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Khalid ibn al-Walid

Arab Muslim military general (d. 642)

Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (592 – 642) (Arabic: خالد ابن الوليد) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He is noted for his military prowess, commanding the forces of Prophet Muhammad and those of his immediate successors of the Rashidun Caliphate; Caliph Abu Bakr and Caliph Umar during the Islamic conquest in 7th century. Khalid played the leading command roles in the Ridda Wars against rebel tribes in Arabia in 632–633, the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, and the conquest of Byzantine Syria in 634–638.

As a horseman of the Quraysh's aristocratic Banu Makhzum clan, which ardently opposed Muhammad, Khalid played an instrumental role in defeating Muhammad and his followers during the Battle of Uhud in 625. In 627 or 629, he converted to Islam in the presence of Muhammad, who inducted him as an official military commander among the Muslims and gave him the title of Sayf Allah (lit. 'Sword of God').

Quotes

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  • Submit to Islam and be safe. Or agree to the payment of the Jizya (tax), and you and your people will be under our protection, else you will have only yourself to blame for the consequences, for I bring the men who desire death as ardently as you desire life.
    • This letter was written by Khalid, from his head-quarters in Babylonia, to the Persian monarch Emperor Yazdegerd III before invading it. (History of the World, Volume IV [Book XII. The Mohammedan Ascendency], page 463, by John Clark Ridpath, LL.D. 1910.
  • In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. This is what Khalid ibn-al-Walid would grant to the inhabitants of Damascus if he enters therein: he promises to give them security for their lives, property and churches. Their city wall shall not be demolished, neither shall any Moslem be quartered in their houses. Thereunto we give to them the pact of Allah and the protection of His Prophet, the caliphs and the believers. So long as they pay the poll tax, nothing but good shall befall them.

Quotes about Khalid

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  • What an excellent servant of God: Khalid ibn Walid, one of the swords of Allah, unleashed against the unbelievers.
  • He is a master of war; a friend of death. He has the dash of a lion and the patience of a cat
    • Amr ibn al A'as, an other famous general of 7th century Islamic conquest, said this during Ridda wars when Caliph Abu Bakr asked him about his opinion regarding Khalid.(632 A.D)
  • O Umar, keep your tongue off Khalid. I shall not sheathe the sword that God has drawn against the infidels.
  • O People of Madinah ! Your lion has attacked another lion and overpowered him. Women can no longer bear sons like Khalid.
  • Women will no longer be able to give birth to the likes of Khalid bin Al-Waleed.
  • I know more about Khalid than anyone else, no man is luckier than he. No man is his equal in war. No people face Khalid in battle, be they strong or weak, but are defeated. Take my advice and make peace with him.
    • Prince Ukaid of Domat ul Jandal. (633 A.D)
  • By Allah, I shall destroy the Romans and the friends of Satan with Khalid bin Al Walid.
  • Is the standard of this army a black one? Is the commander of this army a tall, powerfully built, broad shouldered man with a large beard and a few pock marks on his face? Then beware of fighting this army.
    • Byzantine priest. (633 A.D)
  • He neither slept nor let others sleep, and nothing was concealed from him.
    • Al-Tabari
  • Khalid is truly the commander. May Allah have mercy upon Abu Bakr, He was a better judge of men than I have been.
  • You have done;
    And no man has done as you have done.
    But it is not people who do;
    It is Allah who does
  • O Khalid! By Allah, you are honorable in my eyes, and you are dear to me. You will not have cause to complain of me after this day.
  • I have not dismissed Khalid because of my anger or because of any dishonesty on his part, but because people glorified him and were misled. I feared that people would rely on him. I want them to know that it is Allah who does all things; and there should be no mischief in the land.
  • Have women ever stopped mourning for anyone like Khalid?
  • Let the women say what they will about Abu Sulaiman (Khalid), for they do not lie, Over the likes of Abu Sulaiman weep those who weep.
  • You were better than a million men,
    When the faces of men were downcast,
    Brave? You were braver than the tiger,
    Generous? You were more generous than
    The unstoppable deluge flowing between mountains.
    • Lubabah As-Sagheer, mother of Khalid, eulogising him.(642 A.D)
  • The fiercest and most successful of the Arabian warriors.

Sources

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