Upholding our Promises
The battle of Badr is the greatest battle in Islam. The Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) who participated in this battle are the most fortunate and are regarded among the greatest of Sahaabah.
Huzaifah bin Yamaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) had a burning desire to participate in this battle, but was unable to do so. Explaining the reason for this, he mentioned the following:
Prior to the battle of Badr, I left Makkah Mukarramah (to perform hijrah to Madeenah Munawwarah) with my father, Husail (radhiyallahu ‘anhu). On the way, we were captured by the Quraish. They wished to kill us and addressed us saying, “You are going to join Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to fight against us!” (To save our lives,) we replied, “We are only going to Madeenah Munawwarah.”
Accordingly, the Quraish released us and allowed us to proceed, but made us promise, in the name of Allah Ta‘ala, that after going to Madeenah Munawwarah, we would not fight with Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) against the Quraish.
When we met Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and recounted our incident to him, we informed him about the promise we had made to the Quraish. We then said to him, “If you wish, we will fight with you.”
Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) replied, “We will uphold the promise made to them, and we will seek the assistance of Allah Ta‘ala against them.”
(Saheeh Muslim #4639 and Mustadrak Haakim #5621)
Lessons:
1. On the occasion of Badr, the Muslims were outnumbered by approximately 3:1. Generally, in such desperate circumstances, every additional man makes a difference. However, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) taught us that more important than numbers is securing the help of Allah Ta‘ala. Hence, we should uphold every command of Allah Ta‘ala, as this is the key to securing His assistance. We should never be deceived into thinking that we will prosper in life through breaking the commands of Allah Ta‘ala.
2. Honesty is the hallmark of a believer. In this regard, a promise made is a promise kept — even if the promise was made to a disbeliever. The hadeeth has warned us that failing to fulfil a promise (without a valid excuse), is the sign of a person being a hypocrite. (Saheeh Muslim #211)
