Message
of Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
From Hirah, Khalid sent letters to
the important personalities and circulars to the feudal lords who were wise
enough to obey the truth and follow the good. In the letter addressed to the
influential persons of Persia he wrote:
"All praise is due to Allah Who
created chaos in your system and slackened your hypocrisy and broke your unity.
Had we not invaded this country, it would have been disastrous for you. Now it
is better for you to obey us and we shall leave your territory and go somewhere
else. If you refuse to obey us, you will come across such people who love death
as you love your life."
Another general circular carried the
following:
"Glorified is Allah the
Almighty Who humbled your pride, broke your alliance to pieces and razed your
grandeur to the ground. Hence do accept Islam and you will be safe or seek our
protection to become Dhimmi and pay the Jizyah, otherwise, I have brought to
you a people who keep death as dear as you love drinking."
These letters and circulars brought
unity among them and they achieved success in choosing their unanimous king to
face the Arabian invasions.
Conquest
of Anbar
The Persians collected a big force
in Anbar and appointed Sherzad, the ruler of Sabat as its commander. Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
marched from Hirah to Anbar. Sherzad had erected a high mound of clay outside
the ramparts of their fort to consolidate his position. When Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
surrounded Anbar, the besieged soldiers showered arrows on the Muslim army with
the result that the eyes of about one thousand Muslim fighters were injured.
But the lion-hearted commander of the Muslim forces was not to be intimidated
through such tactics and devices. He outsmarted his enemy by slaughtering the
weak and exhausted camels and piling them up to reach the ramparts and then
beat the enemy thoroughly. Although the Persians showed courage and gallantry,
they had to surrender before the Muslims who outwitted them in every department
of warfare. When Sherzad witnessed that Muslim victory was around the corner,
he sent his men to Khalid (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
on peace mission. He replied that he could allow Sherzad to leave the city
peacefully along with a few comrades with provisions for not more than three
days. Sherzad left the city and Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
entered it victoriously. He then put Zabrqan bin Badr in charge of Anbar and
marched to Ain-ut-Tamr.
Conquest
of Ain-ut-Tamr
Uqbah bin Uqbah heard of the
advancement of Muslim troops and contacted the Persian Commander Mehran bin
Bahram to say that only Arabs knew the war tactics of the Arabs, so they
(Uqbah's men) should be allowed to confront the Muslim forces. Mehran was happy
enough to give his consent to this proposal. Uqbah was too excited to come out
first and challenge for a duel. Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
stepped forward and captured him alive, with the result his men fled in terror
and were also taken captive. Mehran bin Bahram grew so awe-stricken that he
fled his fort, which later fell to the Muslim army.
Upper
Iraq
Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
finished his task in a comparatively short period but Iyad bin Ghanam (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
dispatched about the same time, was still engaged on his mission. His target of
attack was a large territory forming part of Iraq, Iran and Syria and so his
combats affected Persia and Heraclius equally. The time when Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) conquered
Ain-ut-Tamr, Iyad engaged the rulers of Dumat-ul-Jandal after winning victories
over the polytheists and Christian tribes. Dumat-ul-Jandal had two rulers,
Ukaidir bin Malik and Judi bin Rabi'ah, who had collected all the Christians of
the surrounding areas against the Muslims. In this distressing situation, Iyad
(رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) addressed a
letter to Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ), who was then at
Ain-ut-Tamr, to come to his help against the huge army of the enemy.
Conquest
of Dumat-ul-Jandal
Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
appointed Qa'qa' bin Amr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
his deputy in Hirah and proceeded to Dumat-ul-Jandal without loss of a moment.
The burning news of Khalid's arrival was so terrifying that Ukaidir counseled
Judi to make peace with the Muslims but he and other Christian chiefs rejected
the proposal outright. At last Ukaidir broke his relations with them and left
alone for some unknown place. A small column of the Muslims intercepted him on
the way and he died fighting. Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
launched his attack from another side and challenged the enemy commander for a
duel. Judi stepped forward and was captured by Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
in no time, with the result his men fled the battlefield. Simultaneously, Iyad
bin Ghanam (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) also prevailed
over his Christian opponents and made them flee for their lives.
The
Battle of Husaid
When the Persians noticed that
Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) was away from
Hirah, they made an all-out effort to take back the province and turn out the
Muslim administrators from the territory. The Arabian tribes also lent their
support to avenge the killing of their chief, Uqbah bin Uqbah. Two well-known
Persian generals Zarmahr and Rozbah marched at the head of a huge army. Qa'qa'
bin Amr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ), the deputy of
Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) in Hirah, also
divided his force in two parts, under Abu Laila (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and himself and challenged the enemy at Husaid.
After a heavy fight, both the
generals and more than half of their army fell to the Muslim assault. The rest
of their men fled to Khanafis where their commander Bahbudhan was lying with a
large army. When Abu Laila (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
reached Khanafis in pursuit of the fugitives, Bahbudhan fled to Mudaiyah where
Hudhaih bin Imran along with other Arabian chiefs were awaiting the opportunity
to engage the Muslims in a battle. In the meantime, Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
finished his task in Dumat-ul-Jandal and hurried back to Hirah.
The
Battle of Mudaiyah
Khalid (رَضِيَ
ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) took over the command of the entire Muslim army and divided it
in three parts to attack from three different sides. Qa'qa', Abu Laila and
Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) himself attacked
from three sides as already decided upon. Hudhaih fled for his life but the
other generals along with a large number of men were put to death. Among the
persons killed were Abdul-Uzza bin Abu Ruhm and Labid bin Jarir who sided with
the opponents of Islam under compulsion in spite of being Muslims.
When Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) came to know of this, he paid blood money
to their relatives and ordered to treat their children well. Umar (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) was already angry
with Khalid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ)
on account of Malik bin Nuwairah's assassination, and this incident added fuel
to the flames. However, Abu Bakr (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ
عَنْهُ) did not seek any explanation from Khalid bin Walid (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) and exonerated him
with the remark: "Anyone who accompanies the polytheists will meet with
the same calamity."
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