Battle of the Wells of Badr: Muhammad's Great Victory in 624
On March 20th in the year 624, Islamic prophet and general Muhammad defeated his Meccan (Quraysh) enemies at the wells of Badr southwest of Medina (in what is today Saudi Arabia), in one of the most important battles and decisive victories in the early history of Islam. As the Prophet Muhammad (b.570-d.632) gained followers he gained enemies as well, especially amongst the various tribes of Medina and the outer lying provinces around Mecca and later Medina . Charge of the Muslims at Badr by the Persian historian Rashid-al-Din (b.1247-1318) Both the sedentary and nomadic peoples of these regions feared Muhammad’s growing influence, these kuffār (or kafirs, Arabic for unbeliever or infidel) being the greatest threat to the growth of Islam as a major religion. Long persecuted by the Quraysh and the smaller associated tribes near Mecca , the growing Muslim population and its military apparatus, prepared for an inevitable clash with their neighbors after the Prophet and his followers...