Khalid ibn al-Walid (may Allah be pleased with him) is remembered as one of the great generals of history. This guide is not about that. It is about his heart: how a man who stood against Islam came to believe, and how he lived his faith.
His story shows that nobody is too far from Allah (﷾) to come back.
At a glance
- Born into a leading family of Mecca, he opposed the Prophet (ﷺ) for years.
- A prayer he watched, a letter from his brother and a dream turned his heart.
- He accepted Islam in 629, and the Prophet (ﷺ) welcomed him with a smile.
- The Prophet (ﷺ) honoured him as one of the swords of Allah (﷾).
- Far from home, he once crossed the desert in secret to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
- When he lost his high command, he kept serving.
- Before Islam
Born in Mecca, into the Makhzum clan of the tribe of Quraysh. al-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
- 625
He fights against the Muslims at Uhud. Encyclopaedia Britannica
- 628
He rides out to block the Prophet's (ﷺ) way to the Kaaba, and sees the believers at prayer. Sahih al-Bukhari 2731al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
- 629
In Medina he accepts Islam, on the same journey as Amr ibn al-As and Uthman ibn Talha. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 8: The Victory of Islamal-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
- 629
The Prophet (ﷺ) calls him one of the swords of Allah (﷾). Sahih al-Bukhari 3757
- Early 634
He crosses the desert in secret to make the Hajj, then returns to his post. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the Empires
- 634
Umar becomes caliph and gives the high command to Abu Ubaydah. Khalid keeps serving. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the EmpiresEncyclopaedia Britannica
- 642
He dies in Homs, in Syria. Encyclopaedia Britannicaal-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 14: The Conquest of Iran
Dates are in the Common Era. Some are approximate.
On the other side
Khalid was born in Mecca into Makhzum, one of the leading clans of the tribe of Quraysh. When the Prophet (ﷺ) began to call people to worship Allah (﷾) alone, many of the leaders of Mecca stood against him, and so did Khalid. For years he fought against the Muslims, including at Uhud in 625. Encyclopaedia Britannicaal-Dhahabi, Siyar A'lam al-Nubala'
Later in life he described how it had felt. He said he had been there every time his people went out against the Prophet (ﷺ). Every time, he came away feeling that he was in the wrong place. He felt that Muhammad (ﷺ) would win in the end. al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
Signs along the way
In 628 the Prophet (ﷺ) set out with his companions to visit the Kaaba as pilgrims. He said they had not come to fight anyone. Khalid rode out with the horsemen of Mecca to block their way, and the Prophet (ﷺ) simply took another road. Sahih al-Bukhari 2731
Khalid never forgot that journey. He remembered watching the believers pray together behind the Prophet (ﷺ), and saying to himself that this man was protected. al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
A year later the Prophet (ﷺ) came back to Mecca for the umrah, the lesser pilgrimage, as had been agreed. Khalid stayed away. His brother al-Walid, who was already a Muslim, came with the Prophet (ﷺ), looked for Khalid, and left him a letter. In it he wrote that the Prophet (ﷺ) had asked him where Khalid was. The Prophet (ﷺ) had said that a man like Khalid should not stay a stranger to Islam. al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
Khalid said the letter made him glad, because the Prophet (ﷺ) had asked about him. It made him want Islam all the more. Then he had a dream. He was in a narrow, dry land, and he came out into a wide, green country. Later he told Abu Bakr, who explained it. The narrow land was the shirk he had lived in, the worship of others besides Allah (﷾). The green country was Islam, to which Allah (﷾) had guided him. al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
Welcomed with a smile
In 629 Khalid set out for Medina. His friend Uthman ibn Talha joined him, and on the road they met Amr ibn al-As, another leader of Mecca. Each asked the other where he was going. They gave the same answer: to enter Islam and follow Muhammad (ﷺ). In Amr's own telling, Khalid said the way was clear now: the man was truly a prophet, and he was going to become a Muslim. How much longer could he wait? al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 8: The Victory of Islamal-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
In Medina, Khalid put on his best clothes. His brother met him and told him to hurry: the Prophet (ﷺ) knew he had come, and was glad. As Khalid walked towards him, the Prophet (ﷺ) kept smiling at him. Khalid greeted him as the Messenger of Allah (﷾). Then he said: I bear witness that there is no god but Allah (﷾), and that you are the Messenger of Allah (﷾). al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
The Prophet (ﷺ) praised Allah (﷾) for guiding him. He said he had always seen good sense in Khalid, and had hoped it would lead him only to good. Khalid asked him to pray that Allah (﷾) would forgive all the times he had stood against the truth. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that Islam wipes out what came before it, and prayed for Allah (﷾) to forgive him. al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi (in Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya)
