toppled it (1) while declaring: “O ʿUzzā, I deny you rather than glorify you; I have seen that Allah has abased you!” He then burned it.
After the passing of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, al-Ṣiddīq appointed Khalid to fight the apostates and those who withheld the alms-tax. He struck them decisively, bringing relief and redress, after which Abū Bakr sent him to Iraq; from there he proceeded to Syria, where he achieved the exploits we have already recounted—deeds that gladden hearts and eyes and enchant the ears. ʿUmar later removed him from command, appointing Abū ʿUbaydah in his stead while retaining him as a military adviser. He remained in Syria until he died on his bed (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Wāqidī relates, through ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Zinād from his father, that when death approached Khalid he wept and said, “I have taken part in countless engagements, and there is not a hand-span on my body but bears a sword-blow, a spear-thrust, or an arrow-wound—yet here I am dying on my bed, as a camel dies. So may the eyes of the cowards never sleep (2).”
Abū Yaʿlā (3) said: Suraij (4) ibn Yūnus narrated to us, Yaḥyā ibn Zakariyyā narrated to us, from Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, from Qays, who said: Khalid ibn al-Walīd stated, “No night on which a bride is led to me or a son is born to me is dearer to my heart than a bitterly cold night when, with a detachment of the Emigrants, I lie in wait to strike the enemy at dawn (5).”
Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh reported from al-Aʿmash, from Khaythamah: A man once brought Khalid a skin of wine. Khalid supplicated, “O Allah, turn it into honey,” and it became honey. The report has several chains. In another version, a man passed by him carrying a skin of wine. Khalid asked, “What is that?” The man replied, “Honey.” Khalid said, “O Allah, make it vinegar.” When the man returned to his companions he exclaimed, “I have brought you wine the like of which the Arabs have never tasted!” He opened it and found only vinegar, saying, “By Allah, it was struck by Khalid’s supplication” (may Allah be pleased with him).
Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated from Thumāmah, from Anas: Khalid encountered an enemy force and the Muslims fled, leaving only Khalid and the brother of al-Barāʾ ibn Mālik; I was standing between them. Khalid bowed his head to the ground for a while, then raised it toward the sky for a while—Anas said this was his habit in such circumstances—then he said to al-Barāʾ’s brother, “Rise!” They mounted, and Khalid addressed those Muslims still with him: “It is Paradise alone ahead of us, and there is no road back to Madinah.” He charged, and they routed the idolaters.
Mālik reports that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb once said to Abū Bakr, “Write to Khalid, ordering him not to give a single sheep or camel without your consent.” Abū Bakr wrote accordingly. Khalid replied, “Either leave me to my work, or take charge of your work yourself.” ʿUmar advised Abū Bakr to dismiss him. Abū Bakr said, “Who will do on my behalf what Khalid does?” ʿUmar answered, “I will.” He said, “Then you