The short answer
The Battle of Badr took place on Friday morning, 17 Ramadan, in Ibn Ishaq's account (Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah). Al-Mubarakpuri places it in 2 AH (dates below). In Sahih Muslim 1763, graded Sahih (in Sahih Muslim), 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reports 319 Muslims against a thousand, and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, pleading for Allah's help.
Why did the Muslims go out to Badr?
Ka'b ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, stayed behind from Badr. He says nobody who did so was blamed, because the Prophet had gone out wanting the caravan of Quraysh, until Allah brought the Muslims and their enemy together without an appointment (Sahih al-Bukhari 3951, graded Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari)).
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3951
Ibn Kathir opens his chapter on Badr with Al-Anfal 8:5 onwards 25. Al-Anfal 8:5 speaks of a going forth from home with the Truth, when "a party of the believers were averse (to it)", and 8:7 of a promise of "one of the two bands (of the enemy)".
Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that when news of the advance of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb reached the Prophet, he asked for advice. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, spoke, then 'Umar, and each time the Prophet turned away. Then Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that if the Prophet ordered them to plunge "them" into the sea they would plunge them, and to strike "their livers" as far as Bark al-Ghimad they would do it. The Arabic does not say what the feminine "them" is. The Prophet called the people, and they set out and camped at Badr (Sahih Muslim 1779, graded Sahih (in Sahih Muslim)).
2AuthenticSahih Muslim 1779
Ibn Ishaq, in Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah, names Sa'd ibn Mu'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, as the one who answered 16. The two works name two men.
Abu Sufyan ibn Harb later became Muslim. That is a separate event from the caravan and the Quraysh call at Badr. Ibn Hisham's al-Sirah reports that al-Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, brought him to the Prophet while the Prophet had camped at Marr al-Zahran. After he said he still had doubts about the Prophet's messengership, al-Abbas told him to accept Islam before his neck was struck, and he bore witness to the truth and accepted Islam 27. This page gives only Ibn Hisham's account of that meeting.
When was the Battle of Badr?
The hadith opened for this page give no day of the month. The history works below do not agree on every day, and no attempt is made to reconcile them.
| Event | What the works say |
|---|---|
| Setting out from Madinah | Ibn Hisham: Monday (a word missing in one manuscript, the editors note), eight nights into Ramadan 10. The edition's editors add another view, twelve nights and a Saturday. Al-Mubarakpuri writes the 8th or the 12th 11. |
| The battle | Ibn Ishaq, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn: Friday morning, 17 Ramadan 9. Al-Mubarakpuri: the night of Friday, 17 Ramadan, year 2 of the Hijrah 11. Ibn Kathir gives the same day from a report of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, and from 'Urwa ibn al-Zubayr and Qatada (both successors). He quotes al-Bayhaqi that it is the well-known view of the campaign historians 12. It also quotes Zayd ibn Arqam, may Allah be pleased with him, naming the night of the nineteenth in an answer about the Night of Qadr 13, and Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with him, listing several possible days, a report it calls very strange 14. |
| Common Era | Not a date for Badr: the works opened for this page give no Common Era date for the battle. Al-Mubarakpuri puts Sha'ban of the same year, the month before Ramadan, in February 624 CE 15. |
How many Muslims and how many of Quraysh were at Badr?
The figures differ; each is shown with its source.
| Source | Muslims | Quraysh |
|---|---|---|
| Sahih Muslim 1763, Sahih (in Sahih Muslim) 3 | 319 (the Prophet's companions, in 'Umar's report) | A thousand |
| Sahih al-Bukhari 3957, Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari) 4 | Three hundred and ten-odd, the number of the men who crossed the river with Talut, as the Badr veterans told al-Bara ibn 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him | Not given |
| Ibn Ishaq, in Ibn Hisham | 314, counting those given a share and reward: 83 Emigrants, 61 Aws, 170 Khazraj 17 | The Prophet's estimate, 900 to 1,000, from the daily slaughter the captured water-carriers described 19 |
| Al-Mubarakpuri | 313, 314 or 317; he gives the range without choosing 18 | Not given in the passage used |
| Ibn Kathir | Not given in the passage used | Calls 900 to 1,000 the sound figure (Qatada: 950). He words a report of 'Umar as "over a thousand" (ziyada 'ala al-alf) and prefers the first figure; Sahih Muslim 1763, as read here, says "a thousand" 20 |
What did the Prophet ask of Allah before the battle?
