As a greater menace to Islam than Pharaoh and Nimrod, the most significant enemy of Islam, Abu Jahl, who betrayed Islam in a grand manner and continuously conspired against our Master (saw), met his end in this battle. The killing of Abu Jahl unfolded as follows:

Muaz bin Amr (ra) describes that day:

“The polytheists had surrounded Abu Jahl, and they were shouting that no one could reach him. From their shouts, I understood that Abu Jahl was the person behind them, so I headed in that direction, searching for an opportunity to get close to him. Finally, the chance I had been looking for came. I immediately approached and swung a sword! The swing of my sword, along with his leg, cut off half of his leg. As a result, he fell to the ground like a log.

Just as I was about to fall on him to finish him off, Abu Jahl’s son Ikrima caught up with me from behind and, with a sword strike, cut off my arm. My hand dangled by a piece of skin on my arm. In this state, I took my sword into my other hand and continued to fight. I didn’t feel the pain of my arm due to the intensity of the battle. At one point, when my dangling hand became too bothersome, I used my foot to kick it off and, after that, I fought with one hand until the end of the battle. At this point, I had no choice but to leave Abu Jahl to his fate.” 

 

Yes, after Muaz bin Amr had left Abu Jahl wounded, Muaz bin Afra came to him this time. Seeing him in a wounded state, Muaz bin Afra struck him with his sword until he could no longer move. Abu Jahl seemed almost lifeless. Then, Muaz bin Amr and Muaz bin Afra went straight to our Master and recounted what had happened:

“O Rasul of Allah, I killed Abu Jahl.” Upon hearing both of them claiming responsibility, our Master asked them, “Did you wipe your swords?” They replied, “No, O Rasul of Allah, we did not wipe them.” Our Master then examined their swords and eventually made his decision, clarifying who had actually killed Abu Jahl: “Both of you have killed him, but the true right belongs to Muaz bin Amr.”

After this, our Master (saw) asked those around him: “Does anyone know the current state of Abu Jahl? Who can find him for me? If you don’t recognize him by his face, look at his knee! You can identify him by the scar on his knee. You see, when we were young, we once attended a feast at Abdullah bin Judd’a’s house. I was a bit older than him, and when the crowd got too tight, I pushed him. He fell on both knees and was wounded on one of them. The scar from that wound has never disappeared. You can recognize him by that mark!” 

Upon hearing this, Ibn Mas’ud (ra) went to search for Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl was on the verge of his last breath. When Ibn Mas’ud found him in this condition, he asked in astonishment: “Are you Abu Jahl?” Abu Jahl nodded in agreement. Ibn Mas’ud then said: “O enemy of Allah, has Allah finally humiliated and debased you?” Abu Jahl was not willing to accept the humiliation.

“Could there be someone superior to the man you killed?” Abu Jahl retorted. “What should I be humiliated and debased for? Tell me, who has won today’s victory?” 

Ibn Mas’ud replied, “The victory is with Allah and His Rasul.” 

Then, while taking off his helmet to behead Abu Jahl, he said, “O Abu Jahl, I will kill you with my own hands!” For one last time, Abu Jahl spoke, “You are not the first slave to kill his master... But it is very painful for me to be killed by your hand today. I wish someone other than the farmers (the people of Yathrib) had killed me.” 

After this, Ibn Mas’ud attempted to behead Abu Jahl with his sword, but he failed. His sword had dulled from the battle. So, he took Abu Jahl’s own sword and used it to behead him.

Then, carrying the head of Abu Jahl, Ibn Mas’ud went directly to the presence of our Master (saw) and said, “O Rasul of Allah, here is the head of the enemy of Allah and His Messenger!” Due to the wounds, it had sustained, Abu Jahl’s head was hardly recognizable. Our Master (saw) asked, “Can you swear that this is the head of Abu Jahl?” Ibn Mas’ud swore that the head he held was indeed that of Abu Jahl:

“I swear by Allah, Who has no partner, that what you see is the head of Abu Jahl, O Rasul of Allah!” 

After this, our Master (saw) expressed his gratitude and praise to Allah for the death of Abu Jahl and other ardent polytheists like Ubayd ibn Sabit, Nawfal ibn Huwaylid, and Umayyah ibn Khalaf, who were also killed in the battle. While those who did not wish for the battle to take place, such as Hakim ibn Hizam, and those who had tried to prevent the polytheists from attacking and had supported our Master (even though they were not Muslim at the time), like Ubayy ibn Hizam, were spared from death or capture.

Before the battle began, Hakim bin Hizam, in the Halas Valley, had witnessed the emergence of a magnificent road extending towards them, and along that road, he saw a multitude of horsemen forming an army, poised to attack the polytheist army. At that moment, he said to those around him, “I knew all these signs were confirming the truth of Muhammad from the heavens!”

