Khalid ibn al-Waleed

Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the knights and heroes of the Quraysh, one of their bravest men and one of their most distinguished thinkers. Al-Dhahabi said about him in his book “Siyar A’lam al-Nubala” (Biographies of the Nobles): “Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira ibn Abdullah ibn Umar ibn Makhzum ibn Yaqzah ibn Ka’b, the sword of Allah Almighty, the knight of Islam, the lion of the battlefields, the master, the imam, the great prince, the leader of the mujahideen, Abu Sulayman.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said about him: “What an excellent servant of Allah! Khalid ibn al-Walid is a sword from the swords of Allah.” (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi and authenticated by al-Albani). In another narration: “Khalid ibn al-Walid is a sword from the swords of Allah, which Allah unsheathed against the polytheists.”

Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced Islam late in Safar of the eighth year of the Hijra, after the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah and before the conquest of Mecca. This occurred after he learned that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had asked about him when he entered Mecca to perform the Umrah of al-Qada'. He sensed the appreciation and honor that this entailed, and was greatly pleased with that, and his desire for Islam increased, so he was encouraged to embrace Islam.

On the authority of Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entered Mecca for the ‘Umrah of al-Qadiyah, I was absent and did not witness his entry. My brother al-Walid ibn al-Walid had entered with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for the ‘Umrah of al-Qadiyah. He looked for me but did not find me. He wrote me a letter, which said: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Then, I have never seen stranger than your opinion and your mind being lost to Islam!! How could anyone be ignorant of Islam?! The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked me about you, saying: ‘Where is Khalid?’ I said: ‘Allah will bring him.’ He said: ‘No one like him is ignorant of Islam. If he had directed his spite and efforts for the interest of Muslims towards the polytheists, it would have been better for him, and we would have preferred him over others.’ So, my Brother, make up for what you have missed, and you have missed good situations. When his letter came to me, I was motivated to go out and it increased my desire for Islam.” (Narrated by al-Bayhaqi)

Ibn Kathir mentioned in “Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah” and Al-Suyuti in “Al-Khasais Al-Kubra” the story of Khalid ibn al-Walid’s conversion to Islam, may Allah be pleased with him. Khalid said: “When Allah wanted what He wanted for me of good, He cast Islam into my heart and my senses became clear to me. I said: I have witnessed all these situations regarding Muhammad, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, and there is no situation I witness except that I turn away, seeing in myself that I am in a position other than what I am supposed to do, and that Muhammad will prevail. When he made peace with the Quraysh at Al-Hudaybiyyah and the Quraysh tried to expel him from Mecca, I said to myself: What is left? Where do I go? To the Negus?! He followed Muhammad and his companions were safe with him. Should I go to Heraclius and abandon my religion for Christianity or Judaism?! Should I stay with a non-Arab following me, or should I stay in my home with those who remain? So, I was in that state when the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, entered Mecca during the Umrah of Al-Qadiyah, and I was absent and did not witness his entry. My brother Al-Walid ibn Al-Walid had entered with the Prophet, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, during the Umrah of Al-Qadiyah, and he looked for me but did not find me, so he wrote me a letter.” Then he said: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Then, I have never seen anything stranger than your opinion and your mind being absent from Islam! How could anyone be ignorant of the likes of Islam? The Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, asked me about you and said: “Where is Khalid?” I said: Allah will bring him. He said: “The likes of him are ignorant of Islam?” “If he had confined his spite in the interest of Muslims alone, it would have been better for him, and we would have preferred him over others.” So, my brother, make up for the good situations you have missed.

Khalid said: When his letter came to me, I was motivated to go out, and it increased my desire for Islam, and I was pleased that the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, asked about me. He said: When I decided to go out to the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, I said: Who should I accompany to the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him? So, I met Safwan ibn Umayya and said: O Abu Wahb, do you not see what we are in? We are like molars, and Muhammad has triumphed over the Arabs and the non-Arabs, so if we go to Muhammad and follow him, then Muhammad’s honor is our honor. But he refused vehemently, saying: If no one remained but me, I would never follow him. So, we parted, and I said: This is a man whose brother and father were killed at Badr.

