Life of Muhammad — Page 150
sa 150 said, with one voice. The army marched on. As they marched, they saw the Roman army advancing towards them. So at Mauta the Muslims took up their positions and the battle began. Soon Zaid ra , the Muslim commander, was killed and the Prophet's cousin Ja ‘ far ibn Ab i Ta lib ra received the standard and the command of the army. When he saw that enemy pressure was increasing and Muslims, because of utter physical inferiority, were not holding their own he dismounted from his horse and cut its legs. The action meant that at least he was not going to flee; he would prefer death to flight. To cut the legs of one's mount was an Arab custom to prevent stampede and panic. Ja‘far ra lost his right hand, but held the standard in his left. He lost his left hand also and then held the standard between the two stumps pressed to his chest. True to his promise, he fell down fighting. Then ‘ Abdull a h bin Raw ah a ra , as the Prophet sa had ordered, grasped the standard and took over the command. He also fell fighting. The order of the Prophet sa now was for Muslims to take counsel together and elect a commander. But there was no time to hold an election. The Muslims might well have yielded to the vastly superior numbers of the enemy. But Kh a lid bin Wal i d ra , accepting the suggestion of a friend, took the standard and went on fighting until evening came. The following day Kh a lid ra took the field again with his crippled and tired force but employed a stratagem. He changed the positions of his men — those in front changed with those in the rear and those on the right flank changed with those on the left. They also raised some slogans. The enemy thought Muslims had received reinforcements overnight and withdrew in fear. Kh a lid ra saved his remnants and returned. The Prophet sa had been informed of these events through a revelation. He collected the Muslims in the mosque. As he rose to address them his eyes were wet with tears. He said: I wish to tell you about the army which left here for the Syrian border. It stood against the enemy and