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Khalid remained silent,
and a few minutes later the friend took his leave. Khalid's head
could see the logic of what his visitor had said, but his heart
still yearned for a glorious death in combat. Why, oh why could
he not have died a martyr in the way of Allah!
On the day of his death, Khalid's possessions
consisted of nothing more than his armour and weapons, his horse
and one slave-the faithful Hamam. On his last day of life he lay
alone in bed with Hamam sitting in patient sorrow beside his illustrious
master. As the shadows gathered, Khalid put all the torment of his
soul into one last, anguished sentence: "I die even as a
camel dies. I die in bed, in shame. The eyes of cowards do not close
even in sleep." 1
Thus died Khalid, son of Al Waleed, the
Sword of Allah. May Allah be pleased with him!
The news of Khalid's death broke like a
storm over Madinah. The women took to the streets, led by the women
of the Bani Makhzum, wailing and beating their breasts. Umar had
heard the sad news and now heard the sounds of wailing. He was deeply
angered. On his very first day as Caliph, he had given orders that
here would be no wailing for departed Muslims. And there was logic
in Umar's point of view. Why should we weep for those who have gone
to paradise? the blissful abode promised by Allah to the Faithful!
Umar had enforced the order, at times using his whip. 2
Umar now heard sounds of wailing. He stood
up from the floor of his room, took his whip and made for the door.
He would not permit disobedience of his orders; the wailing must
be stopped at once! He got to the door, but there he paused. For
a few silent moments the Caliph stood in the doorway, lost in thought.
This was, after all, no ordinary death; this was the passing away
of Khalid bin Al Waleed. Then he heard the sounds of mourning
from the next house-his own daughter, Hafsa, widow of the Holy Prophet,
was weeping for the departed warrior. 3
Umar turned back. He hung up his whip and
sat down again. In this one case he would make an exception. "Let
the women of the Bani Makhzum say what they will about Abu Sulaiman,
for they do not lie", said the Caliph. "Over the
likes of Abu Sulaiman weep those who weep." 4
In Emessa, to the right of the Hama Road,
stretches a large, well-tended garden which has lawns studded with
ornamental trees and flower beds and is traversed by footpaths.
At the top end of the garden stands the Mosque of Khalid bin Al
Waleed. It is an imposing mosque, with two tall minarets rising
from its north-western and north-eastern corners. The inside of
the mosque is spacious, about 50 yards square, its floor covered
with carpets and the ceiling upheld by four massive columns. Each
of the four corners of the ceiling is formed as a dome, but the
highest dome is in the centre, at a considerable height, and from
this dome several chandeliers are suspended by long metal chains.
In the north-west corner of the mosque stands Khalid's shrine-the
last resting place of Abu Sulaiman.
The visitor walks up the garden, crosses
the courtyard of the mosque, takes off his shoes and enters the
portals. As he enters, he sees to his right the shrine of Khalid.
The actual grave is enveloped by an attractive domed marble structure
which gives the impression of a little mosque within the larger
one. The visitor, if so inclined, says a prayer and then loses himself
in contemplation of the only man who ever carried the title of the
Sword of Allah.
And if the visitor knows something about
Khalid and his military achievements, he lets his imagination wander
and pictures of an attack by Khalid flicker through his mind. He
sees a long, dark line of horsemen emerge from behind a rise in
the ground and charge galloping at a body of Roman troops. The cloaks
of the warriors fly behind them and the hooves of their horses pound
the earth pitilessly. Some carry lances; others brandish swords;
and the Romans standing in the path of the charge tremble at the
sight of the oncoming terror, for they are standing in the way of
the Mobile Guard, whom none may resist and survive to tell the tale.
The line of charging horsemen is not straight, for it is impossible
to keep it straight at such a mad, reckless pace. Every man strives
to get ahead of his comrades and be the first to clash with the
infidel; strives to get ahead of all but the Leader, for no one
may, or possibly could, overtake the Leader.
1. Ibn Qutaibah: p. 267.
2. Tabari: Vol. 2, p. 614.
3. Yaqubi: Tareekh: Vol. 2, p. 157.
4. Isfahani: Vol. 19, p. 89.
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