We discussed the incidents of Badr.

The next is a tafseer of something Allah say

s in the Quran.
"And when Satan made their deeds seem fair to them and said, 'None from among me
n shall prevail against you this day, and I am your protector.' But when the two
armies came in sight of each other, he turned on his heels, and said, 'Surely,
I have nothing to do with you; surely, I see what you see not. surely I fear ALL
AH; and ALLAH's punishment is severe."
We mentioned this before: the Quraysh almost turned back when they were leaving
Mecca but Shaytan came to them in the form of Suraka ibn Malik from the Banu Qin
ana guaranteeing they won't be attacked. So much so 'Suraka' went with them all
the way to Badr. But what happened? When the two groups met one another, and the
angels came down - when Shaytan saw this, he turned around and began running aw
ay. So Al Harith ibn Hishaam said "where are you running?" But Shaytan pushed hi
m so severely that Harith fell upwards and fell onto his back. And Shaytan said
"I see what you don't and I fear Allah". And its narrated the prophet PBUH said
Shaytan was never more humiliated on the day of Badr, because of what he saw of
the blessings of Allah. So Shaytan felt the lowest ever on the day of Badr. In t
his clear example we see the trickery of Shaytan - how he promised them but in t
he last minute he literally ran away. And this is his ways: he promises everythi
ng but he is a fraudster and trickster. He does not feel ashamed to lie. And loo
k at the significance of Iblees himself running away. As the prophet PBUH says I
blees has a thrown and he sends shaytan to do his bidding. But for Iblees to phy
sically come to Badr its clear how desperate he was. And look at the picture. On
the one side you have the very same creature who refused to do sadajah, Iblees
the worst of all shaytan. And you have Abu Jahal, and Uqbah and Ummayah ibn Khal
af and Utbah. And 100m away you have Jibreel AS the best of all angels. And the
prophet PBUH. And Abu Bukr, and Omar and Ali RA. Indeed this is truly the day of
'furqaan' - the day of decision/criterion/seperation. What was seperated? Truth
from falsehood. Jibreel v Iblees. Abu Jahal v the prophet PBUH. And so on. And
this is why the battle of Badr was the greatest victory given to the prophet PBU
H.
So eventually the Quraysh turned around and fled. Some modern analysts notice th
ere was one clear passageway back to Mecca that the prophet PBUH could have bloc
ked if he wanted. So there's a theory the prophet PBUH did this to leave a press
ure valve outlet: that is, he left them a very clear area they could retreat. In
deed fighting with no outlet would make them fight much more severely.
Around 15%, so around 100 were killed in the Quraysh army, but less than 5% were
shaheed from the muslims. Note for a shaheed you don't wash the body, you don't
do janazah salah etc. Also the shaheed is buried where he dies - this is the su
nnah and all those who died at Badr were buried at Badr. Also the shaheed's woun
ds aren't washed because the prophet PBUH when a shaheed is resurrected his bloo
d will be the scent of musk. Also you bury a shaheed in the clothes he was weari
ng. So when the army of the Quraysh fled, the prophet PBUH regrouped the sahabah
and told them they will remain there for three days. Firstly for burying the sh
aheed. Secondly to recover and ensure the Quraysh don't launch a counter attack.
But most importantly to clarify who is the victor and who is the loser. Clearly
the prophet PBUH won. And the 15 sahabah who died; each got their own grave. As
for the Quraysh, there were over 70 plus. They were covered up in a well; so we
show some respect to the oppisition. Only one body who wasn't buried was Ummaya
h ibn Khalaf. He was a fat, big rich cowardly man - and whenever they tried to p
ick up the flesh decomposed then and there. So they had no option but to take th
e pebbles and cover his body. Thus Allah is showing as he did and punished Bilal
and others, so to is his fate the same.
On the third day as the prophet PBUH departed from the well, he diverted the car
avan and stopped at the well. And he called them out by name "Oh Utbah, Oh Abu J

ahal etc" and he said "have you found the promise of Allah to be true?" And so h
e mentioned all the leaders of the Quraysh one by one. And Umar RA said to him "
how can you speak to bodies that have no soul?" So the prophet PBUH said "I swea
r by the ones whose hands in my soul, you cannot hear me now any more than they
can, but they cannot respond to me" (i.e. they can hear me very clearly). The st
udent of Abbass explained this hadith by saying Allah brought them back to life
for this moment so they could be humiliated.
