Duty to Count the Muslim Ranks for the Battle of Badr
When the Holy Prophet (sa) departed for the Battle of Badr, he, along with his army, camped at Buyut as-Suqya, located on the outskirts of Medina. Some minors, eager to accompany the Holy Prophet (sa), who had also come along, were sent back from there. Then the Holy Prophet (sa) ordered his companions to fetch water from the well at Suqya. He drank from its water and then offered the prayer near the houses of Suqya. When departing from Suqya, the Holy Prophet (sa) ordered Hazrat Qais bin Abi Sa‘sa to take a count of the Muslims. At that occasion he was also appointed to oversee the arrangements for water. After that, the Holy Prophet (sa) himself stayed near the well at Bir-e-Abi Inaba, located at about 2.5 kilometres from the Prophet’s Mosque. Upon receiving the instruction from the Holy Prophet (sa) to count the number of people, Hazrat Qais counted them and submitted to the Messenger (sa) of Allah that their number was 313. The Holy Prophet (sa) was pleased to hear this number and said that the companions of Talut also numbered the same.
The Well of Suqiya
According to the note written with regard to Suqya, it was located about two kilometres from the Prophet’s Mosque. Its previous name was Husaiqa. Hazrat Khallad (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (sa) changed its name from Husaiqa to Suqya. He states, “I wished to purchase Suqya but Hazrat Sa‘d bin Waqas had already bought it in return for two camels.” According to some, he bought it for seven Auqiyah i.e. 280 Dirhams. When this was mentioned to the Holy Prophet (sa), he said his trade was very profitable.
(al-Sira al-Nabawaiyyah Ala’ Zou al-Quran Wa al-Sina, Vol. 2, p. 124, Maktabah Shamilah) (Subl-ul-Huda Wa al-Rishad, Vol. 4, p. 23 & 25, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1993) (Yaum-ul-Furqan Israr Ghazwah-e-Badr, Dr Mustapha Hasn al-Badwi, p. 124, Dar-ul-Minhaj, Beriut, 2015) (Imta-ul-Isma’, Vol. 8, p. 341, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 1999), (Kitab-ul-Maghazi Li-al-Waqadi, Vol. 1, pp. 37-38, Dar-ul-Kutb al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2013)