Ebrahim Moosa 2016-06-23

In an online piece posted this week, titled: Operation Badr: Beware the 17th of Ramadan, The Rebel social commentary site posted the following ‘warning’ penned by Sonia Bailley, “a frequent contributor to American Thinker and other excellent websites,” on the supposed dangers posed to the world by the onset of the 17th Ramadan:

“If ever there was a date to be remembered and commemorated in Islam, it’s the 17th of Ramadan. This year it falls on Thursday, June 23rd, beginning Wednesday evening at sundown.

“This date holds great military and spiritual significance within Islam, as it was on this day that the greatest and most significant battle in Islamic history took place: the Battle and Victory of Badr in 624 AD (about 150 miles south of Medina), in which 313 Muslims defeated 1,000 non-Muslims from the Koresh tribe of Mecca who just wanted to return home safely from Syria with their trade caravans.

“This battle marked the first significant military victory for Islam..

“Dates are significant for jihadists. The 17th of Ramadan is a date that Westerners should become familiar with, and take heed. Jihadists are ramping up attacks against the West during the Islamic military month of Ramadan, especially now that the caliphate has been re-established.

“The 17th of Ramadan is a date jihadists hold very close to the heart, a date they memorialize….and wouldn’t think twice about reliving it in order to inflict more horrific carnage upon unbelievers. Next week, June 23rd..”

Echoing similar streaks of saber-rattling, George Igler on Breitbart.com, emphatically declared that the “link between the month of Ramadan and extreme violence in Islam” was “an ancient one”.

Ramadan, Igler claimed, “traditionally sees a leap in criminal conduct in the Islamic world”.

Adding to the cacophony, well known Islamophobe Robert Spencer suggested that the Muslim who applied himself diligently to the Ramadan observance “will simultaneously become more both merciful to his fellow Muslims and more severe against the unbelievers”.

“Murdering infidels…doesn’t contradict the spirit of Ramadan; it embodies it.”

To placate their arguments, the right-wingers cited the Orlando attacks(whose real and complicated motives continue to go unreported by the mainstream media), statements attributed to ISIS(whose alleged tactics hundreds of senior Ulama have publicly condemned), and a handful of stabbings and shootings in France(by lone assailants) – all of which, they claim, was apparently motivated by some belligerent Ramadan fervour.

Underpinning the critique is the assertion that the Battle of Badr, which occurred on 17 Ramadan and is considered the first battle in Islam, is a fountainhead of violence[ Allah Forbid] which provides Muslims the impetus for spreading mayhem on earth in Ramadan today.

What such characterisations by the Islamophobes conveniently omit is the stark odds that faced the Muslims on Yawm al Furqaan – 313 warriors, not militarily well-equipped nor adequately prepared possessing only 2 horses and 70 camels, which they had to take turns to ride; facing an army more than three times their size, comprising 100 horsemen, 600 soldiers in mail armour and a large number of camels, furnished lavishly by cheerleaders and travel supplies.

Allah SWT confirms the precarious situation facing the Muslims at Badr, in the Qur’aan when He states, “Indeed Allah assisted you at Badr when you were weak,” before proceeding to detail how the believers’ spiritual power and moral superiority earned them the Divine Assistance that enabled them to overcome the otherwise humanly-insurmountable odds on the battlefield.

The famous Dua of the Messenger of Allah SAW at Badr and his persistent beseeching of his Creator on the eve of the battle also reflect an grasp of the dim outlook for the fledging Muslim community if failure on the battlefield was to be their lot:

“O Allah! If this small band perish today, then there will be no one left to worship you on the face of this Earth.”

Bailley sanctifies the Quraish as the “tribe of Mecca who just wanted to return home safely from Syria with their trade caravans,” neglecting to mention the 13 long years of merciless persecution the Muslims had suffered at their hands in Makkah, which in turn compelled the tiny Muslim community to flee to Madinah. Added to that was the constant flow of harassment from the Quraish that did not even escape the Muslims whilst in exile. The Quraish, prior to Badr, would send to the Muslims dispatches threatening to put them to death in their homeland, and actively sought to ally with opportunistic elements in Madinah against the Prophet SAW.

