Part 5

“The narrow dark room is your life is disbelieve and Shirk and the fertile green expanse is your life in Islam. Allah Almighty has brought you out of the narrowness and darkness of ignorance into the radiant and enlightened fields of Islam, may this prove auspicious for you.”

Khalid bin Waleed <% had converted to Islam, not out of fear or greed, but because he was influenced by the attractive and magnetic personality of the Prophet 38. In human _ history forthrightness and frankness in upholding the principles of Truth has been recognized as a basic and vital quality. This is the reason why people who have the courage to speak up for what they believe to be the Truth are often extremist in expressing their views. These two positive qualities of courage and frankness are to be found in the character of the great General Khalid bin Waleed -%.

Until the time that he accepted Islam he was the most dangerous enemy of Islam. In the battle of Uhud he played a major role in converting the victory of Muslims into defeat with his extremism and firmness of purpose. Since the Kuffar were losing they were despondent and had given up hopes of winning completely. In this

struggle between Truth and Falsehood, al! the ranks of the Kuffar were prepared to accept defeat, except for Khalid bin Waleed .4. This warrior was the one who refused to cave in; the moment he gota chance he got together a troop of cavalry and through a mountainous route made an unexpected assault on the Muslim army. They were shocked and uprooted, as it were, and suffered grievous loss of lives. Yet this same brave and daring warrior, once he became a Muslim, fought at every stage with a sincerity of heart and purity of intention for the cause of the propagation of Islam to bring victory to the Muslims. He gave himself, mind, body and soul, for the great cause of the Prophet 38. After his pledge of allegiance he gave the rest of his life to fighting for truth against the forces of evil, cruelty and barbarism. At the most critical of times he did not entertain the slightest degree of fear or hopelessness and despair.

Khalid bin Waleed # accomplished such daring exploits that the world was lost in wonder and amazement. His great deeds of daring, heroism and bravery, were acknowledged and admired by even his enemies. The Commander-in-Chief of the German army, Jeneral Aroon Rommel, was asked for the secret of his successes in warfare. He answered that he followed the tactics employed by the great Muslim general, Khalid bin Waleed. That the greatness and majesty of Caesar was laid low in the dust by him is doubtless a miracle caused by the ingenuity and well-planned tactics used by him in leading his men. The eyes of the world saw that the mighty resources of Rome and Persia were never deterrents for him. From the beginning to the end in every conflict between Good and Evil, he remained victorious and with the help of Allah Almighty’s blessings he never faced defeat.

On the boundaries of Syria is a city called Moatah. The confrontation, which took place here, is called the War of Moatah. This is the first war in which Khalid bin Waleed +4 took part as an ordinary soldier after his conversion to Islam. But after three generals were martyred, one after another, the mantle of leadership fell! on him. There were only three thousand Mujahideen and they were totally spent and exhausted. The enemy, on the other hand, numbered two hundred thousand fierce warriors, who were very well equipped and armed. The war started due to the following incident.

The Prophet 3% sent one of his most faithful Companions, Haris bin ‘Amr Azdi 4, with a letter for the ruler of Basra, Haris bin Ami Shamar Ghassani. He had barely reached Moatah, a town in the province of Balqa, on the borders of Syria, when the Governor of the province, Sharjeel bin ‘Amr Ghassani, came to hear of his arrival. He immediately had him arrested and killed brutally. When this terrible news reached the Prophet 38, he was very grieved and upset. Another incident took place around the same time. A missionary group of fifteen of the Prophet’s Companions was in Syria engrossed in carrying the Message of Islam and enjoining its teachings. All these Companions were in a place called ‘Zat Al-Atlah’, when they were treacherously murdered. Then again, around the same time the ruler of Rome had threatened to invade Al-Madinah. These were the main reasons why the Prophet 3% sent an army under General Zaid bin Harithah . He had instructed that in case Zaid bin Harithah 4s, was martyred during the war, his place should be taken by Ja’far bin Abi Talib -. If he too was martyred then “Abdullah bin Rawaha - should take over the command the forces. If he too should be martyred then the Mujaliideen should decide on who should be their Commander. He had a white flag made for the army and entrusted it to General Zaid bin Harithah >. He commanded the army to camp at the spot where Harith bin ‘Amr Azdi 4, had been martyred, ask Allah Almighty for help and stand firm to battle against the enemy. He further instructed them not to break their word and not to perpetrate any breach of trust. They were ordered not to kill old people, women or children. Nor should they kill any recluse or monk who had abandoned the world to pray or meditate. No buildings were to be razed to the ground, nor trees to be felled or destroyed. After receiving their orders from their Commander-in-Chief, the Prophet 3, the army set out on their extremely difficult mission. After crossing very difficult territory they finally reached the Syrian border and entered the province of Balqa’. Here they got the news that the Roman emperor Harqul had sent a huge army to fight these handful of Muslim soldiers, and they were already encamped in the field. So the Mujahideen turned direction and marched towards Moatah. At this place the two armies confronted each other and heavy fighting broke out. The Muslims fought fearlessly and Zaid bin Harithah 2% the general, realizing his responsibilities as the Commander attacked the enemy. In order to

