was returning, he mustered 
between 313 and 317 men, two horses and seventy camels. He 
then headed to Badr, about 155 km southwest of Madinah. 
The Prophet awarded the white standard to Mus’ab bin 
Umayr . 
The 
Muhajireen were given a separate standard which 
was carried by Ali ibn Talib, while the standard of the Ansar was 
borne by Sa’d bin Mu’adh . 
Badr, ringed by high mountains, was accessible through three 
routes. One, called Al-Udwat Al-Qaswa, lay in the south; the 
second, called Al-Udwat Al-Duniya, approached from the north, 
and the third approached from the east and was used by the 
people of Madinah as the main thoroughfare to the settlement of 
Badr. There were some houses, wells and orchards in Badr, and 
for this reason Makkan caravans heading for Syria travelled along 
it and generally broke their journey there, staying anywhere from 
a few hours to a few days. 
It would have been simple for the Prophet and his men 
to seize the caravan by blocking all three escape routes. Success 
depended on the element of surprise, however, and the Muslims 

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would have to appear only after the caravan pulled into Badr and 
seal off all three routes before the Quraysh could react. 
Accordingly, the Prophet and his men left Madinah heading in 
the opposite direction from Badr. Once the Prophet was at a 
safe distance away from Madinah, he changed routes and headed 
directly for Badr. 
The caravan that the Muslims hoped to seize was headed by 
Abu Sufyan bin Harb. It consisted of forty men, one thousand 
camels and goods worth about fifty thousand dinars. Abu Sufyan 
was highly cautious, and he asked every person he met about the 
movements of the Muslims. He was at a great distance from Badr 
when he found out that a large band of Muslims had left 
Madinah. Acting quickly, they rounded up a squadron of 1,300 
men to confront the Muslims and protect the caravan. All the 
notable chiefs of Makkah, except for Abu Lahab, joined the force, 
as well as every available man from each of the neighbouring 
tribes. Of the Makkan clans, only Banu Adiy refused to take part. 
When the pagan army reached Juhfa, they received a message 
from Abu Sufyan informing them that the caravan was safe and 
that the army should return to Makkah. The men were preparing 
to return to Makkah, when Abu Jahl arrogantly refused to retreat. 
Only the men from Banu Zahra returned on the advice of their 
chief, Akhnas bin Shariq Thaqafi. The rest of the troops, now 
numbering one thousand, continued their journey. Upon reaching 
Udwa Qasmi, the Quraysh set up their camp in a spacious field, 
just behind the mountains that surrounded Badr. 
The Prophet learned that the Quraysh were approaching 
Badr, and he met with his men to discuss their options. Abu Bakr 
and Umar both gave their opinions, and Miqdad bin Amr 
voiced the prevailing sentiment: “O Prophet, we will not say 
what the Children of Israel said to Musa: ‘You and your Lord go 
and fight, and we will sit here.’ (5: 24) 

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“We will fight along with you on your left and on your right, 
in front of you and behind you.” 
Miqdad’s words gladdened the Prophet with their sincerity; 
for he had worried the Ansar would fight in defence only if they 
were attacked in Madinah. After all, the Second Pledge of Aqabah 
did not call for the Ansar to fight alongside the Prophet outside 
the city. 
The Prophet then asked the men if they all agreed. Sa’d bin 
Mu’adh , the chieftain of the Ansar said: “O Prophet, I swear 
by the One Who has sent you with the Truth, that if you plunge 
into the sea, we will also plunge into the sea with you, and not a 
single man among us will lag behind. We will not hesitate if you 
dash against the enemies, for we are firm in war and bold in the 
fray. Lead us, and may Allah bless us and our mission!” 
At this the Prophet said: “I bring you glad tidings from 
Allah. He has promised me either booty from the caravan or 
victory on the battlefield. By Allah, there is a vision before me of 
a battlefield, and I see the exact places where each man will fall.” 
Resolutely the Prophet led his men onward to Badr, and 
they arrived there the same night as the Quraysh. The Muslims set 
up camp at Al-Udwat Al-Duniya, but Al-Hubab ibn Al-Mundhir 
advised the Prophet that they should move ahead and encamp 
at the well nearest the enemy so that they could store the water in 
reservoirs. He also suggested that the rest of the wells be filled up 
so that the Quraysh would have no water. The Prophet took 
Hubab’s brilliant advice and carried out his instructions. The 
Muslims then made a small enclosure of palm branches in which 
the Prophet would stay while directing his men during the 
battle. A group of the Ansar youths were put under the command 
of Sa’d bin Mu’adh to act as lookouts. 
After this, the Prophet walked around Badr with his men, 
saying, “This is the spot where so and so will fall in battle 
tomorrow, God willing.” He passed the night in prayer at the foot 

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of a tree while a gentle rain fell and lulled the men into a 
refreshing sleep. Allah recounts his favour to the believers in the 
following verse: “Remember how Allah enveloped you with 
drowsiness to make you feel safe. He caused rain to descend upon 
you from heaven so you could clean yourselves – rain that also 
removed Satan’s influence, strengthened your hearts, and made 
you stand firm in battle.” (8: 11) 
The next morning (Friday, Ramadan 17, 2 A.H.) the two 
armies came face to face. “O Allah! Here come the Quraysh in 
their vanity and arrogance,” the Prophet supplicated. “They 
deny You and call Your Prophet a liar. O Allah! Fulfil Your 
promise to me! Help us, Allah!” 
The Prophet assembled his men and told them not to 
begin fighting until he ordered them to do so. “Use arrows only 
when they come close, and don’t draw your swords unless they 
are very near.” Abu Bakr then escorted the Prophet to the 
small enclosure where the Prophet began to pray to his Lord: “O 
Allah! If this group is destroyed today, You will not be 
worshipped for ever. O Allah! If it is Your consent that after this 
day You will not be worshipped for ever.” Abu Jahl also prayed: 
“O God, destroy today the party that seeks to break filial ties and 
believes in wrong-doing. O Allah! Help the party today which is 
much loved by you.”