Some people, after them, longed to attain their lofty station,
yet they never came near the pathways of perfection.

In another report ʿUmar said to Khalid’s mother: “Is it Khalid whose loss you lament, or the reward he has now gained? I bind you by oath: do not wail aloud until your hands have blackened with henna-dye.” All of this (1) points to his death having taken place in the Prophetic City, and this was the view espoused by Duḥaym ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ibrāhīm al-Dimashqī.

The opinion more widely accepted among the scholars—al-Wāqidī, his scribe Muḥammad ibn Saʿd, Abū ʿUbayd al-Qāsim ibn Sallām, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Mundhir, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Numayr, Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAṣfarī, Mūsā ibn Ayyūb, Abū Sulaymān ibn Abī Muḥammad, and others—is that he died in Ḥimṣ in the year 21 AH. Al-Wāqidī added that he appointed ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb as the executor of his estate.

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd transmitted from al-Wāqidī, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Zinād and others, who said: Khalid came to Madinah after ʿUmar had removed him from command, performed ʿumrah, then returned to Syria and remained there until he died in 21 AH.

Al-Wāqidī also related that ʿUmar saw [in Madinah] a group of pilgrims praying (2) in the mosque of Qubāʾ. He asked, “Where are you lodging in Syria?” They said, “In Ḥimṣ.” He asked, “Is there any news?” They replied, “Yes, Khalid ibn al-Walid has died.” ʿUmar then uttered the formula of return, saying, “By Allah, he was a shield before the throats of the enemy, blessed in every undertaking.”

ʿAlī said to him, “Then why did you remove him from office?” He answered, “Because he would lavish wealth on those of noble lineage and eloquent tongue.”

In another narration ʿUmar said to ʿAlī, “I regret what I did.”

Muḥammad ibn Saʿd (3) reported: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr al-Humaydī told us, Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah told us, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid told us—I heard Qays ibn Abī Ḥāzim say: When Khalid ibn al-Walid died, ʿUmar said, “May Allah have mercy on Abū Sulaymān; we used to suspect him of things that proved unfounded.”

Juwairiyah transmitted from Nāfiʿ: When Khalid died nothing was found with him save his horse, his servant, and his weapons.

Qāḍī al-Muʿaffā ibn Zakariyyā al-Jarīrī said: Aḥmad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-ʿAskarī narrated to us, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Saʿd narrated to us, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥamzah al-Lakhmī narrated to me, and Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥarmazī (4) narrated: Hishām ibn al-Bakhtarī entered, together with some men of Banū Makhzūm, upon ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb. ʿUmar said to him, “O Hishām, recite to me your poetry about Khalid.”

He recited it, whereupon ʿUmar said, “You have fallen short in praising Abū Sulaymān (may Allah have mercy on him). He loved nothing more than to humble polytheism (5) and its followers, and whoever rejoices at his misfortune exposes himself to Allah’s wrath.”

Then ʿUmar said, “May Allah fight the brother of Banū Tamīm—how gifted he is in verse!”
[from the ṭawīl metre]

And say to the one who remains after him who has passed away:
Prepare for another like it, for it is surely close at hand.