A Yemen Times series on heroes of IslamKhalid bin al-Walid: The “Sword of God” [Archives:2003/692/Culture]

By Sulaiman M. Al-Haboob
For the Yemen Times
Khalid's father – al-Walid bin al-Mugheera – used to be known as Raihana Quraish (fragrance of Quraish) because he combined wealth, good looks and bravery amongst Quraish and especially among his tribe “Bani Makhzoom.”
They were the war trainers of Quraish, and were one of the four main tribes who carried the black stone when rebuilding the Ka'aba.
This tribe also maintained the honor of dressing the Ka'aba alternatively with the rest of Quraish for they were extremely rich, which is another reason for why they provided one third of the army in the battle of Badr.
Due to all this, al-Walid bin al-Mugheera used to complain that he was more worthy of prophethood than Mohammed (MPBUH), especially that the Prophet (MPBUH) and al-Walid belonged to the same family line. Bani Makhzoom specialized in arms war a fact that prepared its youth to become strong warriors whereas Bani Hashim (Prophet's tribe) focused more on trade.
Raised in such a tribe and environment, Khalid was brought up to be a strong hard well trained warier. He was trained in arts of fight and in planning for battles and defeating enemies in al-Yaman, al-Hijaz and other places. And although he was rich, yet he forced himself to become detached and get used to the hardships of life.
The Quaran narrates the story of Khalid's father when he arrogantly rejected the Quran and said that it is an act of magic, and that it is not the words of God and forces Quraish to follow his belief.
What he didn't know then that his own son would follow the new religion of Islam in a mysterious way following the Battle of Badr. For when al-Waleed took a Muslim man -al-Ahab- in custody and put him in Khalid's hands, he did not know that al-Ahab would influence Khalid and convince him to embrace Islam. Consequently al-Waleed left Mecca once he declared his revert to Islam and walked all the way to al-Madina al-Munawara where prophet Mohammed (MPBUH) resided, leaving behind all the glory of his tribe.
When the battle of Uhod, Khalid had displayed a trick of war which led to the defeat of the Muslims, this incident attracted prophet's attention to Khalid's skills and he asked God to support the Islam with a man like Khalid.
It wasn't so far from that incident when Khalid again went in 200 knights wanting to stop the Prophet and those with him coming for pilgrimage, that was when he saw the Muslims detached from all worldly needs and how they dropped their weapons while praying the noon prayer.
So when it was the next prayer Khalid intended to attack them while they were off guard. To his surprise when the next prayer prophet felt Khalid's intentions so he (MPBUH) ordered the Muslims to pray prayer of fear where half of the people stay guarding the others while the others are in prayer and vice versa. That was the starting point of Khalid's interest in this religion for he was convinced that this kind of act was not a coincidence.
This was followed by Battle of al-Ahzab, al-Khandaq and the story of the winds running in favor of the prophet and his followers, all those helped in attracting khalid to Islam.
And finally when Qursih fled during a battle leaving Khalid, Amr bin al-A'as and Othman bin Talaha to protect the defeated army's rear, the three decided it was time to embrace the new religion and so although the three were seen as one of the strongest sources of power for Qurauish, they left for Madina and declared their embracing of Islam.
Since his conversion to Islam, Khalid bin al-Waleed fought for Islam and he was God's sword on the disbelievers as the Prophet (MPBUH) said. Khalid was the Prophet's messenger to Najran and al-Yaman calling people to Islam.
The Prophet made use of Khalid's courage and war skills in keeping the Islamic state settled and that is why he was sent to Khuja'a and other tibes from Hamdan who were known for their strength. Khalid was also of the heros in the other battles and he trained the Muslim armies and lead them in many battles.
Even after Prophet Mohammed (MPBUH) passed away Khalid continued working for the glory of Islam and fought under Abu Bakr's leadership and reached with his armies to Iran and Rome.
With all his might and skills Khalid was not an arrogant man. He would obey orders like an obedient solider and would not feel any grudge if he was not give his chances as long as Islam was served.
He played a significant role during the Ridda wars when lots of new Muslims converted from Islam to their previous religions when the prophet died, and he defeated the Romans in Rome and the Persians in Iran, and in seven years Islam was the dominating religion in two continents.
Yet he died in his bed and not in the battle field as he always dreamed. May God have mercy on Khalid ibn al-Waleed the sward of God, a man whom we really need today more than ever.
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