Thabit ibn Arqam

Thābit ibn Arqam was an Anṣārī companion and veteran of Badr who fought at Mu'tah. When the third of the appointed commanders, ʿAbdullāh ibn Rawāḥah, fell, Thābit caught the falling banner and withdrew a short distance from the melee to regroup the Muslim ranks, calling out for the scattered fighters to gather around him. Once a group had assembled, he refused to keep the banner himself and told them to choose a new leader on the spot, the moment at which the assembled companions turned to Khālid ibn al-Walīd, then barely weeks into Islam.