In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Mawaddah Association is pleased
to present to you glimpses from the lives of the Companions,
by Abd al-Rahman Ra'fat al-Basha,
may Allah have mercy upon him.
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with him.
We are now in the ninth year of the Hijrah,
the year which the Muslims called the Year of Delegations.
The city of the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, opens its wide heart
to welcome, with the brightness of every morning, one delegation or more,
arriving from all corners of the Arabian Peninsula
to declare their Islam before the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and to pledge their allegiance to him, promising to listen and obey.
Here are the noble masters, the notables of the Banu Tamim,
submitting to Islam after long defiance,
arriving in the city as obedient Muslims,
extending their hands to the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in allegiance.
While the people were declaring their Islam before the noble Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
and receiving the rewards he had ordered for them,
the Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, noticed a young man among them,
gazing intently at his face.
Then, he stared at him and asked,
"What is the young man's name?"
He replied, "Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr."
He then asked, "What have you prepared for jihad in the cause of Allah, O Qa'qa'?"
He replied, "Obedience to Allah and His Messenger,
swift horses, and sharp spears."
He said, "That is the ultimate goal."
From that day on,
Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr dedicated his soul and his sword to the obedience of Allah and His Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
He made the backs of his horses his bed.
So come, let us spend these wonderful moments with Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr
and his commander, the Sword of Allah, Khalid ibn al-Walid, may Allah be pleased with him and grant him satisfaction.
Khalid ibn al-Walid had barely rested after finishing the Wars of Apostasy
when the letter from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, reached him,
ordering him to set out to conquer the lands of Iraq,
to rescue them from the hands of the Persians, and to bring their people into the religion of Allah.
However, Khalid's soldiers had dwindled and dispersed,
as many had been martyred in the grueling Wars of Apostasy,
and others had been dismissed to return to their families after being away for so long.
Khalid was left with only a small number from his once-great army.
So he wrote to Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, requesting reinforcements.
When al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, opened Khalid's letter
and understood its contents, he said to those with him,
"Khalid ibn al-Walid is asking us for reinforcements."
"Reinforce him with Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr."
The attendees opened their mouths in astonishment at what they heard and said,
"O Commander of the Faithful, will you reinforce a commander
who has lost most of his soldiers with only one man?"
Al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, replied,
"Yes, for the voice of Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr in the army is better than a thousand horsemen,
and an army that includes Al-Qa'qa' shall never be defeated."
Khalid ibn al-Walid set out at the head of ten thousand of his soldiers toward Iraq,
accompanied by Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr,
whom al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, had counted as equal to a thousand horsemen.
He turned his attention toward the region of al-Hafir,
located near the Persian Gulf,
bordering the desert.
Hormuz was the governor of this region on behalf of the Persian King.
And Hormuz, if you do not know,
was one of the few men who possessed great honor among the Persians in his time.
There is no greater proof of his honor than his headgear, which was worth one hundred thousand,
for it was the custom of the Persians
to value their headgear according to their status among their people.
Whoever reached the pinnacle of honor,
the value of his headgear was one hundred thousand.
However, Hormuz was one of the Persian governors who treated the Arabs the worst,
and was the most arrogant toward them.
The Arabs hated Hormuz with intense hatred,
to the point that they made him a proverb for evil.
They would say in their proverbs, "More evil than Hormuz,"
and "More [arrogant] than Hormuz."
No sooner had Khalid ibn al-Walid set up camp in the region
than he sent a letter to Hormuz, saying,
"To proceed:
Embrace Islam and you shall be safe,
or choose the status of dhimmah for yourself and your people,
and pay the zakat to the Muslims while you are in a state of submission.
Otherwise, do not blame anyone but yourself,
for I have come to you with a people who love death
as much as you love life."
Hormuz lost his composure when he read Khalid ibn al-Walid's letter,
and he wrote to Ardashir, the King of the Persians,
informing him of the Muslims' arrival toward Iraq.
Then he immediately rose, arranged his ranks, and gathered his forces,
and rushed toward the water sources at al-Hafir,
arriving there before Khalid could reach it with his army.
When Khalid ibn al-Walid reached al-Hafir,
he ordered his soldiers to set up their camp in a place he had chosen for them.
Some of them stood up and said,
"O Commander,
our enemy is at the water, and we are not at the water,
and we fear that we will die of thirst."
Khalid replied to them,
"Set up your camp where I have ordered you,
then fight your enemy for the water with the determination of those who have no choice but to win.
For by my life, the water will belong to the more patient of the two parties and the more noble of the two armies,
and you are the more patient and the more noble, by the permission of Allah."
The two armies lined up, each facing the other.
Hormuz stood at the front of his soldiers,
and placed on his right a prince from the royal family,
and on his left another prince.
He had harbored evil in his heart,
and concealed treachery in his chest.
Hormuz was certain that if he could kill Khalid ibn al-Walid,
he would have covered four-fifths of the way to victory.
But he was certain that he could not kill him in fair combat.
Since that was the case, he would kill him by treachery,
and let people say what they wanted about him afterward,
and let them accuse him of whatever they wished.
So he confided in a group of his elite horsemen about what he had resolved to do,
perfected the plan with them,
and assigned each of them their task.
Hormuz emerged from between the ranks
and stood in the arena that separated the two armies,
and he shouted a challenging cry, saying,
"Come to me, O Khalid! Step out to me, O Khalid!"
But he positioned himself near the Persian camp,
far from the Muslim camp.
As soon as Khalid ibn al-Walid heard his call,
he dismounted from his horse and went to meet him.
However, Khalid had barely drawn his sword to fight the enemy of Allah and his own enemy
when the men Hormuz had prepared leaped upon him all at once,
their swords drawn in their hands, intending to kill him by treachery.
