Al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad

Al-Aswad ibn ʿAbd al-Asad al-Makhzūmī was a Qurashī warrior from the Banū Makhzūm clan, the same powerful Makkī clan as Abū Jahl. He has the grim distinction of being the very first person killed at the Battle of Badr (Ramaḍān 2 AH), though the exact timing is uncertain, either on the evening of the 16th or the morning of the 17th of Ramaḍān. When the Quraysh army arrived at the plains of Badr and discovered that the Muslim army had blocked off access to all the wells, he made a vow: 'I will get to that water and drink from it, or I will die trying.' He broke through the Muslim lines and charged toward the main well. Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib intercepted him, cut off his leg, and then killed him before he could reach the water. Al-Aswad was true to his word: he died trying. His death served as a preview of what was to come for the Quraysh army as a whole.