The Badr war council

A consultative council the Prophet held in Wadi Dha Afran before Badr, when news reached him on the road of the caravan's escape and of Mecca's force marching out ¹.

News of both the caravan and the levy reached the Prophet at Wadi Dhafran, confirming that no room remained to avoid a bloody confrontation; he held a supreme military consultative council, exchanging views with the whole army and its commanders ¹.

The hearts of a faction wavered and they feared the meeting; the book takes them to be those in whom the verse was revealed: "and a party of the believers were averse" (al-Anfal 5–6) ¹.

Abu Bakr stood and spoke well, then Umar stood and spoke well, then al-Miqdad ibn Amr stood and said: proceed to what God has shown you, for we are with you; we will not say to you what the Children of Israel said to Moses — "go, you and your Lord, and fight; we are sitting here" — rather, if you led us to Bark al-Ghimad we would fight alongside you until you reached it. The Prophet prayed for him ².

The three were Muhajirun, a minority of the army, and the Prophet wished to know the Ansar's view, since they were its majority and since the Aqaba texts did not oblige them to fight outside their own land; he said: "advise me, people." Sa'd ibn Mu'adh understood and answered for the Ansar: they had believed in him and given him pledges of hearing and obedience, and if he marched them into the sea they would wade in with him — not one man of them would stay behind ².