The Duel at Badr

Before the battle of Badr began, three champions of Quraysh — 'Utbah ibn Rabi'ah, his brother Shaybah and his son al-Walid — stepped out and called for men to face them. The Prophet ﷺ sent out three of his own family: Hamzah, 'Ali and 'Ubaydah ibn al-Harith.

The three Muslims prevailed, though 'Ubaydah was mortally wounded. Abu Dharr used to swear that the verse ﴿هَٰذَانِ خَصْمَانِ اخْتَصَمُوا فِي رَبِّهِمْ﴾ (“These are two opponents who disputed concerning their Lord”) (22:19) was revealed about these six men, and 'Ali said he would be the first to kneel before the Most Merciful for judgement on the Day of Resurrection (Sahih al-Bukhari 3965-3966).

The Prophet ﷺ did not send others to the front while sparing his own kin; he sent his uncle and his cousins first.

01Why it matters

The Prophet ﷺ put his own family first in danger, not first in safety.

02Reflection

Do you ask more of others than you ask of those closest to you — or of yourself?

03Sources

Sahih al-Bukhari 3965 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Sahih al-Bukhari 3966 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
Qur'an 22:19
Ibn Hisham, al-Sirah al-NabawiyyahHistorical report

What the hadith grades mean

Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.

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