Fear and Rain
The first battle between Islam and infidelity was Great Badr. This battle was fought by Prophet Muhammad
In fact, the infidels’ army outnumbered the Muslims in the sense that Muslims were about three hundred or a bit more fighters while the infidels were 1000 fighters, 200 of which were knights and a knight was regarded to equal 10 fighters.
What made them more confident is that when they looked at the Muslim army they would see it very small and outnumbered. Thus their confidence of wining increased. Therefore they wanted to obtain a victory in ideology besides the guaranteed one in the battlefield, so they started to supplicate and call to Allah saying: “Oh Allah grant victory to those who are on the righteous path.” On the other side of the battlefield, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) knew that this battle was most crucial and a turning point in the course of Islam. Hence, he prayed and appealed to Allah for aid and support. Allah’s response is pictured in: “Remember ye implored the assistance of your Lord, And He answered you “I will assist you with a thousand of the angels, ranks on ranks. Allah made it but a message of hope, and an assurance to your hearts”[8:9-10].
Allah aided and supported His Prophet and His servants. Seeing Allah’s angles fighting with them, Muslim fighters felt confident and tranquil. Yet, Allah wreaks victory not angels nor humans.
Not only that, another incident took place in this battle. Actually, sleep is one of the great beneficence granted to man by Allah. When man sleeps, he is likely to restore all his mental and physical exhaustion. This is what Allah showed frightened Muslims on the eve of the battle. Allah made all Muslims go to a deep sleep at one time, in which each Muslim slept where he was and as he was. In such a slumber of great security and divine tranquility, some of the Muslims got wet dreams; this made them physically in a state of major ritual impurity; thus, they ought to wash up or bathe to perform their prayers and religious rituals. But there was not sufficient water. In the morning Satan mockingly said to those who wet dreamed “How can you fight in Allah’s cause and get killed and meet Allah in an impure state?”
But Allah made Satan’s cunning backfire on him. Allah sent a purifying rain to the souls and bodies. The rain purified their bodies and made Satan’s stain go away.
Today, medical doctors and specialists claim that when one is in a state of fear, a martial is secreted into the blood. This material causes the limbs of the body tremble. To stop this trembling, to decrease this material, and thus to stabilize the legs and hands, one should be splashed with water.
Not only did the rain stabilize and stop the trembling but made the Muslims establish their feet on the battle ground, that is, when rain falls on sand, it makes the sand stable in which feet will not sink into it. On the other side of the scale, the rain came down on the infidels as a punishment; it hurdled them from moving fast to the battlefield. All of that was before the battle had even begun.
Then, what really happened during and after the battle?
During the fight and after the two fighting parties clashed furiously, the angels sided by the Muslims and thus their number started to elevate more and more. Instead of seeing them as an outnumber army, the pagans started realizing that their opponents (the Muslims) were increasing. That brought fear and defeat to the infidels. Allah, the Almighty, says “There has already been For you a Sign In the two armies That met (in combat): One was fighting in the Cause of Allah, the other Resisting Allah; these saw with their own eyes Twice their number.” [3:13]
Reference: Sheikh Abdul Majeed, Knowledge Is the Path for Faith
* Translator’s Note: This caravan belonged to the infidels of Quraish who deported and exiled Mohammad (PBUH) and his companions out of Makka and confiscated all of their belongings and possessions. So the aim of capturing the caravan was to restore part of their belongings in the hands of the godless Quraishis and to at least compensate themselves of their stolen property and possessions in Makka.