|
Slowly Khalid read the
letter. It was quite clear: he had been sacked! Abu Ubaidah was
the new Commander-in-Chief. Perhaps he should have expected that
this would happen if Umar became Caliph; but he had not expected
it because he had never considered the possibility of Abu Bakr's
death or of Umar's becoming Caliph.
From the date on the letter Khalid saw that it was more than a month
old and must have reached Abu Ubaidah at least three weeks before
now. He looked up at Abu Ubaidah and asked, "Why did you
conceal this from me? May Allah have mercy upon you!" Abu
Ubaidah replied, "I did not wish to weaken your authority
while you were engaged with the enemy." 1
For a few moments Khalid remained lost in
his thoughts-thoughts of Abu Bakr, his friend, guide and benefactor.
Abu Ubaidah looked at him, partly in sympathy, partly in embarrassment.
Then Khalid remarked: "May Allah have mercy upon Abu Bakr!
Had he lived, I would not have been removed from command."
2 Slowly, with bowed head, the Sword of
Allah walked away to his tent.
That night Khalid wept for Abu Bakr. 3
The following morning, October 2, 634 (3rd
Shaban, 13 Hijri), the army was assembled and informed of the two
changes-in the Caliphate and in the command in Syria. On this day
the Muslims in Damascus took the oath of allegiance to the new Caliph.
If any resentment or bitterness existed
in Khalid's heart-and some must undoubtedly have existed-he showed
no sign of it. He remarked casually to his friends, "If
Abu Bakr is dead and Umar is Caliph, then we hear and obey."
4 There was nothing that Khalid could do
to air his grievance without causing serious harm to the Muslim
army and the Muslim cause in Syria, for any anti-Umar action would
probably have split the army, and this was the last thing that the
true soldier and true Muslim would wish.
Once a commander-in-chief is dismissed from
his command, he normally does not serve, if he serves at all, in
the same theatre where he has been in command. He retires. Or he
asks to be transferred or is transferred anyway in consideration
for his feelings. Sometimes he is "kicked upstairs." But
it was Khalid's destiny to fight and to conquer, and nature had
gifted him with all the military virtues needed to fulfil that destiny.
Thus we see here the remarkable phenomenon of the greatest general
of the time (indeed the greatest general of the first millennium
of the Christian Era) being prepared to serve in a lower capacity,
even as a common soldier, with the same drive and zeal which he
had shown as an army commander. This willingness to serve also reflects
the Muslim spirit of the time. And all this became evident a fortnight
later in the crisis of Abul Quds.
A week after Abu Ubaidah assumed command
of the army, a Christian Arab, seeking the favour of the Muslims,
came to the new Commander-in-Chief and informed him that in a few
days a great fair would be held at Abul Quds. At this fair visitors
and merchants from all the lands in the Asian zone of the Byzantine
Empire would come with costly wares to buy and sell. Should the
Muslims wish to acquire more spoils, they only had to send a raiding
column to pick up all the wealth they wanted (Abul Quds is now known
as Abla and lies at the eastern foothills of the Lebanon Range,
near Zahle, about 40 miles from Damascus on the road to Baalbeck.)
5 The informer could not say if there would
be any Roman soldiers guarding the fair, but there was a strong
garrison at Tripolis, on the Mediterranean coast.
Abu Ubaidah spoke to the warriors who sat
around him, and asked if anyone would volunteer to take command
of a column and raid Abul Quds. He was hoping that Khalid would
offer his services for the task, but Khalid remained silent. Then
a youth, on whose face the beard had only just begun to grow, volunteered
himself with bubbling enthusiasm. This boy was Abdullah, son of
Jafar, the Prophet's cousin who had been martyred at Mutah. This
young nephew of the Prophet had only just arrived from Madinah and
was anxious to win glory in the field. Abu Ubaidah accepted the
youth's offer and appointed him commander over a body of 500 horsemen.
1. Balazuri:
p.122
2. Yaqubi: Tareekh, Vol. 2, p. 140.
3. Waqidi: p. 62.
4. Waqidi: p. 62.
5. Gibbon (Vol. 5, p. 321) calls this place
Abyla. It may have been so named in his time, but it is now called
Abla.
|
