then ‘Abd Allāh ibn Rawāha.” (1) The expedition took place before the conquest of Mecca, which is why these men did not witness the conquest. When these commanders were killed, Khālid ibn al-Walīd took up the banner without having been appointed commander, and Allah granted victory at his hands. On the day of Mu’ta, nine swords broke in his hand (2), and nothing remained with him except a broad-bladed Yemeni sword. This was narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim (3).

The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—then appointed him commander on the day of the conquest of Mecca. He sent him to demolish al-‘Uzzā, to Banū Jadhīma, and on other missions. At times Khālid did things that the Prophet reproached him for, as occurred on the day of Banū Jadhīma, and the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—disavowed what he had done (4).

Despite this, the Prophet did not dismiss him, but retained him in command. Khālid and ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn ‘Awf had a dispute on the day of Banū Jadhīma, whereupon the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said to him: “Do not revile my Companions. By Him in whose hand is my soul, if one of you were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud, it would not equal even one mudd of what any one of them had spent, nor half of it.”

Abū Bakr appointed him to command the fighting against the apostates and the conquest of Iraq and Syria. He was among those who rendered the greatest service (5) in fighting the enemy. This is a fact that no one (6) can deny. There can therefore be no doubt that he was one of Allah’s swords, unsheathed by Allah against the polytheists.