Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
16. The Companions of the Prophet
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battle, true to our word in times of conflict. Perhaps
God will enable us to prove ourselves in a manner,
which will be pleasing to you. Take us with you,
trusting in the grace of God.” When Sa’d ibn
Mu’adh had his say, a final decision was taken to
advance to meet the enemy.
During the Battle of Badr (A.H. 3), the Prophet kept
on looking towards the Ansar. The background to
his concern has been explained by Ibn Hisham.
“When the Ansar entered into the second oath of
allegiance at ‘Aqaba’ he writes,” they were not
bound by their oath to accept the responsibility for
his safety outside Madinah. ‘While you are in our
country,’ they said, ‘we will defend you as we
defend our own wives and children.’ This was all
very well, but the Prophet was afraid that the Ansar
would consider themselves obliged to assist him
only if the enemy entered Madinah, and would not
feel themselves under any obligation to fight an
enemy outside the precincts of the city.’
True, although the Ansar had entered into a defence
pact at ‘Aqabah, according to its terms, they were
not strictly bound to fight in Badr, 80 miles away
