Khalid ibn Walid

“ They refrained from fighting against him and swore allegiance before him to abu-Bakr.
Banu-ʿÂmir ibn-Ṣaʿṣaʿah embrace Islâm. Khâlid ibn-al-Walîd sent Hishâm ibn-al-ʿÂṣi ibn-Wâʾil as-Sahmi., a brother of ʿAmr ibn-al-ʿÂṣi, one of the early Moslems and one of the Emigrants to Abyssinia, to the banu-ʿÂmir ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿah. Banu-ʿÂmir did not resist him and professed Islâm and practised the call to prayer. So he left them.
Ḳurrah's life spared. Ḳurrah ibn-Hubairah-l-Ḳushairi, having refused to pay ṣadaḳah and reinforced Ṭulaiḥah, was taken by Hishâm ibn-al-ʿÂṣi to Khâlid. ”

“ Abu-Bakr, thereupon, wrote to Khâlid ibn-al-Walîd ibn-al-Mughîrah-l-Makhzûmi—who was at that time in al-ʿIrâḳ—directing him to go to Syria. According to some, he thereby made him a commander over the commanders in the war. According to others, Khâlid only commanded his men who accompanied him; but whenever the Moslems met for a battle, the commanders would choose him as their chief for his valor and strategy and the auspiciousness of his counsel. ”

“ Then he presented Khaled to the assembly.
'This,' said he, 'is Khaled, my beloved son-in-law, the husband of my only daughter, whom it has pleased Allah to send me, as the stay of my old age and as the successor to my kingdom. He will be terrible in war as Khaled ibn Walid, his namesake, the Sword of the Lord, and gentle and just in peace as Abu Bakr of blessed memory. He is as brave as the lion, as strong as the camel, as swift as the ostrich, as sagacious as the fox and as generous as the pelican, who feeds her young with the blood of her own breast. ”

“ In his last illness he kept showing the scars which covered his body, marks of bravery and unflinching prowess. "And now," he said, "I die even as a coward dieth, or as the camel breatheth its last breath." His end illustrates forcibly the instability of this world's fame. The hero who had borne Islam aloft to the crest of victory and glory, ended his days in penury and neglect. His tomb was visited by the traveller Ibn Jubeir in 1185, and is mentioned by Yakut (1225) , as also his house. According to another account, however, Khalid died, not at Hims, but at Medina. ”

“ As Khalid came within sight of al-Yamâmah, he met a group of the banu-Ḥanîfah among whom was Mujjâʿah ibn-Murârah ibn-Sulmi. [10] He killed them and spared Mujjâʿah whom he carried off in chains. Khâlid put up his camp one mile from al-Yamâmah. Banu-Ḥanîfah came out to him, and among them were ar-Rajjâl and Muḥakkim ibn-aṭ-Ṭufail ibn-Subaiʿ, nicknamed the Muḳakkim al-Yamâmah. Khâlid, seeing something glittering among them, turned to his men and said, "Know ye Moslems that Allah has spared you the trouble of your enemy. Do ye not see how they have drawn the swords one against the other? ”

“ Khalid-Ibn-Waleed, in the year of his victory, A.H. 11, when he was sent to call the Bani Jazima to embrace Islam, had made them prisoners and ordered their execution. Some of the better-informed of the Moslems of the injunctions of the Koran, of releasing prisoners either freely or by exacting ransom, interposed and accused him of committing an act of the Time of Ignorance. Mohammad, much displeased, grieved at the intelligence, and said twice, 'O God! I am innocent of what Khalid hath done.' [5] ”

“ After Abu Bekr and 'Omar, the most prominent figure in the early days of Islam is without doubt that of Khalid son of Al-Welid. More to him than to any other is it due that the Faith so rapidly recovered its standing, and thereafter spread with such marvellous rapidity. A dashing soldier, brave even to rashness, his courage was tempered by a cool and ready judgment. ”

“ Zubayr, Ali, and Ubayda met with no resistance and, without striking a blow, occupied the parts of the city assigned to them. As for Khalid, just as he passed through the suburbs, a volley of arrows disturbed his troops and several of his men were killed. The darts came from marksmen in ambush, posted by Safwan ibn Umayya and Ikrimah, behind the rocks of the Jabal Al-Khandama. Without the least hesitation, Khalid called on his soldiers to storm the position. He routed the enemy, massacred many and pursued the survivors, putting them to the sword. ”

