"Certainly, it can come as a jolt to discover that, with a single exception, we have no extant descriptions of the Battle of Badr that date from before the ninth century AD.... What if the entire account of the victory at Badr were nothing but a fiction, a dramatic just-so story, fashioned to explain allusions within the Qur’an that would otherwise have remained beyond explanation? A battle on a valley’s edge won against terrifying odds; angels swooping down to strike at infidel necks; plunder seized from routed caravans: the holy text certainly alludes to all these things. Yet, aside from a single name-check, Badr itself is never mentioned.52 There is certainly no confirmation that a great battle—such as the one described by Ibn Hisham—was ever fought there. Whatever else it may be, the Qur’an is no work of history."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Tom Holland - In the Shadow of the Sword_ The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire-Doubleday (2012)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badr
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Battle of Badr
48 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Battle of Badr →
Related Quotes
"I asked Ibn 'Abbas regarding Surat-al-Anfal. He said, "It was revealed in connection with the Battle of Badr.""
"Aba Talha reported: When it was the Day of Badr and Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) had gained victory over t…"
"Um Ar-Rubai'bint Al-Bara', the mother of Hartha bin Suraqa came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Prophet! Will you…"
"Among the prisoners taken at Badr were two men named 'Oqba b. Abi Mo'ayt and on-Nadr b. ol-Hareth. … It was Nadr who …"
"Once the Prophet was offering the prayer in the shade of the Ka'ba. Abu Jahl and some Quraishi men sent somebody to b…"
"Abu Dharr took an oath that this verse:" These two adversaries who dispute about their Lord" (xxii. 19) was revealed …"
"From Sad bin Mu'adh: When Umaiya returned to his family, he said to his wife, "O Um Safwan! Don't you know what Sad t…"
"The companions of (the Prophet) Muhammad who took part in Badr, told me that their number was that of Saul's (i.e. Ta…"
"The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said on the day of Badr: He who kills a man will get such-and-such, and he w…"
"It has been narrated on the authority of Anas that when (the news of) the advance of Abu Sufyan (at the head of a for…"