o establish their rights.]

Even these three battles were not waged by Mohammad to redress wrong or
establish imperilled rights. They were only to repel force by right of
self-defence. Had Mohammad and his Moslems invaded Mecca and fought
battles against the Koreish there, he would have been justified for
waging war to redress the injuries of person and property inflicted by
the Meccans on the Moslems whom they were tormenting for their religion
and had expelled them from their homes, and had even barred their
yearly visitation to the shrine of Kaaba. A war which is undertaken for
just causes, to repel or avert wrongful force, or to establish a right,
is sanctioned by every law, religious, moral or political.

[Sidenote: The battle of Badr was defensive.]

8. Sir W. Muir, the great advocate for the aggressive Koreish, holds
that the war of Badr was "brought on by Mahomet himself,"[4] and that he
intended to surprise the caravan of the Koreish returning from Syria
under the charge of Abu Sofian, and had come out to Medina to waylay it.
Abu Sofian sent for an army of the Koreish for his aid, and thus
commenced the battle of Badr. I have given my reasons at pages 74-76 of
the book to show that this is a false account. I will point out from
contemporary records, _i.e._, the Koran, that Mohammad neither meant,
nor had he come out of Medina, to attack the caravan.

[Sidenote: Reasons for the same.]

I. The verses 5 and 6 of Sura VIII[5] show that a part of the believers
were quite averse to Mohammad's coming out of Medina on the occasion of
the battle of Badr. Had their mission been one of plundering rich
caravans, as it is generally alleged, there could be no reason for that
aversion of a party of believers who are accused so often of a hostile
attitude towards the Koreish, and possessed of that great love of booty
and adventure so prominent among the Arabs. The fact is, a party of
believers had disputed with Mohammad the necessity of the combat and its
probable result outside Medina. They preferred to defend themselves
within its walls. This argument is against the allegation that Mohammad
with his followers had started to waylay the caravan, and the Koreish
had come only to rescue it.

II. The 43rd[6] verse of the same Sura shows that it was by a mere
accident or coincidence that all the three parties of the Moslems, the
Koreshite army and the caravan had arrived, and encamped close to Badr
in front of each other.