From the chapters of Islamic Opening of Syria: The muslims are reminded of the times of Prophet in Jerusalem

[Source: The Sword of Allah - Khalid bin Al-Waleed By Late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram of the Pakistan Army]

Scene: For four months the siege continued without a break. Then the Patriarch of Jerusalem, a man by the name of Sophronius, offered to surrender the city and pay the Jizya, but only on condition that the Caliph himself would come and sign the pact with him and receive the surrender. When the Patriarch's terms became known to the Muslims, Sharhabeel(R.A.) suggested that instead of waiting for Umar(R.A.) to come all the way from Madinah, Khalid(R.A.) should be sent forward as the Caliph. Umar(R.A.) and Khalid(R.A.) were very similar in appearance; and since the people of Jerusalem would only know Umar(R.A.) by reports, they could perhaps be taken in by a substitute. The Muslims would say that actually the Caliph was already there-and lo, he comes!
On the following morning the Patriarch was informed of the Caliph's presence, and Khalid(R.A.), dressed in simple clothes of the poorest material, as was Umar(R.A.)'s custom, rode up to the fort for talks with the Patriarch. But it did not work. Khalid(R.A.) was too well known, and there may have been Christian Arabs in Jerusalem who had visited Madinah and seen both Umar(R.A.) and Khalid(R.A.), noting the differences. Moreover, the Patriarch must have wondered how the great Caliph happened to be there just when he was needed! Anyhow, the trick was soon discovered, and the Patriarch refused to talk. When Khalid(R.A.) reported the failure of this mission, Abu Ubaidah(R.A.) wrote to Umar(R.A.) about the situation, and invited him to come to Jerusalem and accept the surrender of the city. In response the Caliph rode out with a handful of Companions on what was to be the first of his four journeys to Syria.


Umar(R.A.) sat with a large group of Companions, talking of this and that. Soon it would be time for the early afternoon prayer. Bilal(R.A.) the Negro was also present. Bilal(R.A.), had suffered many tortures in the early days of Islam at the hands of the unbelieving Qureish, but had remained steadfast in his faith. When the institution of the Adhan (the Muslim call to prayer) was adopted in 2 Hijri, the Prophet(S.A.W.) appointed Bilal(R.A.) as the Muazzin; and thereafter, five times a day, the powerful and melodious voice of Bilal(R.A.) could be heard at Madinah, calling the Faithful to prayer. Over the years Bilal(R.A.) had risen in stature as a saintly Muslim, and had become one of the closest and most venerated Companions of the Prophet(S.A.W.). But on the death of the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.), Bilal(R.A.) had fallen silent; he would not call the Adhan any more.
It now occurred to some of the Companions that perhaps the conquest of the holy city of Jerusalem was an important enough occasion for Bilal(R.A.) to break his silence. They asked Umar(R.A.) to urge him to call the Adhan, just this one time! Umar(R.A.) turned to Bilal(R.A.): "O Bilal! The Companions of the Messenger of Allah implore you to call the Adhan and remind them of the time of their Prophet, on whom be the blessings of Allah and peace." 1 For a few moments Bilal(R.A.) remained lost in thought. Then he looked at the eager faces of the Companions(R.A.) and at the thousands of Muslim soldiers who were gathering for the congregational prayer. Then he stood up. Bilal(R.A.) would call the Adhan again!
The glorious voice of the illustrious Muazzin beat upon the vast multitude. As he called the opening words, Allah is Great, the minds of the Faithful turned to memories of the dearly loved Prophet Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and tears welled up in their eyes. When Bilal came to the words, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, his audience broke down and sobbed.


1. Waqidi: p. 165.

From the chapters of Islamic Opening of Syria: Always welcome!

[Source: The Sword of Allah - Khalid bin Al-Waleed By Late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram of the Pakistan Army]

At dawn the Muslim corps lined up for prayers under their respective commanders. As soon as the prayers were over, every man rushed to his assigned place. By sunrise both armies stood in battle order, facing each other across the centre of the Plain of Yarmuk, a little less than a mile apart.

There was no movement and little noise in the two armies. The soldiers knew that this was a fight to the finish, that one of the two armies would lie shattered on the battlefield before the fight was over. The Muslims gazed in wonder at the splendid formations of the Roman legions with banners flying and crosses raised above the heads of the soldiery. The Romans looked with something less than awe at the Muslim army deployed to their front. Their confidence rested on their great numbers, but during the past two years the performance of the Muslims in Syria had instilled a good deal of respect in the hearts of the Romans. There was a look of caution in Roman eyes. Thus an hour passed during which no one stirred and the soldiers awaited the start of a battle which, according to the chroniclers, "began with sparks of fire and ended with a raging conflagration", and of which "each day was more violent than the day before." 1

Then a Roman general by the name of George emerged from the Roman centre and rode towards the Muslims. Halting a short distance from the Muslim centre, he raised his voice and asked for Khalid(R.A.). From the Muslim side Khalid(R.A.) rode out, delighted at the thought that the battle would begin with himself fighting a duel. He would set the pace for the rest of the battle.
As Khalid(R.A.) drew near, the Roman made no move to draw his sword, but continued to look intently at Khalid(R.A.). The Muslim advanced until the necks of the horses crossed, and still George did not draw his sword. Then he spoke, in Arabic: "O Khalid, tell me the truth and do not deceive me, for the free do not lie and the noble do not deceive. Is it true that Allah sent a sword from heaven to your Prophet ? … and that he gave it to you ? … and that never have you drawn it but your enemies have been defeated?"

