Part 21

The Byzantine army was tremendous and so was the Muslim one. Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, arranged 36 - 40 battalions, each consisting of 100 men. He appointed Abu *Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, as the leader of the center, ~Amr Ibn Al-* Aas as the leader of the right wing of the battlefield and Yazeed Ibn Sufyaan as the leader of the left. Abu Ad-Dardaa' was the judge and Abu Sufyaan Ibn Harb used to urge the men to fight bravely. Al-Miqdaad Ibn Al-Aswad was the one who used to recite the Quran and in particular Surah, "Al-Anfaal" (the one pertaining to battles).

Muslim women played a notable role in this battle. They formed a battalion, which stood at the back of the army. They would supply water to the men, and dress their wounds. When the army showed signs of weakness, these women would shout words of courage to boost their morale. These words put a new heart into retreating men. They dashed forth like lightning and sowed death among enemy lines.

While the battle was raging, Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, may

Allah be pleased with him, received a message from Madeenah

informing him that Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased

with him, had passed away, and they had appointed ~Umar Ibn

Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, as his successor.

The message also said that the new caliph, ~Umar Ibn Al-

Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, had removed Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, as commander-in-chief and appointed Abu * Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraah, may Allah be pleased with him, to the post. Khalid read the letter and preferred to keep such news secret lest it should discourage the army and cause them to lose heart at that critical time. He informed Abu ~Ubaydah that the command of the army had passed to him. Then he hid the message in his clothes till the battle ended with the triumph given to the Muslims. He delivered the message to Abu * Ubaydah.

The letter had no effect whatsoever on Khalid. He went on fighting as desperately as ever. After the battle was over, Khalid's dismissal became known. Someone said to him, "How is it that the news did not dampen your spirit at all?" "I was not fighting for ~Umar's sake," replied Khalid, "I was fighting solely for the Cause of Allah."

Sa*eed Tbn Al-Musayyeb narrates on the authority of his father who said that when the battle was coming to an end, the Muslims heard a sound saying: "O victory of Allah, come nearer! Stick to your posts, Muslims!" When they looked, they found that it was Abu Sufyaan under the banner of his son Yazeed. Khalid spent that night at the tent of Tudhraaq, Hercules's brother who had run away along with other Byzantines. The Muslims remained around the tent killing the remaining enemy soldiers. Tudhraaq was eventually killed and he left 30 tents full of luxurious items. In the morning the Muslims collected the spoils of war and were happy with them, but they were sad about the death of Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him. However, Allah recompensed them with “Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, as successor to Abu Bakr.

The battle had a profound effect in undermining the morale of the Byzantines, as they could not stand the Muslim army after that in spite of their huge number. Hercules made several attempts to defeat the Muslims, but finding it futile he stopped all further attempts. History books still quote the emperor's words of farewell, "Farewell, Syria! I do not think we shall meet again."

On the contrary, the battle highly affected the Muslims' spirit and booted their morale. They began to spread Islam in the East and West, feeling confident of Allah's Victory and His Promise to them that they would achieve supremacy on earth:

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"Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religionthe one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me.' If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked." (An-Noor: 55)

It is said that the battle of Yarmook was the last battle to

take place in the lifetime of Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him.

Invaluable Sermons of As-Sideeq:

Abu Bakr was known for his eloquence and oratory. He used to address the Faithful every week on Fridays. His Khutbahs and speeches were the specimen of masterly eloquence; every word thereof vibrated with superb faith and appealed directly to the heart. All his sermons and addresses have not been preserved. Only a few of his sermons and addresses have come down to us, and these classical addresses which are veritable gems of literature evoke our admiration.

