SeerahBook
← All events
Expedition

Ghazwa Badr al-Sughra (the Minor/First Battle of Badr)

~2 AH · 2 AH

Badr

Original text & sources

Report an inaccuracy

Tell us what’s inaccurate about “Ghazwa Badr al-Sughra (the Minor/First Battle of Badr)”. Every field is required.

Your name and email are used only to review this report and are never shared — Privacy Policy.

What happened

After allies of the Quraysh snuck into Madinah, stole a number of camels, and killed one or two herders, the Prophet ﷺ gathered 70 of the Muhajirun and pursued them, reaching the Plain of Badr for the first time. The 4-5 raiders, being faster, managed to flee, and the Prophet ﷺ was unable to capture them. As a direct consequence, the Prophet ﷺ decided he needed reconnaissance/spies to monitor the movements of the Quraysh and their allies, including toward Yemen; this led directly to the Sariyya Nakhla.

Outcome: The raiders escaped; no captures were made.

Significance

Also called Ghazwa Badr al-Ula, this is unrelated to the Major Battle of Badr (Badr al-Kubra) beyond sharing the same location; it did not involve the Quraysh at all. It shows that not every expedition of the Prophet ﷺ ended in success.

The Road to Badr·Chapter 6 of 16The first Badr

See the whole story
Previously← Ghazwa al-Ushayra~2 AH · 2 AHContinue readingSariyya Nakhla →30 Rajab, 2 AH · 2 AH

Connected events

Around this time

Other events recorded in 2 AH. Their order within the year is not established; use the storyline above for the sequence.

ExpeditionGhazwa al-Abwa12 Safar, 2 AH (11 months after the Hijrah) · 2 AHInstitutionInstitution of Fasting, Zakat, and Salah in Madinah~2 AH (from Muharram through Ramadan) · 2 AHIncidentSa'd ibn Mu'adh Warns Umayyah ibn Khalaf~After the Hijrah, before the Battle of Badr · 2 AHExpeditionSariyya Nakhla30 Rajab, 2 AH · 2 AHExpeditionExpedition of Qarqarat al-Kudr~Seven days after Badr, Ramadan 2 AH (c. 624 CE) · 2 AHBattleThe Battle of Badr17 Ramadan 2 AH (March 624 CE) · 2 AHExpeditionThe Expulsion of the Banu Qaynuqa15 Shawwal, 2 AH (per al-Waqidi) · 2 AHExpeditionSariyya of Sawiq~About 2-3 months after Badr, early Dhu al-Hijjah 2 AH (c. 624 CE) · 2 AHRevelationChange of the Qibla~15–16 months after the Hijrah (2 AH) · 2 AHDeathDeath of Abu Lahab~Shortly after the Battle of Badr, 2 AH / 624 CE · 2 AHDeathDeath of Ruqayyah bint Muhammad ﷺThe day the Prophet ﷺ returned to Madinah from Badr, Ramadan/Shawwal 2 AH · 2 AHDeathExecution of al-Nadr ibn al-Harith and Uqba ibn Abi Mu'aytOn the road back to Madinah after Badr, Ramadan 2 AH · 2 AH