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- Era
- The Prophetic Era
- Region
- Arabia
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Muslim duelists
Ubayda ibn al-Harith · Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib · Ali ibn Abi Talib
Quraysh duelists
The duel of Badr: the opening combat on 17 Ramadan 2 AH — three of Quraysh's chiefs against three of the Muslims, ending with the three Qurayshis fallen.
The opening duel of Badr on 17 Ramadan 2 AH: the first to kindle the battle was al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi, who swore to drink from the Muslims' cistern or wreck it — Hamza felled him at the cistern. Then three of Quraysh's finest riders of one family — Utba and Shayba the sons of Rabi'a and al-Walid ibn Utba — came out asking single combat. Three Ansari youths stepped out first — Awf and Mu'awwadh the sons of al-Harith and Abdullah ibn Rawaha; asked who they were, they said a party of the Ansar, and the Qurayshis answered 'fine peers, we have no need of you' and called 'Muhammad, send us our peers of our own people' — so the Prophet ﷺ ordered Ubayda ibn al-Harith (may God be pleased with him), Hamza and Ali forward. The duel ended with the three Qurayshis fallen and a fatal wound to one Muslim.
Storytellers (10–12) read the Explorers text, then cross to the Scholars text.
The opening duel of Badr on 17 Ramadan 2 AH: three of Quraysh's chiefs against three of the Muslims, ending with the three Qurayshis killed and a fatal wound to one Muslim. The first slain man to kindle the battle was al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi, who swore to drink from the Muslims' cistern or wreck it — Hamza killed him at the cistern. Then three of Quraysh's finest riders of one family — Utba and Shayba the sons of Rabi'a and al-Walid ibn Utba — came out asking single combat. Three Ansari youths stepped out first — Awf and Mu'awwadh the sons of al-Harith and Abdullah ibn Rawaha; asked who they were, they said a party of the Ansar, and the Qurayshis answered 'fine peers, we have no need of you' and called 'Muhammad, send us our peers of our own people' — so the Prophet ﷺ ordered Ubayda ibn al-Harith (may God be pleased with him), Hamza and Ali forward.
Summary
What happened
The first death to ignite the battle was al-Aswad ibn Abd al-Asad al-Makhzumi, who had sworn to drink from the Muslims' cistern or to destroy it. Hamza killed him at the cistern 2. Then three of Quraysh's finest horsemen, from one family, came out seeking a duel: Utba and Shayba, the sons of Rabi'a, and al-Walid ibn Utba 2.
Three young men of the Ansar went out to them first: 'Awf and Mu'awwidh, the sons of al-Harith, and Abdullah ibn Rawaha. The Quraysh asked who they were, and when they said they were a company of the Ansar, they answered: "Noble equals, but we have no need of you." They called out: "O Muhammad, bring out to us our equals from our own people." So the Prophet ﷺ ordered Ubayda ibn al-Harith, Hamza and Ali to rise 2.
The duels
In Ibn Ishaq's account, Ubayda, who was the eldest of the men, duelled Utba; Hamza duelled Shayba; and Ali duelled al-Walid. In the account of Ahmad and Abu Dawud, Ubayda duelled al-Walid, Ali duelled Shayba, and Hamza duelled Utba 1 3.
Hamza and Ali gave their opponents no time before killing them. As for Ubayda, he and his opponent exchanged two blows, each of which crippled the other. Then his two companions turned on Utba and killed him, and carried Ubayda off with his leg cut off. Ubayda died at al-Safra four or five days later 4.
Ali used to swear that the verse about the two opponents who dispute concerning their Lord (al-Hajj 19) was revealed about these duellists 4. The end of the duel was a bad start for the idolaters: they had lost three of their finest horsemen and leaders in a single stroke 4.
In The Sealed Nectar (pp. 216–217)
Utba, Shayba and al-Walid ibn Utba came out to duel. 'Awf and Mu'awwidh, the sons of 'Afra', and Abdullah ibn Rawaha came out to meet them. They said they wanted their equals from Quraysh. Then Ubayda ibn al-Harith (may God be pleased with him), Hamza and Ali rose. Hamza killed Utba, and Ali killed al-Walid. Ubayda and Shayba each crippled the other, and then they killed him (the day of Badr) 2 4.
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Connections
- Had participant
- Talha ibn Abi Talha· Ubayda ibn al-Harith· Utba ibn Rabi'a· Shayba ibn Rabi'a· al-Walid ibn Utba· Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib· Ali ibn Abi Talib· Awf ibn al-Harith (Ibn Afra')· Abdullah ibn Rawaha
- Caused by
- The day of Badr: the lines, the duels and the victory
- Occurred at
- Badr
- Part of
- The Battle of Badr
- Revealed in
- Qur'an 22:19
People and things also explored
The Battle of Badr· The day of Badr: the lines, the duels and the victory· Badr· Utba ibn Rabi'a· Battle over the Quraysh standard at Uhud· The build-up to Badr: Abu Sufyan's caravan, Mecca's muster and the Prophet's march· al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib· Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib
Sources
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , pp.216-217
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.216
- Mishkat al-Masabih — al-Tabrizi
- al-Raheeq al-Makhtum — Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri , p.217
- al-Sira al-Nabawiyya — Ibn Hisham
- Muhammad the Supreme Commander — Abd al-Majid Ibrahim Hindi
- Asma al-Matalib fi Sirat Ali ibn Abi Talib, vol. 1 — Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The duel at Badr”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/badr-duel/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.