Q: Can the dead in the grave hear or not? Can he know a visitor is at his grave?
This is a huge theological incidences and even the sahabah differed.
Its said ibn Omar RA would say the person in the grave could hear the one visiti
ng him. And he even went further to say that person would be punished when his r
elatives wail. But Aisha RA denied this as she believed the dead cannot hear the
person outside and she quotes the Quran "you will not be able to make the one i
n the grave hear you". And other Quranic evidences: "you cannot make the mouta (
dead) hear - nor can you make the deaf person hear". Also, Allah says "the livin
g and the dead are not the same - Allah can make anything he wants hear, but you
cannot make the dead hear". The Quran says clearly the dead can't hear.
What about the hadith? A number say the dead can hear hence the conflict and con
traversy. A long hadith in Bhukari wherein the prophet PBUH mentions what happen
s to the grave. He said a phrase "the person in the grave hears the footsteps of
those who walk away after burial". Pretty clear and explicit. Another evidence
is the hadith in Bhukari that the prophet PBUH visited Baree al Garkath and he s
aid "Asalaam u alaykum to the people of the grave". Another one is that the prop
het PBUH said "whoever sends salaam upon me, an angel will tell me so-and-so is
sending salaam". Another hadith "whoever passes by a grave of anyone they knew a
nd says salaam, the person in the grave will recognize and return salaam". But t
his is a weak hadith. Amr ibn Al As said "when you bury me, stay at my grave for
the length of time it takes to slaughter an animal and distribute the meat (i.e
. a fixed unit of time)". Why? "Your presence will calm me down, and then I will
be able to answer the messengers (Munkar and Nakir)". Recall Amr ibn Al As he w
as one of the last three sahabi to make Hijrah before the conquest of Mecca. Tak
ing all these into account as evidences for, the majority position including An
Nawawi, ibn Kathir, Ibn Tammiyah, ibn Hazam, ibn Al Qiyyam thus hold the positio
n if you say salaam the person in the grave WILL hear and acknowledge. The main
evidence is the incident of Badr that the prophet PBUH said "they hear me as wel
l as you" - this is the most explicit evidence that all these scholars use. How
does this camp interpret verses in the Quran?
1. Meaning of 'hear' is not just hearing, but rather a hearing you benefit from.
That Allah says "you will only cause those to hear who believe in our signs" i.
e. those who follow Islam, not physical hearing.
2. The dead in the Quran is not physical but rather spiritual "al motaa" is one
who is a kafir and evidence is from other verses.
Note both opinions have sahabah, tabioon and great scholars. And its not theolog
ical its a dispute in the sunni fiqh. So the other opinion starts from Aisha RA,
Umar RA, Kithada (student of Abbass) who said Allah brought them back to life s
o they could hear, al Bayhaqee, as Shawkanee, Albaani etc. How do you reconcile?
Firstly they say the verses of the Quran are very explicit. That those verses r
efer to ones in the grave. As for the point regarding hearing, they point to a v
erse in the Quran where Allah says "when you call them (false Gods) they can't e
ven hear you; even if they could, they don't have the power to respond". So its
clear physical hearing. Remember Al-Lat was a human being. The five false Gods o
f Nuh were humans. And the Arabs worshipped them. "And on kiyaama they will do k
ufr of your shirk". Indeed Isa AS will say "I don't know you". As for the incide
nt of Badr: they say its the strongest evidence against the camp. How so? Umar R

A questioned "how can these people hear when they are dead?" The prophet PBUH di
d not correct him but rather made an exception. He said "Right now, this group c
an hear me". An exception in time, place and people. He didn't say "OH Umar why
are you asking don't you know the dead can hear?" This clearly shows Umar RA und
erstood the Quran correctly - and the prophet PBUH is not correcting the misunde
rstadning. Also, the issues of the footsteps: once again, the prophet PBUH is ma
king an exception in time and place. We know the ruh (soul) reunites in the body
to respond to Munkar and Nakir - at that point in time, the footsteps will be h
eard. Not conversations, rather the footsteps only when the soul is reunited wit
h the body. As for the issue of the prophet PBUH going to Baqee and saying salaa
m. They say its a salaam of dua; not a greeting. As for Amr ibn Al As - its his
interpretation; the prophet PBUH did not tell him to do it. As for when the ange
ls give him salaam, the very fact an angel must convey the salaam indicates he c
annot hear. This is a common misunderstanding: the angel will give him the salaa
m regardless of where you are.
