Battle of Yarmuk
There was a battle that took place which is known as the Battle of Yarmuk. The reason why it was called “Yarmuk” is because Yarmuk is the name of a valley that lies in the outskirts of Syria.
One of the most major battles in Syria was fought in 15 AH on the plains of Yarmuk near the banks of the Yarmuk River. The Byzantine army, led by Bahan, brought close to 250,000 soldiers onto the battlefield, while the Muslims numbered around 30,000 which also included 1,000 companions of the Holy Prophet (sa), 100 of whom had participated in the Battle of Badr. Upon mutual consultation, the Muslims temporarily withdrew their forces from Homs. They said to the Christians of Homs, “As we are temporarily withdrawing our protection from you, your jizya — i.e. the taxes collected from you — is being returned to you as we are unable to fulfil the obligations for which the jizya was levied.” Hence, that jizya was returned to the people of Homs, which amounted to hundreds of thousands.
When that amount was being returned, the Christians would cry on account of the honesty and justice of the Muslims and would pray from rooftops, “O merciful Muslim rulers! May God bring you back again.” When the Muslims withdrew from Homs, the Byzantines were further encouraged and they arrived at Yarmuk with a large army and camped there to fight the Muslims. However, in their hearts, they were afraid of the strength the Muslims drew from their faith. So, they also wished for some diplomatic resolution and tried to form a treaty. Hence, the Byzantine commander Bahan sent a Roman emissary named George to the Muslim army.
When he reached the Muslim army, they were offering the Maghrib prayer at the time. Upon witnessing the Muslims prostrating before God with great humility, it left a deep impression upon him. He asked some questions to Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra), one of which was, “What is your view of Jesus?” Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) recited the following verse of the Holy Quran:
یٰٓاَہْلَ الْکِتٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوْا فِیْ دِیْنِکُمْ وَ لَا تَقُوْلُوْا عَلَى اللّٰہِ اِلَّا الْحَقَّ اِنَّمَا الْمَسِیْحُ عِیْسَى ابْنُ مَرْیَمَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰہِ وَ کَلِمَتُہٗ اَلْقٰىہَآ اِلٰى مَرْیَمَ وَ رُوْحٌ مِّنْہُ فَاٰمِنُوْا بِاللّٰہِ وَ رُسُلِہٖ وَ لَا تَقُوْلُوْا ثَلٰثَۃٌ اِنْتَہُوْا خَیْرًا لَّکُمْ اِنَّمَا اللّٰہُ اِلٰہٌ وَّاحِدٌ سُبْحٰنَہٗٓ اَنْ یَّکُوْنَ لَہٗ وَلَدٌ لَہٗ مَا فِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ مَا فِی الْاَرْضِ وَ کَفٰى بِاللّٰہِ وَکِیْلًا
“O People of the Book, exceed not the limits in your religion, and say not of Allah anything but the truth. Verily, the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of Allah and a fulfilment of His word which He sent down to Mary, and a mercy from Him. So believe in Allah and His Messengers, and say not ‘They are three.’ Desist, it will be better for you. Verily, Allah is the only One God. Far is it from His Holiness that He should have a son. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And sufficient is Allah as a Guardian.” [Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.172]
Thereafter, he read the following verse:
لَنْ یَّسْتَنْکِفَ الْمَسِیْحُ اَنْ یَّکُوْنَ عَبْدًا لِّلّٰہِ وَ لَا الْمَلٰئِکَۃُ الْمُقَرَّبُوْنَ
“Surely, the Messiah will never disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor will the angels near unto God.” [Surah al-Nisa, Ch.4: V.173]
When George, who had come as a representative of the opposing army, heard these teachings of the Holy Quran, he said indeed these were the qualities of the Messiah (as). He also said that their Messenger (sa) was true and thus accepted Islam. Subsequently, he did not wish to return to his army. However, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) said that the Byzantines would think that the Muslims had broken their pact, therefore he should return. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) advised that he could return the following day with the emissary that was to be sent from the Muslim army to them. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) called the Christian army towards Islam and presented to them the Islamic teachings of equality, brotherhood and morals. The following day, Hazrat Khalid (ra) went to them. However, his visit was not fruitful and preparations for a battle commenced. Muslim women were at the rear of the army, who gave water to the soldiers, tended to the wounded and encouraged the soldiers during the battle. Hazrat Asma bint Abi Bakr (ra), Hazrat Hind (ra) bint Utbah, who accepted Islam on the occasion of the conquest of Mecca and was the wife of Hazrat Abu Sufyan (ra) and also Hazrat Umm-e-Aban (ra) etc. were among these women.
