Imam Ali (as) at the Battle of Badr
By Syedda Shahid: 17th of Ramadan for historical context it is the anniversary of the Battle of Badr which took place in 2 AH (624 CE) in the Hejaz region of western Arabia. The day when Prophet (ﷺ) and his sahabah set out for the Battle of Badr. It was a key battle in the early days of Islam and a turning point in Muhammad’s struggle with his opponents among the Quraysh in Mecca.
In this battle, the Muslim army was led by Ali ibn Abu Talib (as) the valiant son in law of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and Hamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, paternal uncle of The Prophet (ﷺ) which numbered only 313 men and they faced an army of 1000 soldiers from the Quraysh.
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Muslims were outnumbered and under-equipped yet they stood victorious at The Battle of Badr under Imam Ali (as) and Hazrat Hamza
The site of the Battle of Badr is around 70-80 miles from Madinah.
The Muslims lost 14 men in the battle. Till this day there is Martyrs Memorial outside the site of the Battle of Badr, which lists the names of the Sahabah who were martyred that day. Six of them were from the Muhajirun (Emigrants), eight others were Ansar (Helpers).
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In the early years of Islam all the significant historic battles :
Battle of Badr
Battle of Uhud
Battle of Khandaq
Battle of Khyber
Battle of Fidak
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were led by Imam Ali (as) and it is also believed that it was on 17th of Ramadan in The Battle of Badr, Zulfiqar the unique 2 edged scissor-like sword with which Imam Ali (as) fought gallantly was given to The Prophet (ﷺ) by Gabriel that he gave to Imam Ali (as) later at the Battle of Uhud and henceforth was known as the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib
As per historic accounts The Prophet(ﷺ)
had exclaimed, ” lā fata ʾillā ʿAlī lā sayf ʾillā Ḏū l-Fiqār” (meaning “There is no hero like Ali; There is no sword like Zulfiqar” ) in the Battle of Uhud in praise of Imam Ali’s (as) exploit of splitting the shield and helmet of the strongest Meccan warrior, shattering his own sword in the same stroke following which The Prophet (ﷺ) is said to then have given his own sword Zulfiqar to Imam Ali (as) to replace the broken sword.
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The painting below shows Hamza and Ali (as) leading the Muslim armies at Badr.
Produced in 1594 (circa) under the Ottoman rule in Turkey now at British Museum acquired from Sotheby’s in 1985
Manuscript page from vol IV of Ḍarír’s Siyar-i Nabí. The illustration depicts the historical moment in which the Prophet Muhammad blesses Imam Ali and Hamza as they engage in the battle of Badr (AD 624). A decapitated man lies in the foreground, while armored men await on either side of the central hill (a single palm tree stands high). Two lines of text appear both above and below the illustration.
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Edited By Adam Rizvi
