A squad of guards was also chosen from amongst the Helpers under the leadership of the same man,
Sa‘d bin Mu‘adh, in order to defend the Prophet (Peace be upon him) in his headquarters.
The Prophet (Peace be upon him) spent the whole night preceding the day of the battle in prayer and  supplication. The Muslim army, wearied with their long march, enjoyed sound and refreshing sleep, a  mark of the Divine favour and of the state of their undisturbed minds.
“(Remember) when He covered you with a slumber as a security from Him, and He caused rain to  descend on you from the sky, to clean you thereby and to remove from you the Rijz (whispering,  evil suggestions, etc.) of Satan, and to strengthen your hearts, and make your feet firm  thereby.” 8:11
That was Friday night, Ramadan 17th., the year 2 A.H.
In the morning, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) called his men to offer the prayers and then urged  them to fight in the way of Allâh. As the sun rose over the desert, the Prophet(Peace be upon him)  drew up his little army, and pointing with an arrow which he held in his hand, arranged the ranks.
Quraish, on the other hand, positioned their forces in Al-‘Udwat Al-Quswa opposite the Muslim lines. A  few of them approached, in a provocative deed, to draw water from the wells of Badr, but were all  shot  dead except one, Hakeem bin Hizam, who later became a devoted Muslim. ‘Umair bin Wahab Al-
Jumahi, in an attempt to reconnoiter the power of the Muslims, made a scouting errand and submitted  a report saying that the Muslim army numbered as many as 300 men keen on fighting to the last  man.
On another reconnaissance mission he came to the conclusion that neither reinforcements were  coming  nor ambushes laid. He understood that they were too brave to surrender and too intent on carrying  out  their military duties to withdraw without slaying the largest number possible of the polytheists. This  report as well as kindred relations binding the two belligerent parties together, slackened the desire to  fight among some of the Quraishites. To counteract this reason-based opposition advocated by a rival  of his, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘a and others, Abu Jahl started an anti-campaign seeking vengeance on
Muhammad’s followers for the Quraishites killed at Nakhlah. In this way, he managed to thwart the  opposite orientation, and manipulated the people to see his evil views only.
When the two parties approached closer and were visible to each other, the Prophet (Peace be upon  him) began supplicating Allâh “O Allâh! The conceited and haughty Quraishites are already here  defying
You and belying Your Messenger. O Allâh! I am waiting for Your victory which You have promised me.
I  beseech You Allâh to defeat them (the enemies).” He also gave strict orders that his men would not  start fighting until he gave them his final word. He recommended that they use their arrows sparingly  and never resort to sword unless the enemies came too close.
Abu Jahl also prayed for victory, saying: “Our Lord, whichever of the two parties was less kind to his  relatives, and brought us what we do not know, then destroy him tomorrow.”. They were confident  ththeir superior number, equipment and experience would be decisive. The Noble Qur’ân, with a play  on  the word, told them that the decision had come, and the victory — but not in the sense they had  hoped  for:
“(O disbelievers) if you ask for a judgement, now has the judgement come unto you and if you  cease (to do wrong), it will be better for you, and if you return (to the attack), so shall we  return, and your forces will be of no avail to you, however numerous it be, and verily, Allâh is  with the believers.” 8:19
The first disbeliever to trigger the fire of the battle and be its first victim was Al-Aswad bin ‘Abdul Asad
Al-Makhzumi, a fierce bad-tempered idolater. He stepped out swearing he would drink from the water  basin of the Muslims, otherwise, destroy it or die for it. He engaged with Hamzah bin ‘Abdul Muttalib,  who struck his leg with his sword and dealt him another blow that finished him off inside the basin.
The battle had actually started. Protected by armour and shields, ‘Utbah bin Rabi‘a stepped forth  between his brother Shaibah and his son Al-Waleed bin ‘Utbah from the lines of Quraish and hurled  maledictions at the Muslims. Three young men of the Helpers came out against them: ‘Awf and
Mu‘wwadh — the sons of Harith, and ‘Abdullah bin Rawaha. But the Makkans yelled that they had  nothing to do with them. They wanted the heads of their cousins. Upon this the Prophet (Peace be  upon