Toward the beginning of autumn of the second year A.H., Abu Sufyan led a great caravan toward al Sham. It was this trade which the Muslims had previously threatened when the Prophet joined the expedition to al `Ushayrah in person. When the Muslims reached that locality, the caravan of Abu Sufyan had passed two days earlier. The Muslims decided to withdraw and wait for the caravan's return. When that time came and the caravan was supposedly in the vicinity of Madinah, Muhammad sent Talhah ibn `Ubaydullah and Said ibn Zayd to reconnoitre its where abouts. The two men ran in the direction of the usual trade route and arrived at the campsite of Kashd al Juhaniy in al Hawra'. There, they hid until the caravan passed. They returned quickly to Madinah in order to give Muhammad the information he asked for.
Muhammad did not await the return of his two messengers from al Hawra'. He had already heard that the caravan in question was a very large one and that practically all the Makkans were involved in the trade it carried since all Makkan capitalists had already bought a share in it. The goods the caravan carried were estimated at 50,000 dinars. Muhammad feared that if he were to await the news of his two messengers, the caravan would pass him by on its return to Makkah as it had passed him by on its northward trip to Syria earlier. Consequently, he called the Muslims together and addressed them in the following words: "Yonder is the caravan of Quraysh, Mobilize your forces and seek to capture it. Perhaps God may give it to you as booty." Some Muslims responded and others did not. Some non-Muslims were anxious to join, but Muhammad prevented them from doing so until they had believed in God and his Prophet.
The Prophet, may God's blessing be upon him, had started off from Madinah with his companions on the eighth day of Ramadan in the second year A.H. He had appointed Amr ibn Maktum to lead the prayer in Madinah, and Abu Lubabah, whom he called back from al Rawha, to govern Madinah in his place during his absence. The Muslim force was preceded by two black flags, and their camels counted seventy. Since three or four men were assigned to one camel, each one rode for only a brief while. Muhammad's share in riding was like that of his companions. He, Ali ibn Abu Talib, and Marthad ibn Marthad al Ghanawi had one camel assigned to them. Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abd al Rahman ibn Awf shared another. The total number of men on this expedition amounted to three hundred and five. Eighty-three of them were Muhajirun, sixty-one belonged to al Aws, and the rest to al Khazraj. Their pace was swift because they feared Abu Sufyan would pass them by if they tarried. They arrived to a place called Iraq al Zubiah where they found a Bedouin whom they asked concerning the caravan but could not learn anything from him. They continued on their march until they arrived at a valley called Dhafiran where they encamped. It was at this moment that the news reached them that the Quraysh had come out in force to meet them and protect the caravan. This news radically changed the situation. It was no more a question of intercepting- Abu Sufyan, his caravan, and the thirty or forty escorts who were no match for Muhammad and his companions. The whole of Makkah, led by its, nobles and elders, was out to protect its trade. If the Muslims were to catch up with Abu Sufyan, overcome his men and take away his camels and all they carried, would the Quraysh not follow and catch up with them, stirred up by this new attack of the Muslims and encouraged by their great numbers and armaments? Would they not catch up with the Muslims and fight them to the finish? On the other hand, if Muhammad were to return without victory, would not both the Quraysh and the Jews of Madinah realize his weakness and seek to take advantage of it? Would he then not have to compromise and, perhaps, suffer a Jewish tyranny in Madinah such as the Quraysh tyranny he had suffered in Makkah? In such eventuality, how could the revelation of truth and the religion of God ever become successful or achieve victory?
When Muhammad returned to his party, he sent 'Ali ibn Abu Talib, al Zubayr ibn al `Awwam, and Sa'd ibn Abu Waqqas with a number of other companions to the well of Badr to seek out fresh news. The little group returned with two boys who, upon interrogation by Muhammad, revealed that the Quraysh army stood behind the hill on the further side. When they could not answer his questions regarding the strength of the Quraysh army, Muhammad asked how many animals they killed for food every day. The boys answered, "Nine on one day and ten on the other." The Prophet concluded from this that their number must be between nine hundred and one thousand. He also learned from the two boys that the leaders of Quraysh were all present. Turning to his own companions he said, "There is Makkah confronting you with all its sons in one body." It was therefore absolutely necessary, he thought, that Muslims mobilize all efforts, harden their hearts and wills, and prepare themselves for a battle so fierce that none would emerge victorious from it except those whose hearts were completely possessed by faith in God alone.
So, now the Muslims set their camps up at the wells of Badr. In the heat of the desert only the Muslims controlled the wells, so if the Quraysh wanted water, they would have to fight for the Muslims'.
Soon after, the two armies faced each other. At first, the Quraysh asked for the Muslims' champions. Ali Ibn Abu Talib, Hamzah (prophet's uncle), and one other went to fight the Quraysh's champions. Ali and Hamzah killed their opponent while the other champion ended up killing his oppontent but ended up getting stabbed.
This was the great battle of Badr that established Muslim power throughout the Arabian Peninsula and began the movement of Arab unity under the leadership of Islam. It was the beginning of a large Islamic empire which gave the world a civilization which has so far played and will ever play a very important role in the history of the universe. It may surprise some readers to learn that as he urged his companions to fight the enemy and scatter their forces, Muhammad asked them not to kill Banu Hashim and some other leaders of the Quraysh despite the fact that they were all arrayed in battle on the other side. In so doing, he was not seeking any advantage for his tribe or relatives. Muhammad was too noble to be moved by such considerations. Rather he wanted to reward Banu Hashim for their protection of him and of his cause during thirteen long years between his commission to prophethood and emigration. It should be remembered that his uncle, al `Abbas, was the one who concluded the covenant of al `Aqabah.
Many Quraysh were taken as POW. However, they were all treated with hospitality.
The deal that was made with the POWs were that if they thought 10 Muslims to read, they would go free.