It was the characteristec of Arab race to start a bloody war whenever a man from a certain tribe got killed at the hands of another. Huge hosts swarmed up from both sides and blood ran in streams. These wars continued for years, whole tribes were destroyed ; but the fighting knew no end. The Arabs were not generally literate, yet the name of the murdered person was preserved, written down on a piece of paper, and passed on to succeeding generations. Little children were taught to remember it so that they might take a revenge when they grew up. The horrible wars of Dahis and Basus, each of which continued for almost forty years and claimed thousands of lives, were fought for no other reasons. The Arabic word for such a revenge was "Thar", a word that looms large in the national history of the Arabs.

As already mentioned, 'Amr Ibn Hadrami had been salin in an encounter with 'Abdullah Ibn Jahsh. Hadrami was an ally of 'Utba Ibn Rabi'a, and 'Utba was the chief of the whole Quraish community. Badr, and all the battles that followed, were in consequence of revenge for this man's death. 'Urwa Ibn Zubair, the son of 'A'isha's sister, has explicitly stated it in these words : "The cause that led to Badr and all the batles fought between the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the infiels of Arabia, was, as stated by 'Urwa Ibn Zubair, the death of 'Amr Hadrami, who was slain by Waqid Ibn 'Abdullah Tamimi. ('Abdullah Ibn Jahsh under whose leadership this empedition was sent, was the son of Hamza's sister and a cousin of the Prophet on the mother's side. The man who had slain Hadrami was Waqid Ibn 'Abdullah Tamimi, whowas an ally of 'Umair's family and lived til the early days of 'Umair Caliphate.)

A general mistake that leads to a fallacious view of facts is the presumption that Badr was the first battle fought against the infidels. As a matter of fact several engagements had actually preceded it. 'Urwa Ibn Zubair wrote a letter to 'Abd al-Malik, the opening sentence of which was : "'Abu Sufyan Ibn Harb was coming from Syria with seventy riders all of whom were Quraish." This was reported to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Copmpanions. Hostitlities had laready broken out between the two partiies, and a few persons from the other party including Ibn Hadrami had been slain and some taken prisoners ….. And this had been the event that had led to war between the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Quraish. This had also been the first occasion when losses were mutually inflicted ; and this encounter had taken place before Abu Sufyan departed for Syria."

The best way to arrive at the truth is to see what the other side had to say. Such evidence is rarely found, but fortunately, it is available in this case. Hakim Ibn Hizam (a nephew of Khadija the wife of the propeht), who was still an unbeliever had come with the Quraish army. He was five years older than the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and had been friendly to him in the pre-ministry days and continued to be so even when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had entered upon his mission. However he did not embrace Islam till the conquest of Mecca. Ibn Hakim was a Quraish dignitary, held the office of Rifada, and owned and manged Dar al-Nadwa. He lived till the days of the caliph Marwan Ibn Hakam. Once he went to see Marwan, who received him with great honour. Marwan left his royal seat, sat by his side and asked him to relate the events of Badr. Having described te preliminary datails, he said, " When the Quraish had encamped, I went to 'Utba, and said to him, 'O' father of Walid, won't you like to win a life-long fame ?' 'How is it possible ?' asked 'Utba, and I answered, 'You see, the Quraish demand from Muhammad nothing more than blood for the blood of Hadrami, and he was your ally. Why don't you pay his blood-money yourself and let all your people march back home-ward. 'Utba like this proposal, but Abu Jahl did not consent to it. Abu Jahl called 'Amir Hadrami, the brother of the deceased Hadrami, and said that he should stand out and invoke the aid of the nation, for he had his chance of vengenace close at hand. According to Arab custom, 'Amir Hadrami cast off his clothes and cried, 'Oh 'Amr Hadrami, 'Amr Hadrami, Oh 'Amir Hadrami !"

The first man who came into the battle-field was this Amir Hadrami.

Hakim Ibn Hizam and 'Amir Hadrami wee both non-believers, when Badr was fought. 'Utba and Abu Jahl, the leading chiefs died infidels. When persons of consequence, such as these, regarded the battle of Badr as a revenge for Hadrami's blood, we need not care if others, born hundreds of years after the battle, believed that it had been the outcome of an intended plunder of the caravan.