"No!" replied Khalid(R.A.).

"Then why are you known as the Sword of Allah?"

Here Khalid told George the story of how he received the title of Sword of Allah from the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.). George pondered this a while, then with a pensive look in his eyes, asked, "Tell me, to what do you call me?"

"To bear witness", Khalid(R.A.) replied, "that there is no Allah but Allah and Muhammad(S.A.W.) is His Slave and Messenger; and to believe in what he has brought from Allah."

"If I do not agree?"

"Then the Jizya, and you shall be under our protection."

"If I still do not agree?"

"Then the sword!"

George considered the words of Khalid(R.A.) for a few moments, then asked, "What is the position of one who enters your faith today?"

"In our faith there is only one position. All are equal."

"Then I accept your faith!" 2

To the astonishment of the two armies, which knew nothing of what had passed between the two generals, Khalid(R.A.) turned his horse and Muslim and Roman rode slowly to the Muslim army. On arrival at the Muslim centre George repeated after Khalid(R.A.): "There is no God but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!" (A few hours later the newly-converted George would fight heroically for the faith which he had just embraced and would die in battle.) On the auspicious note of this conversion began the Battle of Yarmuk.


1. Waqidi: p. 133
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 595

From the chapters of Islamic Opening of Syria: On the eve of Yarmuk

[Source: The Sword of Allah - Khalid bin Al-Waleed By Late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram of the Pakistan Army]

Scene: For almost a month, there was no major action on the Plain of Yarmuk. The cause of this inactivity is not known. We can only guess that the Muslims were not strong enough to take the initial offensive, and the Romans did not feel brave enough to do so. The respite, however, proved beneficial to the Muslims, as during this period a fresh contingent of six thousand Muslims arrived to join them, the majority of whom were from the Yemen. The Muslims now had an army of 40,000 warriors, including 1,000 Companions of the Prophet, and these in turn included 100 veterans of the Battle of Badr-the first battle of Islam. The army included citizens of the highest rank, such as Dhulbair(R.A.) (the Prophet's cousin and one of the Blessed Ten), Abu Sufyan(R.A.) and his wife, Hind.
When a month had passed after the repulse of Jabla, Mahan (the Roman general) felt strong enough to take the offensive, but decided to make one more attempt at peace. This time he would hold talks himself. He asked for a Muslim envoy to be sent to his headquarters, and in response to his request, Abu Ubaidah(R.A.) sent Khalid(R.A.) with a few men. Khalid(R.A.) and Mahan met in the Roman camp, but nothing came of these talks as the positions taken by the two sides were too rigid to allow for adjustment. Mahan threatened Khalid(R.A.) with his great army and offered a vast sum of money to all the Muslims, including the Caliph at Madinah; but this made no impression on Khalid(R.A.), who offered the three alternatives: Islam, the Jizya or the sword. The Armenian chose the last. It appears, however, that as a result of this discussion, both commanders were favourably impressed by each other and the Muslims began to regard Mahan as a fine man except that, to quote Abu Ubaidah(R.A.): "Satan has got hold of his reason!" 1
As the two leaders parted, they knew that henceforth there would be no parleys. The point of no return had been reached, and the following day the battle would begin.

When Khalid(R.A.) returned from his talks with Mahan, he informed Abu Ubaidah(R.A.) and the other generals that there would be no more talks, that the issue would be decided by the sword, that the battle would begin the next day. 


The women and children were placed in camps stretching in a line in the rear of the army. Behind the men of each regiment stood their women and children. 2 Abu Ubaidah(R.A.) went round the camps and addressed the women: "Take tent poles in your hands and gather heaps of stones. If we win all is well. But if' you see a Muslim running away from battle, strike him in the face with a tent pole, pelt him with stones, hold his children up before him and tell him to fight for his wife and children and for Islam." 3 The women prepared accordingly.

