Introduction
Khalid ibn al Waleed was one of the greatest generals in Islamic History.
He commanded and fought in the conquests of the Islamic caliphates’ rule during
the 6th century. Khalid was the
champion of many decisive battles, such as the battle against the Persians and
the Byzantines.
Khalid was a military strategist and commander with very few equals
in human history, a man who turned many a defeat into glorious victories.
Khalid at Battle of Uhud
The first military encounter in which Khalid showed his virtuosity
was the Battle of Uhud, which he (while a polytheist) caused to be the worst
for Muslims in the early days of Islam.
In the Battle of Uhad, before the battle took place, the Prophet (ﷺ) had put 50 archers under Abdullah bin
Jubair at a mountainside and ordered them strictly to stay there until further
orders, whatever may be the condition. They were to obstruct the enemy if they
attacked the Muslims from the rear. However, when the battle proved initially
to be in favour of the Muslim army, the archers forgot the orders of their
commander and around 40 of the rearguards descended the mountain and left the
Muslims vulnerable to a counter attack by the enemy.
Khalid bin Waleed saw the sudden vacuum created by the
disappearance of the rearguard and his cavalrymen attacked the Muslims from
behind, killing many in the process. When the Muslims saw themselves
surrounded, they were overtaken by panic and disorder and failed to map out a
cohesive plan.
Later on when Khalid embraced Islam he joined the Muslim army. Then
the Muslims gained a true military genius who was both an excellent strategist
and a fierce fighter and army commander.
Decisive Battles and the Succession of Command
The first battle in which Khalid won the day for Muslims was the
Muslims’ first encounter with the Byzantine army in the Battle of Mu’tah on the
Northern borders of the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the dangerous nature of the
battle, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) chose
three commanders to succeed one another and Khalid was not amongst them right
then.
The Byzantine army proved to be too large in number in comparison
with the small number of the Muslims. Yet, the Muslim army never hesitated to
enter the battle with Khalid once he had assumed command.
The three commanders were killed, and the banner was about to fall
when Thabit ibn AI-Arqam saved it and handed over to our hero Khalid, because
he was more knowledgeable in matters of war. In the beginning Khalid refused
because he felt Thabit was more worthy of leading the army due to his age and
service. But he accepted at Thabit’s insistence and the unanimous consent of
the soldiers. The battle was not in favour of the Muslims, due to the huge
number of the Byzantines and the death of the three commanders appointed by the
Prophet (ﷺ).
During the encounter with the Byzantine army the arts of war of Khalid was well crafted. The only way to
save the day was to retreat, but that was almost impossible, since the Muslim
army was surrounded. It was here the prodigy of Khalid was highlighted in the
battle.
For, despite the extreme difficulty of the situation, he reshuffled the right
and left flanks of the Muslim army and introduced forward a division from the
rear in order to cast fear in the hearts of the enemy forces. A deception to
the enemy who then thought that fresh reinforcements had arrived. Though clever
planning and courageous fighting, Khalid managed to make an opening within the
lines of the enemy through which the Muslim army managed to get out safely. We
are told in Sahih Al-Bukhari that our hero used seven swords that all broke in
that battle. Thus, it was that Khalid ibn AI-Waleed was given the title of Sayf-ul-llah.
‘The Sword of Allah.’
Battle Estimations and Situational Awareness of Khalid
In every battle Khalid fought his war crafts and situational
awareness was shown to the highest level a military commander could exercise.
During planning for battle, Khalid used to go up to the top of nearby hills and
studied the situation to recce and discover the weak spots of the enemy. He
then re-organized his army.
The Battle of Buzakha took place between Muslim forces under the
command of Khalid the sword of Allah and Tulieha, the false Prophet, in
September 632. Khalid had 6,000 men under his disposal while Tuleiha had 15,000
men. The battle resulted in Muslim victory.
After a careful analysis of the situation and a study of his enemy,
Khalid laid down a very careful strategy. Since the Muslim army was outnumbered
and the Romans were better equipped and experienced. There were also many newly
recruited soldiers from the region and Khalid kept the tempo of the battle by
motivating the soldiers and ensured their moral values were strengthened. The
battle was a very fierce one, but with their unlimited faith and the Muslims
fought fearlessly, to the extent that with a band of only 100 fighters Khalid
faced a whole division of many thousand Roman soldiers.
Strategic Decision Making of Khalid
During the critical moment of the battle of Yarmouk, Khalid was
informed the death of the Caliphate Abu Bakr and the new instructions came to the
change of command of the army. But to avoid any chaos in the fight, he kept the
matter in secret until victory was achieved. For this decision he came famous
among military commanders.
Conclusion
Wining of decisive battles, the command and leadership philosophy, forecasting
vision and situational awareness of Khalid made him a strategic commander in
the history of Islam. A hero for the military strategists.
References
“Mount Uhud and
Site of Battle | Islamic Landmarks". 2019. Islamic Landmarks.
https://www.islamiclandmarks.com/madinah-other/mount-uhud-and-site-of-battle.
“Khalid Ibn
Al-Waleed - Islamic History". 2019. Islamic History.
https://islamichistory.org/khalid-ibn-al-waleed/.
“Khalid Ibn
Walid - Battle of Buzakha - Tulaihah The False Prophet". 2019. Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPqPW7vAg_0.
Ṣīnī,
Maḥmūd Ismāʻīl. 2009. Heroes of Islam. Riyadh [etc.]: Darussalam.
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