When Disobedience Begins

At length the Quraysh lost. They were defeated utterly. It was the first, and they were defeated. And the reason for it is entirely clear, and Allah (swt) states it: that when a man begins in disobedience to Allah (swt), the help of Allah (swt) is not with him. Hence Allah (swt) tells us in verse 52, giving several examples to show that even with Pharaoh, who had everything at his disposal, once he went into disobedience he lost everything:

Ka-daʾbi āli Firʿawna wa-lladhīna min qablihim, kafarū bi-āyāti Allāhi fa-akhadhahumu Allāhu bi-dhunūbihim: so We seize them for their sins. And Allah (swt) has every power to do it.

What is understood from reading all of this — and in shāʾ Allāh, when there is time, it should be read carefully and pondered over — the general message to be had from it, and the guidance for Muslims, is entirely clear: that when you stand before your enemy there are several kinds of preparation to be made. There is plainly the material preparation: you must have the equipment and the facilities, the technology, whatever is needed for the day. Second, you need the military, which of course goes together with it; the military and the material go together. And above that, what you truly need is the spiritual. The religious and spiritual — your mind, your perspective, your eagerness, your zeal, your cause — must be very well thought out, as to why you are doing this.

What this battle shows, then, and why Badr is so significant, is that from the first two points of view, from the military and from the point of view of equipment, the Muslims had very little at all. But from the religious and spiritual point of view they were far beyond the other side. The other side had nothing of it. They had a great deal of the material, a great deal of the material equipment upon their side, but they had no spiritual perspective. And that is why Allah (swt) showed in this case that the victory came for that reason, because Allah (swt) helped them.