Stories, Companions
The Sword of Allah
Islam's most dangerous enemy became its greatest general.
c. 592 to 642, From Makkah to Hims, Awaiting scholar review
The world before him
Rome and Persia had fought since 53 BC, and their border barely moved.
Then malaria and the Plague of Justinian emptied their farms. One last 26-year war left both bankrupt.
628
Just as Rome and Persia ran out of men and money, a new community was taking shape in Arabia.
Makkah, around 592
Khalid was born into Banu Makhzum, one of the wealthiest clans of Quraysh. He grew up in the saddle.
Uhud, 625
Khalid led the Makkan cavalry. When the Muslim archers left their hill, he swept round behind the Muslim army and turned the battle.
Madinah, 629
Khalid rode to Madinah with 'Amr ibn al-'As and accepted Islam. The Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said he had always seen a mind in him.
Timeline
Who's who
The first caliph
Sent Khalid east against Persia, then rushed him to Syria.
Who's who
The second caliph, Khalid's relative and lookalike
The man who would retire Khalid at the height of his fame.
Mu'tah, 629
Zayd, Ja'far and Ibn Rawahah each fell carrying the banner. It passed to Khalid. Overnight he swapped his wings and raised dust behind the lines. The Romans thought reinforcements had come.
How he saved the army
A sword from the swords of Allah has taken the banner.
The Prophet, announcing it in Madinah (Bukhari 4262)
Iraq, 633
The Persian commander chained his soldiers together so none could flee. Khalid killed him in single combat, then charged. Chained men could not reform.
Iraq, 633
Three Persian armies were about to join up. Khalid's three columns met at a fixed hour of the night and destroyed each camp before the others could combine.
634
Ordered to Syria in a hurry, Khalid took the direct route. Camels drank deeply first, and were slaughtered on the way for the water inside them. His army appeared where none could come from.
Yarmuk, 636
The Muslim wings broke twice. The women in the camp drove the men back with tent poles. On the sixth day Khalid's cavalry broke the Roman flank. Heraclius left Syria for good.
What's happening
'Umar took away Khalid's command. 'Umar's own stated reason: people had begun to think victory came from Khalid, and they had to know it came from Allah.
Lesson
Khalid served on under Abu 'Ubaydah without complaint. Ego under command.
What's happening
Khalid killed men of Banu Jadhimah who had surrendered. The Prophet ﷺ raised his hands: "O Allah, I am free of what Khalid has done," and paid compensation (Bukhari 4339).
Popular telling and the sources
Jerusalem, 638
'Umar arrived plainly dressed, sharing the camel with his servant. Invited to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, he declined, so Muslims would never claim it.
There is no part of my body without the scar of a sword, a spear or an arrow. And here I am, dying in my bed like a camel. May the eyes of cowards never sleep.
Khalid's last words, as reported in the classical biographies
Reflect, just for you
Seen by lamplight. It gives more each time.
Islam's most dangerous enemy became its greatest general.