Addressing the Muslim women prior to the battle, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) said, “O mujahidaat [female soldiers]! Pull out the pegs from the tents and take them into your hands. Fill your cloaks with rocks and stones and give encouragement to the Muslims to fight. Tell them that today is the day of combat and they are not to turn their backs. If you see the Muslims gaining victory, remain seated in your places and if you see the Muslims retreating, strike their faces with these pegs and pelt them with stones and send them back into the battlefield. Lift your children up and tell them to go and sacrifice their lives for their families and for the sake of Islam.” Following this, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) addressed the men in the following manner, “O servants of Allah! Come forward in support of God as He will help you in return and grant you steadfastness. O servants of Allah! Be patient as this is the very means of becoming pure from any form of disbelief, the means of pleasing God and the means of washing away one’s stain of humiliation. Do not break your ranks; do not be the ones who instigate the battle; raise your spears; secure your guard and remain engaged in the remembrance of God so that He may fulfil His will.”
They were instructed that they must not be the ones who initiate the fighting, but once the battle commences, they should not turn their backs from it. The opposing army placed a golden cross at the front of its army and their glistening armour was reflecting into the eyes of the Muslim army. They were covered in iron from head to toe; that is, they were fully clad in armour. On that day, they also wore chains around their ankles so that they could not retreat; thus they would either kill or be killed. Their priests were reading extracts from the Gospel to arouse their emotions. The army of the disbelievers advanced like waves of the ocean. Theirs was an army of around 200,000 to 250,000 soldiers, whereas the Muslims were only 30,000. Nevertheless, the battle commenced.
At first, the Byzantines had the upper hand and started to push the Muslims back. The Christians had secretly received information as to who among the Muslim army were companions of the Holy Prophet (sa). They positioned some of their skilled archers on a hill and instructed them to specifically target the companions with their arrows. They knew that once the prominent men were killed, the remaining army would subsequently become disheartened and they would flee from the battlefield. As a result of this, several companions were killed and some lost their sight.
Seeing this, Ikrimah (ra), the son of Abu Jahl, who had accepted Islam at the time of the conquest of Mecca and who said to the Holy Prophet (sa) on that occasion to “pray that Allah enables me to atone for my previous sins.” In other words, may Allah enable him to atone for his past deeds.
He then went with some of his companions to Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) and said, “The Companions (ra) [of the Holy Prophet (sa)] have offered great sacrifices. Allow us who joined the fold of Islam later to also partake in the blessings. We will attack the core of the army and kill the Christian generals.” Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) replied, “This is a very dangerous assignment. Whichever soldier goes to attempt this will be killed.” Ikrimah (ra) said, “This is true; however, what other choice do we have? Would you like for us young men to stay safe and for the Companions (ra) to be killed?” Since he had accepted Islam, he was instilled with a passion and yearning to sacrifice his life for the sake of Allah the Almighty. Ikrimah (ra) repeatedly asked for permission for him and 400 other fighters to attack the core of the enemy army. Eventually, Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (ra) granted permission upon the insistence of Ikrimah (ra). Thus, they attacked the core of the army and were successful; however, the majority of those assigned for this task, were martyred in this attack.
The Muslims managed to push the Byzantine forces back towards the trenches they had dug. Since they had shackled themselves together lest anyone ran away, the Byzantine soldiers fell in the trenches in large numbers. If one would fall, they would take 10 others with them. Whilst retreating, 80,000 of the disbelievers drowned in the Yarmuk River, whereas 100,000 Byzantine soldiers were killed in the battlefield. 3,000 Muslims were martyred. This was the Battle of Yarmuk.
(Roshan Sitarey az Ghulam Bari Saif Sahib, Vol. 2, p. 21-25) (Tafsir-e-Kabir, Vol. 10, p. 181) (Yaqut Ibn Abd Allah al-Hamawi, Mu‘jam al-Buldan, Vol. 5 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah] 497)