“ Accordingly, Khâlid left in the direction of al-Ḥîrah and when darkness fell, he turned back until he got to the camp of Suwaid, which he entered with his men. In the morning, the inhabitants of al-Ubullah, hearing that Khâlid had left al-Baṣrah, advanced towards Suwaid. Seeing the great number of men in his army, they were confounded and turned back. ”

“ He then fought against a body of men assembled at al-Madhâr. [7]
Khâlid proceeds to al-Ḥîrah. Khâlid then proceeded to al-Ḥîrah, [8] and left Suwaid ibn-Ḳuṭbah to rule over his district, saying, "We have crushed the Persians in thy district in a way that will humiliate them before thee."
Others report that when Khâlid was in the district of al-Yamâmah, he wrote to abu-Bakr for reinforcements; and abu-Bakr sent him Jarîr ibn-ʿAbdallâh al-Bajali. Jarîr met Khâlid as the latter was on his way out of al-Yamâmah, joined him and attacked the al-Madhâr's chief by Khâlid's orders. ”

“ Thence Khalid advanced to ʿAin at-Tamr [27] and invested its fort in which a great frontier guard of Persians was stationed. The holders of the fort made a sally and fought, but after that, they confined themselves to their fort, where Khâlid and the Moslems besieged them until they sued for peace. Khâlid refused to give them promise of security and reduced the fort by force, slaughtering and carrying away captives. Here he found certain persons in a church whom he took captives. Among these captives was (1) Ḥumrân ibn-Abân ibn-Khâlid at-Tamri. ”

“ Just then the Muslim troops, having crushed apostasy in the south, were returning in great numbers to Medina, and so were available for any other service. 'Ikrima, son of Abu Jahl and Al-Welid ibn Okba, were despatched in haste to support Khalid in the north, whilst a Holy War was proclaimed at Medina, and other Emirs appointed over the levies, for (according to this narrator) it was now that Abu Bekr first thought of conquering Syria. ”

“ They are microbes rather––microbes which even the physicians can not manage with satisfaction. For it must be acknowledged that Khalid’s immanent morality and intellectualism suffered an interregnum with the huris. Reckless, thoughtless, heartless, he plunges headlong again. It is said in Al-Hadith that he who guards himself against the three cardinal evils, namely, of the tongue (laklaka) , of the stomach (kabkaba) , and of the sex (zabzaba) , will have guarded himself against all evil. But Khalid reads not in the Hadith of the Prophet. ”

“ Thereupon, Khâlid shouted, "On them! I see in them the looks of a people whose hearts Allah has filled with terror!" Then the Moslems charged them, put them to flight, and by Allah's help, killed a great number and caused others to drown in Dijlat al-Baṣrah. [3] Thence Khâlid passed through al-Khuraibah, [4] reduced it and carried its inhabitants away into captivity. He left over it in his place—as it is reported by al-Kalbi—Shuraiḥ ibn-ʿAmir ibn-Ḳain [5] of the banu-Saʿd ibn-Bakr ibn-Hawâzin. The city was a fortified frontier town for the Persians. ”

“ On the other hand, conflicting news divided the Moslem camp. For some reason Khâlid was bent on attacking the Beni Yerbóa. The men of Medîna [44] were equally opposed to the design, for which they alleged that Khâlid had from the Caliph no authority. It would [33] have been better for him had he listened to the remonstrance. But he replied haughtily, ‘I am commander. In the absence of orders, it is for me to decide. I will march against Mâlik ibn Noweira with the men of Mecca, and with such others as choose to follow me. I compel no man.’ So he went forward and left the malcontents behind. ”

“ This very able man, who under Hajjāj had been prefect of Mecca, belonged properly neither to the Qaisites nor to the Yemenites, but as he took the place of Ibn Hobaira and dismissed his partisans from their posts, the former considered him as their adversary, the latter as their benefactor. After his death, in particular, the Yemenites celebrated him as their chief, and assigned as the reason for their revolt the injuries which he suffered. Khālid himself assuredly did not intend it. He was a loyal servant of the dynasty, and remained such even after receiving very harsh treatment from them. ”

“ A FEW minutes before midnight on the fifteenth of May, in the year 2036, Khalid the Magnificent, lord and master of the greatest and most splendid realm that had ever been ruled over by a single man since the world began, stood alone on the spacious terrace of his palace in Alexandria, gazing up at the myriads of stars that shone in the cloudless firmament above him, and dreaming one of those dreams of world-wide empire which had haunted the soul of such men as he from the days of Rameses the Great until his own. ”

