The Biography of the sword of Allah: “Khalid bin Walid, MAPH” (Part 50)
Hazrat Khalid, May Allah be pleased with him, in Sham (Syria)
During the caliphate of Hazrat Syedna Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the land of Sham was under the control of the Romans, who allowed various forms of oppression against the Arabs of that region. It was not until Syedna Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) made a serious decision regarding this matter that he prepared a well-equipped army for Jihad in Syria. He considered all possibilities and devised a winning plan.
The conquest of Sham was very important to Syedna Siddique Akbar, may Allah be pleased with him, and it was regarded as a significant achievement in the history of Islam. Good news regarding this conquest was also conveyed to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and numerous hadiths are included in this context. Therefore, Hazrat Syedna Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, recognized its importance and chose skilled and experienced commanders for the campaign.
This was also one of the reasons for sending Hazrat Khaled ibn Walid to Syria, because there was enough opportunity for the complete conquest of Iraq and Iran, many of the key areas of that country were also conquered and under the rule of Islam.
Sheikh Shalabi, may Allah have mercy on him, writes in this regard: Syedna Abu Bakr Siddique, may Allah be pleased with him, made a serious decision about Rome; He invited the people to Jihad and prepared a large army, raised the flags of four armies under the command of four commanders named Yazid Ibn Abu Sufyan, Sharhbil Ibn Hasna, Abu Ubaidah Ibn Jarrah and Amr Ibn As, may Allah be pleased with them all, explained and assigned them the place of mission, the route of movement and the responsibilities of each of them.
He sent Yazid Ibn Abu Sufyan (RA) to the city of Damascus, Sharhbil Ibn Hasna (RA) to the land of Jordan, Abu Ubaidah Ibn Jarrah (RA) to the city of Homs, and Hazrat Amr Ibn As (RA) to the land of Palestine.
These four armies moved separately until they reached Sham; Each army was placed in the places designated for them by the caliph and were waiting for the order of the caliph of the Muslims, Syedna Abu Bakr Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him.
The Awareness of Roman King about the army of Islam in Sham
When the Romans were informed about the arrival of the Arab armies, they sent a letter to Herqel, the king of Rome, who was present in the city of Quds, and informed him.
Herqel also left Quds and reached the city of Homs; He collected and organized the army and prepared a huge army there. He wanted to disperse the four armies of Muslims and block their communication routes so that he could attack each army individually and destroy them.
