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Suddenly, Islam was facing a dangerous predicament, and the apostate enemy closed in upon the
believers. But Abu Bakr was ready for them. He mobilized the Muslim armies and marched to where the
armies of Bani `Abs, Bani Murah and Bani Dhubyaan gathered.
The battle started and went on for a long time before the Muslims achieved a great victory. No
sooner had the victorious Muslim army reached Al-Madiinah than the caliph sent it on another
expedition. News spread that the armies of the apostates were increasing in number and weapons by the
hour.
Abu Bakr marched at the head of the second army, only this time, the prominent Companions lost
their patience and clung to their opinion that the caliph should remain in Al-Madiinah. Accordingly,
Imam `Aliy stood in Abu Bakr's way as he was marching at the head of the army and held the reins of his
she camel and asked, "Where to, Caliph of the Prophet? I will tell you the same words that the Prophet
told you in the Battle of Uhud: Sheathe your sword, Abu Bakr, and don't expose us to such a tragic loss
at this critical time." The caliph had to comply with this consensus. Therefore, he split the army into
eleven divisions and assigned a certain role for each one. Khaalid Ibn Al-waliid would be the commander
over a large division. When the caliph gave every commander his standard, he addressed Khaalid saying,
"I heard the Prophet say, `Khaalid is truly an excellent slave of Allah and a brother of the same tribe. He
is a sword of Allah unsheathed against disbelievers and hypocrites."
Khaalid and his army fought one battle after another and achieved one victory after another until
they reached the crucial battle.
It was in the Battle of Al-Yamaamah that Bani Hanijfah and their allies from the Arab tribes
organized one of the most dangerous armies of the apostasy, led by Musailamah the Liar. A number of
Muslim forces tried to defeat Musailamah's army but failed. Finally the caliph ordered Khaalid to march
to where Bani Haniifah was camped.
No sooner had Musailamah heard that Khaalid was on his way to fight him than he reorganized his
army, turning it into a devastating and horrible enemy machine. Both armies met in fierce combat. When
you read the history of the Prophet (PBUH) a perplexing awe will take hold of you, for you will find
yourself watching a battle that resembles our modern battles in its atrocity and horrors, though it differs
in weapons and tactics.
Khaalid's army stopped at a sand dune that overlooked Al Yamaamah. At the same time,
Musailamah marched haughtily and with great might followed by endless waves of his soldiers. Khaalid
assigned the brigades and standard to the commanders of his army. As the two armies clashed in a
terrible, large-scale, devastating war, the Muslim martyrs fell one by one like roses in a garden on which
a stubborn tempest blew!. Immediately Khaalid realized that the enemy was about to win the battle, so he
galloped up a nearby hill and surveyed the battlefield. He realized that his soldiers morale was waning
under the pressure of the blitz of Musailamah's army.
Instantly, he decided to trigger a new feeling of responsibility inside the Muslim army, so he
summoned the flanks and reorganized their positions on the battlefield. He cried out victoriously, "Fight
together in your own groups and let us see who will surpass the other and win the field." They all obeyed
and reorganized themselves in their own groups. Thus, the Muhaajiruun fought under their standard, the
Ansaar fought under theirs, and every group fought under its standard. It became fairly easy to determine
where defect came from. As a result, the Muslims were charged with a enthusiasm, firmness, and
determination.
Every now and then, Khaalid was careful to cry out, "Allahu akbar" and "There is no god but
Allah." He ordered his army in such a way that he turned the swords of his men into an inevitable victory
that no one could escape. It was striking that, in a few minutes, the Muslim army turned the tables on
Musailamah's army. Musailamah's soldiers fell in tens of hundreds and thousands like flies that were
suffocated by the deadly spray of a pesticide. Khaalid ordered his soldiers with a kind of enthusiasm that
flowed into them like an electric current. This was a manifestation of his striking genius. This was the