Shown Few in Number

Then it continues: recall when, in your dream, Allah showed them to you as few in number. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sees a dream beforehand, and sees that they are only a few. There were far more of them, three times as many or thereabouts; but they were shown as few. Had He shown them to you as many in number, you would have been demoralised and would have disputed in the matter — should we fight them, should we not fight them? But Allah saved you. Surely Allah is fully aware of what lies in the breasts.

Now this is of interest: that in a battle, if you see your enemy as fewer, it is a great boost to morale — we can walk over them. And generally, if you can show yourself to be greater in number than your enemy, that is a fine thing, for it strikes awe. That is why, upon many occasions, they would split their people up by their fires and do all manner of things in those days, to show that there was a vast encampment where there were in fact far fewer men.

Yet it says: and when, at the time you met one another, He showed them to you as few in your eyes — which is understandable enough. So after the dream, when you actually went out to the battle, He still showed them to you as few. You still saw them to be few, and your morale was not dimmed at all. But then: and He reduced your number in their eyes. And what was the reason for that? One would have supposed it better to be shown in greater number; but no, you too were reduced in their eyes. And this is the reason: so that Allah might accomplish what was destined to be done. And to Allah all matters are returned. This is of great interest, and these verses, and the way they come at the beginning here, and what they mean, have always been intriguing.

These, then, are the chief points to be made about the Battle of Badr. They may be gone through quickly, and then any other particular verses pointed out, that we may move on.

The point is that Allah (swt) willed this battle to happen. This was to be the first, and it was to happen. There was no avoiding it. So while He would raise the morale of the Muslims, the Muslim force of the Prophet (peace be upon him), they being very few in number — there were about three hundred and something, three hundred and thirteen or thereabouts, and the others at least a thousand — they were shown to be very few: I can walk over them; it is no difficulty. And then, on the other side, to make sure that they too would fight and not run away, and would take a sound beating, the disbelievers were shown that the Muslims were also few in number. And this is the way Allah (swt) helps and changes matters in a battle, even where a small party faces a larger one. This is where the divine comes in, for everything is at His disposal — the perspective, the inspiration and the rest.