Written by: Haroon Shuaib
Posted on: October 29, 2021 | 
| 中文
A painting showing Khalid ibn al-Walid fighting against the troops of the Byzantine Empire
Perhaps no military general in Islamic history is regarded with greater awe or considered more important than Khalid ibn al-Walid, a figure who played a central role in the early conquests of Islam. Consequently, he was given the title of Sayf-Allah, literally meaning ‘the Sword of Allah’, by the Prophet Mohammad, Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH).
Khalid ibn al-Walid's representational sketch on a Syrian stamp
Khalid ibn al-Walid, son of Al-Mughira, a nobleman and a chieftain of Makhzum clan of the Quresh tribe, was born in Mecca. The Makhzum are credited for introducing Meccan commerce to foreign markets, particularly Yemen and Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and were known for their intellect, nobility and wealth. Interestingly, Khalid’s aristocratic clan, whose members were traders by profession, was one of the most ardent opponents of the Prophet (PBUH). Khalid's mother, al-Asma bint al-Harith ibn Hazn, commonly known as Lubaba al-Sughra, converted to Islam about 622 AD, and her paternal half-sister, Maymuna, became a wife of the Prophet (PBUH). According to the historian A. I. Akram’s book, ‘Khalid Bin Al-Walid: The Sword of Allah’, ‘Soon after his birth Khalid was taken away from his mother, as was the custom among the better families of the Quraish, and sent to a Bedouin tribe in the desert. A foster mother was found for him, who would nurse him and bring him up. In the clear, dry and unpolluted air of the desert, the foundations were laid of the tremendous strength and robust health that Khalid was to enjoy throughout his life.’
As the Makhzumi are amongst some of the best horsemen of Arabia, Khalid soon acquired mastery over the art of horsemanship, and was equally adept at riding a camel, as both animals were vital for Arab warfare. The horse was used for fighting and the camel for long marches. According to A. I. Akram, ‘Along with riding, Khalid learned the skills of combat. He learnt to use all weapons: the spear, the lance, the bow and the sword. He learnt to fight on horseback and on foot. While he became skillful in the use of all weapons, the ones for which he appears to have had a natural gift was the lance, used while charging on horseback, and the sword for mounted and dismounted dueling. The sword was regarded by the Arabs as the weapon of chivalry, for this brought one nearest to one's adversary; and in sword fighting one's survival depended on strength and skill and not on keeping at a safe distant from the opponent.’ While his mother embraced Islam, Khalid himself, as a brave young soldier of the army of the non-believers, played an instrumental role in defeating the Muslims at the battle of Uhud in 625 AD.
Book cover of A. I. Akram's book on Khalid ibn al-Walid
According to the historian Donald Routledge Hill, rather than launching a frontal assault against the Muslim lines on the slopes of Mount Uhud, ‘Khalid adopted the sound tactics’ of going around the mountain and bypassing the Muslim flank. Despite being a man of means, every man belonging to the Quraish was required to do some work. Khalid who hired a large number of employees, would himself also work as a blacksmith and a butcher. He was also a trader, and along with other clans would organise and send trade caravans to neighbouring countries. ‘On more than one occasion Khalid accompanied trade caravans to Syria and visited the great trading cities of that fair province of Rome. Here he would meet the Christian Arabs of the Ghassan, Persians from Ctesiphon, Copts from Egypt, and the Romans of the Byzantine Empire,’ A. I. Akram notes. All these experiences surely prepared him for the role that he was destined to play.
Remains of the gate in Damascus through which Khalid's troops entered the city
After converting to Islam in 629 AD, as documented by historian Michael Lecker, Khalid as a devout Muslim remained in the service of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and subsequently pious caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. According to Hugh Nigel Kennedy, a British medieval historian and academic, following his conversion, Khalid ‘began to devote all his considerable military talents to the support of the Muslim state.’
Khalid fought in over 18 wars during his life time, three of these, Badr, Uhud, and the Battle of Khandaq (Trench), were against the Muslim army before he embraced Islam. He served as a soldier in Badr, a horseman in Uhud, a military commander in the battle of Khandaq, and after embracing Islam, as field commander in the battles of Najd and Yamama. He then became the supreme commander of Muslim armies in Syria, field commander in northern Syria and military governor of Qinnasrin. It was his contributions in the battle of Hunayn, fought during the lifetime of the Prophet in 630 AD against the tribe of Hawazin, up to the Ridda wars in 632 AD and 633 AD, which played a decisive role in establishing Muslim rule in most of the Arabian Peninsula.
A representation of the Battle of Hunayn
Khalid subsequently moved against the largely Christian Arab tribes and the Sasanian Persian garrisons of the Euphrates valley in Iraq. After the demise of the Prophet (PBUH), Khalid was reassigned by Caliph Abu Bakr to command the Muslim armies in Syria, for which he led his army through an unconventional march across a long, waterless stretch of the Syrian Desert. The starting point of Khalid's march to Syria with a contingent of 500 to 800 strong soldiers was al-Hira. After a trek across a vast stretch of waterless desert for six days and five nights, they reached a source of water at a place called Suwa. As his men did not possess sufficient waterskins to cross this distance with their horses and camels, Khalid had twenty of his camels increase their water intake and sealed their mouths to prevent them from eating and consequently spoiling the water in their stomachs. Each day of the march, he had a number of the camels slaughtered so his men could drink the water stored in their stomachs. The utilization of the camels as water storage made this desert march the most celebrated episode of Khalid's expedition. Historian Moshe Gil calls the march a testament to ‘Khalid's qualities as an outstanding commander’.
An illustration of the Battle of Yarmouk by an anonymous Catalan illustrator (c.1310–1325)
As a result of decisive victories against Byzantines at Ajnadayn (634 AD), Fahl (634 AD), Damascus (634–635 AD) and Yarmouk (636 AD), Muslims under Khalid conquered much of Syria. These triumphs further boosted his reputation as a formidable military commander and strategist. His leadership was instrumental in the Muslim army’s win in the battle of Yarmouk, during the reign of the second pious caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab. The battle lasted for six days near the Yarmouk River along what are now the borders of Syria–Jordan and Syria–Palestine, resulting in irreparable damage to the Byzantine Empire. Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as ‘one of the most important battles of World History’ by some historians. Mohammad Saifuz Zaman in his essay published in Journal of Military and Strategic Studies notes, ‘The Battle of Yarmouk is instructional in the annals of military history since it pitted an experienced, well equipped and combat integrated army with an established doctrine, against what can be called, rather simplistically, an outnumbered bunch of ill-equipped nomads. Yet the latter won, thus establishing that superior generalship can counter even the otherwise most adept of armies.’
A painting portraying Khalid ibn al-Walid
Considered to be one of Islam's most seasoned and accomplished generals, even today Khalid bin al-Walid is commemorated as the most iconic military geniuses. His gallantry, his ingenuity, and his effective leadership remain an inspiration for professional military tacticians. Khalid ibn al-Walid died in Homs, a city of western Syria in 642 AD. His legacy as a military genius is immortalized in historical accounts, as countless Muslim children and streets across the Muslim world are named after him.
The Mosque in Homs, Syria, where Khalid ibn al-Walid is buried
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