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Let us hear the Muslim Khaalid's impressive story. To start with, do you recall the story of the three
martyrs of the Battle of Mu'tah? They were Zaid Ibn Haarithah, Ja'far Ibn Abi Taalib and `Abd Allah Ibn
Rawaahah. They were the heroes of the Battle of Mu'tah in Syria, in which the Romans mobilized
200,000 warriors. Nevertheless, the Muslims achieved unprecedented victory.
Do you recall the glorious, sad words with which the Prophet announced the sad news of the death
of the three commanders of the battle? "Zaid Ibn Haarithah took the standard and fought holding it until
he died as a martyr; then Ja'far took it and fought clinging to it until he won martyrdom; and finally,
`Abd Allah Ibn Rawaahah gripped it and held it fast until he won martyrdom."
This is only part of the Prophet's speech, which I have written before, but now I find it appropriate
to write the rest of the story: "Then it was gripped by a sword of the swords of Allah and he fought until
he achieved victory."
"Who was that hero? He was Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid, who threw himself into the battlefield as if he
were an ordinary soldier under the three commanders whom the Prophet assigned. The first commander
was Zaid Ibn Haarithah, the second was Ja`far Ibn Abi Taalib, and the third was `Abd Allah Ibn
Rawaahah. They won martyrdom in the same order on the vicious battlefield.
After the last commander had won martyrdom, Thaabit Ibn Aqram took the standard with his right
hand and raised it high amidst the Muslim army. His purpose was to stop any potential disarray inside the
lines. Thaabit then carried the standard and hastened towards Khaalid Ibn Al-Waliid and said, " Take the
standard, Abu Sulaimaan." Khaalid thought that he did not deserve to take it since he had newly
embraced Islam. He had no right to preside over an army that included the Ansaar and Muhaajiruun who
had preceded him in embracing Islam.
These qualities of decorum, modesty, and gratitude were becoming of Khaalid's worthiness. He
said, "I will not dare to hold it. Go on, hold it, for you deserve it better than me. First, you are older.
Second, you witnessed the Battle of Bad." Thaabit answered, "Come on, take it, you know the art of
fighting far better than me. By Allah, I only held it to give it to you." Then he called on the Muslims,
"Do you vote for Khaalid's command?" They readily answered, "Yes, we do!"
At that moment, the great warrior mounted his horse and thrust the standard forward with his right
hand as if he were knocking on closed doors that had been closed for too long and whose time had finally
come to be flung wide open. So this act was to lead the hero to a long but passable road on which he
would leap during the Prophet's life and after his death until destiny brought his ingenuity to its
inevitable end.
Although Khaalid was in charge of the army command, hardly any military expertise could change
the already determined outcome of the battle, turning defeat into victory or turning victory into defeat.
The only thing that a genius could manage to do was to prevent more casualties or damage in the Muslim
army from occurring and end the battle with the remainder of the army intact. Sometimes a great
commander must resort to that kind of preventive retreat measure that will prevent the annihilation of the
rest of his striking force on the battlefield. However, such a retreat was potentially impossible, yet if the
saying, "Nothing stands in the way of a fearless heart" is true, there was no one more fearless and
ingenious than Khaalid.
Instantly, The Sword of Allah flung himself into the vast battlefield. His eyes were as sharp as a
hawk's. His mind worked quickly, turning over all the potentialities in his mind. While the fierce fight
raged, Khaalid quickly split his army into groups, with each assigned a certain task. He used his
incredible expertise and outstanding craftiness to open a wide space within the Roman army through
which the whole Muslim army retreated intact. This narrow escape was credited to the ingenuity of a
Muslim hero. In this battle, the Prophet gave Khaalid the great epithet `The Sword of Allah".