This is the place near Kerak, in southern Jordan
where the Muslims fought a famous battle
against a combined Byzantine/Ghassanid army
during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammed
(peace and blessings of Allah be on him) in the
year 629 CE.
Of the epistles (letters) that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him) despatched
to various kings, inviting them to Islam, one
was sent to the King of Bursa through Haris-
bin-Umair Azdi (may Allah be pleased with
him). When Haris (may Allah be pleased with
him) reached Mu’ta, he was killed by Sharjeel
Ghassani, one of the governors of the Qaiser.
The murder of the envoy was against all laws
of inter-tribal morality. The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be on him) was naturally
very much upset when the news reached him.
He collected an army, 3,000-strong, to
advance against the enemy. This was the first
time the Muslims would fight the Byzantines
(The Roman Empire during the Middle Ages).
While nominating Zaid-bin-Haritha (may Allah
be pleased with him) to command the army,
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) said: “If Zaid is killed, then Jafar-bin-
Abi Talib will be your Amir and if he is also
martyred, then Abdullah-bin-Rawahah will take
the command. If he also dies, then you can
select a commander from among yourselves.”
A Jew, who was listening to this, said: “All the
three must die. This is exactly how the earlier
Prophets used to prophesy.”
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be
on him) gave Zaid a white flag made by
himself. He then accompanied the army for
some distance out of Madinah and prayed for
them saying: “May Allah bring you back safely
and triumphantly, May He guard you against
all evils.”
When Sharjeel received intelligence about this
army, he prepared an army 100,000 strong and
another army of 100,000 was raised by the
Qaiser himself to meet the Sahabah. When the
Sahabah heard the rumour of the impending
army they hesitated whether they should face
such heavy odds or inform the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be on him). Abdullah bin
Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him)
exhorted them to advance and they faced the
army in the battlefield of Mu’ta.
A fierce battle raged in which, as prophesised,
Zaid-bin-Haritha (may Allah be pleased with
him), followed by Jafar-bin-Abi Talib and
Abdullah-bin-Rawahah were martyred. After
the last leader had fallen, Thabit bin Aqram
(may Allah be pleased with him) ran to receive
the flag and rose it high, so that the Muslims
would not disperse in chaos. Thabit (may Allah
be pleased with him) then handed the flag to
Khalid-bin-Waleed (may Allah be pleased with
him) and called the Muslims publicly to accept
his leadership. They unanimously agreed and
for the first time Khalid-bin-Waleed (may Allah
be pleased with him) headed a Muslim army.
Khalid-bin-Waleed (may Allah be pleased with
him) reported that the fighting was so intense
that he used nine swords which broke in the
battle. Seeing that the situation was hopeless,
he prepared to withdraw the army. He
continued to engage the Byzantines in
skirmishes, but avoided pitched battle. One
night he completely changed his troop
positions and brought forth a rearguard that he
had equipped with new banners; all this was
intended to give the impression that
reinforcements had arrived from Madinah. He
also ordered his cavalry to retreat behind a hill
during the night, hiding their movements, and
then return during daytime when the battle
resumed, raising as much dust as they could.
This also was intended to create the
impression that further reinforcements were
arriving. The Byzantines believed in the
fictitious reinforcements and withdrew, thus
allowing the Muslim force to safely retreat to
Madinah.
Today, those Muslims who fell at the battle are
considered martyrs (shaheed). Far from being
a defeat, this battle was a strategic success;
the Muslims had challenged the Byzantines
and had made their presence felt amongst the
Arab Bedouin tribes in the region.
References: Fazail-e-Aamal – Sheik Zakariyya
Kandhalvi, Men around the Messenger – Khalid
Mohammed Khalid. ummrumaysa.tumblr.com
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