The Battle of Mutah
·
This battle took place in Jumada Al-Ula 8 A.H.
/ September 629 A.D
·
Mutah is located on the borders of geographical Syria.
·
This battle was fought between The Muslims
and The Byzantine Army
·
Commanders and leaders:
·
The Muslims: The Holy Prophet (SAW) send
the Muslim Army appointed the following commanders :
i.
Hazrat Zayd ibn Harithah (RA)
ii.
Hazrat Jaffer ibn Abi Talib (RA)
iii.
Hazrat Abdullah ibn Rawahah (RA)
iv.
Hazrat Khalid ibn al-Walid (RA)
·
The Byzantine Army
Theodore,(
the brother of Heraclius)
Heraclius,
Shurahbil
ibn Amr
·
Strength of Muslims : 3,000
·
Strength of The Byzantine Army: 100,000-200,000 (Muslim
sources)
·
Casualties and losses: 12 (Muslims) got martyred
and 3,000 enemies killed
Before the
great conquest of the Christians land, the battle of Mutah was the most
significant and the fierce battle fought during the lifetime of the Messenger
of Allâh (SAW). It took place in Jumada Al-Ula 8 A.H. / September 629 A.D. Mutah
is a village that lies on the borders of geographical Syria.
Background of the war
The Prophet (SAW)
had sent Hazrat Al-Harith bin 'Umayr Al-Azdi on a mission to carry a letter to
the ruler of Basra. On his way, he was intercepted by Shurahbil bin 'Amr
Al-Ghassani, the governor of Al-Balqa' and a close ally to Caesar, the
Byzantine Emperor. Al-Harith was tied and beheaded by Al-Ghassani.
Killing envoys
and messengers used to be regarded as the most awful crime, and amounted to the
degree of war declaration. The Prophet (SAW) was shocked on hearing the news
and ordered that a large army of 3000 men be mobilized and dispatched to the
north to give them lesson to the transgressors.
Commanders of the Muslim Army:
Hazrat Zaid bin
Harithah (RA) was appointed to lead the army. Hazrat Ja'far bin Abi Talib (RA) would replace
him if he was killed, and Hazrat 'Abdullah bin Rawahah (RA) would succeed Jaffer
in case the latter fell. A white banner was raised and handed over to Hazrat Zaid
(RA).
The Prophet (SAW)
recommended that they reach the scene of Al-Harith's murder and invite the
people to profess Islam. Should the latter respond positively, then no war
would ensue, otherwise fighting them would be the only alternative left. He
ordered them:
"Fight the disbelievers in the Name of Allâh,
neither breach a covenant nor entertain treachery, and under no circumstances a
new-born, woman, an ageing man or a hermit should be killed; moreover neither
trees should be cut down nor homes demolished." At the conclusion of the
military preparations, the people of Madinah gathered and bade the army
farewell. Hazrat 'Abdullah bin Rawahah (RA) began to weep at that moment, and
when asked why he was weeping, he swore that it was not love for this world nor
under a motive of infatuation with the glamour of life but rather the Words of
Allâh
Speaking of Fire that he heard the Prophet (SAW)
reciting:
"There is not one of you but will pass over it
(Hell); this is with your Lord, a Decree which must be accomplished." [19:71]
The Muslim Army marched on
The Muslim army
then marched northward to Ma'ân, a town bordering on geographical Syria. There news
came to the effect that Heraclius had mobilized a 100,000 troops together with another
100,000 men of Lakham, Judham and Balqain - Arabian tribes allied to the Byzantines.
The Muslims, on their part had never thought of encountering such a huge army.
They were at a loss about what course to follow, and spent two nights debating
these unfavourable conditions. Some suggested that they should write a letter
to the Prophet (SAW) seeking his advice. Hazrat 'Abdullah bin Rawahah (RA) was
opposed to them being reluctant and addressed the Muslims saying:
"I swear by
Allâh that this very object which you hold in abhorrence is the very one you
have set out seeking, martyrdom. In our fight we don't count on number of
soldiers or equipment but rather on the Faith that Allâh has honoured us with.
Dart to win either of the two, victory or martyrdom."
In the light of these words, they moved to
engage with the enemy in Musharraf, a town of Al-Balqa', and then changed
direction towards Mu'tah
The Muslim Army encamped at Mu’tah:
The Mulum Army finally reached at Mu’tah and
encamped there.The right flank was led by Hazrat Qutba bin Qatadah Al-'Udhari
(RA), and the left by Hazrat 'Ubadah bin
Malik Al-Ansari (RA).