Two reports give his plea in different words.
In Sahih Muslim 1763 (graded Sahih (in Sahih Muslim)), 'Umar says the Prophet faced the qibla, stretched out his hands and asked Allah to accomplish what He had promised, adding that if this band of Muslims were destroyed He would not be worshipped on the earth, until his cloak fell from his shoulders. Abu Bakr put the cloak back and said that the Prophet's appeal to his Lord was of that kind, since He would fulfil what He had promised him. Then Allah revealed Al-Anfal 8:9, "I will help you with a thousand of the angels, rank on rank", and reinforced him with angels.
3AuthenticSahih Muslim 1763
In Sahih al-Bukhari 3953 (graded Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari)), Ibn Abbas reports different words: the Prophet said he appealed to Allah for His covenant and promise, and that if Allah willed, He would not be worshipped. Abu Bakr took his hand and said it was enough for him, and he went out saying the words of Al-Qamar 54:45: "The hosts will all be routed and will turn and flee."
5AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3953
How many were killed and captured at Badr?
The sources used here report a victory for the Muslims: Al Imran 3:123 speaks of "the victory at Badr", and the reports below count the dead and captives of Quraysh.
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Sahih al-Bukhari 3986, Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari), al-Bara 6 | In a report about Uhud, al-Bara says that at Badr the Prophet and his companions inflicted 140 casualties on the polytheists: 70 captives and 70 killed. |
| Sahih Muslim 1763, Sahih (in Sahih Muslim), Ibn Abbas 3 | They killed seventy that day and captured seventy. |
| Ibn Hisham | Fifty of Quraysh's dead, the total counted for Ibn Hisham; also seventy dead and seventy captives, from Ibn Abbas and Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab (a successor) 21. Ibn Ishaq's list of Muslim dead: six Emigrants and eight Ansar, 14 by our sum 22. |
| Ibn Kathir, quoting Musa ibn 'Uqba | Six Emigrants and eight Ansar killed; 49 polytheists killed and 39 captured. In the same passage Ibn Ishaq, through Yunus ibn Bukayr, gives eleven Muslims killed: four from Quraysh and seven from the Ansar 23. |
What happened to the dead of Quraysh?
Two wordings, kept apart. In 3976 the dead are thrown into the well before he addresses them; in 2874, after.
| Report | What it says |
|---|---|
| Sahih al-Bukhari 3976, Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari), Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, from Abu Talha, may Allah be pleased with him 7 | The Prophet ordered 24 chiefs of Quraysh thrown into a well of Badr, stayed three nights, then on the third day stood at its edge and called them by name, asking if they had found their Lord's promise true. 'Umar asked how he spoke to bodies without souls; he said those present did not hear better than they. Qatada, a successor, adds his own comment that Allah brought them to life so they would hear. |
| Sahih Muslim 2874, Sahih (in Sahih Muslim), Anas 8 | He left the dead of Badr three days, then stood over them and called four by name with a similar question. To 'Umar's objection he gave the same answer, adding that they could not reply. Then he ordered them thrown into the well. |
What does the Quran say about Badr?
One verse names the place.
وَلَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِبَدْرٍ وَأَنتُمْ أَذِلَّةٌ ۖ فَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
The Ilmwell team's string search of the Tanzil text found the word Badr in that verse only 26. Ibn Kathir opens his chapter on Badr with this verse and with Al-Anfal 8:5 onwards 25. Sahih Muslim 1763 places Al-Anfal 8:9 and the verses on captives in its account. The line below says only what the verse says; "same passage" means the Al-Anfal passage Ibn Kathir opens with, not tied here to an event.
- Al-Anfal 8:17, same passage. "You (Muslims) slew them not, but Allah slew them." It adds that "you (Muhammad) threw not when you did throw, but Allah threw". The bracketed words are the translation's.
What happened to the captives?
The report and verses are given without a ruling on captives or spoils.
In Sahih Muslim 1763, Ibn Abbas relays 'Umar's account: the Prophet asked Abu Bakr and 'Umar what to do with the captives. Abu Bakr advised taking a ransom; 'Umar advised that the captives be handed over to be killed. The Prophet inclined to Abu Bakr's view. Then Allah revealed a verse beginning "It is not for any prophet to have captives until he has made slaughter in the land." (Al-Anfal 8:67), and the report ends with the words that Allah made the spoil lawful for them.
