Stories from Early Islam — Page 112
112 A Jew who heard these directions, said to Zaid, ‘Take it from me, if Muhammad is true, you will not return alive’. Zaid replied, ‘I may return or not, but surely Muhammad is the true Prophet of God’. When this force arrived at the Syrian border, they learned that the Roman Emperor had brought a large army of one hun- dred thousand soldiers against the Mus lims. Moreover, another hundred thousand warriors were raised by the local tribes to support the Emperor against the Muslims. Despite the fact that the Muslims were grossly out - numbered, they, being inspired by faith and the righteous ness of their cause, fought bravely. Just as the Prophet saw had foretold, first Zaid was killed in the battlefield, then Ja’afar and Abdullah were also killed, each in turn, and the command of the Muslim force fell to the lot of Khalid bin Waleed. When Ja’afar was in command and was holding the flag in his hand, his right arm was cut off. He, therefore, held the flag