Bitter fighting
started between the two parties, three thousand Muslims against an enemy
fiftyfold as large.
Hazrat Zaid bin
Harithah (RA), the closest to the Messenger's heart, assumed leadership and
began to fight resolutely and in matchless spirit of bravery until he fell,
fatally stabbed. Hazrat Ja'far bin Abi Talib (RA) then took the banner and did
a incredible job. In the thick of the battle, he dismounted, constrained his horse
and resumed fighting until his right hand was cut off. He seized the banner
with his left hand until this too was gone. He then grasped the banner with
both arms until a Byzantine soldier struck and cut him into two parts. He was afterward
called "the flying Ja'far" or "Ja'far with two wings" because
Allâh has awarded him two wings to fly wherever he desired there in the eternal
Garden.
'Abdullah bin Rawahah then took lead:
Al-Bukhari
reported fifty stabs in his body, none of them in the back.
Hazrat 'Abdullah
bin Rawahah then proceeded to hold up the banner and fight bravely on his
horseback while reciting enthusiastic verses until he too embraced martyrdom.
Thereupon a man, from Bani 'Ajlan, called Thabit bin Al-Arqam took the banner
and called upon the Muslims to choose a leader.
Hazrat Khalid bin Al-Waleed (RA) took the charge as
Army Commander
The honour was all
the way granted to Hazrat Khalid bin Al-Waleed (RA), a skilled brave fighter
and an outstanding strategist.
It was reported
by Al-Bukhari that he used nine swords that broke while he was relentlessly and
courageously fighting the enemies of Islam. He, however, realizing the grave situation
the Muslims were in, began to follow a different course of encounter, revealing
the super strategy-maker, that Khalid was rightly called. He reshuffled the
right and left flanks of the Muslim army and introduced forward a division from
the rear in order to cast fear into the hearts of the Byzantine by deluding them
that fresh reinforcements had arrived. The Muslims engaged with the enemies in irregular
combats but gradually and judiciously retreating in a fully organized and
well-planned withdrawal.
The Byzantines,
seeing this new strategy, believed that they were being entrapped and drawn in
the heart of the desert. They stopped the pursuit, and consequently the Muslims
managed to retreat back to Madinah with the slightest losses. The Muslims sustained
twelve martyrs, whereas the number of casualties among the Byzantines was
unknown although the details of the battle point clearly to a large number.
Even though the battle did not satisfy the Muslims' objective, namely avenging
Al-Harith's murder, it resulted in a far-ranging impact and attached to the
Muslims a great reputation in the battlefields.
The Byzantine
Empire, at that time, was a power to be reckoned with, and mere thinking of antagonizing
it used to mean self-annihilation, let alone a three-thousand-soldier army
going into fight against 200,000 soldiers far better equipped and lavishly
furnished with all luxurious conveniences. The battle was a real miracle
proving that the Muslims were something exceptional not then familiar. Moreover,
it gave evidence that Allâh backed them and their Prophet, Muhammad (SAW),
was really Allâh's Messenger. In the light of these new strategic changes, the
archenemies among the desert bedouins began to reconcile themselves with the
new uprising faith and several disobedient tribes like Banu Saleem, Ashja',
Ghatfan, Dhubyan, Fazarah and others came to profess Islam out of their own
sweet free will.
In terse
Mu'tah Battle,
after all, constituted the forerunner of the blood encounter to take place with
the Byzantines subsequently. It pointed markedly to a new epoch of the Islamic
conquest of the Byzantine Empire and other remote countries, to follow at a
later stage.
The casualties of the Muslims as the four of
them from Muhajirin while eight the rest from Ansar their
names as follow:
1.
Hazrat Zaid bin Haritha (RA)
2.
Hazrat Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (RA)
3.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Rawahah (RA)
4.
Hazrat Masoud bin al-Aswad (RA)
5.
Hazrat Wahab bin Saad (RA)
6.
Hazrat Abbad bin Qais (RA)
7.
Hazrat Amr ibn Saad (RA)
8.
Hazrat Harith bin Nu'man (RA)
9.
Hazrat Saraqah bin Amr (RA)
10.Hazrat Abu Kulaib bin Amr (RA)
11.Hazrat Jabir ibn 'Amr (RA)
12.Hazrat Amer bin Saad (RA)
While the Byzantine side is recorded an array
of numbers around 3000 casualties