3AuthenticSahih Muslim 1763
Al-Anfal 8:70, in the verses after 8:67, tells the Prophet to say to the captives: "If Allah knows any good in your hearts He will give you better than that which has been taken from you, and will forgive you". Ibn Hisham states the ransom as four thousand dirhams a man down to one thousand, with favour shown to one who had nothing 24.
My dad told me about Badr when I was nine, sitting on the edge of my bed. I asked why so few went out against so many, and he said they went anyway. I lay awake afterwards thinking about the night before the battle.
Try it: three questions
Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1How many companions of the Prophet does 'Umar count in Sahih Muslim 1763?
Answer: 319. Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 gives three hundred and ten-odd, and Ibn Hisham 314, so the works differ. Source 3
2Which verse of the Quran names Badr?
Answer: Al Imran 3:123. Al Imran 3:123 says Allah had already given the believers victory at Badr. The Tanzil search found no other. Source 26
3Who answers the Prophet's request for advice in Sahih Muslim 1779?
Answer: Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah. Anas names Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah; Ibn Ishaq names Sa'd ibn Mu'adh. Source 2
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Ka'b ibn Malik says he stayed behind from Badr, that no one who stayed behind from it was blamed, and that the Messenger of Allah went out wanting the caravan of Quraysh until Allah brought them together with their enemy without an appointment.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3951 Book 64, Hadith 3
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Anas reports that when news of the advance of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb reached the Prophet, peace be upon him, he consulted his companions; Sa'd ibn 'Ubadah spoke; the people set out and camped at Badr; and the Prophet showed where each of Quraysh's men would fall.
Sahih Muslim 1779 Book 32, Hadith 103
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 3
'Umar says that at Badr the idolaters were a thousand and the Prophet's companions three hundred and nineteen men; he reports the Prophet's supplication, Abu Bakr's words, and the revelation of Al-Anfal 8:9; Ibn Abbas adds that they killed seventy and captured seventy, and the consultation about the captives.
Sahih Muslim 1763 Book 32, Hadith 69
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 4
Al-Bara ibn 'Azib says the Companions who were at Badr told him their number was that of Talut's companions who crossed the river with him, a few over ten and three hundred.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3957 Book 64, Hadith 9
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 5
Ibn Abbas reports that on the day of Badr the Prophet said 'O Allah, I appeal to You for Your covenant and Your promise', that Abu Bakr took his hand and said 'Enough for you', and that he went out saying the words of Al-Qamar 54:45.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3953 Book 64, Hadith 5
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 6
Al-Bara ibn 'Azib says the Prophet and his companions inflicted a hundred and forty casualties on the polytheists at Badr, seventy captives and seventy killed.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3986 Book 64, Hadith 37
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 7
Anas, from Abu Talha, reports that on the day of Badr the Prophet ordered twenty-four chiefs of Quraysh to be thrown into a well of Badr and, on the third day, stood at its edge and called them by name; 'Umar asked how he spoke to bodies without souls, and the Prophet answered that those present do not hear what he says better than they do.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3976 Book 64, Hadith 29
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 8
Anas reports that the Prophet left the dead of Badr for three days, then stood by them, called four of them by name and asked whether they had found what their Lord promised true; he answered 'Umar's question and then commanded that they be thrown into the well of Badr.
Sahih Muslim 2874 Book 53, Hadith 92
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 9
Ibn Ishaq's date: Friday morning, 17 Ramadan, from Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn 'Ali ibn al-Husayn.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 626 (section 'Ibn Ghaziyyah wa darb al-Rasul lahu') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-date. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 10
Setting out from Madinah: Monday, eight nights into Ramadan (Ibn Hisham), with the editors' footnote on twelve nights and a Saturday.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 612 (section 'Khuruj Rasul Allah'), footnote 4 Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-departure. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 11
The night of Friday, 17 Ramadan, year 2 of the Hijrah, and the departure on the 8th or 12th.
Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri (d. 1427 AH), al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, p. 192 (section 'Ta'bi'at al-jaysh wa qada' al-layl') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-mubarakpuri-badr-night.
