He then declared, “By Him in Whose hand is my soul, they have no patience or endurance left beyond what you have just seen, and I hope that Allah will soon deliver their backs to you.” He wheeled across their front and, with one hundred horsemen, charged nearly one hundred thousand of them. Before he even reached their lines their ranks had already broken. The Muslims attacked as a single man; the enemy fled, and the believers pursued, meeting no resistance.
They relate that while the battle still raged, with warriors grappling on every side, a courier arrived from the direction of the Hijaz and was brought to Khālid ibn al-Walīd. “What news?” he asked. In private the courier answered, “The Truthful One, Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—has died. He has appointed ʿUmar as his successor and placed Abū ʿUbaydah ʿĀmir ibn al-Jarrah in command of the armies.” Khālid kept the matter to himself, revealing nothing lest weakness or hesitation arise at such a moment. He then said to the messenger (1) aloud, so that all could hear, “Well done,” took the letter, slipped it into his quiver, and returned to directing the battle. He kept the messenger—Muḥmiyya ibn Zunaym—standing beside him. So reports Ibn Jarīr (2) through his chains of transmission.
They also say (3) that Jirja, one of the senior Roman commanders, stepped out from the ranks and beckoned Khālid ibn al-Walīd. Khālid rode up until their horses’ necks touched.
Jirja said, “Khālid, tell me the truth and do not lie, for a free man does not lie. Do not deceive me, for a noble man does not betray one who trusts him by Allah. Did Allah send down to your Prophet a sword from heaven and give it to you so that you never draw it against anyone without defeating him?”
Khālid replied, “No.”
Jirja asked, “Then why are you called the Sword of Allah?”
Khālid answered, “Allah sent His Prophet among us. He called us, but we recoiled and stayed away from him. Some of us later believed and followed him (4), while others denied and kept their distance; I was among those who denied and stayed away. Then Allah seized our hearts and forelocks, guided us through him, and we pledged allegiance to him. He said to me, ‘You are a sword among the swords of Allah which Allah has unsheathed against the polytheists,’ and he prayed that I be granted victory. Because of that I was named the Sword of Allah, and I am one of the Muslims most relentless against the idolaters.”
Jirja then asked, “Khālid, to what are you calling people?”
He answered, “To the testimony that there is no deity but Allah and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger, and to affirm all that he brought from Allah—exalted is He.”
Jirja said, “And if someone does not accept?”
He replied, “Then he pays the jizyah, and we grant him protection.”
Jirja asked, “And if he refuses to pay it?”
Khālid said, “We announce war to him, and then we fight him.”
Jirja continued, “What status does a person who responds today and enters this faith hold?”
Khālid replied, “Exactly the same as ours; whatever Allah has made obligatory applies equally to our noble and our humble, to the first of us and the last.”
Jirja said, “Does one who joins you today receive a reward equal to yours and the same treasure for the Hereafter?”
He answered, “Yes, and even greater.”
Jirja objected, “How can he be your equal when you have preceded him?”
Khālid explained, “We accepted this matter under compulsion and pledged allegiance to our Prophet while he was alive among us. Revelation from heaven came to him, he informed us of the Book, and he showed us the signs. Anyone who saw what we saw and heard what we heard was bound to submit and pledge allegiance. But you have not seen what we saw (5) nor heard what we heard of marvels and proofs; therefore, whoever among you embraces this religion sincerely and with true intention will be better than us.” He then