Jakarta – The Mu’tah War took place in the month of Jumadil Awwal, the 8th year of Hijriyah. This battle is called one of the greatest in Islamic history.
According to the book The Mu’tah War Against the Romans and the Fathu Makkah War the writings of Muhammad Ridha et al, Mu’tah is a place located in the Balqa’ region, a place that is quite popular in Sham.
It is said that the Prophet SAW did not jump directly into the Mu’tah War. He sent Ja’far bin Abi Talib as war commander.
In the book The story of Prophet Muhammad SAW written by Ajen Dianawati, Rasulullah SAW advised Ja’far that if something happened to him then his leadership would be replaced by Zaid Haritsah. Then, if Zaid died, then Abdullah bin Ruwahid would have to lead the troops.
“And if Abdullah bin Ruwahid also becomes a martyr, then you yourself must choose a leader,” said the Prophet SAW.
In the Mu’tah war, the greatness of Khalid bin Walid was proven. The three companions who were previously appointed by the Prophet SAW to lead the Muslim army actually died on the battlefield, as quoted from the book The Eternal Light of Prophet Muhammad SAW by M Fethullah Gulen.
At that time, Khalid bin Walid had just embraced Islam. The Mu’tah War was the first battle he participated in as a Muslim soldier.
Narrated in a book The Undefeated Commander ‘Khalid bin Walid’ by Hanatul Ula Maulidya, Mu’tah War was a battle that opened the way for Muslims to conquer Christian countries.
Three months after Khalid bin Walid settled in Medina, Prophet Muhammad SAW sent Harith bin Umar to deliver a preaching letter in order to invite the leaders of the Basrah region to convert to Islam. Unfortunately, in the middle of the journey from Mu’tah to Baitul Maqdis, Harits bin Umair was stopped by Shurahbil bin Amr Al-Ghassani, a leader from the Basrah region.
Harits was then arrested and killed. The news about the killing of Harits was heard by the Messenger of God SAW and his companions, and this is what ignited the Mu’tah War.
Rasulullah SAW then prepared 3,000 Muslim troops to Basrah, Iraq. The Mu’tah war began with the resistance between the Muslim troops and 100,000 combined troops of Ghasan.
Ghasan’s troops were tribes originating from Yemen who migrated to the south of Sham, Hauran. The Mu’tah War took place in the Mu’tah hamlet east of the Jordan River.
The disproportionate number of wars caused the mentality of the Muslim troops to be depressed. However, before the war Abdullah bin Ruwahid encouraged the Muslim army,
“In fact, what you hate is precisely what is your goal, namely martyrdom in the way of Allah. We are not fighting because of their strength and number which is very much. But we are fighting them because of Islam. Allah has glorified us, so go to war, in fact our war this time there are only two good, get victory or die martyr,”
Abdullah’s words made the Muslim troops excited in the war, they fought their fear. However, as previously explained, the three companions appointed by the Prophet SAW, including Abdullah, were actually martyred in the Mu’tah War.
The Muslim forces were at first confused to point to the war leader, then one of the forces named Tsabit bin Arqam advanced and took the Islamic flag and pointed to Khalid bin Walid while saying,
“Take it, Khalid. Because you know better about strategy in war and know about war tricks. And by God, I will not take it unless I hand it over to you!”
Tsabit bin Arqam then shouted towards the Muslim army, “Are you ready O Muslim army to be under the leadership of Khalid?”
The Muslim army approved the decision. Khalid bin Walid swiftly organized and rearranged the ranks of the Muslim troops which were falling apart due to enemy attacks from the front and sides.
He then strategizes by maneuvering after seeing the battlefield from the top of the hill using his eagle eye. In the middle of the war, Khalid gave the order for the rear line to move to the front, then the left wing moved to the right wing, and vice versa.
Troops that were in the rear guard were continuously moving towards the front so that dust was flying. This certainly disrupts the vision of the enemy troops.
Khalid’s brilliant strategy caused the enemy troops to think that the Muslims were getting additional new troops. Therefore, the enemy troops did not dare to act rashly in attacking the Muslims.
Meanwhile, Qutbah bin Qatadah, who was the commander of the right wing of the Muslim army, met with the general of the enemy forces, namely Ghasan Malik. The encounter led to a duel and Ghasan was killed.
The death of Ghasan Malik triggered the enemy troops to hold back their attacks on the Muslims, this became an opportunity for the Muslim army to consolidate. Slowly and orderly, the Muslim troops managed to withdraw from the war due to the unequal numbers.
The enemy troops did not dare to give chase until they decided to stop the battle. Khalid bin Walid’s strategy became a great success for the Muslims.
Upon arrival in Medina after the battle, Rasulullah SAW expressed his pride to the Muslim troops for having succeeded in defeating the enemy. Apart from that, the Muslims can also prove their solidarity to remain in one command.
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(aeb/nwk)
2023-08-07 01:45:36
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