- 12
Friday, 17 Ramadan, with a report from Ibn Abbas, 'Urwa and Qatada, and al-Bayhaqi's remark that it is the well-known view.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, pp. 366 to 367 (the same 'fasl') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-day. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 13
A report from Zayd ibn Arqam, asked about the Night of Qadr, naming the night of the 19th.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, p. 367 (the same 'fasl') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-zayd-nineteenth. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 14
A report from Abu Ayyub listing several possible days, called very strange in the passage.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, p. 367 (the same 'fasl') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-abu-ayyub-uncertain. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 15
Sha'ban of year 2 AH equated with February 624 CE in the author's own dating (not a date for Badr itself).
Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri (d. 1427 AH), al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, p. 183 (end of the section 'Sariyyat Nakhlah') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-mubarakpuri-shaban-ce.
- 16
Sa'd ibn Mu'adh as the one who answered the Prophet's request for advice.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 615 (section 'Istithaq al-Rasul min amr al-Ansar') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-ansar-consultation. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 17
314 men, counting those given a share and reward: 83 Emigrants, 61 Aws, 170 Khazraj.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 706 (section 'Adad al-Badriyyin jami'an') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-muslim-count. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 18
313, 314 or 317 men; 82, 83 or 86 Emigrants; 61 Aws; 170 Khazraj.
Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri (d. 1427 AH), al-Rahiq al-Makhtum, p. 184 (section 'Ghazwat Badr al-Kubra, mablagh quwwat al-jaysh') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-mubarakpuri-badr-muslim-numbers.
- 19
The Prophet's estimate of Quraysh, between 900 and 1,000, reasoned from the daily slaughter.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 617 (section 'Basbas wa 'Adi yatajassasan al-akhbar') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-quraysh-estimate. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 20
Ibn Kathir's preference for 900 to 1,000, with Qatada's 950.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, p. 366 (the same 'fasl') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-enemy-number. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 21
Fifty of Quraysh's dead, the total counted for Ibn Hisham, and seventy dead and seventy captives in the report from Ibn Abbas and Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 714 (section 'Adaduhum') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-dead-counts. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 22
Ibn Ishaq's list of the Muslim dead: six Emigrants and eight Ansar.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, pp. 706 to 708 (section 'Man ustushhida min al-Muslimin yawm Badr') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-muslim-martyrs. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 23
Musa ibn 'Uqba's figures as al-Bayhaqi relays them (14 Muslims, 49 polytheists killed, 39 captured) and Ibn Ishaq's eleven Muslim dead through Yunus ibn Bukayr.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, p. 366 (a 'fasl' within the chapter on Badr) Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-casualty-counts. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 24
The ransom: four thousand to one thousand dirhams a man.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 1, p. 660 (section 'Thaman al-fida') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-badr-ransom. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- 25
The chapter title 'the Day of the Criterion, the day the two groups met', opened with Al Imran 3:123 and Al-Anfal 8:5 onwards.
Isma'il ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH), al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, vol. 3, p. 313 (opening of 'Ghazwat Badr al-'Uzma, yawm al-Furqan yawm iltaqa al-jam'an') Read on 27 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnkathir-badr-chapter-opening. Footnotes in this edition are the editor's, not the author's.
- 26
The Ilmwell team's string search of the Tanzil text: Badr occurs only in Al Imran 3:123.
Search of the Tanzil Quran text (data/tanzil), Search date 2026-10-27 Read on 27 October 2026. Record: search-badr-quran-name.
- 27
Ibn Hisham: al-Abbas brings Abu Sufyan ibn Harb to the Prophet at Marr al-Zahran, and he bears witness and accepts Islam. A later event, not Badr.
'Abd al-Malik ibn Hisham (d. 213 AH), abridging Muhammad ibn Ishaq (d. 151 AH), al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah (Sirat Ibn Hisham), vol. 2, pp. 402-403 (section 'Qissat islam Abi Sufyan 'ala yad al-Abbas') Read on 28 October 2026. Record: scholarly-ibnhisham-conquest-abu-sufyan-islam. Footnotes in this edition are the editors', not the author's.
- Q
Quran Arabic and English for Al Imran 3:123 and the English phrases quoted from Al Imran 3, Al-Anfal 8 and Al-Qamar 54.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.
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