In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
An Abridgment of the Prophetic Biography (Seerah),
Authored by Sheikh Musa ibn Rashid al-'Azimi,
May Allah preserve him.
The Eighth Year of the Hijrah:
The Battle of Mu'tah.
This battle took place in Jumada al-Ula in the eighth year of the Hijrah.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"This expedition served as a prelude to the subsequent campaigns against the Byzantines,
And as an act of deterrence against the enemies of Allah and His Messenger."
Its army was known as the "Army of the Commanders."
For Imam Ahmad recorded in his *Musnad* with a good chain of transmission
On the authority of Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) dispatched the Army of the Commanders,
Saying, 'Your leader is Zayd ibn Harithah;
If Zayd is struck down, then Ja'far;
And if Ja'far is struck down, then 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah al-Ansari.'"
The cause of this battle:
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched al-Harith ibn 'Umayr al-Azdi (may Allah be pleased with him)
With his letter to the ruler of Busra.
When he arrived at Mu'tah,
Shurahbil ibn 'Amr al-Ghassani intercepted him
And killed him.
No emissary of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was ever killed other than him.
Killing envoys and emissaries was among the most heinous of crimes,
As established custom and diplomatic norm forbade killing them or harming them.
Imam Ahmad recorded in his *Musnad*, Abu Dawud in his *Sunan*,
And al-Hakim in his *Mustadrak* with a good chain of transmission
On the authority of Nu'aym ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say to the two emissaries of Musaylimah,
When he read Musaylimah's letter,
'What do you two say?'
They replied,
'We say as he says.'
Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'By Allah, were it not that emissaries are not to be killed,
I would have struck off your necks.'"
The Preparation of the Army of the Commanders:
When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) received
The news of the murder of his emissary al-Harith ibn 'Umayr al-Azdi (may Allah be pleased with him),
He mobilized the people to go out and fight the Byzantines and the Ghassanids.
The people prepared to march forth,
And the strength of the Army of the Commanders was
Three thousand fighters,
Which was the largest Muslim army ever assembled up to that time.
The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) placed in command of this army
His freedman Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him).
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his *Sahih*
On the authority of 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) appointed over the expedition of Mu'tah
Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him),
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'If Zayd is killed, then Ja'far;
And if Ja'far is killed, then 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah.'"
In the narration of Imam Ahmad in his *Musnad* with a good chain of transmission,
On the authority of Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched the Army of the Commanders,
Saying: 'Your leader is Zayd ibn Harithah;
If Zayd is struck down, then Ja'far;
And if Ja'far is struck down, then 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah al-Ansari.'"
The Army of the Commanders set out for Mu'tah,
And the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) tied a white banner for them
And handed it to Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him).
He instructed them to march to the place where al-Harith ibn 'Umayr (may Allah be pleased with him) had been slain,
And to invite the people there to Islam;
If they accepted, well and good; otherwise, they were to seek Allah's help against them and fight them.
Among those who marched forth in this momentous campaign was
Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him),
And this was his first military engagement in Islam.
The Army of the Commanders marched toward their enemy in the Levant
Until they reached Ma'an.
There, news reached them that Heraclius, Emperor of the Byzantines, had encamped at Ma'ab in the region of al-Balqa'
With one hundred thousand Byzantine troops,
Joined by Christian Arab tribes from Lakhm and Judham,
As well as the Quda'ah clans of Bahra', Bali, and al-Qayn.
Thus the combined army of the Byzantines and Ghassanids numbered
Two hundred thousand fighters.
Faced with this overwhelming force of Byzantines and Ghassanids,
The Muslims had never anticipated confronting such an enormous host
As the one that took them by surprise.
They remained in Ma'an for two nights deliberating their course of action,
Saying, "Let us write to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
To inform him of our enemy's numbers,
So that he may either reinforce us with more men
Or issue us a command that we will carry out."
Thereupon 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
"O my people! By Allah, the very thing you dread
Is that which you came out seeking:
Martyrdom!
We do not fight the enemy by virtue of numbers, nor by strength;
We fight them only with this religion with which Allah has honored us.
So march forward!
For it is surely one of the two best outcomes:
Either victory or martyrdom."
The men agreed with him,
And they rose to advance.
The Army of the Commanders advanced toward their enemy:
At that point, the Army of the Commanders advanced into enemy territory,
After the Muslims had spent two nights in Ma'an.
When they reached the borders of al-Balqa',
The Byzantine and Ghassanid forces, along with Christian Arabs and others, met them
At a village called Masharif.
