The Râbiğ Expedition led by Hz. Ubeyde b. Haris (8th month of Hijra, Shawwal)

The Râbiğ Expedition was carried out in the Shawwal month of the 1st year of Hijra (January-February 623 AD). The Prophet sent a unit of sixty or eighty men to the Râbiğ region on the Mecca-Medina road under the command of Ubeyde b. Hâris b. Abdülmuttalib. Râbiğ is a settlement located between Mecca and Medina, near the Red Sea coast, between Ebvâ and Cuhfe. This area was a critical point on the trade route of the Quraysh extending to Syria. The purpose of the Prophet sending an expedition to this region was to economically pressure the Quraysh caravans on their own territory. When the unit reached Râbiğ, it encountered a 200-strong cavalry force of the Quraysh, commanded by Abû Süfyân b. Harb. A brief exchange of arrows occurred between the two sides; there was no real conflict. It is known that the first arrow from the Muslim side was shot by Sa'd b. Ebî Vakkās. For this reason, Sa'd b. Ebî Vakkās is recorded in Islamic history as "the first person to shoot an arrow in the way of Allah." [Source: TDV Islamic Encyclopedia, "Râbiğ Expedition" article, islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/rabig-seriyyesi; Ibn Hişâm, es-Sîre, II, 241; Vâkıdî, el-Megâzî, I, 10-11]