Absence from the Battle of Badr

Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid could not take part in the Battle of Badr, however the Holy Prophet (sa) granted him a share from the spoils of the battle.

(Usdul Ghabah, Vol. 2, p. 476, Saeed bin Zaid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2003) (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 292, Saeed bin Zaid wa min Bani Adiyy bin Ka‘b bin Lu‘ayy, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990)

Therefore, I have also included him and all those companions as Badri Companions, who either participated in the battle along with the Holy Prophet (sa) or, upon the instruction of the Holy Prophet (sa), were given a share from the spoils [from the Battle of Badr] and thus also included them amongst the Badri companions. The reason why he did not participate in the Battle of Badr has been previously mentioned in reference to Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah. In any case, the reason why Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid did not participate in the Battle of Badr is as follows:

The Holy Prophet (sa) was aware that the caravan of the Quraish had departed from Syria and subsequently he sent Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah and Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid 10 days prior to his own departure, in order to gather information about this caravan. Both of them set off and reached Haura, where they stayed until the caravan passed by. Haura was a resting place situated along the Red Sea, where caravans travelling between the Hijaz and Syria would pass by.

Nevertheless, the Holy Prophet (sa) came to know of the news of the caravan before Hazrat Talha (ra) and Hazrat Saeed (ra) returned, i.e. that the caravan already passed by and was not coming towards them. The Holy Prophet (sa) did not know the exact information, but, nonetheless, had found that the caravan had gone. The Holy Prophet (sa) assembled the companions and set off in pursuit of this caravan of the Quraish. However, the caravan escaped taking another route, i.e. it quickly set off on a path along the coast. The people of the caravan continuously walked day and night in order to escape from those who were in search of them. And so, by taking a different route which was along the coast, they did not meet.

Hazrat Talha (ra) bin Ubaidullah and Hazrat Saeed (ra) bin Zaid set off towards Medina in order to inform the Holy Prophet (sa) of this caravan. They were unaware that the Holy Prophet (sa) had already departed for the Battle of Badr. They reached Medina on the same day the battle between the Quraish and the Holy Prophet (sa) took place in Badr. Both of them set off from Medina in order to present themselves before the Holy Prophet (sa) and met with him at Turbaan, while he was returning from Badr. Turbaan is a valley at a distance of nineteen miles from Medina, which has an abundance of sweet water wells. The Holy Prophet (sa) stayed there on his journey towards the Battle of Badr.

There were two different caravans; one, a trading caravan that left by taking a different route, however this other caravan had come from Mecca with the intention of battle and it was against them that the battle took place at Badr. The Holy Prophet (sa) left Medina in pursuit of the trading caravan and to find out what their intentions were and was not aware that an actual army was also approaching. In any case, Hazrat Talha (ra) and Hazrat Saeed (ra) did not participate in the Battle of Badr. However, the Holy Prophet (sa) granted them a share of the spoils of this battle and thus they were also counted amongst the Badri Companions.

(al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, pp. 292-293, Saeed bin Zaid wa min Bani Adiyy bin Ka‘b bin Lu‘ayy, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1990) (al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah alaa Daw al-Quran wa al-Sunnah, Vol. 2, p. 123) (Farhang Sirat, p. 75, Zawwar Academy Publications, Karachi, 2003)