The Return from Badr: Zayd's Announcement, Ruqayyah's Burial, and the Beginning of Hypocrisy
historicalDeparture from Badr
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam left the plains of Badr on Monday the 20th of Ramadan 2 AH. The battle itself had been on Friday the 17th of Ramadan, so three days were spent at Badr before the return. He sent Zayd ibn Harithah ahead on his own personal camel, al-Qaswā, as a deliberate signal: everyone in Madinah recognized al-Qaswā, and Zayd's arrival on the Prophet's camel was unmistakable proof that he was a trustworthy herald. Zayd entered Madinah calling out "Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!" and then began naming the fallen Qurayshi leaders one by one: "Qutila Shaybah ibn Rabi'ah, qutila Umayyah ibn Khalaf, qutila Abu Jahl..." It was a who's who of the most powerful and famous names in all of Makkah.
The Different Reactions in Madinah
The Muslims of Madinah reacted with joy and the Takbir. However, a certain faction, those who would soon become known as the Munafiqun (hypocrites) but who at this point can only be called the 'neo-Munafiqun' since Nifaq had not yet formally begun, reacted with disbelief and denial. They whispered among themselves that Zayd had clearly gone insane, that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam must have been killed, and that Zayd was now delirious and had stolen al-Qaswā. The same disbelief occurred in Makkah when the first messenger arrived there: both camps simply could not believe that such a catastrophic defeat had befallen the Quraysh.
The Moment at Baqi: Uthman and Ruqayyah
Among those who heard Zayd's Takbir was Uthman ibn Affan. He was in the Baqi cemetery at that very moment, just finishing the burial of Ruqayyah bint Muhammad, the Prophet's daughter and his own wife. Ruqayyah had fallen gravely ill while the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam was still at Badr; she died on the very day the Prophet returned victorious. So at the exact moment when the most joyful news for the Muslims was being announced, the greatest victory yet in Islamic history, Uthman ibn Affan stood at his wife's fresh grave hearing: "Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!"
Ruqayyah was the first of the Prophet's daughters to die. (There is some scholarly difference of opinion about the exact birth order of his daughters, whether she was the first, second, or third, but she was definitively the first to die.) After her death, Uthman later married Umm Kulthum, another daughter of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam, earning him the title "Dhu al-Nurayn" (the one with the two lights).
A Reflection on Hayat al-Dunya
Dr. Yasir Qadhi reflects on the profound lesson in this timing: the Battle of Badr was perhaps the single greatest moment of happiness for the Muslims up to that point. And yet Allah willed that on that very day, the Prophet's sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam own household would be struck by tragedy. This is the way of this world, hayat al-dunya. As the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam described with an analogy: every person has a long Amal (wishlist, goals, desires) stretching far into the future, but then death comes and cuts that list short. The most joyful victory cannot delay the arrival of death by even a moment. This world is the abode of testing, not of permanent happiness.
Political Effects in Madinah
The Battle of Badr had two major political consequences for Madinah.
First, the last remnants of paganism in Madinah effectively disappeared. There had never been an explicit command from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa-sallam ordering the Madinans to abandon idol worship. But the social reality after Badr made it impossible for anyone to remain as a public polytheist in Madinah. The Mushrikun of Madinah slowly and quietly converted or left, until paganism simply faded away from the city.
Second, and deeply consequentially, this same conversion wave gave rise to Nifaq (hypocrisy). Dr. Qadhi is emphatic: "Nifaq is a post-Badr phenomenon. There were no Munafiqun at the Battle of Badr. Nifaq begins now." As people who had resisted Islam now found themselves unable to resist socially, they converted outwardly while remaining disbelievers in their hearts.
The most significant example was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. He had been the senior-most tribal chieftain of Yathrib before the Prophet's arrival, and he had hoped that Yathrib would unify under his leadership. The Prophet's arrival had displaced those hopes. When Abdullah ibn Ubayy heard Zayd ibn Harithah calling out the names of the fallen Qurayshi elite, he reportedly said: "It appears that the matter has now been settled." Meaning: Islam is now supreme; I will never be the chief. He then outwardly accepted Islam. The Quran makes clear, through multiple subsequent revelations, that he never truly believed in his heart, and he became the acknowledged leader of the Munafiqun for the rest of the Medinan period.