boost the morale of his handful of men, he fought with the vigour and zest of four men. There was destruction, perdition and panic all round, as he advanced plunging through the ranks of the enemy, and finally achieved martyrdom. Now Ja’far bin Abu Talib & took command and holding the flag in his hand led the Muslim army. He too rode fearlessly, trying to break through the ranks of the enemy. Since the enemy’s army was huge and the fighting was intense, it was difficult to ride through them, So he jumped off his steed and rushing through their ranks started to rip off the heads of the enemy with his sword. Finally, one of the enemy soldiers managed to land a powerful blow and cut off his right hand. He took the flag in his left hand and the enemy cut off the left hand as well. He still did not allow the flag to fall down and continued to hold it with the help of his legs and what was left of his arms. The enemy struck a final and fatal blow, and Ja’far 45 attained the exalted status of a martyr. According to the instructions of the Prophet 3%, ‘Abdullah bin Rawaha % now took over the responsibility of General. Moving forward he took the flag, and finally he too after displaying marvelous deeds of heroism reached martyrdom, and the Glorious Presence of Allah Almighty.

The morale of the Mujahideen was now at its lowest; they had lost three Generals, and even their flag had falten to the ground. Considering the disproportionate numbers of the huge Roman army and the small Muslim force, defeat seemed certain. The white flag of the Muslim army had almost fallen into the hands of the enemy, when Thabit bin Aqram 4 with a dexterous move took up the flag. He then turned to Khalid bin Waleed and addressed him thus:

“Please take this flag into your hands; at this most difficult of times only you can perform the duty of a leader best.”

Khalid bin Waleed -# in very civil and humble tones declined the honour, saying Thabit <4 was superior to him; having taken part in the battle of Badr he had the right to be the leader of the Mujahideen, he said. But Thabit bin Aqram 4 was adamant and swearing by Allah Almighty he said it was a proved fact that with his deeds of valour, Khalid bin Waleed -# had shown his mettle. He said he had picked up the flag from the ground only to hand it over to you. He again

Compared to the enemy the Mujahideen were very few in number. Bringing experience and masterly strategy into play, Khalid bin Waleed -% changed the whole formation of the army. He picked outa group of the Mujahideen to remain at the back in hiding, and then suddenly appear and join the rest of the army. Asa result the whole atmosphere was filled with dust and sand as they moved forward The Roman army panicked when they saw this and thought that reinforcements had arrived. Their morale started to dive down and taking advantage of this opportunity. Khalid bin Waleed <& started to move out the Mujahideen very carefully out of the circle of the surrounding enemy, and into a safe area. Earlier the Romans had been very confident that they would decimate the Muslims, and not even one of them would be allowed to leave the battlefield alive. Their confidence was very high because in the recent past they had defeated the Persians; they were intoxicated by their victory and thought a handful of the Mujahideen would be no match for them. Khalid bin Waleed - with his God-given skill in planning had put into practice intelligent tactics to defeat the enemy. On the every first day they were shattered when they saw him break nine swords. And when he saw on the second day that the Romans were frightened, panicking and ready to retreat he took advantage of the opportunity to take his men back to safety. To bring back the army intact under such precarious and critical circumstances was no mean feat and unforgettable in the annals of military history.