Sariyya of 'Ubayda b. al-Harith b. al-Muttalib
| Date | 1/623 |
|---|---|
| Place | Thaniyyat al-Marra |
| Belligerents | |
| Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas | |
| Commanders | |
| 'Ubayda b. al-Harith Ikrima b. Abi Jahl | |
| Strength | |
| 60 to 80 men from the Muhajirun Quraysh | |
The Sariyya of 'Ubayda b. al-Harith b. al-Muttalib was a significant early expedition dispatched by the Prophet (s) to the vicinity of Thaniyyat al-Marra.[1] Historical sources present conflicting dates for the event; some authorities place it in Shawwal 1/April 623,[2] while others maintain it occurred following the Battle of Waddan in Rabi' al-Awwal 1/September 622[3] or 2/623–24.[4] Scholarly consensus also varies regarding the priority of early expeditions: while some chronicles identify the Sariyya Hamza b. 'Abd al-Muttalib as the inaugural mission, others accord this distinction to the Sariyya of 'Ubayda.[5]
The Islamic detachment for this Sariyya comprised sixty to eighty horsemen drawn exclusively from the Muhajirun, without participation from the Ansar. The primary objective was to intercept a Quraysh contingent suspected of maneuvering near the outskirts of Medina.[6]
Upon reaching a watering hole beneath Thaniyyat al-Marra, 'Ubayda b. al-Harith encountered a substantial Quraysh force under the command of 'Ikrimah b. Abi Jahl. The confrontation did not escalate into full-scale combat; hostilities were limited to a single arrow loosed by Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas. This event is widely cited in historical records as the first arrow discharged in the history of Islam.[7]
During the operation, two individuals embedded within the polytheist ranks—Miqdad b. 'Amr and 'Utba b. Ghazwan b. Jabir al-Mazani—seized the opportunity to defect. Having previously embraced Islam while in Mecca, they broke away from the Quraysh column to join the Islamic forces.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa-l-mulūk, vol. 3, p. 154; Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 4, p. 353; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 371; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 69.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa-l-mulūk, vol. 2, p. 402.
- ↑ Ibn Athīr, Usd al-ghāba, p. 449.
- ↑ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Istīʿāb, vol. 3, p. 1020.
- ↑ Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-umam wa-l-mulūk, vol. 3, p. 154; Ibn Ḥajar, al-Iṣāba, vol. 4, p. 353; Balādhurī, Ansāb al-ashrāf, vol. 1, p. 371; Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 69.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 69.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 69.
- ↑ Yaʿqūbī, Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī, vol. 2, p. 69; Āyatī, Tārīkh-i payāmbar-i Islām, pp. 198-199.
References
- Āyatī, Muḥammad Ibrāhīm. Tārīkh-i payāmbar-i Islām. Revised by Abū l-Qāsim Gurjī. Tehran: Tehran University Press, sixth edition, 1378 SH.
- Ibn Athīr, ʿAlī b. Muḥammad. Usd al-ghāba fī maʿrifat al-ṣaḥāba. Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 1989/1409 AH.
- Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Aḥmad b. ʿAlī. al-Iṣāba fī tamyīz al-ṣaḥāba. Edited by ʿĀdil Aḥmad ʿAbd al-Mawjūd and ʿAlī Muḥammad Muʿawwaḍ. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1995/1415 AH.
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Yūsuf b. ʿAbd Allāh. al-Istīʿāb fī maʿrifat al-aṣḥāb. Edited by ʿAlī Muḥammad al-Bajāwī. Beirut: Dār al-Jīl, 1992/1412 AH.
- al-Balādhurī, Aḥmad b. Yaḥyā. Ansāb al-ashrāf. Edited by Muḥammad Ḥamīd Allāh. Egypt: Dār al-Maʿārif, 1959.
- al-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad b. Jarīr. Tārīkh al-umam wa-l-mulūk. Edited by Muḥammad Abū l-Faḍl Ibrāhīm. Beirut: Dār al-Turāth, 1967/1387 AH.
- al-Yaʿqūbī, Aḥmad b. Abī Yaʿqūb. Tārīkh al-Yaʿqūbī. Beirut: Dār Ṣādir, n.d.