“ Many of the Arab caliphs inclined to the gaieties of life rather than to their religious duties, and kept many poets around them. Indeed some of the caliphs themselves were poets: The Caliph Walid composed music as well as verse; and was hailed by his immediate companions as a great artist. His neglect of religion, however, was so reckless as to rouse the resentment of his people, and he lost his throne and life. ”

“ But he can not even work. On the table before him is a pile of newspapers from all parts of Syria 300 and Egypt––even from India––and all simmering, as it were, with Khalid’s name, and Khalidism, and Khalid scandals. He is hailed by some, assailed by others; glorified and vilified in tawdry rhyme and ponderous prose by Christians and Mohammedans alike. “Our new Muhdi,” wrote an Egyptian wit (one of those pallid prosers we once met in the hasheesh dens, no doubt) , “our new Muhdi has added to his hareem an American beauty with an Oriental leg.” ”

“ For he would as lief be a victim of success, he assures us, as to forego his mojadderah. And still having this, which he considers a luxury, he is willing to turn his hand at anything, if he can but preserve inviolate the integrity of his soul and the freedom of his mind. 78 These are a few of the pet terms of Khalid. And in as much as he can continue to repeat them to himself, he is supremely content. He can be a menial, if while cringing before his superiors, he were permitted to chew on his pet illusions. A few days before he burned his peddling-box, he had read Epictetus. ”

“ If our friends win the victory, we will be reviled; and if they are defeated, we would be the cause of their defeat." Thus they returned and joined Khâlid. The Moslems and the "polythesists" met, and the former took to flight until they got to their place of abode where as-Sâʾib ibn-al-ʿAuwâm stood up and addressed them saying, "Ye have reached, O people, your place of abode; and after his own place of abode, man has no place to flee to!" ”

“ Then Khâlid made an incursion on Ḳurâḳir which was a spring belonging to the Kalb tribe, and thence crossed the desert to Suwa [3] which was also a spring held conjointly by the Kalb and some men of the Bahrâʾ. Here Khâlid killed Ḥurḳûs ibn-an-Nuʿmân al-Bahrâni of the Ḳuḍâʿah tribe and swept off all their possessions. When Khâlid wanted to cross the desert, he gave the camels all the water they could drink and then thrust into the camels' lips spears, which he left for them to drag, [4] lest they should ruminate and get thirsty again. ”

“ They drank the wine of the Jesuits, repeated, to the mellow strains of the lute, the song of the bulbuls, intoned the verses of Al-Mutanabbi, and, wrapping themselves in their rugs, fell asleep. But in the morning they were rudely jostled from their dreams by a spurt from the hose of the sailors washing the deck. Complaining not, they straggle down to their bunks to change their clothes. And Khalid, as he is doing this, implores Shakib not to mention to him any more that New-World paradise. ”

“ But one day it will be realised. A great Arab Empire in the border-land of the Orient and Occident, in this very heart of the world, this Arabia, this Egypt, this Field of the Cloth of Gold, so to speak, where the Male and Female of the Spirit shall give birth to a unifying faith, a unifying art, a unifying truth––”
“Vagaries, chimeras,” interrupted Mrs. Gotfry. “Buhaism is established, and it needs a great apostle. It needs you; it will have you. I will have you. Your destiny is interwoven with mine. You can not flee it, do what you may. We are ruled by our stars, Khalid. ”

“ For he loved his mare, and he could not have loved his cousin Najma more. “The realisation is a terrible thing,” writes our Scribe, quoting his Master. But when this fine piece of wisdom was uttered, whether when he was sailing paper boats in Baalbek, or unfurling his sails in New York, we can not say.
And now, warming himself on the fire of his first ideal, Khalid will seek the shore and launch into unknown seas towards unknown lands. From the City of Baal to the City of Demiurgic Dollar is not in fact a far cry. ”

“ Better the ring of Al-Mutanabbi’s scimitars and spears than the clatter of these atheistical bones!”
From which we infer that Shakib was not open to reason on the subject. He would draw his friend away from the verge of the abyss at any cost. “And this,” continues he, “did not require much effort. For Khalid like myself is constitutionally incapable of denying God. We are from the land in which God has always spoken to our ancestors.” ”