Military History Now notes that ‘on this day in 624,’ there was ‘a major turning point for Islam’

On this day in 624, the prophet Muhammad and his followers defeat the Quraysh of Mecca at the Battle of Badr. The victory is a major turning point for Islam and paves the way for the spread of the religion across the Arabian Peninsula. pic.twitter.com/AHO9bMshDT

— Military History Now (@MilHistNow) March 13, 2022

Is Military History Now a Muslim source? If not, why does it refer to “the prophet Muhammad”? Military History Now is not alone in this; it has become standard usage in the West, as if we were all Muslims now.

According to Islamic tradition, the Muslims’ raids on caravans of the pagan Quraysh of Mecca, Muhammad’s tribe, precipitated the first major battle the Muslims fought. Muhammad heard that a large Quraysh caravan, laden with money and goods, was coming from Syria. He again ordered his followers to raid it: “This is the caravan of the Quraysh possessing wealth. It is likely that Allah may give it to you as booty.”

Some of the Muslims were reluctant; Allah castigated them in a new revelation: “And those who believe say, If only a surah [chapter of the Qur’an] were revealed! But when a decisive surah is revealed and war is mentioned in it, you see those in whose hearts is a disease looking at you with the look of men fainting to death. Therefore woe to them.” (Qur’an 47:20)

Allah told the Muslims to fight fiercely: “Now when you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks until, when you have subdued them, then make fast the bonds, and afterward either generosity or ransom until the war lays down its burdens.” (Qur’an 47:4)

Muhammad set out toward Mecca to lead the raid. He knew that the Quraysh would be defending their caravan with an army this time, but he was confident: “Forward in good heart,” he told his men, “for Allah has promised me one of the two parties”—that is, either the caravan or the army. “And by Allah, it is as though I now see the enemy lying prostrate.” When he saw the Quraysh marching toward the Muslims, he prayed: “O Allah, here come the Quraysh in their vanity and pride, contending with you and calling your apostle a liar. O Allah, grant the help which you promised me. Destroy them this morning!” Abu Jahl (which means “Father of Ignorance,” a name given him by Muslim chroniclers; his real name was Amr ibn Hisham), one of the Quraysh leaders, also felt a defining moment was at hand. Oiling a coat of chain mail before the battle, he declared: “No, by God, we will not turn back until God decides between us and Muhammad.”

The Quraysh came out to meet Muhammad’s three hundred men at the village of Badr with a force of nearly a thousand. Muhammad, panicking, warned Allah of the consequences of a Muslim defeat: “O Allah, if this band perishes today, you will be worshipped no more.” But soon after that, he expressed confidence in spiritual help that would guarantee the Muslims victory, telling his lieutenant Abu Bakr: “Be of good cheer, O Abu Bakr. Allah’s help is come to you. Here is Gabriel holding the rein of a horse and leading it. The dust is upon his front teeth.”

Muhammad then gave his men a promise that would make them, and Muslim warriors after them throughout the ages, fight all the harder: “By Allah in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no man will be slain this day fighting against them with steadfast courage advancing not retreating but God will cause him to enter Paradise.”

His men believed him. One exclaimed: “Fine, Fine! Is there nothing between me and my entering Paradise save to be killed by these men?” He flung away some dates that he had been eating, rushed into the thick of the battle, and fought until he was killed. Another asked Muhammad: “O apostle of Allah, what makes the Lord laugh with joy at his servant?” Muhammad answered: “When he plunges into the midst of the enemy without mail.”The man did so and fought until he was killed.

Muhammad, far back in the ranks, picked up a few pebbles and threw them toward the Quraysh, saying, “Foul be those faces!” Then he ordered the Muslims to charge. Despite their superior numbers, the Quraysh were routed. Some Muslim traditions say that Muhammad himself participated in the fighting; others, that it was more likely that he exhorted his followers from the sidelines. In any event, it was an occasion for him to avenge years of frustration, resentment, and hatred toward his people who had rejected him. One of his followers later recalled a curse Muhammad had pronounced on the leaders of the Quraysh: “The Prophet said, ‘O Allah! Destroy the chiefs of Quraish, O Allah! Destroy Abu Jahl bin Hisham, Utba bin Rabi’a, Shaiba bin Rabi’a, Uqba bin Abi Mu’ait, Umaiya bin Khalaf [or Ubai bin Kalaf ].’”

All the men Muhammad cursed were captured or killed during the Battle of Badr. One Quraysh leader named in this curse, Uqba, pleaded for his life: “But who will look after my children, O Muhammad?”

Muhammad at this point may have recalled that it had been Uqba who had thrown camel dung, blood, and intestines on him while he prostrated himself in prayer, as the Quraysh chiefs watched and laughed. He had pronounced a curse on them at that time, and now it was being fulfilled. Who would care for Uqba’s children? “Hell,” Muhammad snarled, and ordered Uqba killed.

Abu Jahl was beheaded. The Muslim who severed the head proudly carried his trophy to Muhammad: “I cut off his head and brought it to the apostle saying, ‘This is the head of the enemy of Allah, Abu Jahl.’” Muhammad was delighted and thanked Allah for the murder of his enemy.

According to another account, two young Muslims murdered Abu Jahl as he was “walking amongst the people.” One of the murderers explained why: “I have been informed that he abuses Allah’s Messenger. By him in whose hands my soul is, if I should see him, then my body will not leave his body till either of us meet his fate.” After they have done the deed, they went to see the Prophet of Islam, who asked, “Which of you has killed him?”

Both youths answered, “I have killed him.”

Muhammad thought of a way to resolve the dispute, asking them: “Have you cleaned your swords?” They answered that they had not, so Muhammad inspected their weapons and announced: “No doubt, you both have killed him, and the spoils of the deceased will be given to Mu’adh bin Amr bin Al-Jamuh,’” who was one of the murderers.

The bodies of all those named in the curse were thrown into a pit. As an eyewitness recalled: “Later on I saw all of them killed during the battle of Badr and their bodies were thrown into a well except the body of Umaiya or Ubai, because he was a fat man, and when he was pulled, the parts of his body got separated before he was thrown into the well.” Then Muhammad taunted them as “people of the pit” and posed a theological question: “Have you found what Allah promised you is true? I have found that what my Lord promised me is true.”When asked why he was speaking to dead bodies, he replied: “You cannot hear what I say better than they, but they cannot answer me.”

The Battle of Badr is paradigmatic in Islamic history and theology. The main lesson generally drawn from it is that Muslims can defeat a superior force by virtue of their piety. Osama bin Laden showed his faith in this proposition in attacking the United States of America.

This material is drawn from The History of Jihad, which you can order here.