All the wars that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had previously waged were mainly wars against internal factions or to suppress them. But with the Battle of Mut’ar, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) started a war with the Romans, which was the first international war. The word “Roman” or “Rum” in the hadith basically refers to the West. And “Sham” refers to the countries of present-day Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan – which we discussed earlier.
This war was the first time Muslims and Christians faced each other on the battlefield. If this war had started long ago. After the Treaty of Hudaybiyah, the activity of the northern Arab rebels against the Muslims increased. The problem became particularly important when they killed RS bin Warish. He was a representative sent by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to the Roman governor.
On the other hand Damasco After sending a representative to the emperor, he did not give him any importance and instead decided to attack Medina.
Then the events began to unfold in the empire called “Sham”. Then the people of that region started persecuting the Muslims. “Sham” The region was originally ruled by the Roman Empire.
All these events set the stage for the Battle of Muta. This battle was the first war between Muslims and Romans. In terms of importance, the Battle of Mut’a came close to the Battle of Badr and the Battle of Uhud. In the eighth year, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called upon his companions to attack the “Sham”. The Prophet (peace be upon him) decided to send 3,000 soldiers. Usually, at the beginning of a war, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would appoint one person as the commander, but in this war, he appointed three people as commanders.
This battle was very important for the companions because they had never fought such a large army before, except for the Prophet (peace be upon him). When all preparations were completed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) bid them farewell and prayed that Allah would protect them and bring them back to us safely.
The army reached the “Sham”. which is currently known as Jordan. They pitched their tents where the governor of Ma Ayan was killed. When they got there, they noticed that the enemy had brought a huge army, numbering about 200,000. Roman soldiers were professional, skilled, and well-armed. The Muslims did not expect the enemy to be so numerous. In terms of numbers, 33 Roman soldiers would fight against one Muslim soldier.
Hearing that 200,000 soldiers had arrived, many Muslim soldiers lost their morale. They then began to consult among themselves whether they should stay here or return to Medina. Some suggested that they send a message to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) for further instructions.
Then Abdullah ibn Rahmaanhu stood up and said, “Brothers, we have two paths: kill our enemies or be martyred for Paradise.” Abdullah ibn Rahmaanhu was a great poet, and everyone seemed to come back to life after hearing his words.
The war had begun. Zayd ibn Haritha (may Allah be pleased with him) was the flag bearer. Everyone saw Zayd ibn Haritha (may Allah be pleased with him) rush at the enemy with the flag in his hand.
Zayd ibn Haritha (may Allah be pleased with him) left alone and entered the enemy army. He could no longer be seen. His body was soaked in blood due to the blows of the enemy’s swords. However, he continued to fight and eventually became a martyr.
Then the second Emir Ja’far ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) raised the flag. He was surrounded by enemies, but he was unconscious. The enemies cut off his right hand, but he held the flag in his left hand. The enemies cut off his left hand, but he held the flag in his chest. Then the enemies killed him.
Then the third Emir Abdullah ibn Anwar (may Allah be pleased with him) raised the flag. He raised the flag, mounted his horse, and began to recite poetry. Abdullah’s brother gave him a piece of meat to eat, but as soon as he put the piece of meat in his mouth, he exclaimed, “Oh Abdullah, you are still alive.” Saying this, he rode his horse into the enemy’s army and was martyred.
Three emirs were martyred one after the other, but still the Muslims continued to fight on the battlefield. This time, when evening came, Sa’d ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) raised the flag. He wanted to give the flag to a responsible person who could save the Muslim army from destruction, even though he himself was a brave warrior. He said, “For all intents and purposes, brothers, choose an Amir from among yourselves.” They said, “You shall be the Amir.” But he said, “No, I will not be the Amir.” They suggested the name of Khalid bin Walid.
Gabriel himself conveyed the news of the Battle of Mut’ar to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and upon hearing the news, he praised the battle to the Companions.
When he learned that Khalid bin Walid had taken over the leadership, he was very happy and said that the victory of the Muslims was near. As evening fell, Khalid bin Walid was thinking about how to bring the Muslim soldiers back.
He devised a strategy that would cause the Muslims to slowly retreat but the enemy forces would not be able to catch them.
He sent the right army to the front and the left army to the right and sent the flag army to the rear. As a result, the Roman army woke up in the morning and saw that new troops had joined the Muslim army. So they thought that since yesterday they had survived with a small army and today there were zero new ones, then they would definitely be victorious.
The Roman army began to retreat, and Khalid bin Walid took this opportunity to bring the entire Muslim army safely back to Medina.
When they entered Medina, some people were insulting them and throwing dirt at them, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stopped them and said that they had lost and had returned safely so that the larger group could attack.
Now we will discuss the lessons of the Battle of Mutar. Through the Battle of Mutar, the battlefield of Muslims entered the international arena. Through this battle, the Muslims gained an idea of the power of the Romans. The second education, The companions fought knowingly because they knew that they might die in a short while. These Mujahideen have sacrificed their lives for Islam. The third lesson is that when a person dies, mourning can be observed for a maximum of three days.
Now we will discuss a little about the campaign called, Jatur Shala Caesar’s expedition. This was the first Shariah led by Ammur bin A’ishah. Only a few days ago, he converted to Islam under the leadership of Khalid bin Walid, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) placed them in the position of leader because they had strong character. He set out on a campaign with a force of 300 men and, approaching the enemy, learned that they had brought a large army. He sent an urgent message to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent another army and the main purpose of this war was to create a fear presence among the enemy forces or among the enemy parties. That’s why the enemy forces fled instead of fighting.
