Life of Muhammad — Page 151
sa 151 fought. First Zaid ra , then Ja‘far ra and then ‘ Abdull a h bin Raw ah a ra held the standard. All three fell, one after the other, fighting bravely. Pray for them all. After them the standard was held by Kh a lid bin Wal i d ra. He appointed himself. He is a sword among the swords of God. So he saved the Muslim army and returned (Z a d al-Ma ‘ a d, Vol. 1 , and Zurq a n i ). The Prophet's sa description of Kh a lid ra became popular. Kh a lid ra came to be known as ‘ the sword of God'. Being one of the later converts, Kh a lid ra was often taunted by other Muslims. Once he and ‘ Abdur Ra h m a n bin ‘ Auf ra quarrelled over something. ‘ Abdur Ra h m a n bin ‘ Auf ra reported against Kh a lid ra to the Prophet sa. The Prophet sa chid Kh a lid ra and said, "Kh a lid ra , you annoy one who has been serving Islam from the time of Badr. I say to you that even if you give away gold of the weight of U h ud in the service of Islam, you will not become as deserving of divine reward as " ‘ Abdur Ra h m a n ra "But they taunt me," said Kh a lid ra , "and I have to reply. " Upon this the Prophet sa turned to others and said, "You must not taunt Kh a lid ra. He is a sword among the swords of God which remains drawn against disbelievers. " The Prophet's sa description came to literal fulfilment a few years later. On Kh a lid's ra return with the Muslim army, some Muslims of Medina described the returning soldiers as defeatist and lacking in spirit. The general criticism was that they should all have died fighting. The Prophet sa chid the critics. Kh a lid ra and his soldiers were not defeatist or lacking in spirit, he said. They were soldiers who returned again and again to attack. The words meant more than appeared on the surface. They foretold battles which Muslims were to fight with Syria.