2AH [624CE]:THE BATTLE OF BADR
When the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) heard that abu Sufyan was heading a Caravan fom syria that was carrying a vast amount of wealth to be used for battle against the Muslims, (peace and blessing of Allaah be upon him) gathered 300 Muslims and set out to a place called Badr to attack the Makkah caravan on it return from Syria. Badr, a small town about 85 miles south-west of Madinah, was enrooted connecting Makkah and Damascus.
Abu Sufyan heard that skillfully eluded the Muslims by devious routes. Meanwhile Abu Jahl gathered a force of 950 men and approached the Muslims. In the Battle, Abu Jahl[an uncle to the prophet] died: altogether a lot of Makkans were killed, and many more taken prisoners while the Muslims lost very few people. Change of the Qiblah to Makkah The Qiblah, i.e. the direction the Muslims face for prayer changed from Jerusalem to the Kaabah in Makkah 3 AH
[625 CE]: THE BATTLE OF UHUD
To avenge the event of Badr, The Makkans mobilized about 3000 men and set out to attack the Muslims. The prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him] could only gather 700 men and set out to meet the Makkans near the hill of UHUD 3 miles north of Madinah. At first, the Muslims were winning but were thrown into disarray from a sudden attack from the rear and as a result of negligence on the part of some Muslims.
The negligence was by a group Gl archers placed at a strategic position by the prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and told not to leave their positions until they were told even if the Muslims were winning or losing. At first, the Muslims were winning and some companions were already taking the booty. The archers saw this and they left their positions hoping to get a share of the booty. This action caused an opening to be created for the Makkans to move in on the Muslims. The prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) himself was wounded: the Muslims lost many men while the Makkans lost much fewer.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited