Life-of-Muhammad

52Life of Muhammad sacontempt. The Prophet sa took steps to promote literacyand love of learning. Those who could read and writewere asked to teach others the same arts. Injustice andcruelty were ended. The rights of women wereestablished. The rich were to pay for the needs of thepoor and for improving the social amenities of Medina.Labourers were protected from exploitation. For weakand incompetent heirs, arrangements were made for theappointment of trustees. Loan transactions began to becommitted to writing. The importance of fulfilling allundertakings began to be impressed. The excessescommitted against slaves were abolished. Hygiene andpublic sanitation began to receive attention. A census ofthe population was undertaken. Lanes and highwayswere ordered to be widened, and steps were taken tokeep them clean. In short, laws were instituted for thepromotion of an ideal family and social life. The savageArabs for the first time in their history were introducedto the rules of politeness and civilized existence.BATTLE OF BADRWhile the Prophet sa planned for the practicalinstitution of laws which were to serve not only his owngeneration of Arabs but all mankind for all time to come,the people of Mecca made their plans for war. TheProphet sa planned for a law which was to bring to hisown people and all the others peace, honour andprogress; his Meccan enemy planned for the destructionof that law. The Meccan plans eventually resulted in theBattle of Badr. It was the eighteenth month after theHijra. A commercial caravan led by Abu Sufyan ra wasreturning from Syria. Under pretence of protecting thiscaravan, the Meccans raised a large army and decidedto take it to Medina. The Holy Prophet sa came to know ofthese preparations. He also had revelations from Godwhich said that the time to pay back the enemy in hisown coin had come. He went out of Medina with a