YQs opinion: it does seem to be the dead dosen't hear. Its true however to say m
any scholars held the other position. The main point is that this is a theoretic
al issue. No action is derived from this. By unanimous concensus you don't ask t
he person in the grave for anything. Also, this 'talkeen al mayat' - you really
think he can cheat on his exam at this point in time? You really think this shou
ting the answers will help them?
Ok back to Badr. The next incident that occured was the issue of the spoils of w
ar (ganeema). And we know from the Quran and sunnah the previous ummahs were not
allowed to keep the ganeema. In fact in the old testemant it is said - when the
army captured the items, they would make a big pile and Allah would send down a
lightening bolt to burn the whole pile in front of them to affirm it's been acc
epted. So when the muslims finished the battle, there was alot of ganeema. And t
hey wondered what to do: discussion broke up amongst the sahabah. That is becaus
e the sahabah had split up into a number of groups. One said "we were the ones w
ho collected the booty so we should get it". Another said "we were the ones who
persued the Quraysh as they ran back so we should get it as we protected you". A
third group said "we were protecting the prophet PBUH so we deserve it more". A
nd Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas came with a beautiful sword he had taken from someone he
killed and said "give me this sword". And so Allah revealed the first verses of
Anfal literally on the battlefield:
"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the bounties [of war]. Say, "The [decision co
ncerning] bounties is for Allah and the Messenger." So fear Allah and amend that
which is between you and obey Allah and His Messenger, if you should be believe
rs."
So Allah is reminding them that greed should not be the primary incentive. Then
the Quran goes on and says the war booty can indeed be distributed. The details
are complicated. In a nutshell:
1. 1/5 of it is put aside; and this 1/5th is divided into 5 shares:
a) 0.04 of the booty goes to the prophet PBUH.
b) 0.04 of the booty goes to the ahlul bayt - and we respect them and give them.
And we only give them in ganeema. For us ahlul bayt is broader than the shias.
c) 0.04 of the booty goes to orphans.
d) 0.04 of the booty goes to poor people.
e) 0.04 of the booty goes to travellers.

This gives a total of 20%. The rest of the 80% is given back to the army. And in
the battle of Badr every single person was given an equal share. Later on in th
e battle of Kabar onwards, the prophet PBUH changed this. He gave the one with a
n animal three times the amount than he who didn't have animal (horse etc). And
there were 9 people who got a share even though they weren't at the battle becau
se they had a legitimate excuse. The main being Uthman ibn Affan. He at the time
was married to Ruqqayah, the prophet PBUHs daughter, who had fallen severely il
l. And Uthman wanted to go but the prophet PBUH told him to stay behind. And in
fact she passed away the very day the prophet PBUH returned from Badr.
Another issue that took place in those three days they stayed at Badr was about
the prisoners of war. What exactly is to be done with the 73/74 prisoners? In Bh
ukari we learn the prophet PBUH surveyed all of the prisoners and he said "If Mu
t'im ibn Adi were alive right now (he just died a few months ago) and he spoke t
o me to free all of these (dirty people), I would have freed them all for him".
Now they are about to collect a fortune for these people. Literally it would be
millions of dollars, yet he is willing to let him go. This is a statement that h
as truly profound implications. Why did the prophet PBUH utter this phrase? Mut'
im is already dead. Recall though, Mut'im was one of those who fed the people wh
en the Banu Hashim were boycotted, he helped break the boycott, and when Abu Lah
ab told the prophet PBUH "you can no longer stay in Mecca - you cannot come in"
and the prophet PBUH returned from Taif and camped outside Mecca for three days
, and Bilal RA is negotiating and asking people, Mut'im when he hears this what
does he do? He sends his own sons to escort the prophet PBUH into Mecca, command
s the prophet PBUH to do tawaf and says "I will protect Muhammad whoever harms h
im will harm me". And so the prophet PBUH is giving, with this statement, a kaaf
ir person his due respect. He is giving Mut'im the highest possible honour. But
there is a legacy and honour of repaying the help Mut'im gave. And we know there
are those who aren't muslims but have good sincere hearts in mercy, humanity et
c. And similarly, Mut'im didn't approve of Islam but he equally didn't approve o
f the wrongdoings of the mushriks.
