Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed (R.A.) : The Sword of Allah

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

 

Asalamualaykum,

Khalid bin Waleed (R.A.) was born in Makkah to Waleed Bin Mughira, chief of Banu Makhzum, a clan of the Arab tribe of Quraysh. Banu Makhzum was one of the three leading clans of the Quraysh and were responsible for matters of war. It is no wonder then that the upbringing of a child from Banu Makhzoom was done under special conditions. Soon after birth, the child is sent to live with the Bedouins in the desert, away from pollution and corruption. By the age of five or six, they return to their parents.

As Banu Makhzum were responsible for warfare, it goes without saying that these people were very skilled with use the spear, the lance, the bow, the sword and were amongst the best horsemen of Arabia. Khalid Bin Waleed (R.A.) Is known to have been especially good with the lance and a champion wrestler of his time. Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (R.A.) was also the cousin of Umar Bin Khattab (R.A.),  (one of the first few Rightly guided Khalifahs of Islam) and so they shared a lot of resemblance in the way they looked. They were both tall and had well-built bodies with broad shoulders.

Not much is known about Hazrat Khalid (R.A.) during the early days of the preaching of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W). His father was known for his hostility against Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Khalid Bin Waleed did not take part in the battle of Badr, which was the first battle between the Muslims and the unbelievers, but he did fight against the Muslims in the battle of Uhud.

He later converted to Islam  and joined Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) in the conquest of Mecca in ;thereafter he commanded a number of conquests and missions in the Arabian Peninsula.

After the death of Muhammad, Khalid recaptured a number of provinces that were breaking away from Islam. He was sent northeastward by the caliph Abu Bakr to invade Iraq, where he conquered Al-Ḥirah. Crossing the desert, he aided in the conquest of Syria. Routing the Byzantine armies, he surrounded Damascus, which surrendered on Sept. 4, 635, and pushed northward. Early in 636 he withdrew south of the Yarmuk River before a powerful Byzantine force that advanced from the north and from the coast of Palestine. The Byzantine armies were composed mainly of Christian Arab, Armenian, and other auxiliaries, however; and when many of these deserted the Byzantines, Khalid, reinforced from Medina and possibly from the Syrian Arab tribes, attacked and destroyed the remaining Byzantine forces along the ravines of the Yarmuk valley (Aug. 20, 636). Almost 50,000 Byzantine troops were slaughtered, which opened the way for many other Islamic conquests. His bravery and great work in the way of Allah and in spreading Islam was got him the title of سيفالله  (Saif Allah) which translates to “The Sword of Allah” Khalid’s (R.A.) conversion to Islam  “A man like Khalid, can’t keep himself away from Islam for long”. Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.

Khalid bin Waleed was the son of the chieftain of the tribe of Banu Makhzoom, Waleed bin Mughaira. In his youth, the qualities of foresight and planning bloomed to perfection and he occupied an enviable position among the youths of Banu Makhzum. He was blessed with a graceful physique and had a dignified bearing.

Before he accepted Islam, in every battle, he used to enter the battlefield challenging the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). On one occasion when the Prophet (S.A.W.) was leading the Zuhr prayer in the battlefield, with his army behind him, Khalid bin Waleed was tempted to take advantage of this opportunity and attack the Muslims who would thereby suffer great losses. But some invisible force seemed to hold him back and he was never able to gather enough courage to do it. The same episode happened during the Asr prayers and Khalid bin Waleed realized that some unseen power was protecting the Prophet(S.A.W.) and surely one day Prophet (S.A.W.) would conquer not only the whole of Arabia but the entire world.

When the Prophet(S.A.W.) signed the peace treaty of Hudaybiyah, Khalid bin Waleed began to wonder what would follow next and thought about his own future. He could not seem to decide whether he wanted to give up his warrior’s life or not. At this moment, he received a letter from his brother who had converted to Islam. He wrote in very affectionate terms that the Prophet (S.A.W.) had asked him where Khalid bin Waleed was. His brother had answered respectfully that Allah Almighty would surely one day bring Khalid bin Waleed to the Prophet(S.A.W.) to embrace Islam. He had told the Prophet  that his intelligent, perspective and able brother should not be deprived of the blessings of Allah Almighty and Islam. This persuaded the mind of Khalid bin Waleed more towards Islam and he felt very elated and proud that the Prophet (S.A.W.) had asked about him.

During this time, he dreamt that he was moving out of a tiny, dark and dirty place into a vast green fertile field. When he woke up he felt extremely pleasant and made up his mind to go to Madinah. When Khalid bin Waleed met the Prophet (S.A.W.), he respectfully greeted him and was greeted back with a smile. Khalid bin Waleed then took the pledge of allegiance, swearing on the palm of the Prophet(pbuh).The Prophet(pbuh) affectionately told Khalid bin Waleed “I was sure, taking into consideration your brilliance, your wisdom and foresight that surely one day you would accept Islam as your religion”.

