Hz. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas Harrar Expedition (9th Month of Hijra, Zilqade)

The Harrar Expedition was carried out in the month of Zilqade in the 1st year of Hijra (February-March 623 AD) under the command of Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas. The Prophet Muhammad assigned Sa'd to command a unit consisting of eight emigrants. The aim of the expedition was to stop the pressures of the Quraysh on some Muslims or to intercept a Quraysh caravan expected at the Harrar location west of Medina. When Sa'd and his companions reached the designated point, they could not find the target caravan; since they exceeded the time set for their presence with the caravan, they were considered to have completed their mission and returned to Medina. Although this expedition is one of the first expeditions carried out in Islam, it did not witness any conflict. However, its strategic importance is great; because it shows that the Prophet Muhammad took the security of Medina and the control of Quraysh routes seriously in the early period. Sa'd b. Abi Waqqas is also recognized as the first person to shoot an arrow in the name of Islam during the Rabi' Expedition. He is among the ten companions (Ashara Mubashshara) who were promised paradise. [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, "Harrar Expedition" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/harrar-seferi; Ibn Hisham, as-Sira, II, 242-243; Waqidi, al-Maghazi, I, 11-12]