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The great tribe of the
Quraish that inhabited Makkah had evolved a clear-cut division of
privilege and responsibility among its major clans. The three leading
clans of the Quraish were the Bani Hashim, the Bani Abduddar (of
which the Bani Umayyah was an offshoot) and the Bani Makhzum. The
Bani Makhzum was responsible for matters of war. This clan bred
and trained the horses on which the Quraish rode to war; it made
arrangements for the preparation and provisioning of expeditions;
and frequently it provided the officers to lead Quraish groups into
battle. This role of the Bani Makhzum set the atmosphere in which
Khalid was to grow up.
While still a child he was taught to ride. As
a Makhzumi he had to be a perfect rider and soon acquired mastery
over the art of horsemanship. But it was not enough to be able to
handle trained horses; he had lo be able to ride any horse. He would
be given young, untrained colts and had to break them and train
them into perfectly obedient and well-disciplined war horses. The
Bani Makhzum were among the best horsemen of Arabia, and Khalid
became one of the best horsemen of the Bani Makhzum. Moreover, no
Arab could claim to be a good rider if he only knew horses; he had
to be just as good on a camel, for both animals were vital for Arab
warfare. The horse was used for fighting, and the camel for long
marches, in which horses were tagged along unmounted.
Along with riding, Khalid learned the skills of
combat. He learnt to use all weapons-the spear, the lance, the bow
and the sword. He learnt to fight on horseback and on foot. While
he became skilful in the use of all weapons, the ones for which
he appears to have had a natural gift were the lance, used while
charging on horseback, and the sword for mounted and dismounted
duelling. The sword was regarded by the Arabs as the weapon of chivalry,
for this brought one nearest to one's adversary; and in sword fighting
one's survival depended on strength and skill and not on keeping
at a safe distant from the opponent. The sword was the most trusted
weapon.
As Khalid grew to manhood, he attained a great
height-over six feet. His shoulders widened, his chest expanded
and the muscles hardened on his lean and athletic body. His beard
appeared full and thick on his face, With his fine physique, his
forceful personality, and his skill at riding and the use of weapons,
he soon became a popular and much-admired figure in Makkah. As a
wrestler, he climbed high on the ladder of achievement, combining
consummate skill with enormous strength.
The Arabs had large families, the father often
having several wives to increase his offspring, Al Waleed was one
of six brothers. (There may have been more, but the names of only
six have been recorded.) And the children of Al Waleed that we know
of were five sons and two daughters. The sons were Khalid, Waleed
(named after the father), Hisham, Ammarah and Abdu Shams. The daughters
were Faktah and Fatimah.
Al Waleed was a wealthy man. Thus Khalid did not
have to work for a living and could concentrate on learning the
skills of riding and fighting. Because of this wealthy background,
Khalid grew up to disregard economy and became known for his lavish
spending and his generosity to all who appealed to him for help.
This generosity was one day to get him into serious trouble.
Al Waleed was a wealthy man. But the Quraish were
a surprisingly democratic people and everybody was required to do
some work or the other-either for remuneration or just to be a useful
member of society. And Al Waleed, who hired and paid a large number
of employees, would work himself. In his spare time he was a blacksmith
1 and butcher 2
, slaughtering animals for the clan. He was also a trader, and along
with other clans would organise and send trade caravans to neighbouring
countries. On more than one occasion Khalid accompanied trade caravans
to Syria and visited the great trading cities of that fair province
of Rome. Here he would meet the Christian Arabs of the Ghassan,
Persians from Ctesiphon, Copts from Egypt, and the Romans of the
Byzantine Empire.
Khalid had many friends with whom, as with is
brothers he would ride and hunt. When not engaged outdoors they
would recite poetry, recount genealogical lines and have bouts of
drinking. Some of these friends were to play an important part in
Khalid's life and in this story; and the ones deserving special
mention besides Umar, were Amr bin Al Aas and Abul Hakam. The latter's
personal name was Amr bin Hisham bin Al Mugheerah, though he was
to earn yet another name later: Abu Jahl. He was an elder cousin
of Khalid. And there was Abul Hakam's son, Ikrimah, Khalid's favourite
nephew and bosom friend.
Al Waleed was not only the father and mentor of
his sons; he was also their military instructor, and from him Khalid
got his first lesson in the art of warfare. He learnt how to move
fast across the desert, how to approach a hostile settlement, how
to attack it. He learned the importance of catching the enemy unawares,
of attacking him at an unexpected moment and pursuing him when he
broke and fled. This warfare was essentially tribal, but the Arabs
well knew the value of speed, mobility and surprise, and tribal
warfare was mainly based on offensive tactics.
On reaching maturity Khalid's main interest
became war and this soon reached the proportions of an obsession.
Khalid's thoughts were thoughts of battle; his ambitions were ambitions
of victory. His urges were violent and his entire psychological
make-up was military. He would dream of fighting great battles and
winning great victories, himself always the champion-admired and
cheered by all. He promised himself battle. He promised himself
victory. And he promised himself lots and lots of blood. Unknown
to him, destiny had much the same ideas about Khalid, son of Al
Waleed.
1. Ibn Qutaibah: p. 575.
2. Ibn Rusta: p. 215.
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