The Messenger of Allah ﷺ pointed to the ground and said, “Tomorrow this is where so-and-so will fall,” placing his hand here and there upon the earth. Not one of those he named was found outside the very spot the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had indicated.

Muslim likewise recorded this report—from Abū Bakr, through ʿAffān—with a similar wording.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim, in his Tafsīr, and Ibn Mardawayh (the wording is his) also transmitted—through ʿAbd Allāh ibn Lahīʿah, from Yazīd ibn Abī Ḥabīb, from Aslam, from Abū ʿImrān—that he heard Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī say:
“We were in Madinah when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘I have been informed that Abū Sufyān’s caravan is on its way. Would you like to go out to intercept it, in hope that Allah will grant us its spoils?’ We replied, ‘Yes.’

“So he set out and we went with him. After we had marched for a day or two he asked, ‘What do you think about the enemy? They have been informed of your departure.’

“We answered, ‘By Allah, we have no strength to fight that host; we had only set out for the caravan.’ He asked again, ‘What do you say about fighting the enemy?’ and we repeated the same.

“Then al-Miqdād ibn ʿAmr spoke up: ‘By no means shall we say to you, O Messenger of Allah, what the people of Moses said to Moses: Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will remain here.’

“We, the Anṣār, later wished we had said what al-Miqdād had said; it would have been dearer to us than possessing great wealth.

“Then Allah, exalted is He, revealed to His Messenger: ‘Just as your Lord brought you out of your home in truth, though a party of the believers were reluctant…’ (al-Anfāl 8:5).” He mentioned the rest of the ḥadīth.

Ibn Mardawayh also reported—through Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr ibn ʿAlqamah ibn Waqāṣ al-Laythī, from his father, from his grandfather—that:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ set out for Badr, and when he reached al-Rawḥāʾ he addressed the people, saying, ‘How do you see [the matter]?’

“Abū Bakr said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, we have been told that they are thus-and-so.’

“He then addressed the people again: ‘How do you see [the matter]?’ ʿUmar replied in words similar to Abū Bakr’s.

“He addressed them a third time: ‘How do you see [the matter]?’

“Saʿd ibn Muʿādh said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, it is us you mean. By Him who honored you and sent down the Book to you, I have never travelled this route before, nor do I know it. Yet if you were to march until you reached Bark al-Ghimād in the land of Yemen, we would march with you. We would not be like those who said to Moses: Go, you and your Lord, and fight; we will sit here. Rather, go, you and your Lord, and fight—we are with you, ready to follow. Perhaps you departed intending one thing and Allah has ordained something else for you. So look to what Allah has newly ordained for you and proceed with it: bind ties with whom you will, sever ties with whom you will; befriend whom you will, make peace with whom you will; and take from our wealth whatever you will.’

“The Qur’an was then revealed confirming Saʿd’s words: ‘Just as your Lord brought you out of your home in truth, though a party of the believers were reluctant…,’ and the following verses.”