THE BATTLE OF YARMOOK
The Battle of Yarmook took place in 15 AH after the campaign of Damascus. When the Byzantines knew that the Muslim army was advancing towards the Levant, they grew terrified to the extent that they sent a message to Hercules, who was said to be in Jerusalem at that time – some said that he was at Hims- informing him of the situation. When Hercules knew that the Muslim army was to approach the Levant, he said to his people: “The Muslims are people of a new religion and no one is capable of facing them. Obey me and make peace with the Muslims on the condition that they take half the taxes of Ash- Sham and that the Byzantine Mountains be left under the control of the Byzantines. If you refuse to do what I tell you. the Muslims will conquer you and take Ash-Sham and trap you in the Byzantine Mountains.”
Hercules then went to Hims and mobilized an army to face the Muslims. He sent his brother Tudhraaq to lead 90,000 men to stand against ‘ Amr Ibn Al-‘ Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, Jirjah Ibn Budhayha was placed at the head of 60,000 men to face Yazeed Ibn Abi Sufyaan and his brigade. He also sent Ad-Daraqaas to Sharhabeel Ibn Hasnah and Al-Qayqulaan to lead 60,000 soldiers to confront Abu ‘ Ubaydah and his men.
By mobilizing such a large army, the Byzantine army pledged to deter the Muslim one. The commanders of the Muslim army sent a message to Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, informing him about the large army that the Byzantines had drummed up to confront them. Abu Bakr replied: “Unite and struggle in the Cause of Allah and He will grant you victory. You are Allah’s helpers, and Allah helps those who help in His Cause, and He turns down those who disbelieve in Him. You will not be defeated because of your small number, but you may be defeated because of sins. So watch out for that. Each leader should pray in congregation with men under his command and you should all be united.”
Abu Bakr then decided that Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed should lead the Muslim army because he was the best man to carry out that mission.
Muhammad Ibn ‘Aa’id narrates on the authority of ‘Abdel-‘A’la who says that Sa’eed Ibn ‘Abdel-‘Azeez said: “The Muslim troops were only 24,000 men while the Byzantine troops were 120,000.” One thousand of the army were Companions of the Prophet , peace and blessings be upon him, and 100 of them had taken part in the great Battle of Badr.
Al-Waleed narrates on the authority of Safwaan that ‘ Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Jubayr said: “The Byzantines camped between the Monastery of Ayyoob and Al-Yarmook while the Muslims camped on the other side behind the river so as to receive supplies from Madeenah. It is said that Khalid joined them after the Companions had besieged the Byzantines for the whole month of Rabec’ Al-Awwal. When Rabee’ Al-Awwal was over and fighting became possible due to the scarcity of water, the Muslims asked Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, for more men, so he sent them Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed as he considered him the most appropriate choice.
When Khalid arrived, he found that the Muslim army was scattered; Abu ‘ Ubaydah’s brigade was on one side, ‘ Amr Ibn Al-‘ Aas’ was on the other and Yazeed’s were on a different side. He saw at once that he must organize the army properly in order to win the battle and it meant one single command instead of the four. So lie spoke to the troops ordering them to unite, and gathered the other commanders and said, “We are fighting for the Sake of Allah. We must all forget ourselves. We cannot afford to be split under many commanders. That would be a help to the enemy. I suggest that we should take turns to command the army. If you agree to that, let me be the commander for the first day of the battle.” They all agreed with the plan, obeyed him and gathered to face the enemy in Jumadah Al-Aakherah. Khalid took the chief command.
After they had united, Khalid gave a speech to the army advising soldiers to avoid conceit and tyranny and to be faithful in their struggle in the Cause of Almighty Allah. He urged the Muslims to fight bravely and exert their utmost effort to force the Byzantine army to retreat otherwise they will never have victory over them.
The Byzantine army was tremendous and so was the Muslim one. Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, arranged 36 – 40 battalions, each consisting of 100 men. He appointed Abu ‘Ubaydah, may Allah be pleased with him, as the leader of the center, ‘ Amr Ibn Al-‘ Aas as the leader of the right wing of the battlefield and Yazeed Ibn Sufyaan as the leader of the left. Abu Ad-Dardaa’ was the judge and Abu Sufyaan Ibn Harb used to urge the men to fight bravely. Al-Miqdaad Ibn Al-Aswad was the one who used to recite the Qur’an and in particular Surah, “Al-Anfaar (the one pertaining to battles).
Muslim women played a notable role in this battle. They formed a battalion, which stood at the back of the army. They would supply water to the men, and dress their wounds. When the army showed signs of weakness, these women would shout words of courage to boost their morale. These words put a new heart into retreating men. They dashed forth like lightning and sowed death among enemy lines.
While the battle was raging, Khalid Ibn Al-Waleed, may Allah be pleased with him, received a message from Madeenah informing him that Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him, had passed away, and they had appointed ” Umar Ibn Al-Khaltaab, may Allah be pleased with him, as his successor. The message also said that the new caliph, ‘ Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, had removed Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, as commander-in-chief and appointed Abu ‘ Ubaydah Ibn Al-Jarraah, may Allah be pleased with him, to the post. Khalid read the letter and preferred to keep such news secret lest it should discourage the army and cause them to lose heart at that critical time. He informed Abu ‘Ubaydah that the command of the army had passed to him. Then he hid the message in his clothes till the battle ended with the triumph given to the Muslims. He delivered the message to Abu ‘Ubaydah.
The letter had no effect whatsoever on Khalid. He went on fighting as desperately as ever. After the battle was over, Khalid’s dismissal became known. Someone said to him, “How is it that the news did not dampen your spirit at all?” “I was not fighting for ‘Umar’s sake,” replied Khalid, “I was fighting solely for the Cause of Allah.”
Sa’ eed Ibn Al-Musayycb narrates on the authority of his father who said that when the battle was coming to an end, the Muslims heard a sound saying: “O victory of Allah, come nearer! Stick to your posts, Muslims!” When they looked, they found that it was Abu Sufyaan under the banner of his son Yazeed. Khalid spent that night at the tent of Tudhraaq, Hercules’s brother who had run away along with other Byzantines. The Muslims remained around the tent killing the remaining enemy soldiers. Tudhraaq was eventually killed and he left 30 tents full of luxurious items. In the morning the Muslims collected the spoils of war and were happy with them, but they were sad about the death of Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him. However, Allah recompensed them with ‘ Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, as successor to Abu Bakr.
The battle had a profound effect in undermining the morale of the Byzantines, as they could not stand the Muslim army after that in spite of their huge number. Hercules made several attempts to defeat the Muslims, but finding it futile he stopped all further attempts. History books still quote the emperor’s words of farewell, “Farewell, Syria! I do not think we shall meet again.”
On the contrary, the battle highly affected the Muslims’ spirit and booted their morale. They began to spread Islam in the Hast and West, feeling confident of Allah’s Victory and His Promise to them that they would achieve supremacy on earth:
“Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land, inheritance (of power), as He granted it to those before them; that He will establish in authority their religion- the one which He has chosen for them; and that He will change (their state), after the fear in which they (lived), to one of security and peace: They will worship Me (alone) and not associate aught with Me.’ If any do reject Faith after this, they are rebellious and wicked.” (An-Noor: 55)
It is said that the battle of Yarmook was the last battle to take place in the lifetime of Abu Bakr As-Sideeq, may Allah be pleased with him.
(Source: Biographies of the Rightly Guided Caliphs.)
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