Hazrat Umar (ra) in the Battle of Badr

At the time of the departure for the Battle of Badr, the companions had 70 camels between them. As such, one camel had to be allotted to three individuals and each of them would take turns to ride upon it. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra), Hazrat Umar (ra) and Hazrat Abdur Rahman (ra) bin Auf shared one camel and took turns to ride it.

(Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2002], p. 204)

In relation to the departure of the Holy Prophet (sa) for the Battle of Badr, it is mentioned that the Holy Prophet (sa) left Medina in order to stop the caravan of Abu Sufyan, which was approaching from Syria. When the Muslims reached Dhafiran, which was situated on the outskirts of Medina near the Safra valley, the Holy Prophet (sa) was informed that the Quraish had set out in order to protect this trade caravan. The Holy Prophet (sa) consulted his companions and informed them that an army from Mecca was swiftly heading towards them and asked their opinion in this regard. He asked if, instead of fighting this army, they preferred to confront the trade caravan. They replied in the affirmative; that is, one group [of companions] said that with regard to facing the enemy, they preferred to confront the trade caravan.

In one narration, it is mentioned that one group said, “Had you informed us about a battle, we would have prepared for it. However, we have set out for this trade caravan.” In another narration, it is mentioned that they said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! You should leave the enemy and head towards the trade caravan.” Upon this, the expression of the blessed countenance of the Holy Prophet (sa) changed. Hazrat Abu Ayub (ra) relates that this very incident was the cause of the following revelation:

كَمَآ‭ ‬اَخْرَجَكَ‭ ‬رَبُّكَ‭ ‬مِنْۢ‭ ‬بَيْتِكَ‭ ‬بِالْحَقِّ‭ ‬وَ‭ ‬اِنَّ‭ ‬فَرِيْقًا‭ ‬مِّنَ‭ ‬الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ‭ ‬لَكٰرِهُوْنَ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“As it was thy Lord Who rightfully brought thee forth from thy house, while a party of the believers were averse […]”.

[Ch8: V.6]

At the time, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) stood up and very eloquently said a few words. Following this, Hazrat Umar (ra) stood up and also spoke briefly in an articulate manner. Then, Miqdad (ra) stood up and said, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! Let us head towards wherever Allah has commanded you to go. We are with you. By Allah! We will not say to you what the Children of Israel said to Moses (as):

فَاذْهَبْ‭ ‬اَنْتَ‭ ‬وَ‭ ‬رَبُّكَ‭ ‬فَقَاتِلَآ‭ ‬اِنَّا‭ ‬هٰهُنَا‭ ‬قٰعِدُوْنَ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “‘Therefore, go thou and thy Lord and fight, and here we sit.’”

[Ch.5: V.25]

Rather he said, “We will fight with you as long as there is life within us.”

(Ali bin Burhan al-Din al-Halabi, Al-Sirah al-Halabiyyah, Bab Dhikr Maghaziyah, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2002], pp. 205-206) (Sayyid Fadl al-Rahman, Farhang-i-Sirat [Karachi, Pakistan: Zawwar Academy Publications, 2003], p. 125)

Hazrat Ibn Abbas (ra) relates that when the Muslims captured the prisoners during the Battle of Badr, the Holy Prophet (sa) said to Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and Hazrat Umar (ra), “What is your opinion in relation to these prisoners?” Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) replied, “O Messenger (sa) of Allah! These are our paternal cousins and relatives. I think you ought to take some ransom instead as that will strengthen us against the disbelievers and it is possible that Allah the Almighty will guide them towards Islam.”

The Holy Prophet (sa) said, “O Ibn Khattab! What is your opinion on this?” Hazrat Umar (ra) replied, “No, O Messenger (sa) of Allah! By God, I do not hold the same opinion as Abu Bakr. My opinion is that you should hand them over to us so that we may kill them; hand Aqil over to Ali so he can cut off his head, and hand (so and so, who was related to Hazrat Umar (ra)) so that I may sever his head, because they are all disbelievers and among the leaders of the Quraish.” The Holy Prophet (sa) gave preference to the opinion of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra).

Hazrat Umar (ra) narrates, “The Holy Prophet (sa) did not choose my opinion. The next day I came and saw that both the Holy Prophet (sa) and Abu Bakr (ra) were sat weeping. I asked, ‘O Messenger (sa) of Allah! What has caused you and your companion to cry? Tell me the reason, for I will weep if I am moved by it, or if not then at the least I will make my appearance to seem as if I am crying.’ The Holy Prophet (sa) replied, ‘I weep over the punishment that was shown to me regarding those companions who suggested that I ought to take ransom. It was shown to me closer than this tree’ (i.e. referring to a tree that was near to him). Subsequently, Allah the Almighty then revealed the following verse:

مَا‭ ‬كَانَ‭ ‬لِنَبِيٍّ‭ ‬اَنْ‭ ‬يَّكُوْنَ‭ ‬لَهٗ‭ ‬اَسْرٰى‭ ‬حَتّٰى‭ ‬يُثْخِنَ‭ ‬فِي‭ ‬الْاَرْضِ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “It does not behove a Prophet that he should have captives until he engages in regular fighting in the land” [Ch.8: V.68] (and it was revealed up to)

فَكُلُوْا‭ ‬مِمَّا‭ ‬غَنِمْتُمْ‭ ‬حَلٰلًا‭ ‬طَيِّبًا ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “So eat, of that which you have won in war, as lawful and good” [Ch.8: V.70]. Thus, Allah made the spoils of war lawful for them.’” This is a narration of Sahih Muslim.

