Although the Muslims had successfully escaped Makkah, the pagan Quraysh were not content to leave them alone. Madinah lay directly on one of Makkah’s main trading routes to Syria. The **$\text{Muhājirūn}$** (Immigrants) were also severely impoverished; the Makkans had illegally seized all the land and property the fugitives had left behind.

The Call to Arms

To alleviate the financial hardship and foster community, Muhammad (pbuh) asked the **$\text{Anṣār}$** (Helpers) to each adopt an Immigrant and share their assets. The Medinan Muslims complied with remarkable generosity, though this considerably decreased their own resources. In addition to these internal challenges, small Makkan groups began raiding the outskirts of Madinah and stealing from allied desert tribes. The constant attacks and murders deeply distressed the Muslims.

In the year **624 CE**, two years after the $\text{Hijrah}$, a new revelation from the Qur’an finally exhorted the Muslims to **fight back** against the oppression. Muhammad (pbuh) planned a daring military action: intercepting a large Makkan caravan returning from Syria at an oasis named **Badr**.

The Showdown at Badr

Muhammad (pbuh) set out with a little over **300 men** to intercept the caravan. However, Makkan scouts discovered the movement of the Muslim forces, and the caravan leader, Abu Sufyan, immediately sent word back to Makkah for reinforcements. The Makkans quickly mustered an army of around **one thousand men** and marched at top speed toward Badr.

The Muslims reached the wells of Badr first. Abu Sufyan, wisely realizing the danger, successfully guided his caravan along an alternate route, avoiding Badr altogether. When the Makkan military force learned their caravan was safe, they made a fatal decision: they marched on Badr anyway, resolved to wipe out Muhammad (pbuh) and his movement forever.

Faced with an enemy force three times their number, Muhammad (pbuh) did not retreat. He ordered his men to strategically bury the surrounding water wells, depriving the thirsty enemy of resources, and organized his small force into fighting ranks. He then withdrew to a small tent erected for him and prayed with intense earnestness:

“God! I’m asking You for the fulfillment of Your covenant and promise. God, if it’s Your will (to let us be defeated), then You may never be worshiped again on this earth.”

Clad in his armor, the Prophet (pbuh) returned to direct his men. After customary individual duels—which the Muslim fighters won handily—the enraged Makkans threw themselves at the Muslim lines. The more disciplined Muslims withheld the assault, turning the tide of battle and forcing the more numerous Makkans to flee in disarray.

The Muslims won the day with minimal losses. Captured Makkans were treated with surprising clemency: they were freed upon payment of a fine by their relatives, or if they taught Muslim children how to read. While the Makkans suffered extreme embarrassment and their poets immediately called for revenge, the nascent Muslim state gained immense moral and political strength.

Immediate Challenge in Madinah

Within days of the Muslim victory, one of the Jewish tribes in Madinah, **Banu Qaynuqa**, openly violated their treaty with Muhammad (pbuh), and open hostilities broke out. The Muslims swiftly blockaded the tribe’s neighborhood and forced their surrender. The terms were notably generous given the violation: they were simply ordered to pack up all their belongings and leave the city, eventually settling in Syria. This action affirmed Muhammad’s (pbuh) authority and demonstrated that violations of the Constitution of Madinah would not be tolerated.