KHALID BIN WALEED-THE SWORD OF

ALLAH
“When I am in the battlefield, I love it more than my wedding night
with the most beautiful of women”
Introduction:
• Born in 592 AD in Makkah (from Quraish tribe)
• Spouse: Asma bint Anas
• Children: Sulayman Abd al-Rahman Muhajir
• Accepted Islam in 629 in Madinah
• One of the greatest military commanders ever
• Greatest Muslim General
• Remained undefeated
• Given title of Saifullah: “The Sword of Allah”
• Died in 642
Before Accepting Islam
• Strong social background: His father, Waleed bin Mughira was an influential
and notable figure which gave Khalid bin Waleed strong social background.
• Due to Warrior tradition in his tribe, he was influenced and motivated by his
culture and tradition and went on to become a military leader in his teenage
years where he lead the cavalry.
• From youth, he was a renowned Military Leader and possessed many
military skills and qualities as he was an exceptional :
1. horseman and camel rider of his clan (Bani Makhzum)
2. swordsman
3. spearman (his favorite weapon)
4. Warrior and wrestler (loved wrestling)
5. Quick decision maker
6. Tactical maneuverer (discussed later)
 Battles before conversion: Role in battle of Uhad
• Battle occurred in 3 AH between Quraish and Muslims
• Prophet had placed 5o archers near Mount Ainain under command of Abdullah bin
Jubair and strict instructions to not leave Mount Ainain.
• The Muslims at the bottom of the mountain fought with great valor and bravery,
despite their relatively small numbers, and this led the disbelievers to fearfully
flee, leaving their weapons and other valuable goods behind.
• Many archers descended to collect booty
• Showing his strategic skills, Khalid bin Waleed, the head of cavalry, attacked the
Muslims from rear with his cavalry by going through Mount Ainain.
• Many Muslims were killed, remaining archers killed and Prophet injured.
• Someone shouted that Prophet died and his caused panic and chaos.
 Battles before conversion: Role in Battle of Trench
• Battle occurred in 5 AH between Muslims and Quraish.
• Khalid bin Waleed served as one of the major commanders of Quriash
• He commanded the party which attacked the Muslims
• From early morning to late night, attacks of Khalid’s soldiers went on.
• These ferocious attacks were so intense that the Muslims got no time to pray
the Zuhr and Isha prayers.
Conversion to Islam
• In 6 AH, the treaty of Hudaibiya was signed.
• It’s terms were such that it opened the gates for free interaction
between Muslims and Makkans and allowed many people to embrace
Islam.
• One day, Khalid’s father stepped into Majid al Haram while the
Prophet was reciting the Quran. He was so fascinated by the words of
the Holy Quran that he embraced Islam.
• This melted the heart of Khalid bin Waleed and he accepted Islam too
Battles fought under Prophet: Battle of Mutah
• In battle of Mutah, prophet appointed Jafar bin Abi Talib, Zaid bin
Haritha and Abdullah bin Rawahah as commanders of Muslim army.
• Khalid was also sent with these generals (first battle for Islam)
• When all the commanders died during battle, Muslim army appointed
Khalid bin Waleed as their next commander.
• Using his skills and war tactics, he kept enemy away and was able to
maintain his army of 3000 men against the massive roman army of
200,000.
• He fought so valiantly that he broke 9 swords and was thus given the
title of “Saifullah” (The Sword of Allah) by the Holy Prophet.
Achievements during the caliphate of Abu Bakar
1. Defeating False prophets: Khalid bin Waleed led battles against the false
prophets and defeated Malik bin Nuwayrah, Tulaihah and Musailima.
2. Conquest of Iraq: He also led the Muslim army against the Persians, in
campaigns to conquer Iraq. He defeated the enemy in Battle of Chains, The
Battle of Bridge, in the battle of Walesa and Ulais in 633 CE. He aso captured
Hira, the capital of Iraq, the city of Anbar, the city of Ein ul Tamr and defeated
the enemies in his last battle against the Persians i.e The battle of Firad.
3. Conquest of Syria: After occupying the surrounding area of Syria and a number
of forts there, he marched on Halab (Aleppo) , which was an important military
base. After this, he defeated the Romans in the battle of Ajnadeen and
conquered Damascus in 634 CE.
 Removal as Commander during Caliphate of Umar
• When Umar became the new caliph, he dismissed Khalid from the command and
made Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah as the new commander in chief of the Muslim army.
• Umar did this because the people began to think that the victories were just
because of the Khalid’s military vision and powers only.
• Despite this, Khalid bin Waleed was temporarily made the commander in chief of
the Muslim army in the battle of Yarmouk by Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah.
• This was because Abu Ubaidah sensed that the enemy was many times larger than
the Muslim army and they needed the greatest Muslim commander.
• Thus, Khalid bin Waleed defeated the fierce Empire despite them being esser in
number.
• Khalid bin Waleed did this through tactical maneuvering: he divided the army into
4 sections and appointed the cavalry, swordsmen and archers at critical positions.
He shuffled his army multiple times to defeat the Byzantine army (explained later)
 Analyzing his exceptional tactical skills
His tactical skills explained through the Battle of Yarmouk:
• On the third day of the battle, in the morning, Vahan attempted to attack the Muslims by
surprise and defeat them by adding that surprise element. Khalid bin Waleed was aware what
was about to happen so during the night, he had already ordered to construct outposts. This
shows how wise and experienced he was as a Military commander.
• On the fourth day, Vahan used same tactic to use full force (On day 3, there were more
casualties of Muslims but Khalid bin Waleed was now well aware on what to do). Khalid had
already told the right flank to withdraw. As this happened, Khalid used half of his left flank and
middle flank to counterattack the Byzantines from rear. The left side of Muslims faced
casualties but the Byzantine casualties on the right were a lot more. This shows how Khalid bin
Waleed predicted enemy attacks and prepared for counterattacks.
• To prove his profound decision making skills and tactical maneuvering, he showed great tactics
on day 5 and day 6 of the battle to defeat the enemy despite having a lot less strength. On day
5, he sent some of the cavalry behind the Romans to block the bridge (so they cannot escape)
and merged the remaining cavalry. This cavalry was used the next day where Khalid bin Waleed
surrounded the Roman army from the back with Cavalry and from the front with all their
infantry. A situation of panic and chaos prevailed for the Byzantinians as the Muslims destroyed
their army with the help of Khalid bin Waleed's tactical skills.
 Death
• At the end of the Syrian campaign, Khalid bin Waleed settled in Syria, at Emesa
(now Homs).
• In 21 AH / 642 CE, he fell ill.
• This illness proved fatal and he died.
• He was buried in Homs (in Majid-e Khalid bin Waleed)
• The greatest Muslim General of all time had a great wish to die as a martyr in the
battlefield but he was disappointed when he knew that he would die on death
bed:
• “I have fought in so many battles seeking martyrdom that there is no spot in my
body left without a scar or a wound made by a spear or a sword. And yet here I
am, dying on my bed like an old camel. May the eyes of cowards never rest.”