Then the enemy drew closer,
And the Muslims pulled back toward a village called Mu'tah.
There the two forces met,
And the Muslims drew up their battle lines:
They placed Qutbah ibn Qatadah over their right wing,
And 'Ubayah ibn Malik al-Ansari over their left wing.
The Outbreak of Battle and Succession of Commanders:
The two armies clashed at Mu'tah,
And fierce, bitter fighting began:
Three thousand fighters confronting two hundred thousand warriors—
A battle watched by the world in awe and astonishment.
Yet when the winds of faith blow, they bring forth wonders.
The banner in the hand of Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him):
Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) took up the banner,
The beloved of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
And fought with tremendous ferocity and rare valor,
With the Muslims fighting alongside him,
Until he fell, pierced by spears,
Collapsing as a martyr (may Allah be pleased with him).
Al-Hakim recorded in *al-Mustadrak* with an acceptable *mursal* chain
On the authority of 'Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) dispatched
An expedition to Mu'tah,
And Zayd ibn Harithah (may Allah be pleased with him) fought
Holding the banner of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
In Jumada al-Ula of the eighth year,
Until he fell amidst the enemy's spears."
The banner in the hand of Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him):
When Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) fell,
Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) took up the banner
And fought with peerless courage,
Until, when the fighting grew overwhelming around him,
He dismounted from his horse and hamstrung it—
It being the first horse to be hamstrung in Islam—
Reciting:
"How wonderful is Paradise and its drawing near,
Sweet and cool is its water!
While the Byzantines, their torment has drawn near,
Disbelievers of distant lineage;
It is upon me, when I meet them, to strike them down."
Then his right hand was severed (may Allah be pleased with him),
So he took the banner in his left hand,
And his left hand was severed as well,
So he clasped the banner with his upper arms
Until he was martyred (may Allah be pleased with him).
Allah, Glorified be He, rewarded him
In exchange with two wings in Paradise,
With which he flies wherever he wills (may Allah be pleased with him),
Which is why he was called Ja'far the Flying (al-Tayyar).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said:
"He was killed (may Allah be pleased with him)
At thirty-three years of age, according to the correct view."
Abu Dawud recorded in his *Sunan*
And al-Hakim in his *Mustadrak*—
The wording being al-Hakim's—
With a good chain of transmission
On the authority of Yahya ibn 'Abbad ibn 'Abdillah ibn al-Zubayr,
From his father, from his grandfather, who said:
"My foster father,
Who had nursed me from Banu Murrah, told me:
'It is as though I am looking at Ja'far ibn Abi Talib
(May Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Mu'tah;
He dismounted from a reddish mare of his and hamstrung it'—
Meaning he cut its hocks—
'Then he advanced and fought until he was killed.'"
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his *Sahih*
On the authority of Nafi', who said:
"Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported
That he stood over Ja'far on that day
While he lay slain:
'I counted on his body fifty wounds from spear-thrusts and sword-strikes,
Not a single one of them on his back'"—
Meaning from behind.
Imams al-Tirmidhi, al-Hakim, and Ibn Hibban recorded—
The wording being that of Ibn Hibban—
With a good chain of transmission
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said:
'I was shown Ja'far as an angel flying with his two wings in Paradise.'"
Imam al-Bukhari recorded in his *Sahih*
On the authority of 'Amir al-Sha'bi, who said:
"Whenever Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both)
Greeted the son of Ja'far,
He would say, 'Peace be upon you, O son of the Two-Winged.'"
The banner in the hand of 'Abdullah ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him):
'Abdullah ibn Rawahah took up the banner
And carried it after Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) was martyred.
He then advanced with it while on his horse,
Urging himself to dismount
Yet experiencing a moment of hesitation,
Whereupon he said:
"I swear, O soul of mine, you shall certainly dismount,
You shall dismount willingly, or you shall be compelled!
If the men raise their battle-cries and the clamor intensifies,
Why do I see you loathing Paradise?"
He also said:
"O soul, if you are not slain, you will still surely die;
This is the fate of death into which you have entered.
What you have long wished for, you have now been granted;
And if you do as the two of them did, you are rightly guided."
Then he advanced and fought until he was killed, may Allah be pleased with him.
*Abridged Prophetic Biography (Seerah)*:
"Though the longing of people for one another may stretch long,
The longing for you knows no bounds.
May Allah send blessings upon you as long as the call to prayer is raised,
And as long as lips move
In utter devotion."