Pak Media

Khalid was very hard on people who took up arms against Islam. He believed that such people should have only two choices. They should either give in or fight to death. If they fled from the battlefield, he would not let them go. He followed them wherever they went, until they either begged for mercy or were killed. This policy of Khalid proved very sound. He dealt with the beaten enemy once and for all. He did not allow them to take up arms a second time. Muslim forces were too small to deal with repeated risings. There is hardly another general in history who combines as many qualities as Khalid. Khalid is unquestionable the greates general produces by Islam.

The need for military operations against Byzantium began to be felt in the life-time of the Holy Prophet. So Abu Bakr was bound to do something about this danger. In the year 13 A.H., he prepared a big army and divided it into four battalions. Each battalion was put under a separate commander. Each of them was to strike at a different point on the Syrian border. Abu Obaida bin Jarrah was to march on Hims, Amr bin al-Aas on Palestine, Yazid bin Abi Sufyan on Damascus and Shurjil bin Hasna on Jordan. These battalions were to strike at the enemy at once and the same time. The aim was to keep the enemy from hitting with full force on anyone of the battalions. Before these armies left, Abu Bakr gave the following instructions to their commanders:

The news of the Muslim invasion upset Emperor Heracleus. He was in Jerusalem at that time. He sought the advice of his nobles. He himself was in favor of coming to terms with the Muslims. "It is better to give up half of Syria," he said, "than lose the whole of it." To this the nobles did not agree. So four huge armies were sent by the emperor to fight the Muslims. His own brother was leading one of the armies. Each army was several times more numerous than the Muslim army it had to fight. This made the Muslim commanders give thought to the matter. They met together for mutual counsel. One of them pinpointed the folly of fighting separately. "We will be crushed under the sheer weight of numbers," he said, "if we fight separately." The other generals saw the point. They agreed upon a plan to merge the four battalions into a single army. Thus, they thought, the Muslim army would stop looking too small in its own eyes. They informed the Caliph of their decision. He approved of it and sent the following written message: "Muslims can never be defeated because of small numbers. But if their own sins overwhelm them, they will meet defeat. So let you all keep away from sins of all kinds."

Heraclius learnt that the four Muslim armies had merged into one. He also ordered a smiliar move. The four Byzantine armies combined to fomr a gigantic mass of men. They dug up trenches in the valley of Yarmuk. By the Caliph's orders the Muslim forces, too, took up position on the opposite side. For weeks the two armies lay facing each other. Neither of the two sides dared to touch on the fighting. The Byzantine forces had every advantage on their side. In addition to numbers, they had the river in front and the mountains at their back. So the Muslim commanders requested the Caliph for reinforcements. HE at once wrote to Khalid to rush to Syria. Khalid handed over the charge of affairs in Iraq to Muthanna bin Haritha. He then hastened to Syria at the head of ten thousand men. Despite all his haste, Khalid conquered many forts and cities on the way. At last he reached Yarmuk. Almost at the same time, the Byzantine army received a reinforcement. The brought their total strength to two hundred and forty thousand. The Muslim army numbered just thirty-six thousand.

Khalid at once saw that he must properly organize the army, in order to win. It meant a single command, in place of the four commands. So he called the other commanders and said, "We are fighting for the sake of the faith. We must all forget ourselves. We cannot afford to be split under many commanders. That would be a help to the enemy. Let there be just one commander, by turns if you please. If you agree to that let me be the commander for the first day of the battle." All liked the plan. Khalid took the chief command. He divided the army into several sections. Each section was put under a commander. It was further subdivided into many troops, each with a leader. Abu Sufyan was appointed the fiery herald. He went about the army, speaking words of courage to men. As the two armies stood facing each other, a Muslim soldier remarked. "How numerous the enemy is!" Khalid overheard the remark. "It is not the numbers that matter," he exlaimed, "it is rather the final outcome of the battle." At long last the battle began. Khalid took some troops with him. He made a wild charge and was soon in the heart of enemy forces. He succeeded in driving a wedge between the enemy cavalry and infantry. The two were cut off from each other.

Ikrama bin Abu Jahl was fighting at Yarmuk. Soon after the battle began, the Muslim troops began to real under the weight of numbers. Ikrama saw this. "Heretofore I fought all battles against the Apostle of Allah," he shouted out. "This is the first time I am fighting for the cause of Allah. In no casse will I turn my back on the battlefield. Now who are going to fight unto death with me?" Saying this, Ikrama held out his hand to receive the pledge of others. His son, Amr, was the first go give the pledge. He was followed by four hundred more. Like wild cats, these men pounced upon the enemy hordes. They dealt such telling blows that the sea of man cleared before them. Their desperate attack caused confusion among enemy ranks.

Soon the enemy cavalry found itself walled between Khalid's troops and the main Muslim army. Confusion spread and they fled. The Muslim army made was for them to flee. Now Khalid fell on the enemy infrantry. THe shield of the cavalry being no more, the infantry was take by surprise. In utter confusion it fell back. But the mountain blocked the way. In despair men ran back to the river. Here a watery death awaited them. Most of the men had tied themselves with iron chains to rule out the possibility of flight. The chains proved traps of death. When a few of the men fell into the river, they also dragged their companions into the watery grave. According to one estimate, one hundred and twenty thousand of them were drowned in the river. The Byzantine rout was complete. The Muslims loss was three thousand killed.

