Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (4/54)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

He said (1): When the troops had encamped, a party of Quraysh came forward until they reached the basin that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had prepared; among them was Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Let them be.” Every man who drank from it that day was killed, save Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām; he was spared, later embraced Islam, and his submission proved sound. Whenever he wished to emphasize an oath he would say, “No—by the One who delivered me on the Day of Badr.”

I say: The Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that day numbered three hundred and thirteen, as will be detailed—God willing—in a separate section after the account of the battle, where we shall list their names in alphabetical order.

In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (2) it is related from al-Barāʾ: “We used to say that the men of Badr were three hundred and a few more, equal to the number of Saul’s followers who crossed the river with him; none crossed with him but a believer.”

Al-Bukhārī also records (3) from him: “I and Ibn ʿUmar were considered too young on the day of Badr. The Emigrants on that day were a little over sixty, and the Helpers a little over two hundred and forty.”

Imam Aḥmad (4) narrates, through Naṣr ibn Bāb (5), from Ḥajjāj, from al-Ḥakam, from Miqsam, from Ibn ʿAbbās, that he said: “The people of Badr were three hundred and thirteen men; the Emigrants were seventy-six. The defeat of the polytheists at Badr took place on the seventeenth—on a Friday—in the month of Ramadan.”

Allah the Exalted says (6): “When Allah showed them to you in your dream as few. Had He shown them to you as many, you would surely have lost heart and would have disputed about the matter; but Allah saved you” (al-Anfāl 8:43). This occurred in his dream that very night.

It is also said that he slept inside the shelter (al-ʿarīsh), having instructed the people not to fight until he allowed them to do so. The enemy drew near, and Abū Bakr kept waking him, saying, “Messenger of Allah, they have come close to us.” He awoke, and Allah had already shown them to him in his dream as few. Al-Umawī (7) reports this, and it is exceedingly unusual.

Allah the Exalted also says (8): “And when He made you see them, when you met, as few in your eyes and made you appear few in their eyes, so that Allah might fulfil a decree already ordained” (al-Anfāl 8:44). Thus, when the two forces confronted each other, Allah made each side appear few to the other so that these would dare to attack those and those would dare to attack these, in accordance with His perfect wisdom. This does not contradict His statement

(1) That is, Ibn Ishaq. See Ibn Hisham, Al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah, vol. 1, p. 622. (2) Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 3959). (3) Reported by al-Bukhari (no. 3956). (4) Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad, vol. 1, p. 248; its isnad is weak due to the weakness of Nasr ibn Bab al-Khurasani and the tadlīs of al-Hajjaj (son of Artah), yet the hadith is hasan when supported by its corroborating reports. (5) In manuscript A: “ru’ab.” See al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil, vol. 8, p. 469. (6) See the author’s Tafsir, vol. 4, p. 13. (7) See al-Waqidi, al-Maghazi, vol. 1, p. 67. (8) See Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir, vol. 4, pp. 13–14.

قال (١) : فلمّا نزل الناس، أقبل نفرٌ من قريشٍ حتى وردوا حوض رسول اللَّه ﷺ ، فيهم حكيمُ بنُ حِزَامٍ، فقال رسول اللَّه ﷺ : "دعوهم" . فما شرب منه رجلٌ يومئذٍ إلّا قتل، إلّا ما كان من حكيم بن حزامٍ، فإنّه لم يقتل، ثم أسلم بعد ذلك، فحسن إسلامه، فكان إذا اجتهد في يمينه قال: لا والذي نجّاني يوم بدرٍ. قلت: وقد كان أصحاب رسول اللَّه ﷺ يومئذٍ ثلاثمئةٍ وثلاثة عشر رجلًا، كما سيأتي بيان ذلك في فصل نعقده بعد الوقعة، ونذكر أسماءهم على حروف المعجم، إن شاء اللَّه. ففي "صحيح البخاريّ" (٢) ، عن البراء قال: كنّا نتحدّث أنّ أصحاب بدرٍ ثلاثمئةٍ وبضعة عشر، على عدّة أصحاب طالوت الذين جاوزوا معه النّهر، وما جاوزه معه إلّا مؤمنٌ. وللبخاريّ أيضًا (٣) عنه قال: استُصغرت أنا وابن عمر يوم بدرٍ، وكان المهاجرون يوم بدرٍ نيّفًا على ستين، والأنصار نيّفًا وأربعين ومئتين. وروى الإمام أحمد (٤) ، عن نصر بن بابٍ (٥) ، عن حجّاجٍ، عن الحكم، عن مقسمٍ، عن ابن عباسٍ أنّه قال: كان أهل بدرٍ ثلاثمئةٍ وثلاثة عشر رجلًا، وكان المهاجرون ستةً وسبعين، وكان هزيمة أهل بدرٍ لسبع عشرة مضين، يوم الجمعة، في شهر رمضان. وقال اللَّه تعالى (٦) : ﴿إِذْ يُرِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي مَنَامِكَ قَلِيلًا وَلَوْ أَرَاكَهُمْ كَثِيرًا لَفَشِلْتُمْ وَلَتَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ سَلَّمَ﴾ الآية [الأنفال: ٤٣] . وكان ذلك في منامه تلك الليلة. وقيل: إنه نام في العريش، وأمر الناس أن لا يقاتلوا حتى يأذن لهم، فدنا القوم منهم، فجعل الصدّيق يوقظه، ويقول: يا رسول اللَّه، دنوا منّا، فاستيقظ. وقد أراه اللَّه إياهم في منامه قليلًا. ذكره الأموى (٧) . وهو غريبٌ جدًّا. وقال تعالى (٨) : ﴿وَإِذْ يُرِيكُمُوهُمْ إِذِ الْتَقَيْتُمْ فِي أَعْيُنِكُمْ قَلِيلًا وَيُقَلِّلُكُمْ فِي أَعْيُنِهِمْ لِيَقْضِيَ اللَّهُ أَمْرًا كَانَ مَفْعُولًا﴾ [الأنفال: ٤٤] . فعندما تقابل الفريقان، قلّل اللَّه كلًا منهما في أعين الآخرين، ليجترئ هؤلاء على هؤلاء، وهؤلاء على هؤلاء؛ لما له في ذلك من الحكمة البالغة، وليس هذا معارضًا لقوله

(١) أي: ابن إسحاق. انظر "السيرة النبوية" لابن هشام (١/ ٦٢٢). (٢) رواه البخاري (٣٩٥٩). (٣) رواه البخاري (٣٩٥٦). (٤) رواه أحمد في "المسند" (١/ ٢٤٨) وإسناده ضعيف لضعف نصر بن باب الخراساني، والحجاج مدلس، وهو ابن أرطاة، لكنه حديث حسن بشواهده. (٥) في (أ): "رئاب" وانظر "الجرح والتعديل" (٨/ ٤٦٩). (٦) انظر "التفسير" للمؤلف (٤/ ١٣). (٧) انظر "المغازي" للواقدي (١/ ٦٧). (٨) انظر "تفسير ابن كثير" (٤/ ١٣ - ١٤).