Al-Haakim and Al-Bayhaqyy report on the authority of *Abdullaah Ibn Hakeem, who narrates: Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, gave us a Khutbah one day. He praised Almighty Allah, and thanked Him as He deserves, then said: "I commend you to be conscious and mindful of Allah, to praise Him as He deserves, and to strike a balance between hope (in what He has) and fear (of His Punishment), for Allah praised Prophet Zakariyya (Zechariah) and the his household and said:

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"They used to call on us with love And reverence, and humble themselves before us." (Al-Anbiaa': 90)

Therefore, know, O servants of Allah, that the Lord holds your lives as a pledge for what is due to Him; He has taken your covenants regarding this, and has purchased of you what is little and perishable in exchange for what is eternal and abundant. And this is the Book of Allah among you; its light cannot be extinguished, nor its wonders end. So, seek you illumination from its light, and judge your affairs according to

His Book, and seek light from it for the "Day of Darkness”. Verily He has created you solely for His worship and has appointed for you guardian angels, who are honorable and write down your deeds, and know all that which you do. And you should know, Oservants of Allah, that you proceed and draw nigh to an appointed time, the knowledge of which is absolutely concealed from you.

So if meet your end before fulfilling and discharging Allah's duties and obligations, then do so, though you will never be able to do so except with the Will of Allah. You should vie with one another in fulfilling and discharging your duties and obligations till your appointed times are completed, lest they (the appointed times) cast you upon the evilest of your works, and verily there are some who have made over the obligations of their appointed times to serve others, and have taken no heed of themselves. Therefore, I warn you to be like them. Then make haste and flee, for behind you is a nimble pursuer, swift of deed (i.e. death).

Yahya Ibn Katheer reports that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say in his Khutbahs: "Where are now the comely, beautiful people of good countenance, exulting in their youth? Where are now the monarchs who built cities and entrenched them round about? Where are now those who used to win battles with crushing defeats? Verily their pillars were overthrown when fortune betrayed them, and they went down into the darkness of graves. Make haste, flee, flee!" (Reported by Ibn Abi Ad-Dunya, Ahmad, and Abu Na“ eem)

Moosa Ibn *Uqbah reports that Abu Bakr As-Sideeq once gave the following Khutbah: “All praise and thanks are due to Almighty Allah. I praise Him, seek His Help, and beseech Him to honor us after death; your term and mine have drawn nigh. 1 bear witness that there is no god but Allah, with

Whom there is no associate, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. He sent him with the truth, to give glad tidings (to those who believe) and warn (those who disbelieve), that it may give admonition to any (who are) alive, and that the charge may be proved against those who reject (the Truth).Whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has succeeded, and whoever disobeys them has gone astray in error which is clear. I advice you to be conscious and mindful of Almighty Allah, and to hold fast to His Command which He has revealed to you and guided you thereof. One of the fundamental things in Islam after the Word of Faith’, is hearing and obeying the orders of those whom Almighty Allah has put in charge of us. He who obeys Allah and those who enjoin good and forbid evil, has succeeded and carried out what is due on them. Beware of following vain desire, for verily he prospers who is protected from vain desire, greed and anger; and beware you of pride, for what pride belongs to him who is created out of dust, to dust he returns, and whom the worms devour after death, who is alive today, and tomorrow may be dead.

Therefore act uprightly from day to day and hour to hour. Beware of the curse of the oppressed, and prepare yourself for death. Be you patient for every work is accomplished through patience. Be you careful, for carefulness is profitable. Do (good deeds) for Allah accepts good deeds. Refrain from doing things Allah has warned he will punish those who do them, and vie you with one another in hastening to do the things Allah has promised to have mercy on those who do them. Take heed and understand what I am saying. Be conscious and take care, for Allah has declared to you things for which He destroyed those nations that preceded you, and

Le. the testification that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His

informed you of things through which He delivered those who preceded you.

Verily Allah has made it clear to you in His Book what is lawful and what is prohibited, the works He likes and those He dislikes. I spare no effort in maintaining your well-being, and Allah is the only Helper; there is no power or strength but through Him. Know that so long as you are sincere to your Lord in any work, you will be obedient to Him, your good luck will be preserved, and you will prosper. And regard what you do voluntary for the sake of your religion as supererogatory acts, to expiate your past sins.