So, I met Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl and said to him the same as I said to Safwan ibn Umayya, and he said to me the same as Safwan ibn Umayya. I said, “Keep it a secret from me.” He said, “I will not mention it to anyone.” So, I ordered my riding camel, so I set out with it, until I met Uthman bin Talha. So, we went out until we reached the valley, and we found Amr bin Al-Aas there. He said, “Welcome to the people.” We said, “And to you, too.” He said, “Where are you going?” We said, “What brought you out?” He said, “What brought you out?” We said, “Entering Islam and following Muhammad, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him. He said, “That is what brought me forward.” So, he accompanied us all until we entered Madinah. We dismounted in Al-Herra area, and the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, was informed of us and was pleased with us. So, I put on my best clothes, then I went to the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, and my brother met me. He said: Hurry, for the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, has been informed of you and is pleased with your arrival, and he is waiting for you.

So, we walked quickly, and I looked at him, and he kept smiling at me until I stood in front of him. I greeted him with the greeting of prophethood, and he returned my greeting with a cheerful face. I said, “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah.” He said, “Come.” Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Praise be to Allah who has guided you. I saw in you a mind that I hoped would only lead you to good.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, I have seen what I witnessed in those situations in you, defying the truth, so ask Allah to forgive me for them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Islam wipes out (erases and cuts off) what came before it.” I said, “O Messenger of Allah, is that possible?!” He said: “O Allah, forgive Khalid ibn al-Walid for everything he did in obstructing people from the path of Allah.” Khalid said, “Then Uthman and Amr came forward and pledged allegiance to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said, “We arrived in Safar of the eighth year.” He said, “By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not consider any of his companions equal to me in what worried him (concerned and occupied him).

The agreement of Amr ibn al-Aas, Khalid ibn al-Walid and Uthman ibn Talha in converting to Islam:

On the authority of Amr ibn al-Aas, may Allah be pleased with him, he said, “Then I went out intending to go to the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, to convert to Islam. I met Khalid ibn al-Walid, and that was before the conquest, and he was coming from Mecca. I said, “Where are you going, O Abu Sulayman?” He said, “By Allah, the path has been made clear to me, and the man is a prophet. Go, by Allah, and convert to Islam. “Until when?” he said. I said, “By Allah, “I have only come to convert to Islam.” He said, “So we went to Medina to the Messenger of Allah, may Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him, and Khalid ibn al-Walid came forward and converted to Islam and pledged allegiance. Then, I approached and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I pledge allegiance to you that my past sins will be forgiven, and I will not mention my future sins. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “O Amr, pledge allegiance, for Islam wipes out what came before it, and migration wipes out what came before it. So, I pledged allegiance to him and left. Ibn Ishaq said, “I was told by someone whom I do not accuse that Uthman ibn Talhah ibn Abi Talhah was with them and embraced Islam when they did. (Narrated by Ahmad and al-Hakim; classed as Hasan by al-Albani)

The conversion of Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) to Islam was one of the events that pleased and delighted the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When he mourned the death of his commanders and leaders in the Battle of Mu’tah to his companions, he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Zayd took the banner and was wounded, then Ja’far took it and was wounded, then Ibn Rawwahah took it and was wounded - his eyes welling up with tears - until one of the swords of Allah - Khalid ibn al-Walid - took it and Allah granted him victory.” (Narrated by Ahmad and authenticated by al-Albani)

Khalid, may Allah be pleased with him, fought the apostates and Musaylimah the Liar, and invaded Iraq. He witnessed the wars of the Levant with the Muslims as a leader and a soldier, and his virtues are many. He lived for sixty years and died, may Allah be pleased with him, in Homs in the year twenty-one AH in his bed. Among his last words, may Allah be pleased with him, before his death - which express his personality and his deep sorrow for not dying a martyr on the battlefield - were: “I witnessed a hundred battles or so (close to that), and there is not a hand-span of my body that does not have a sword strike, an arrow shot, or a spear thrust. And here I am dying in my bed a natural death as a camel dies. May the eyes of the cowards not sleep.”