just as I used to persecute your Companions for their faith.”

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, granted him permission, whereupon he made his way back to Mecca.

While ʿUmayr ibn Wahb was en route, Safwān kept proclaiming, “Rejoice in the coming blow that will be struck within a few days—it will make you forget the day of Badr!”¹ Safwān would question every caravan about ʿUmayr until a rider arrived and informed him that ʿUmayr had embraced Islam. Safwān thereupon swore that he would never speak to him again nor ever offer him any benefit.

Ibn Isḥāq² relates: When ʿUmayr reached Mecca he remained there calling people to Islam and forcefully opposing anyone who resisted him, so that many accepted Islam through him.

Ibn Isḥāq also says: It was ʿUmayr ibn Wahb—or al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām—who saw the enemy of Allah, Iblīs, when he turned on his heels and fled on the Day of Badr, declaring, “I disown you; I see what you do not see.” On that day Iblīs had assumed the form of Suraqah ibn Mālik ibn Juʿshum, the chief of the clan of Mudlij.

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Imām Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, may Allah have mercy on him, then discussed the Qur’anic revelation concerning the story of Badr—namely from the beginning of Sūrah al-Anfāl to its conclusion—and he treated the subject with both skill and insight.³ We have dealt with these verses in detail in our book Tafsīr,⁴ and whoever wishes to examine the matter further may consult it there. All praise and thanks are due to Allah for His favor and grace.

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Ibn Isḥāq next proceeded to name the Muslims who fought at Badr,⁵ listing first the Muhājirūn who were present, followed by the Anṣār—both the Aws and the Khazraj—until he said: “The total number of Muslims at Badr, whether they actually fought or merely received a share and reward, was three hundred and fourteen men: eighty-three from the Muhājirūn, sixty-one from the Aws, and one hundred and seventy from the Khazraj.” Al-Bukhārī has recorded their names in his Ṣaḥīḥ⁸ in alphabetical order.