Amr, who gave his pledge on the same visit, asked for one thing: to be forgiven. His own account is in Sahih Muslim. The Prophet (ﷺ) told him that Islam wipes out everything that came before it. The Qur'an makes this promise to everyone who turns to Allah (﷾): Sahih Muslim 121al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 8: The Victory of Islam
O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
One of the swords of Allah (﷾)
A few months later, Khalid was among the believers the Prophet (ﷺ) sent north to Mu'tah, near Syria. In Medina, before any messenger had arrived, the Prophet (ﷺ) told the people what had happened there. With tears in his eyes, he said that the three leaders he had chosen had been martyred, one after another. Then, he said, the banner had been taken up by one of the swords of Allah (﷾), and Allah (﷾) had granted the believers success. Sahih al-Bukhari 3757Sahih al-Bukhari 4262
This is where Khalid's well-known title comes from: Sayf Allah, the Sword of Allah (﷾). It was a title of honour from the Prophet (ﷺ) himself. Only months before, Khalid had been on the other side. Now the Prophet (ﷺ) counted him as one of the believers, and honoured him. Sahih al-Bukhari 3757
The secret pilgrimage
Early in 634, less than two years after the Prophet's (ﷺ) death, Khalid was far from home. He was with the Muslim army at al-Firad on the River Euphrates, where Iraq meets Syria. The season of the Hajj, the great pilgrimage to Mecca, was near. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the Empires
The early historians tell what Khalid did; al-Tabari records it from the historian Sayf ibn Umar. He sent the army back to al-Hirah in Iraq, with others leading it, and let it be thought that he was riding at the back. In fact he had set out for Mecca with a few companions, telling no one. He took no known road. He cut straight across the desert, by a route that, al-Tabari says, no guide or hardened desert traveller could have managed. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the Empires
He reached Mecca in time, stood at Arafat and made the Hajj. Then he rode back the same hard way, and caught up with the end of his army just as it reached al-Hirah. He and his companions came in with their heads shaved, the mark of pilgrims who have finished the Hajj. Only a few in the rear guard, whom he had told, knew where he had been. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the Empires
Al-Tabari does not record his reasons, only what he did: he crossed the desert to stand with the pilgrims before Allah (﷾). The Qur'an describes pilgrims like him: Qur’an 3:97
And proclaim the Pilgrimage among men: they will come to thee on foot and (mounted) on every kind of camel, lean on account of journeys through deep and distant mountain highways
The caliph, Abu Bakr, heard of it only later. He told Khalid never to do anything like it again. But in the same letter he wished him joy of his intention, and gave him advice for the heart. Finish what you have begun, he wrote, and Allah (﷾) will complete it for you. Do not let pride in your deeds enter you. And never think a good deed is a favour you have done, because the favour is Allah's (﷾), and He alone gives the reward. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the EmpiresQur’an 49:17
It is Allah (﷾) who gives success
Abu Bakr died later in 634, and Umar became caliph. Umar took the high command from Khalid and gave it to Abu Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. Khalid did not walk away. He went on serving under Abu Ubaydah. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 11: The Challenge to the EmpiresEncyclopaedia Britannica
Some years later Umar removed him from command altogether, and al-Tabari records the letter Umar sent to the cities to explain. He had not removed Khalid out of anger, he wrote, or for dishonesty. People had come to admire Khalid so much that Umar feared they would put their trust in a man. He wanted them to know that it is Allah (﷾) who does all things. al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 13: The Conquest of Iraq, Southwestern Persia, and EgyptQur’an 3:126
Khalid died in Homs, in Syria, in 642. The early historian al-Waqidi records that he named Umar to carry out his will. Encyclopaedia Britannicaal-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vol. 14: The Conquest of Iran
What we can learn
Khalid's journey speaks to anyone who thinks their past is too heavy.
- Nobody is too far to come back. Khalid stood against Islam for years, and Allah (﷾) still guided him.
- Islam wipes the slate clean. The Prophet (ﷺ) did not hold Khalid's past against him. He smiled, and prayed for him.
- Notice the signs. A prayer he watched, a brother's letter and a dream all pointed him to the truth.
- Love worship, and do it the right way. Khalid longed to stand at Arafat. Abu Bakr praised his intention, and told him never to do it that way again.
- Success comes from Allah (﷾). Abu Bakr and Umar both reminded him, and everyone else, that every good thing is Allah's (﷾) gift.
Khalid began his life opposing the message of Islam and ended it as one of its most devoted servants. The door that opened for him is open to everyone.