(Sahih Muslim, Kitab al-Jihad wa al-Siyar, Bab al-Imdad bi al-Mala‘ikah, Hadith 4588)

In this narration, the words in the beginning, which state that the Holy Prophet (sa) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) were weeping and the subject matter of the subsequent verses that were revealed, render this entire narration ambiguous and the matter remains unclear. However, deeming this narration to be correct, the majority of historians, biographers and commentators of the Quran have written that Allah the Almighty expressed displeasure at the suggestion that the captives of Badr should be freed after taking ransom and instead, favoured the opinion of Hazrat Umar (ra).

Those who have written about the life and character of Hazrat Umar (ra), usually pen a chapter about the Quranic injunctions that were revealed in line with the opinions of Hazrat Umar (ra); it is mentioned therein that with regard to the captives of Badr, Allah the Almighty favoured the opinion of Hazrat Umar (ra). But as mentioned, this matter is ambiguous. In fact, it seems that the biographers and commentators of the Quran have erred in their understanding of this narration.

Nonetheless, there is a note among unpublished notes of Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) which rejects the biographers and commentators’ conclusions and the explanation given by Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) is the correct interpretation. It seems that biographers and commentators have created this narration to needlessly elevate the status of Hazrat Umar (ra) or they have erred in their understanding of this narration. Nevertheless, expounding upon verse 68 of Surah al-Anfal, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) states:

“Prior to the advent of Islam, there was a custom in Arabia, which regrettably is still prevalent in some parts of the world today, that even if no war has taken place, people would be taken captive and enslaved. This verse abolishes this abhorrent custom and in plain words has commanded that a person can only be taken captive after the commencement of war against an opponent. If a war has not taken place, then it is unlawful to make someone a captive. This verse has been severely misinterpreted.”

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) further states:

“After the Battle of Badr, when the Muslims had captured some of the Meccans, the Holy Prophet (sa) sought advice from his Companions about what to do with them. Hazrat Umar (ra) was of the opinion that they ought to be killed, whereas Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) opined that they ought to be released for a ransom. The Holy Prophet (sa) preferred the advice of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra).”

This is verse 68 of Surah al-Anfal in which it is mentioned that it is not lawful for a prophet to take captives unless he is engaged in an all-out war.

Nonetheless, Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) has explained this incident in which Hazrat Abu Bakr’sra opinion was different to Hazrat Umar’s (ra) and the Holy Prophet (sa) favoured the opinion of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) and thus, released the captives after taking ransom. However, the commentators have alleged that the revelation of this verse indicates that God Almighty was displeased with this deed of the Holy Prophet (sa) in that the captives should have been killed instead of taking ransom. This is the explanation of Tabari.

Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) writes:

“However, this interpretation is incorrect. Firstly, until that time, no command had been revealed which prohibited releasing prisoners by taking ransom for them. Therefore, no blame can be placed upon the Holy Prophet (sa) for taking ransom. Secondly, prior to this incident, the Holy Prophet (sa) released two captives in Nakhlah after taking ransom and Allah the Almighty did not disapprove of this act. Thirdly, two verses on from this, Allah the Almighty permits the Muslims to utilise what one obtains from the spoils of war, declaring it to be lawful and good. It is an extremely far-fetched notion to say that Allah the Almighty was displeased at the Holy Prophet (sa) accepting ransom and then declare the money obtained from it to be lawful and good. Therefore, this interpretation is wrong and the correct interpretation is that a general principle has been mentioned here in that no one can be made a captive unless an all-out war takes place with an enemy who is subdued after the battle.”

(Durus Hazrat Musleh Maud (ra) (unpublished), Surah al-Anfal, Register 36, pp. 968-969)

From among the commentators of the Quran, Allamah Imam Razi and the famous biographer Allama Shibli Nomani also held the same opinion as Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra).

(Tafsir-e-Kabir, Allamah Imam Razi, Vol. 8, Ch. 15, p. 158, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2004) (Sirat al-Nabi (sa), Shibli Nomani, Vol. 1, p. 194, RZ Publications, Lahore, 1408 H)

Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) writes:

“When the Holy Prophet (sa) returned to Medina, he sought counsel as to what should be done with the prisoners. Generally, it was a practice in Arabia to execute prisoners or make them permanent slaves. However, the disposition of the Holy Prophet (sa) was averse to such harsh measures. Moreover, no divine injunctions in this respect had been revealed either. Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) submitted, ‘In my opinion, they should be released on ransom because after all, they are our brethren and kindred. Who knows, if tomorrow, devotees of Islam are born from among these very people.’ However, Hazrat Umar (ra) opposed this view and said, ‘There should be no consideration of kinship in a matter of religion. These people have become deserving of execution due to their actions. My opinion is that all of them should be executed. As a matter of fact, the Muslims should execute their respective relatives by their own hands.’ Swayed by his innate nature of mercy, the Holy Prophet (sa) approved of the proposal made by Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra). He thus, issued an order against execution and directed that such idolaters who pay their ransom, would be released. Therefore, subsequently, a divine injunction was also revealed to this effect”.

Since a divine injunction has been revealed to take fidya just as Hazrat Musleh-e-Maud (ra) has also written, therefore it seems rather strange to use that hadith as a basis to explain the reason why the Holy Prophet (sa) and Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) were crying.

In any case, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad Sahib (ra) further writes:

“As such, a ransom of 1,000 dirhams to 4,000 dirhams was set for each individual according to his means. In this manner, all of the prisoners continued to be released.”

(Sirat Khatamun-Nabiyyin, Hazrat Mirza Bashir Ahmad (ra), pp. 367-368)