He said, “Give me your counsel.”
When Saʿd ibn Muʿādh noticed how often the Prophet kept asking for advice, he assumed that the Prophet wished to hear the voice of the Anṣār, fearing that they might feel no obligation to accompany him—or, he said, that they might not be eager to support the course he intended to take. Saʿd therefore declared, “Perhaps, Messenger of Allah, you are concerned that the Anṣār do not regard helping you as incumbent upon them unless they see an enemy inside their own homes, threatening their children and wives. I speak for the Anṣār and answer on their behalf: march wherever you wish; keep ties with whomever you wish; take from our wealth whatever you wish, and give us whatever you wish. What you take from us is dearer to us than what you leave with us. By Allah, were you to march until you reached the wells of al-Birk at Ghamd in Yemen, we would march right along with you.”
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Move out, then, in the name of Allah, for I have been shown the very spots where the enemy will fall.” He therefore set out for Badr.
Abu Sufyān angled his route toward the seashore, hugging the coast and thus safeguarding the caravan. He sent word to Quraysh, and the news reached them at al-Juhfah. Abu Jahl said, “By Allah, we shall not turn back until we reach Badr and camp there.” Al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq disliked this and advised them to return, but they rejected his counsel and disobeyed him. He therefore withdrew with Banū Zuhrah, and not one of them was present at Badr. Banū Hāshim also wanted to return, but Abu Jahl prevented them.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ encamped at the nearest water of Badr, then dispatched ʿAlī, al-Zubayr, and a group of men to gather intelligence. They came upon Quraysh’s water-carriers at the well, seized two boys, and questioned them about the caravan, but the boys began speaking about Quraysh instead. So the Muslims beat them. (The report continues) … until it states that the Messenger of Allah then stood and said, “Advise me regarding our place of encampment.”
Al-Hubbāb ibn al-Mundhir al-Sulamī rose and said, “Messenger of Allah, I know this area—its highs and its lows—better than anyone….”