At that moment, the horseman whom al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him, had counted as a thousand horsemen rose up,
and launched himself from his place like an arrow,
throwing himself into the arena while saying,
"Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr has come to you, O enemy of Allah!
Al-Qa'qa' has come to you!"
Then he descended upon Hormuz and his men like a thunderbolt.
He was followed by brave and noble men from the Muslim army.
A swift battle ensued between the two parties,
during which Khalid snatched the soul of Hormuz from his body,
and Al-Qa'qa' and those with him struck down the treacherous band that had violated the ethics of war,
leaving them as lifeless corpses on the battlefield,
in full view and hearing of the Persians.
None of them dared to make a move.
Then the Muslims launched a single, unified attack against their enemy,
driving them from their positions,
and forcing them to turn their backs and flee.
They left them scattered, between killed, wounded, and defeated.
When the battle had ended,
Khalid looked at Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr and said,
"May Allah reward Abu Bakr, for he is more knowledgeable of men than we are.
The Caliph of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was truthful when he said,
'An army that includes Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr shall not be defeated.'"
From the day of al-Hafir, a bond was forged between Khalid ibn al-Walid and Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr.
It is no wonder, for Khalid had recognized the status of his companion on the fields of battle,
and his effectiveness when the situation became dire and calamities struck.
He entrusted him with commands and placed the heaviest tasks upon his shoulders,
making him his right-hand man at Yarmouk and on other days besides Yarmouk.
He and he had an adventure on the day of the conquest of Damascus that no one would dare to attempt
except those whose hearts were carved from rock and whose minds were forged from jewels.
Khalid ibn al-Walid was one of four commanders on the day of the conquest of Damascus,
working under the command of Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah.
Whether Khalid was the general commander of the entire army
or the commander of one of its battalions,
he was always keen to have Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr with him.
This was because Khalid always aspired for himself and those with him to perform miracles,
and who was like Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr for performing miracles?
The city of Damascus at that time was surrounded by impregnable walls on every side,
like a bracelet around a wrist.
Around it was a deep trench that encircled it on three sides,
and it had five gates
that would open in times of peace with the brightness of every morning
for people to exit and enter,
and would close every evening,
secure in their safety and wealth from thieves and bandits.
If the ancient city was subjected to an invasion,
its defenders would close its gates
and flood its trench with water,
turning it into an impregnable island,
surrounded by walls and water at the same time.
Abu 'Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah distributed the gates of Damascus among himself and his commanders.
He stationed himself before the al-Jabiya Gate,
'Amr ibn al-'As stationed himself before the Thomas Gate,
Shurahbil ibn Hasana stationed himself before the al-Faradis Gate,
and Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan stationed himself before the Small Gate.
As for Khalid ibn al-Walid,
he and his companion Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr stationed themselves before the Eastern Gate,
which was the most fortified and strongest of these gates.
The Muslims set up their catapults around the fortified city
and positioned their siege towers at its gates.
The city's defenders repelled the soldiers at the siege towers,
and their fortifications withstood the bombardment of the catapults.
The Muslims found no way to force the enemy to surrender
except through a siege.
But the siege of Damascus dragged on,
lasting for seven months or thereabouts.
The distress of those besieged inside Damascus
was no greater than the distress of those besieging it from the outside.
The Muslims began to ask, in a state bordering on despair,
"How can we conquer the city, and when?"
The answer came to them through the tongue of Khalid ibn al-Walid
and his companion Al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr.
Khalid ibn al-Walid had ears that heard everything said behind the walls of Damascus,
and eyes that saw everything happening within it.
One day, his scouts came to him saying,
O Prince.
The governor of Damascus has been blessed with a child in his old age.
After a long period of anticipation.
He rejoiced over him with the greatest of joy.
His joy reached such a point.
That he invited the city’s guards and its soldiers.
To a grand banquet tomorrow night.
Where they will feast on the finest foods.
And drink aged wines throughout the night.
And revel until the morning.
Therefore, O Prince, you must seize this opportunity.
The inspired commander took the initiative.
He fashioned rope ladders.
And prepared for this raid a sufficient number of lassos.
Lassos are sturdy ropes.
At the end of each is a noose, which a skilled thrower casts.
It catches onto whatever it is thrown at.
When the night grew dark and enveloped the universe in its shadows.
Khalid said to his soldiers.
We shall scale the wall.
And when you hear our takbir.
A large group of you shall climb up behind us.
And the rest of you shall pour toward the gate.
Then he, along with al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr, set out.
Accompanied by a small band of his companions.
They crossed the trench by swimming with the aid of inflated skins.
Until they reached the city walls.
Then they cast their lassos.
Securing them onto the battlements of the wall.
They climbed them until they reached the top.
They set up the rope ladders they had brought on the outside of the wall.
For those who wished to climb up to them.
And on the inside for those who wished to descend into the city.
Then Khalid proclaimed the greatness of Allah.
His soldiers crossed the trench.
He and al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr then descended in front of the gate.
They killed its guards and opened its locks.
The soldiers of Allah poured into the city from above and below.
They surged into Damascus, chanting the praises of Allah and proclaiming His greatness.
Panic and terror spread throughout the fortified city.
Fear and alarm took hold of its defenders.
They consulted with one another.
And decided to open the other city gates with their own hands.
So that the Muslims might enter peacefully.
Rather than entering through warfare.
Which would lead to the killing of combatants, the taking of captives, and the seizing of spoils.
So they opened them.
And had they not done so.
The Muslims would have opened them by the victory of Allah.
Until another meeting with al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr.
Who placed himself, his sword, and his spear.
In obedience to Allah and His Messenger, peace be upon him.
And made his bed upon the backs of steeds.
The voice of al-Qa'qa' ibn 'Amr in the army.
Is better than a thousand horsemen.
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.