Khalid ibn al-Walid
خَالِد بن الوَلِيدKhālid ibn al-Walīd
Biography
Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah al-Makhzūmī was from the Banū Makhzūm clan of Quraysh, the same clan as Abū Jahl. Before his conversion to Islam, he was already one of the most gifted military commanders of Arabia. His father al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah was among the most prominent nobles of Quraysh.
At the Battle of Uḥud (7 Shawwāl 3 AH), Abū Sufyān placed Khālid in command of the right flank of the Qurayshi army, with ʿIkrimah ibn Abī Jahl commanding the left flank. Khālid's flanking maneuver at Uḥud, when the Muslim archers abandoned their post, would prove decisive in turning the tide of that battle.
Khālid converted to Islam in Ṣafar 8 AH (just before the Conquest of Makkah), described as one of the most consequential late conversions of the Seerah. The Prophet ﷺ greeted him with the words: 'I was wondering how a man of your intelligence could remain upon what it was upon.' After his conversion, the Prophet ﷺ gave him the title Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl (the Drawn Sword of Allah) and he went on to command the Muslim armies in the Ridda Wars, the conquests of Persia, Iraq, and Syria, never losing a single battle. He died in 21 AH.
Significance
One of the greatest military commanders in Islamic history. At Uḥud he commanded the Qurayshi right flank (as an enemy) and executed the decisive flanking maneuver. He later converted and was titled Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl (the Drawn Sword of Allah) by the Prophet ﷺ.
Stories
Quraysh Preparations for the Battle of Uhud
historical**The Four Reasons for Uhud** Dr. Yasir Qadhi opens by distinguishing Uḥud from Badr: Badr was a reconnaissance mission that escalated; Uḥud was the…
Read the full story →Khalid's Counter-Offensive and the Crisis at Uhud
historical**The One Weak Link** The Prophet ﷺ had engineered an almost perfectly sealed military position at Uḥud: - **Three sides** protected by the mountain…
Read the full story →The Archers Abandon Their Post
battleShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Allah (subḥānahu wa taʿālā) references the archers' crisis in Sūrah Āl-i ʿImrān: "Ḥattā idhā fashiltum wa tanāzaʿtum fī-…
Read the full story →Badr and Uhud Compared: The Theological Lessons
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: THE SAME PURPOSE, DIFFERENT TARGET Allah states a near-identical purpose for both battles, but aimed at two different g…
Read the full story →Zaynab bint Khuzaymah, Umm al-Masakin, and Her Remarkable Family
companion biographyShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: ZAYNAB BINT KHUZAYMAH Zaynab bint Khuzaymah al-Hilāliyyah, of the Banū Hilāl of Najd rather than Quraysh, was already k…
Read the full story →Nawfal's Death, and the Others Who Crossed the Trench
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Alongside ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Wudd, a small number of other Confederate riders managed to cross the undefended stretch of the…
Read the full story →The Ghazwah of Banu Lihyan and the Legislation of Salat al-Khawf
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Banū Liḥyān were the tribe responsible for fabricating the request for Islamic teachers that lured a delegation of Compa…
Read the full story →Khalid's Blockade and the Shura With Abu Bakr
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: At ʿUsfān, roughly midway to Makkah, Busr ibn Sufyān returned with his report: Quraysh had learned of the Prophet's ﷺ de…
Read the full story →Lessons of al-Hudaybiyyah: The Turning of the Tide
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Dr. Qadhi gathers the benefits of al-Ḥudaybiyyah in four categories, Sīrah, theology, fiqh, and modern political thought…
Read the full story →The Conversion of Amr ibn al-As
companion biographyShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **RUNNING FROM A COMING DEFEAT** ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, the shrewd Qurayshī statesman who had once negotiated with the Najāsh…
Read the full story →The Conversion of Khalid ibn al-Walid
companion biographyShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A COMMANDER WHO SENSED SOMETHING BEYOND HIM** Khālid ibn al-Walīd, son of Quraysh's chief poet al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīr…
Read the full story →The Deaths of the Three Commanders at Mu'tah
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **CONFIDENCE, NOT DESPERATION** Facing a force several times their number, the companions did not regard the battle as…
Read the full story →Khalid's Tactical Withdrawal at Mu'tah
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A TWO-PRONGED TACTIC** With only two or three explicit narrations to work from, the shaykh reconstructs Khālid ibn al…
Read the full story →The Goatskin Armor, and Khalid's Overturned Ruling
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A GOATSKIN SHIELD AND A ROMAN OFFICER** Among the Mu'tah fighters was a group of Yemeni volunteer-helpers, al-mudadis…
Read the full story →The Morning of the Conquest
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: On the morning of the 20th of Ramaḍān, 8 AH, the people of Mecca still did not know an army of ten thousand was an hour…
Read the full story →Khalid's Error at Banu Jadhimah
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: The greatness of the Conquest was marred by one companion's mistake. Khālid ibn al-Walīd, a Muslim of only weeks, was se…
Read the full story →Khalid and Ukaydir of Dūmat al-Jandal
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **The far northern outpost** During the Tabūk encampment, the Prophet ﷺ sent Khālid ibn al-Walīd with roughly 350 Compa…
Read the full story →Najrān accepts Islam, and the last letter of the Prophet ﷺ
historicalShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: Late in the ninth year the Prophet ﷺ sent many Companions out as governors and teachers of Islam, especially to the nort…
Read the full story →Historical context
What to Call Mu'tah, and Why It Happened
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A NAMING PROBLEM** Mu'tah presents an odd terminology question. Strictly, a ghazwah is an expedition the Prophet ﷺ pe…
Read the historical context →Was Mu'tah a Victory, a Loss, or a Draw?
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **THREE CAMPS** Classical scholars split three ways on how to classify Mu'tah. Mūsā ibn ʿUqbah, al-Bayhaqī, and Ibn Kat…
Read the historical context →Theophanes and the Byzantine Record of Mu'tah
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **A RARE NON-MUSLIM CORROBORATION** Mu'tah is one of the few sīrah events independently attested in Byzantine sources.…
Read the historical context →What Mu'tah Achieved, and Why Khalid Died in Bed
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: **THE FIRST NORTHERN BATTLE** The overwhelming majority of the sīrah's battles are fought south of Medina; Mu'tah stand…
Read the historical context →The Destruction of al-Uzza
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: During the nineteen days the Prophet ﷺ sent parties to invite the neighbouring tribes and to destroy the great public id…
Read the historical context →The Lovers of Banu Jadhimah
historical noteShaykh Yasir Qadhi explains: One tragedy of Khālid's mistaken killings at Banū Jadhīmah was not mentioned before. Among the captives about to be exec…
Read the historical context →