Ubaydah ibn al-Harith

ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith رضي الله عنه was a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ from the Banū Muṭṭalib ibn ʿAbd Manāf branch of Quraysh. He was among the early Muslims. The Prophet ﷺ placed him in command of one of the earliest sarāyā (armed expeditions), a group of about sixty Muhājirūn dispatched to monitor and intercept Quraish movements. During this mission, some arrows were exchanged with a Quraish scouting party, making this the first occasion arrows were shot in the path of Allāh. No sustained battle occurred; a neutral tribe intervened and brokered a ceasefire, then itself formed an alliance with the Muslims. Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ was among those in this sariyyah and proudly identified himself throughout his life as the first person to shoot an arrow fī sabīlillāh. ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith later died a martyr at the Battle of Badr (17 Ramaḍān 2 AH), struck by an arrow in a duel; the Prophet ﷺ personally tended to him.