Soon after, the battle commenced, and signs of defeat became evident. The polytheist army was in disarray. When Hakim bin Hizam saw this, he immediately turned and began to flee. Relentlessly and without rest, he fled the battlefield. Finally, after covering some distance, he came across two Meccan polytheists riding on camels. He asked them to take him along on their camels, and they agreed, giving him their camels. In this way, Hakim escaped from the Battle of Badr, avoiding being killed or captured.

This situation was an expression of his proximity to Islam. At the end of the Battle of Badr, the Muslims had suffered fourteen martyrs, six of whom were Muslims who had migrated from Mecca to Medina, and eight were Muslims from Medina.

The Muslims who became martyrs in the Battle of Badr were as follows:

From the Muhajireen: Ubaydah bin Harith, Umair bin Abi Waqqas, Akil bin Abi Bukair, Safwan bin Bayda, Mihja, Zush-Shimalain bin Abd’i Amr.

From the Ansar: Awf bin Harith, Muawwaz bin Harith, Haritha bin Suraqa, Yazid bin Harith, Sa’d bin Hisham, Umair bin Humam, Rafi bin Mu’alla, Mubashir bin Abdul Munzir.

After the death of these noble companions, the 154th verse of Surah Al-Baqarah was revealed:

“And do not say “They are dead” about those who are killed in the way of Allah (because they were believers and they strived for their faith). On the contrary, they are alive, though you lack the capacity to perceive it.”[1]

In the Battle of Badr, some of the polytheists who were killed included:

1.Abu Jahl bin Hisham 2. Utbah bin Rabi’a 3. Shaybah bin Rabi’a 4. Walid bin Utbah 5. Hanzala bin Abu Sufyan 6. Ukba bin Muayt 7. Zama’a bin Aswad 8. Nawfal bin Huwaylid 9. Abu’l-Bakhtari bin Hisham 10. Nadr bin Harith 11. Amr bin Sufyan 12. Jabir bin Sufyan 13. Munabbih bin Haccac 14. Umayyah bin Khalaf 15. Muawiyah bin Amir 16. Amir bin Zayd 17. Ukba bin Zayd 18. Yazid bin Tamim 19. Abdullah bin Munzir 20. Nubayh bin Haccac…

In addition to these, another fifty polytheists were killed by the Muslims during the battle.

During the Battle of Badr, Hadhrat Ali, who was around 25 years old at the time, is reported to have personally killed approximately twenty polytheists…

After the Battle of Badr, approximately twenty-four of the slain polytheists were thrown into a nearby well. Upon learning this, Rasulullah (saw) went to the well where these bodies were placed, and some Muslims followed him, assuming he had some need…

When our Master reached the well and saw the bodies of the deceased polytheists, he addressed them saying, “O people in the well! O Utbah bin Rabi’a! O Shaybah bin Rabi’a! O Umayyah bin Khalaf! O Abu Jahl bin Hisham! You were indeed the worst among my people. You denied me while others believed in me. You expelled me from my home, but others gave me refuge. You fought against me, but others supported me. Have you now found the punishment your Rabb promised you? I have indeed found my Rabb’s promise to be true.”

At that moment, Hadhrat Omar and some other companions who were with the Rasul (saw) were surprised and asked, “O Rasul of Allah, why are you addressing these corpses as if they can hear you?” 

Our Master (saw) replied, “I swear by the Rabb in Whose hand my life is, they can understand what I have said to them better than you... However, they cannot respond.”

After the Battle of Badr, the Muslims began to distribute the spoils of war. However, a dispute arose during the distribution process. Some Muslims had remained with Rasulullah (saw) for protection during the battle, while others had fought on the front lines, and some had collected the spoils. This led to disagreements, with some arguing that they deserved a larger share of the spoils.

Before Islam, the concept of distributing spoils of war was not established, and it was considered forbidden. In those times, any spoils acquired in battle would be gathered in one place and then burned. Islam, however, introduced new rules regarding the distribution of spoils and made it permissible for the first time.

During the collection of the spoils of war, Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas (ra) asked our Master (saw) about the reason for this change:

“O Rasul of Allah, will you distribute the rights of the weak to the strong and the cavalry who protect them?”

In response, our Master gave a profound reminder that applies to all times and situations: “Are you not aware that you are provided for, sustained, and helped through the weak among you?”

The spoils acquired at the end of the Battle of Badr included 150 camels, 10 horses, various weapons and equipment, clothing, and a significant amount of red velvet.

Among the spoils, our Master took Abu Jahl’s camel and the sword Zulfiqar, which was owned by Munabbih bin Hajjaj. He later gifted the Zulfiqar sword to Hadhrat Ali (ra).