(Friday Sermon - May 3, 2019 )

Background and Participation in Battles

There are varying opinions by the historians in relation to which tribe Hazrat Utbah^(ra) bin Rabi‘ah belonged to. According to Ibn Ishaq, Hazrat Utbah^(ra) bin Rabi‘ah was a confederate of the Banu Lozan tribe and belonged to the Bahra tribe. However, according to some other historians, he was a confederate of the Aus tribe.

He had the honour of participating in the battles of Badr and Uhud. Allama ibn Hajar al-Asqalani states that the name Utbah bin Rabi‘ah is found among the names of those Amirs [leaders], who gathered for the Battle of Yarmuk. He states that according to him, Utbah bin Rabi‘ah referred to this very companion. (al-Sirat al-Nabawiyyah li Ibn Hisham, p. 469, al-Ansar wa man ma’ahum, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2001) (al-Tabaqaat-ul-Kubra li ibn Sa‘d, Vol. 3, p. 284, Utbah bin Rabi’ah bin Khalid, Dar-Ihyaa al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, 1996) (al-Isaba Fi Tamyeez al-Sahaba, Vol. 4, p. 360, Utbah bin Rabi’ah bin Khalid, Dar-ul-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, Beirut, 2005)

Battle of Yarmuk

The details of the Battle of Yarmuk are that upon returning to Medina from Hajj in 12 AH, Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) sent the Muslim armies towards Syria in the early part of 13 AH. Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Aas was sent towards Palestine and similarly, he instructed Yazid bin Abu Sufyan, Hazrat Ubaidah^(ra) bin al-Jarrah and Hazrat Sharabeel^(ra) bin Hasana to go to Tabukia via Balqah, the northern area of Syria. Initially, Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) appointed Khalid bin Sa‘d as an Amir but later replaced him with Yazid bin Sufyan. They left for Syria with an army of 7,000 men and the various Amirs took their armies towards Syria. Heraclius himself marched to Homs and prepared a large army from the Byzantine forces. He appointed a leader for each of the Muslim leaders. Some of the Muslims who were not so strong in their faith, saw the size of the opposition and were overcome with fear because the Muslim army was only 27,000 strong. In light of these circumstances, Hazrat Amr^(ra) bin Aas instructed for everyone to gather at one place because despite being few in number, it would be harder for the enemy to overcome them. Since they were comparatively small in number, therefore by staying together it would make it difficult for the enemy to gain victory over them. He stated that if they remained in separate armies under each of the appointed Amirs [leader] then none of them would be of any use to the others because huge armies had been assigned against each of the smaller units of the Muslim army. Thus, it was decided that all of the Muslim armies would gather at Yarmuk. This in fact was the same suggestion that was sent to the Muslims by Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) as well in that they should become one army and fight the opposition. He also told them, “Become the helpers of God, for God Almighty grants help to such a one who seeks to help Him, and destroys one who rejects Him. The enemy will never be able to overcome you just because you are few in number.”

Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) sent a message saying, “Even though you are fewer in number; you will never be defeated if you remain faithful and united because you are fighting in the cause of God Almighty.” He further stated: “If ten thousand – or even more – supporters of evil rise against you, they will certainly be overpowered. Do not worry about your inferior numbers because if you are ten thousand or even more than this, and your opponents instigate evil and are wrongdoers, they will surely be defeated. Therefore, safeguard yourselves from sins, purify yourselves, become united and fight together in Yarmuk. Every single commander from among you should offer prayers with their battalion.”

The Muslims encircled the Byzantine army from Safar 13 Hijri until Rabi‘ul Thani, but they were not successful. Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) then ordered Hazrat Khalid^(ra) bin Waleed to travel to Yarmuk from Iraq as reinforcement. Hazrat Khalid^(ra) bin Waleed was the Governor of Iraq at the time. Before his arrival, all the Commanders were fighting on separate fronts alongside their respective battalions. Upon his arrival, Hazrat Khalid^(ra) advised the Muslims to elect one Amir [leader] to lead them. Subsequently everyone chose Hazrat Khalid^(ra) bin Waleed. It is stated that the total number of soldiers for the Byzantine army was between 200,000 and 240,000 as opposed to the Muslim army which was between 37,000 and 46,000. In comparison, the size of the Muslim army was almost one fifth of the opposing army. The condition of the Byzantine army was such that the feet of 80,000 of their soldiers were shackled and 40,000 were chained together. This was done so that they had no way of turning back and had no choice but to fight or die fighting.

A total of 120,000 men were chained so that they would not be able to do anything but fight and die on the battlefield. 40,000 men had tied each other with their turbans. On top of that, there were 80,000 riders and 80,000 soldiers on foot. A number of priests had travelled with the army to incite them to fight. It was during this battle that Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) fell ill in Jamadi al-Ulaa and passed away in Jamadi al-Ukhra. ‘To Allah we belong and to Him shall we return’. Hazrat Khalid^(ra) divided the Muslim army into groups of 36 to 40 men, but everyone was fighting under one Commander. Hazrat Utbah^(ra) bin Rabi‘ah was the leader of one of these groups.

Hazrat Khalid^(ra) realised that the Muslim army was fewer in number, however, owing to this tactic, to the enemy it would appear that the Muslim army was greater. The eminence of this Muslim Army can be gauged from the fact that among the ranks, 1,000 men had physically seen the blessed countenance of the Holy Prophet^(sa) and 100 of the companions were such that they had participated in the Battle of Badr alongside the Holy Prophet^(sa). A brutal and fierce battle ensued between the two armies. During this time, an emissary from Medina came with certain news. The cavaliers stopped him to which he said that all was well. However, in reality he brought the news of the demise of Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra). The emissary reached Hazrat Khalid^(ra) and quietly notified him of the passing of Hazrat Abu Bakr^(ra) and also informed him that he had not told any of the soldiers outside of this news. Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed took the letter from him and placed it in his quiver, for he feared that if the news spread to the army, it was certain to cause disorder and the Muslims may not engage in battle. Nonetheless, the Muslims remained steadfast and fought valiantly until the evening, at which point the Byzantine army began to flee.

In this battle, over 100,000 Byzantine soldiers died compared with a total of 3,000 Muslim casualties. Among those martyred was Hazrat Ikramah^(ra) bin Abu Jahl. At the time, the Byzantine Emperor was staying in Homs. As soon as he became aware of the defeat, he immediately fled from there. After the victory at Yarmuk, the Muslim army quickly spread throughout Syria, capturing Canisarein, Antakya, Juma, Sarmin, Tezein, Korus, Tal A‘zaz, Zaluk and Raban, among other places. (Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 4, pp. 53-63, Dar-ul-Fikr, Beirut, 2002) (Khulafa-e-Rashideen, Shah Ma‘een al-Deen Ahmad Nadwi, p. 126, Maktabah Rahmaniyyah, Lahore) (al-kamal fi al-Tarikh, Vol. 2, p. 326, Sunnah 15, Dar-ul-Kitab al-Arabi, Beirut, 2012)