Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq, radhiyallaahu ‘anhu
~ The Mountain of Truthfulness~

By Allaah, I shall cause the Romans to forget the whispers of shaytaan through Khaleed!”
-- Abu Bakr , radhiyallaahu ‘anhu.

“ Khaleed, you are the Sword of Allaah which has been made to annihilate the Kuffaar!”
-- Ar-Rasool, sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam.

“ O my companions, advance! The cool breezes of Jannatul Firdaws are waiting to welcome us, and triumph and glory are reserved for us!”
-- Khaleed Ibn Al-Waleed,radhiyallaahu ‘anhu.

Battle of Yarmook
o The biggest battle every fought by the Muslims, and the last battle took place in the lifetime of Abu Bakr, radhiyallaahu ‘anhu.

o Took place in the year of 15H, after the campaign of Damascus.
o Yarmook is the name of a river in Jordan.

Pre-Battle Period
o The Muslim troops were consist of 24,000 men; 1000 were Companions of the Prophet, and 100 of them fought in the Battle of Badr.

o The Roman sent 120,000 armies to fight the Muslims.

o Both troops were divided into 4 main groups:
1. Jirjah Ibn Budhayha vs. Yazeed Ibn Abi Sufyan
2. Ad-Daraqas vs. Sharhabeel ibn Hasnah
3. Tudraaq vs. ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas
4. Al-Qayqulaan vs. Abu ‘Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarrah

o The Romans camped at one side of the river, while the Muslims were on the other side.

o Khaleed had not joined the army yet as he was fighting in ‘Iraaq. When he received command from Abu Bakr to go to Yarmook, he brought ½ of his troops (chose all sahaabah to join his team) to Yarmook.

o When Khaleed arrived, the Muslim armies whisper among themselves as they’re terrified by the roman armies, and their emotions got swayed.

o Khaleed then said, “ In this battle, how I wish that my horse was handicapped, that my sword was blunt and the number of roman armies was multiplied more times,” only to blaze the fire of courage among the muslims.

o The battalions camped in Yarmook for 1 month before the battle actually began.

o It is the custom for the Muslim army that before any battle takes place, a group of Al-Wa’idzoon is sent to each battalion to remind them about the Hereafter. After the khatib has finished the short khaatirah, the qurra’ then will come and recite Suratul Anfaal in order to elevate their spirit of fighting for the sake of Allaah.

o In this battle, Abu Sufyaan Ibn Harb was appointed by Khaleed as the khatib, and Al-Miqdaad ibn Al-Aswad as the qurra.

o Khaleed then joined the 4 groups of Muslim armies under 1 commander, and each of the commanders would take turn to lead the battle. Khaleed was the first one to lead.

o Strategies employed by Khaleed in this battle:-
1. Arranged 36-40 battalions, each consisting of 100 men.
2. Abu ‘Ubaydah à leader of the center
3. ‘Amr Ibn Al-‘Aas à leader of the right wing
4. Yazeed Ibn Abi Sufyaan à leader of the left wing

o Muslim women: at the back of the armyà supply water for the men, and dress their wounds.

In the Light of the Battle
o Khaleed’s stirring speech to his armies:

O Mujaahideen! This is a memorable day. It is the day on which our faith will be tested and tried. Today, we should avoid every kind of arrogance, pride and not contend for individual glory or egoistic bragging.

O Mujaahid of Islaam! Fight only to gain the Goodwill of Allaah. In the Muslim army today, there are many great generals; each of them is worthy and can be entrusted with the permanent command of this army. Today, you have assigned me with this honour of commanding the Muslim army. So, I hope that for the honour and victory of Islaam, today we will enter the battlefield of Jihaad as one. Allaah will be our Supporter and Defender.”

o As both armies confronted at Yarmook, the Roman general, Mahan scornfully addressed his counterpart, Khaleed and said, “ It looks as if poverty, nakedness and starvation have compelled you to come here. If you wish, I am willing to give each of you ten dinars, expensive clothes and good food. You can take these things and leave. Next year too, I can send you these things; you do not have to take the trouble to come here.”

o Khaleed was enraged on hearing these scornful, arrogant words. He answered, “ Mahan, listened to me very carefully! You are mistaken about the reason why we are here. We are the people who drink the blood of our opponents. We have heard that the Roman blood is very delicious. So, we have come here only to enjoy it!”

o He spurred his horse on. Waving the flag of Islaam, he shouted, “ Allaahu akbar!” and ordered his troop to attack the enemy.

o One of the Romans general, Jarjah, became a Muslim, after having a debate with Khaleed about Allaah & Rasool Allaah, sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam.

The Beauty of Brotherhood In Islaam
Three severely injured Mujaahideen were gasping for water, exhausted and parched with thirst. One of the other Mujaahid ran and fetched some water and gave it to one of them. He had hardly reached for the bowl when he lifted up his eyes and saw his companions in the same position. He said that he may be suffering more deeply and asked the water to be given to his companion first. The second Mujaahid saw the thrid one gasping with thirst and preferred that water to be given first to his friend, and he did not even touch it. When the man ran to the third Mujaahid, his soul had thrown of its mortal coil, and flown to Jannah. When the man returned back to the second Mujaahid, he had already passed on to Jannah, and so, for the first thirsty Mujaahid.

So, none of them in their love of each other, had died without quenching their thirst. Such is the proof of sacrifice and brotherhood that is unparalleled in the human history.

The True Soldier of Allaah, Khaleed.
o Abu Bakr passed away in Madinah, in the middle of the battle. ‘Umar, the Ameerul Mu’mineen, sent letter to Khaleed, asking him to step down from the position of the Ameer, and Abu ‘Ubaydah was appointed as the new Ameer.

- ‘Umar did this because he realized that Khaleed had such a powerful influence on the armies to the extend that every single muslim army would desire to be behind no other commander, except Khaleed.
- In order to avoid any fitnah in the future, and as ‘Umar knew by his heart that Khaleed could still perform excellently even as a regular soldier, he decided to remove Khaleed from the position.

o Khaleed read the letter and preferred to keep the news secret until the battle finished, lest it would discourage the army and cause them to lose heart at this critical time.

o Khaleed informed Abu ‘Ubaydah about the new command from ‘Umar. Khaleed hid the message in his clothes, and continue to fight as a regular soldier in the battle until the battle ended with triumph achieved by the Muslims.

o Khaleed’s dismissal became known to the Muslim armies after the battle was over. Someone asked him, “ How is it that the news did not dampen your spirit at all?” Khaleed replied, “ I was not fighting for the sake of ‘Umar. It doesn’t matter if I’m an Ameer or a regular soldier as I was fighting solely for the cause of Allaah.”

The Battle Ends, the Victory is achieved
o During the battle, 1 of the Roman general, Tudraaq, was killed and the army of the Roman retreated due to confusion and fear.

o Muslim won the battle and the announcement of Abu Bakr’s death was made.

o They wept to their hearts out of their immense love to the Khalifaah.

o Abu ‘Ubaydah was announced as the new Ameer, and they (the Muslim army) waited for the next command from ‘Umar, radhiyallaahu ‘anhu.

So many lessons to be learned from this battle, many more on the beautiful, magnificient akhlaaq of the beloved companions of the Prophet, sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam.

As Abu Bakr pointed out in his speech to the Muslim army, “ You will not be defeated because of your small number, but you may be defeated because of your sins.”

In essence, the victory is granted only for those who have pure emaan to Allaah subhaanahu wa ta’aala. May Allaah include us among them, aameen.