On the one hand these people tried to kill them, now they are prisoners of war.
So the prophet PBUH asked the sahabah, and in paticular he asked his two wazeers
Abu Bukr and Umar. And Abu Bukr said "they are our relatives and blood, show me
rcy for the sake of brotherhood". And Umar RA said "As for me, I think you shoul
d give Aqil to Ali and he will execute him, and so-and-so to me etc". And so at
this the prophet PBUH said "verily Allah makes some hearts so soft they are soft
er than milk, and others he makes them so hard, harder than stones. As for you A
bu Bukr, you have a resemblance to Ibrahim and Isa AS. Ibrahim said 'If they fol
low me they are of me; if not you are forgiving'. Isa said 'If you punish them t
hey are your servants, if you forgive them you are most forgiving'. And Oh Umar
you are like Nuh and Musa AS. Nuh said 'don't leave a single house of kaafir on
this Earth' and Musa said 'make their hearts hard and they never have imaan unti
l they see the punishment'". The next day Umar RA found the prophet PBUH and Abu
Bukr RA crying. And he asked "why are you crying - I want to cry with you". And
so the prophet PBUH recited those verses of Surah Anfal in which Allah says "It
is not desirable for a messenger to have prisoners of war until he establishes
power in the land". Allah mentioned some of the reasons some of the sahabah want
ed to randsom. That "you wanted the money - but Allah wants better". And Allah s
aid "were it not for the fact Allah allowed this to happen, a punishment would h
ave come down on you". In this time Allah thus said it wasn't the best decision
to keep prisoners of war, but now that you've done it "I will let it go".
Now is the prophet PBUH able to exercise his own opinion? This is a scholars of
usool al fiqh have discussed for thousand of years. The first minority opinion i
s that everything the prophet PBUH says is wahi. The majority of sunni scholars
say it's very clear that Allah gave the prophet PBUH the right to do Ijtihad - a
nd Allah would sometimes correct it or let it pass. Thus the key point is whatev
er the prophet PBUH commanded the sahabah had to follow. Sometimes however Allah

changed the prophet PBUH's Ijtihad. As for the verse in the Quran that the prop
het PBUH speaks only from wahi - it's very clear the context is just about the Q
uran. It's very clear the prophet PBUH remained a human being. He said "I am a h
uman, I forget as you forget". In another hadith he said "I get angry at times"
showing his humanity. So its clear he can make Ijtihad. At Badr its a semi relig
ious/semi state matter, and Allah told him it wasn't the best decision. Even in
matters of shariah Allah gave him the right to make Ijtihad. He himself he said
"I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now you can do it". Another example "
I was about to forbid you to be intermit with your wife a year after breastfeedi
ng, but then I saw the Romans and Persians doing it so you can do it". Also in U
hud when the people hit him he said "how can Allah ever forgive you?" And what d
id Allah reveal in the Quran? This is a very strict verse: "You have no right to
say this." That is whether Allah forgives is not your right. "They have done dh
ulm, but you don't have the right to forgive or punish". Even when the prophet P
BUH conquered Mecca he said "Its all haram don't pluck a single tree" - but some
one said "let me pluck the izkir tree for spices" and so the prophet PBUH said "
ok izkir is allowed". To this day every book of fiqh says you can't pluck any tr
ee except for izkir. The point is there is 50 or more examples of the prophet PB
UH executing Ijtihaad - whatever he says we must obey. If he makes an exception
etc its completely permitted for him to do. Very simply: every Itjihad of the pr
ophet PBUH is binding, except when Allah sends down wahi to change his Itjihad.
And we follow his Itjihad because there are over 60 verses in the Quran which te
ll us to do so.