The Prophet moved the army to the nearest water source of the enemy

والصَّلَاةُ والسَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ أَشْرَفِ اْلمُرْسَلِيْنَ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ الطَّيّبِيْنَ الطَّاهِرِيْن

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ departed from "Dhufran" and proceeded through the mountain passes known as Al-‘Asafir, eventually arriving near Badr. Witnessing the obedience, courage, and unity of his companions, who were fully committed to battle, the Prophet ﷺ organised his troops. 

He tied the white banner and entrusted it to Mus^ab ibnu ^Umayr. Additionally, he assigned two black standards to Sa^d ibnu Mu^adh and ^Aliyy ibnu ‘Abi Talib. Qays ibnu ‘Abi Sa^sa^ah was appointed to command the rear guard, ensuring the army's formation was well-protected and strategically sound. The Prophet ﷺ then sent ^Aliyy ibnu ‘Abi Talib, Az-Zubayr ibnu l-^Awwam, and Sa’d ibnu Abi Waqqas, along with a group of his companions, to the water wells of Badr to gather intelligence on the Quraysh army. They encountered two young men from Quraysh who were drawing water for the army. They brought them to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who was praying at the time. The companions questioned the young men, and they said, 'We are the water carriers of Quraysh. They sent us to fetch water for them.' The companions disliked this news, hoping the youths were from ‘Abu Sufyan's group instead, so they beat them. When the beating became too much, the young men falsely claimed they were from ‘Abu Sufyan's group, and the companions left them alone.

When the Prophet ﷺ finished his prayer, he said, "When they tell you the truth, you beat them, and when they lie, you let them go. By Allah, they were telling the truth; they are indeed from Quraysh." He then asked the young men, "Tell me about the Quraysh army." They replied, "They are behind this dune you see, on the far side of the valley." The Prophet ﷺ asked, "How many are they?" They responded, "We do not know." He then asked, "How many camels do they slaughter each day?" They answered, "Some days nine, and some days ten." The Prophet ﷺ then said, "The army is between nine hundred and one thousand men." He continued, "Who among the leaders of Quraysh is present with them?" They mentioned:

• ^Utbah ibnu Rabi^ah
• Shaybah ibnu Rabi^ah
• ‘Abu Jahl ibnu Hisham
• ‘Umayyah ibnu Khalaf
• ‘Abu l-Bukhturiyy ibnu Hisham
• Hakim ibnu Hizam
• Nawfal ibnu Khuwaylid
• Al-Harith ibnu ^Amiri bni Nawfal
• Tu^aymah ibnu ^Adiyyi bni Nawfal
• An-Nadr ibnu l-Harithi bni Kaldah
• Zam^ah ibnu l-‘Aswad
• Nabih ibnu l-Hajjaj
• Munabbih ibnu l-Hajjaj
• Suhayl ibnu ^Amr
• ^Amr ibnu ^Abdi Wudd.

The Prophet ﷺ then turned to his companions and said: " This is Mecca; it has sent forth to you its most cherished and noble sons (أَفلَاذَ كَبِدِهَا)[1]." After gathering intelligence about the Quraysh army, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ quickly led his companions toward Badr to reach the water wells before Quraysh and to prevent them from taking control of it.

Arrival of the Muslims at Badr and the Planning of the Battle

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Muslims camped at the nearest water source to Badr. Al-Hubab ibnu l-Mundhir then asked the Prophet ﷺ, "O Messenger of Allah, is this a place that Allah has decreed for us to stay, and we are not permitted to move forward or fall back from it? Or is it a matter of strategy, war, and manoeuvring?" The Prophet ﷺ replied, "It is a matter of strategy, war, and manoeuvring." Al-Hubab said, "O Messenger of Allah, this is not a suitable place. Move forward with the people until you reach the nearest water source of the enemy. We should take it and dry up the other wells behind it. Then, we should build a reservoir there, fill it with water, and fight the enemy. We will have access to water while they do not." The Prophet ﷺ accepted his advice and moved the army to the nearest water source of the enemy. They camped there, constructed reservoirs, and dried up the other wells.

After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Muslims had settled at the lowest water point of Badr, Sa^d ibnu Mu^adh suggested to the Prophet ﷺ that a shelter be built for him as a command post, where he could be secure from the enemy. Sa^d said in his proposal: "O Prophet of Allah, why don’t we build a shelter for you where you can stay while we confront our enemies? If Allah grants us victory and we prevail over our adversaries, it will be as we wish. If the outcome is otherwise, you can mount your steed and retreat to join those behind us. Others have stayed behind, O Prophet of Allah, and they love you no less than we do. They would not have stayed behind if they had thought you would face battle. Allah will protect you through them; they will offer you support and fight alongside you."

The Prophet ﷺ praised Sa^d 's suggestion and supplicated for his well-being. Consequently, the Muslims constructed the shelter for the Prophet ﷺ on a hill overlooking the battlefield. ‘Abu Bakr as-Siddiq was with him in the shelter, and a group of young ‘Ansar, led by, stood guard over it.

   Following: (Episode 6) This slumber occurred on the night before the battle