 The next day comes, the two groups now meet face to face, the Prophet on one side with 313 companions and the pagans by the leadership of Abu Jahl and also Uttaba ibn Rabi'ah, the family of Muawiya and Abu Sufyan, they were there and they met on the 17th or 18th day of the month of Ramadan. When Abu Jahl came forward, he saw the group of Muslims, only 313, they looked like 300. He said, is that it? That's all their numbers? They said yes. They don't have any backup? No, they don't. You know what Abu Jahl said? We can eat them, we can bite them. They're just like a small little bite for us. They're no match for us. We're triple their size, we have horses, we have weapons, we have swords. Most of the Muslims did not even have a sword, they carry a stick in their hands. That's only a small little bite. What can they do to us? Look at the arrogance of the enemy of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. But the Prophet told the Muslims on that day, don't speak a word. Lower your gaze and show them the strength. Some of the pagans were observing, like wow, we've never seen fighters who look so strong before the battle starts. The Prophet ﷺ came, Allah revealed the verse. If they want peace, you also should seek for peace. Rasulullah addressed them on that day. He told them, oh Quraysh, we have family ties, we don't need to fight. If I am truthful, if I am really a messenger, and I'm truthful, and Allah gives me victory over the Arabian Peninsula, you guys will benefit. In the end, I am from Quraysh, I am from Mecca. It's a win situation for you. And if I am lying, let the other Arab tribes deal with me. Why do you have to make a fight? Let's not fight. Utba ibn Rabi'a, one of the leaders of the pagans, he accepted the advice of the Prophet. He said the Prophet makes sense. Yes, why should we fight on this day? There is no reason for us to fight. He mobilized the army, said let's go back to Mecca. He makes sense in the end. He's a distant relative of ours. There is no reason why we should fight, and he wants peace with us. Abu Jahl, the enemy of God, does not want peace. So you know what he did? He came up to Utba, and he told him, you are a coward. You don't have the courage to fight, and that's why you're chickening out, and you are scaring the people. You don't have the courage. When Abu Jahl said these words, Utba could no longer accept this humiliation. He says, I'm the coward? He held, he grabbed him by his beard. He's like, I'll show you who's the coward. And he decided to fight. Subhanallah. One amazing lesson we learned from this, my dear brothers and sisters, oftentimes we know what the truth is. Because someone instigates you, says something to make you angry, you lose sight of the truth. Don't let that ever happen. Sometimes you're sitting with your friends, and one of your friends instigates you, and you get angry, you feel humiliated, so you want to proclaim your dignity, you go and you make a violation. Never do that. Utba ibn Rabi'ah, he really wanted to avoid the battle. In fact, Rasulullah, when he saw him trying to convince his army not to fight, the Prophet says, if there's any goodness in one of these guys, it's in Utba, because he doesn't want the battle. But when it comes to your ego, see, that was his test. Allah tests every human being. Utba knew right from wrong. He knew he should not fight, but Allah tested him with his ego. When Abu Jahl stepped on his ego, he failed his test in order to protect his selfish ego, and to show that he's not a coward, he said, yes, let's go and fight. So they decided to fight. The Prophet, sallallahu alaihiwala, came forward. Three pagans from the Mushriqin came forward. Utba ibn Rabi'ah, his brother Sheba, and Sheba's son Al-Waleed, they came, three warriors of Quraish, and they said, okay, one-on-one combat, let's now fight. Rasulullah, sallallahu alaihiwala, when he saw that scene, when he saw the sheer size of the pagans, 950 or 60 of them, with so much power, he raised his hands in dua. He said, oh, Allah, on this day, show us your support. Oh, Allah, if we are killed today, no one will remain on earth to worship you. The Prophet, sallallahu alaihiwala, made this dua. Allah, subhanahu wata'ala, answered his dua. So these three came forward, they say, okay, let the battle begin. Who has the courage to come and fight us? Three men, young men from the Ansar, they go forward. By the way, the Prophet never forced the Ansar. He consulted them. The Prophet consulted his companions. He did not want to go to war. He told his companions, they want to fight us. What should we do? All of his companions, the Muhajireen and the Ansar, they said, Ya Rasulullah, we're here to defend you. So three men from the Ansar come forward. When those three, Utba, Sheba and Al-Waleed, see them, they said, who are you guys? We don't recognize you. Introduce yourselves. They said, we are three members from the Ansar. They said, no, you guys are no match for us. And then they commanded the Prophet. They told him, Muhammad, send us someone who is a match for us. Who are these little guys that you sent to us? The Prophet, sallallahu alaihiwala, at this point, because he wanted to give the Ansar the opportunity as well. Because they had asked him to give them the honor of fighting. He had given them the opportunity. But when the Meccans refused, the Prophet said, okay, now I'll bring you the warriors. Stand up, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Stand up, my uncle Hamza. And stand up, my cousin, Abayda ibn al-Harith ibn Abdul-Muttalib. He was the cousin of the Prophet. These three warriors came. They stood. You have three on this side, three on the other side. The three pagans said, uncover your faces. Who are you? Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib says, I am Ali ibn Abi Talib. Hamza says, I am Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib. Abayda says, I am Abayda ibn al-Harith ibn Abdul-Muttalib. Utba and Sheba and Walid says, yes, now we're a match. Now we've got a match going. And you see the sincerity of the Prophet? He started with his own family. Many people, when something goes against their interest, they want others to sacrifice, but not themselves and their family. But Rasulullah, sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi, he started with his own family, with his own relatives to show his sincerity and to show his companions that I am not here to take advantage of any companion. I will have my own family go at the front lines. So the match started. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib came towards Al-Walid because the Prophet had told Imam Ali, you are a match for Walid. Go and fight him. The Imam al-Islam stood before Al-Walid and he told him, oh Walid, say la ilaha illallah Muhammad Rasulullah and we'll get this over with. No need to fight. He said, no, impossible. I will never say that. Imam Ali says, okay, go back to Mecca. We'll go back to Medina. See Imam Ali, despite his strength, he would use every opportunity to stop the war. He did not want the battle to begin. He said, no, I will not grant you that. There is no other option other than fighting. The Imam says, okay, if you want fighting, then I'll show you the sword of Ali ibn Abi Talib. The Imam al-Islam comes, he strikes at his arm. His arm gets amputated, but it was stuck with its skin. So he, Al-Walid, takes his arm and he removes it from his body parts and he throws it, hurls it at Ali ibn Abi Talib al-Islam. I'm thinking that's going to help him. The Imam al-Islam comes with one blow, he splits him in half. Walid is out of the way. The Muslims are seeing they're amazed. This is the first time by the way Imam Ali is seen in combat because in Mecca there was no combat. This is the first time they see the line of God with so much courage in the history of Islam. Everyone was shocked. Then Imam Ali goes to Hamza. Hamza was fighting Sheba and because they were fighting, they both, their swords broke and fell to the ground. So they were hugging one another. You know, sometimes in combat, when you don't know what to do, you don't have a sword and you don't want the other one to strike you, you embrace each other. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib comes from behind Hamza. Hamza was tall. He tells him, my uncle, duck, lower your head. He lowers his head. The Imam al-Islam finishes off Sheba. Then they go to Obaid ibn al-Harith. Obaid ibn al-Harith was struck in his leg and his leg was amputated and the same thing happened. He was embracing his enemy, Utba. So Hamza and Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, they come, they finish off Utba and they carry Obaid to Rasulullah. Now those three Meccan warriors are down. They're out of the way. The Muslims became victorious, but they're carrying Obaid to Rasulullah. He's bleeding before Rasulullah, breathing his final moments. He looks at Rasulullah. He tells him, Ya Rasulullah, have I satisfied you, Amaya Shahid? Rasulullah tells him, yes, my cousin, you are a Shahid and the Prophet starts to cry. Sadness overcomes him. Obaid says, Ya Rasulullah, you should be happy. Why are you sad? Did I do something wrong? He said, no, but now I remembered my uncle, Abu Talib and I wish he would be here to see his son, the warrior Ali ibn Abi Talib, killing all these three. I wish Abu Talib was here today. See Rasulullah and his love for Abu Talib and they tell you that he died as a mushrik, Allahu Akbar. And the Prophet wishes that Abu Talib was there at the battle of Badr. Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali ibn Salam, through his sacrifices, these three evil enemies of God were killed, all three of them, by the way, not just Al-Waleed. In one letter, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ali ibn Salam, tells Muawiyah, he writes to him in a letter, he tells him, do you know who I am? This is Ali ibn Abi Talib. I killed your grandfather, and your uncle, and your other uncle, this is Ali ibn Abi Talib. On that day, 70 of the pagans were killed, including Abu Jahl. On that day, the Pharaoh of this Ummah, the Prophet called him the Pharaoh of this Ummah. In fact, the Pharaoh was better than him. You know why? Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa alaihi wa sallam said, the Pharaoh, when he was dying, he believed. At least he believed at the moment of his death, and that's why Allah saved his body. But Abu Jahl, till the last moment, he disbelieved. Ibn Masood was a slave owned by Abu Jahl in Makkah. He went to him. Abu Jahl was on the ground. He had been struck by two young men from the Ansar, breathing his final moments. Ibn Masood says, this was my master who would torture me, and humiliate me. He goes, and he steps on him. He tells him, who's stepping on me? He tells him, I'm your slave, Ibn Masood. Remember how you were so arrogant? Allah turned the tables around. He told him, who became victorious today? He told him, Allah and His Prophet became victorious today. You know what Abu Jahl told him? He told him, okay, I know you're going to kill me now, but I have a request. I want you to basically kill me from my chest. Don't cut my neck and sever my head. Sever my chest. He told him, why? He says, because I'm the leader of the mushrik. I want my body to be the biggest one. Look at the arrogance of Abu Jahl. Ibn Masood said, I cut him from his mouth, so he would have the smallest head. This is Abu Jahl, the faraun of this ummah. Even during that moment, he disbelieved in Allah's power. Remember Umayyah ibn Khalaf, the one who owned Bilal? On this day, Bilal saw Umayyah ibn Khalaf fleeing the battlefield. So he ran after him and he told the muslims, don't let Umayyah ibn Khalaf escape. Let's go and capture him. They go and they capture him and they start dragging him and he was killed also in that battlefield. Subhanallah. See the victory that Allah gave to the Muslims. 70 of the pagans were killed on that day. Only nine or 14 of the Muslims were killed. 35 of the 70 were killed at the hands of Amir al-Mu'mineen, alaihi salam. This is the warrior who saved the religion of Islam.