In 633 A.D. Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.) ordered Khalid Bin Waleed to proceed to the border of the Persian empire. There were four other columns, each under different commanders, these were also directed to proceed to reinforce the main Muslim army under the command of Hazrat Khalid (R.A.) Khalid bin Waleed sent a letter to Hurmuz, who was at that point of time the commander of the Persian Army… giving him 3 choices:

1. To accept Islam.

2. Pay Jizya ; (which is a poll tax that early Islamic rulers  demanded from their non-Muslim subjects. This tax applied especially to  followers of Judaism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, who were tolerated in  the practice of their religion because they were “peoples of the book.” In return for this tax, the people of the area were sworn to protection by the Muslims.)

3. If they didn’t agree with the other two options, then they should be ready for war.

Hurmuz, having accepted the third alternative, gathered his forces and set out from Uballa – the main port of Iraq – to meet the Muslim forces at Kazima. The Muslim army stood there all set to fight, so the Persians were forced to go into action immediately. The Battle of Kazima was also known as the Battle of Chains as the Persians stood together linked in chains. Due to the heavy attack of Muslims, Persians were forced to fall back. As they retreated bound together in chains, they were killed in large numbers. Before sunset the Muslims had won the war and the Persians suffered a humiliating defeat. Many of the Persians were killed including Hurmuz but many were taken captives.

There are many more battles which were led by Hazrat Khalid like the Battle of Mazar, Battle of Walaja, Battle of Ulleis, Battle of En-at-Tamr, Battle of Basra, Battle of Ajnadein, I will In Shaa Allah give information on these topics as well.

Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed (R.A.) was a great  personality and deserves to be known, before dying he said “I’ve fought in so many battles seeking martyrdom that there is no spot in my body left without a scar or a wound made by a spear or sword. And yet here I am, dying on my bed like an old camel. May the eyes of the cowards never rest”  The wife of Khalid, upon feeling such a pain of her husband told Khalid: “You were given the title of ‘Saif-ullah’ meaning, ‘The Sword of Allah’ and, the sword of Allah is not meant to be broken and hence, it is not your destiny to be a ‘martyr’ but to die like a conqueror.”

JazakAllah Khair

– Hafsah Khan

The Rightly Guided Khalifahs- Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab (R.A.)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Asalamualaykum,

  Last time we talked about the life of Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.), The first Khalifah of Islam. Today we will talk about Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab (R.A.) the one who succeeded Abu Bakr Siddiq (R.A.).

  Hazrat Umar(R.A.), the son of Khattab was born in Makkah about 12-13 years after the birth of the Prophet(S.A.W.). His father who was an educated, respectable part of the society, taught his son how to read and write. After his acceptance of Islam, he received the title of Farooq, meaning one ‘who distinguishes between the right and the wrong.’

  Umar Bin Khattab was a very influential man before and after he embraced Islam. At that time, the Prophet needed such strong and influential men to be on his side and help him spread the message of Allah so that more people would listen to him. He prayed that either ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab or Abu Jahl bin Hisham (Also a very powerful and influential person at the time) accept Islam.

  Before embracing Islam, Hazrat Umar Farooq (R.A.) was a bitter enemy of our beloved Prophet (S.A.W.).One day, when he was on his way to kill the Prophet (S.A.W.), he was informed of the acceptance of Islam by his sister and brother-in-law. He became furious and wanted to punish them, but on hearing the noble words of the Holy Quran by his sister (Surah Taha to be specific) his heart softened .

  The Prophet’s prayer was answered and Sayyidina ‘Umar Rady Allahu ‘Anhu accepted Islam. We learn of this in the following Hadith Shareef:

Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Abbas Rady Allahu Anhu reported the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam as saying, “O Allah, strengthen Islam with Abu Jahl bin Hisham, or with Umar bin al-Khattab”. In the morning, Sayyidina ‘Umar Rady Allahu Anhu went to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam and accepted Islam; then prayed openly in the mosque. (Ahmad and Tirmidhi)

This was in the 6th year of Prophet-hood. Later, Hazrat Umar’s ties with the Holy Prophet became even stronger after he married his daughter Hafsah, to the Holy Prophet.

  Hazrat Umar took part in all the battles. In the Battle of Uhud, he was amongst those who defended the Holy Prophet whenever was the need.In the Battle of Trench (Battle of Khandaq) he contributed by digging the trench.

  After the death of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) he was the first to swear faithfulness in Abu Bakr Siddiq being the the first Khalifah of the Islamic State. Throughout his Khalifat he was a very loyal friend of Hazrat Abu Bakr (R.A.).

  Hazrat Umar became the second Khalifah of Islam in 13 A.H. and his Khilafah lasted until 23 A.H. He was assasinated by a Persian slave and buried by the side of the Prophet (S.A.W.).

  During his Khilafat, he contributed to the spread of Islam and the expansion of the Islamic State. The mighty empires of Rome and Persia were conquered during his time and the whole of Arabia  and Egypt came under the influence of the Muslims.

   Hazrat Umar (R.A.) was the best example of an ideal Muslim. Simplicity and impartiality were the main features of his character. Though he was the ruler of a enormous empire, he lived like an ordinary man. He was kind and sympathetic to the poor and would roam the streets at night to see the condition of his people. But as a law giver, he was very strict. Not even his own son was pardoned from the laws of justice.

  He devoted his entire energy and time in the interest of Islam and the State. His Greatness lies in his justice as a ruler and his skills as a statesman and administrator.

JazakAllah Khair

-Hafsah Khan