The Early Military Expeditions: Prelude to Badr

Dr. Yasir Qadhi describes the first military expeditions of the Muslim state in the months before the Battle of Badr, explaining that not all were successful and that Allāh's wisdom was at work even in the apparent failures.

❧Ghazwat al-Abwāʾ: The First Expedition (12 Ṣafar 2 AH, ~August 623 CE)

The first military expedition in Islamic history. The Prophet ﷺ himself led it, heading toward al-Abwāʾ (a village on the road between Makkah and Madīnah) upon hearing of a Quraish caravan. He did not arrive in time, no battle occurred. However, the expedition achieved its secondary purpose: the Prophet ﷺ concluded the first formal treaty of alliance with an Arab tribe outside Madīnah, the Banū Ḍamrah, a local tribe of the Kinānah confederation. The Islamic state's effective sphere of influence extended another hundred miles. This was the blueprint: even without a battle, every expedition expanded the political reach of the new Muslim polity.

❧The Sariyyah of ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith: The First Arrow fī Sabīlillāh

The Prophet ﷺ dispatched approximately sixty Muhājirūn under the command of ʿUbaydah ibn al-Ḥārith (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), a cousin of the Prophet ﷺ from the Banū Muṭṭalib branch of Quraysh. They encountered a Quraish scouting party near a well. Some arrows were exchanged, no sustained battle; a neutral tribe intervened and brokered a ceasefire. That neutral tribe then formed its own alliance with the Muslims.

Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) declared proudly throughout his life that he was the first Muslim to shoot an arrow fī sabīlillāhi taʿālā, in the path of Allāh Most High. He carried this distinction with great pride, and rightly so.

❧Ghazwat al-ʿUshayrah: Stage One of Badr (~Jumādā al-Ākhirah 2 AH, ~November 623 CE)

The most ambitious expedition before Badr. The Prophet ﷺ led approximately 150–200 Companions toward the coast to intercept the annual Syrian caravan, the mother of all caravans, the Quraish's most critical economic lifeline. This caravan carried approximately 70–80% of Makkah's collective wealth: every family that had any money invested in it. It was commanded by Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu, he would later embrace Islam).

Why they missed it: A stray scout from the caravan happened to see the approaching Muslims from a distance and rushed back to warn Abū Sufyān. Being a shrewd political operative, Abū Sufyān immediately diverted the caravan to an alternate route, bypassing the expected road entirely. When the Muslims arrived at the planned interception point, the caravan was already gone.

The speaker identifies this as Qadr, divine predetermination at work. Allāh had a greater plan: let the caravan go now, and on the return journey, draw out not just the caravan but the entire Quraish army. One decisive victory would achieve what ten caravan raids could not. This became known as the setup for the Battle of Badr. Abū Sufyān, meanwhile, sent an urgent message back to Makkah, and this would trigger the mobilization of the largest Quraish army ever assembled.

❧Ghazwat Badr al-Ṣughrā (Badr al-Ūlā: "First Badr")

A Quraish-allied tribe launched a night ambush on the outskirts of Madīnah, not a military campaign but a theft operation. They killed one or two Muslim camel herders and fled with stolen animals. As soon as the Prophet ﷺ heard of it, he pursued them with 70 Muhājirūn and reached the plains of Badr, but the ambushers had already escaped the scene. This was the first time the Muslims set foot on the plains of Badr (hence "First Badr" or "Minor Badr"), but it has nothing to do with the great Battle of Badr; the enemy here was a minor Quraish-allied tribe, not the Quraish themselves.

❧The Lesson in Apparent Failure

The speaker emphasizes: not every expedition ended in success. The Prophet ﷺ returned empty-handed from multiple missions. Allāh did not gift perpetual miracles. There is wisdom even in the failed expeditions, strategic lessons, political developments (alliances), and the cultivation of the Companions' patience and reliance on Allāh. Every expedition, successful or not, expanded the sphere of the Islamic state and prepared the ground for what was to come.