Prior to the battle of Badr occuring, the Quraish marched out “boastfully and ostentatiously[Quraan 8:47], and even though the initial stimulus for battle, which was the threat posed by the Muslims to a Makkan trade caravan, had ceded, the Quraish leaders stubbornly chose the path of conflict.

“Now they wanted to punish the Muslims and prevent them from intercepting their caravans, and impress on the Arabs that the Quraish still had the upper hand and enjoyed supremacy in the area,” mentions The Sealed Nectar.

The Battle of Badr, hence, was no extravaganza of mindless violence. Rather, it was a struggle for religious survival and an attestation of the power of right of might.

Muslims indeed are inspired by the events of Badr. But this inspiration is not one that imperils the safety of the world. Instead, Badr imbibes Ramadan with a flavour that can be translated into a boon for humanity at large.

For those peoples facing injustice and illegal occupation, Badr strengthens the resolve and reaffirms a belief in the rightness of their struggles. If military means have been employed against them, they resist –as is their right, in accordance with the Quranic teaching of permitted fighting against “those who are fighting them, because they have been wronged[22:39]”, and in keeping with the lofty Islamic ethics governing war, ultimately placing their trust and hopes for a just outcome – as the Messenger of Allah SAW and his companions did – with Allah.

For other Muslims, facing less dire threats, the call of Badr is one that ought to shake us out of the comfort zones that happen to see ourselves spending more, eating more and exhibiting lethargy even in Ramadan.

With the clarity of mind and absence of distractions that accompany Ramadan, should come a greater sense of focus.

At Badr, in Ramadan, the Messenger of Allah SAW and the stalwarts among the companions expended their energies towards ensuring the survival of the Muslim community.

We too should use this period to reflect on how we will play a role in ensuring the longevity of Islam in our own lives, and those of our families and communities, be it through education, Dua, Dawah, Tableegh, shoring up on spiritual deficits or contributing towards social and humanitarian causes.

Taking a cue from the quest for justice at Badr, our hearts and prayers should be with the oppressed, acknowledging that resistance against the oppressors is legitimate, especially during Ramadan.

As Tariq Ramadan notes, to fast is to make ourselves aware of the implications of how we behave and of what we consume.

“It also means we must check what we eat, to avoid and boycott products coming from occupying countries or occupied territories.

“How could we fast and at the same time eat dates[or other products supporting injustice] exported by Israel[and her allies], stained with the blood of so many innocent Palestinians[and other oppressed peoples]? Fasting is awareness, commitment to justice and peaceful resistance.”

And whilst we grapple with our external enemies, the emphasis of the Messenger of Allah SAW – the vanquisher of falsehood at Badr – in prioritising the struggle against our internal enemies, should too not go unnoticed.

As Imam al Ghazali RA summarized, “Declare your Jihad on 13 hidden enemies: Egotism, Arrogance, Conceit, Selfishness, Greed, Lust, Intolerance, Anger, Lying, Cheating, Gossiping and Slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.”

Ramadan through the annals of Islamic history has played witness to several landmark events. Many of these may have involved epic physical battles. But in all key historical encounters, the motivating fervour was a commitment to justice and a quest for the Pleasure of the Divine, rather than some lowly vendetta for violence. If Badr is ever used as the justification for mindless violence in Ramadan, it is the subversion of the lofty legacy of this great battle, and at odds with the corpus of Islamic ethics.

Badr took place in Ramadan, but so did the Conquest of Makkah.

And on that day, occupying a much more exalted rulership position than on the day of Badr, the Messenger of Allah SWT consciously opted to not shed a single drop of blood of his former foes.

As one companion zealously announced: “Al-Yauma-Yaumul-Malhama(Today is the day of great slaughter)”, the Prophet SAW disapproved and said “La, Al-Yauma-Yaumul-Marhama(No, Today is the day of mercy/forgiveness)”.

From the Ka’bah that Ramadan day, he announced to the apprehensive onlookers:

“O people of Quraish! What do you think of the treatment that I am about to accord to you?”

They replied: “O noble brother and son of noble brother! We expect nothing but goodness from you”.

Upon this, he SAW said:

“I speak to you in the same words as Yusuf AS spoke unto his brothers: ‘No reproach on you this day’. Go you way, for you are free”.