As the army formed up in its battle position, Khalid(R.A.), Abu Ubaidah(R.A.) and other generals rode round the regiments and spoke to the officers and men. Khalid(R.A.) gave a set speech before each regiment: "O men of Islam! The time has come for steadfastness. Weakness and cowardice lead to disgrace; and he who is steadfast is more deserving of Allah's help. He who stands bravely before the blade of the sword will be honoured, and his labours rewarded, when he goes before Allah. Lo! Allah loves the steadfast!" 4
While Khalid(R.A.) was going past one of the regiments, a young man remarked, "How numerous are the Romans and how few are we!" Khalid(R.A.) turned to him and said, "How few are the Romans and how numerous are we! An army's strength lies not in numbers of men but in Allah's help, and its weakness lies in being forsaken by Allah" 5
Other commanders and elders, while exhorting the men to fight, recited verses from the Quran, the most popular one being: "How many a small group has overpowered a large group by Allah's help, and Allah is with the steadfast." [Quran: 2:249.] They spoke of the fire of hell and the joys of paradise, and quoted the example set by the Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) in his battles. For good measure they also reminded the soldiers of the hunger of the desert and the good life of Syria!
The night that followed was hot and sultry. It was the third week of August 636 (second week of Rajab, 15 Hijri.).6 The Muslims spent the night in prayer and recitation of the Quran, and reminded each other of the two blessings which awaited them: either victory and life or martyrdom and paradise. The Holy Prophet(S.A.W.) had established a tradition after Badr of reciting the chapter of Al Anfal from the Quran before battle, and all night the verses of this chapter could be heard wherever Muslims sat, singly and in groups.


The fires in the two camps burned merrily the whole night and could be seen for miles like twinkling stars descended to earth. But there was no merriment in the hearts of those who sat in the light of these fires. The thought of the ordeal that awaited them had driven all joy from their minds. They were brave men, these soldiers who awaited the morrow, these Romans and Arabs, these Europeans and Asians, these Christians and Muslims. They were lions and eagles and wolves. But they were also human beings and thought of their wives and children to whom they would bid farewell in a few hours-perhaps for the last time.
This was the eve of Yarmuk …. the greatest battle of the Century…. one of the decisive battles of history .... and perhaps the most titanic battle ever fought between the Crescent and the Cross.


1. Waqidi: p. 128.
2. According to some reports, the families were put on a hill well to the rear. This, as we shall see from the course of battle, could not have been so.
3. Waqidi: pp. 129-30.
4. Ibid: p. 137.
5. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 594.
6. The only thing recorded in the early accounts about the date of this battle is the month-Rajab, 15 Hijri. My statement recording the week in which the battle began is the result of calculations made from the timing of earlier events narrated in this chapter.

From the chapters of Islamic Opening of Syria: Treatment with the captured ones

[Source: The Sword of Allah - Khalid bin Al-Waleed By Late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram of the Pakistan Army]

Scene: 
Muslims just got into Emessa, Heraclius is making preparations for his great manoeuvre. Entire corps are gathered from all parts of the Empire and these are joined by princes and nobles of the realm and dignitaries of the church. By May 636, an army of a 150,000 men has been put under arms and concentrated in the area of Antioch and in parts of Northern Syria. This powerful military force consist of contingents of Russians, Slavs, Franks, Romans, Greeks, Georgians, Armenians and Christian Arabs. No people of the Cross living in the Byzantine Empire fail to send warriors to the new army to fight the invaders in the spirit of a Christian crusade. This force is organised into five armies, each of about 30,000 soldiers.
At this time the Muslims are split in four groups: Amr bin Al Aas in Palestine, Shurahbil in Jordan, Yazeed at Caesarea, and Abu Ubaidah and Khalid at Emessa and to the north. In this dispersed situation the Muslims are so vulnerable that each of their corps could be attacked in turn without the least chance of fighting a successful battle. And this situation is  fully exploited by Heraclius in the plan which he put into execution. Its through Roman prisoners, that the Muslims first came to know of the preparations being made by Heraclius. The Muslims have established an excellent intelligence system in the land, and no major movement or concentration of enemy forces remain concealed from them. In fact they have agents within the Roman army. As the days lengthen into weeks, the pieces of intelligence brought in by agents are put together like a jigsaw puzzle, and the movement of the Roman armies have hardly got under way when the Muslims knew of it and of the directions taken by the armies.




The remarkably generous treatment of the populace of Emessa by Abu Ubaidah, when the Muslims left that city, throws light on the sense of justice and truth of this brave and noble general. On the conquest of Emessa, the Muslims had collected the Jizya from the local inhabitants. This tax, as has been explained before, was taken from non-Muslims in return for their exemption from military service and their protection against their enemies. But since the Muslims were now leaving the city and were no longer in a position to protect them, Abu Ubaidah called a meeting of the people and returned all the money taken as Jizya. "We are not able to help and defend you", said Abu Ubaidah. "You are now on your own." To this the people replied, "Your rule and justice are dearer to us than the oppression and cruelty in which we existed before." 1. 
Abu Ubaidah also wrote to the other corps commanders in Syria to return the Jizya to the people who had paid it, and this was done by every Muslim commander before he marched away to join Abu Ubaidah at Jabiya. 2 Such an extraordinary and voluntary return by an all-conquering army of what it has taken according to mutually arranged terms, had never happened before. It would never happen again.


1. Balazuri: p. 143.
2. Abu Yusuf: p. 139.