Muslim women played a notable role in this battle. They formed a battalion which stood at the back of the army. They supplied water to the men. They also dressed their wounds. They shouted words of courage when the army showed signs of weakness. These words put a new heart into retreating men. They dashed forth like lightning and sowed death among enemy lines. The Byzantine army at first forced the Muslims to fall back. Muslim women stood on a bridge. Khalid came to them and said, "O daughters of Islam, if anyone turns his back on the battlefield, kill him at once." The women did what Khalid bade them to do. They stood at their post of duty. They had stones at their post of duty. They had stones in their hands and their eyes were fixed on the battlefield. If anyone fled for life, he was met by a shower of stones. Back he ran into the thick of battle and fought to the last. Many Muslim soldiers had brought their families with them. The women stayed in tents at the back of the troops. Their words of courage for the brave and their taunts for the weak of heart, made a real difference in the tempo of fighting and in the outcome of the battle. Victory of Yarmuk was in no small measure due to the courage of Muslim women.

On the following morning Khalid took stock of his losses. Ikrama and his son, Amr, were brought to him. They were seriously wounded. Their condition was grave. Khalid put their heads on his lap. In a few minutes, the souls of both of them winged their way to heaven. Ikrama was the son of Abu Jahl, the archenemy of Islam. When Mecca fell, Ikrama fled away for fear of life. But hearing that the Prophet had forgiven all enemies, he came back to Mecca. To his surprise, the Prophet ran out to greet him. From that day on, Ikrama was a true son of Islam. He laid down his life fighting for the glory of Islam.

The battle of Yarmuk was on when a letter arrived from Medina. It was delivered to Khalid. It said that Abu Bakr had passed away and Omar has succeded him as Caliph. IT also said that the new Caliph had dismissed Khalid from his command and replaced him by Abu Obaida bin Jarrah. Khalid read the letter. He then informed Obaida that the command had passed to him. But the news was not made public, lest the army should lose heart. The letter had no effect whatever on Khalid. He went on fighting as desperatley as ever. After the battle was over, Khalid's dismissale became known. Someone said to him, "How is it that the news did not damp your spirit at all?" "I was not fighting for Omar," replied Khalid, "I was fighting for the cause of Allah."

On the 7th of Jamadi-ul-Akhir, 13 A.H., Abu Bakr was taken ill. He had sever fever. Everything was done to bring down the fever, but all in vain. It became clear to the aged Caliph that his end was come. Even in these last days, the thought that troubled Abu Bakr was the future of Islam. He wanted to make sure that nothing would go wrong with the affairs of Muslims, after he was no more. He had to spend every ounce of his energy to put down the violent storms of unrest that broke loose after the Prophet's death. He did not want this to happen after his own death.

Welfare of Muslims had always been the first care of Abu Bakr. He would allow nothing that made Islam weak. The thing he feared most was division among Muslims. He remembered what had happened after the death of the Holy Prophet. He wanted to make sure that no differences should divide Muslims after he was no more. Unity was the secret strength. Unity must be had at any price. As his sickness grew, Abu Bakr gave more and more thought to the matter. Who should be the Caliph after him? Should he himself name the best man? Or should he leave the matter to the people? In the latter case, quarrels might arise. These would certainly shake the very foundations of Islam. IT was too great a risk. Abu Bakr was not willing to take that risk. After careful thought, he chose to nominate Omar. He put his proposal before the leading Companions. Most of them liked the proposal. But someone said, "Omar is no doubt the best man, but he is rather too strict." To this Abu Bakr replied, "As soon as the burden of Caliphate falls on his shoulders, he will become more mild." When all Companions agreed, Abu Bakr called Othman. He dictated to him Omar's nomination. It was read out to the people. It said: "This is the will of Abu Bakr, the Caliph of the Holy Prophet. He is making the will when he is about to leave for the next world. This is the time when even a non-believer begins to believe and even a sinner begins to trust in Allah. I appoint Omar bin Khattab as your ruler. In appointing him, I have kept your welfare fully in mind. I hope he will be truthful and just. But if he leaves his path and becomes unjust, I know nothing about the unseen, I have only the well-being of Muslims at heart. Everybody is responsible for what he does." The will was read out to the people. After this Abu Bakr went to the top of his house, supported by two men. Addressing the people he said: "My brethren in-faith, I have not appointed any of my own brothers and relatives as your Caliph. I have appointed a man who is the fittest person among you. Do you approve of him?" "Of course we do," went up a shout from hundreds of men. Next he called Omar to his bedside and spoke to him thus: "Omar! I have nominated you my successor. My parting advice is that you fear Allah and work for the well-being of the Muslims. Remember, Omar, the duties you own to Allah are to be discharged at the proper time. Some of these are to be discharged at night and some during the day time. First things must come first. On the Day of Judgment only those will come out successful whose good deeds are weighty. Those whose evil deeds out-weigh the good deeds, will have a terrible time. For success and salvation, you have to make the Qur'an and the truth your guides. You know, Omar, that the verses of the Qur'an speak of good reward and punishment side by side. This is to put the fear of Allah in the believer's heart and to make him pray for forgiveness. Omar, when you read in the Qur'an about the inmate of fire, pray to Allah not to make you one of them. But when you read about the dwellers of Paradise, pray for being one of them Omar, if you follow the path I have chalked out fo ryou, you will find me by your side." When OMar had left the dying Caliph raised his hands in prayer and said: "Lord! I have taken this step in the best interest of the Muslims. I feared disunion among them, so I took this step, the consequences of which are best known to You. After careful thought I have appointed a man who is the sinceristy and the most energetic worker for the well-being of the people. I am at death's door now, so help the Muslims, Lord after I am no more. THye are Your servants. Their future is in Your hands. Lord, keep their rules on the right path. Make Omar one of the noblest Caliphs and help the Muslims help him."