The Battle of Muʾta

Three thousand Muslims met the massed Byzantines and their allies at Muʾta in the land of Syria. The three commanders — Zayd ibn Haritha, Jaʿfar ibn Abi Talib and ʿAbdullah ibn Rawaha — were martyred, and Khalid ibn al-Walid saved the army by a masterful withdrawal.

The Prophet ﷺ sent al-Harith ibn ʿUmayr as an envoy to the ruler of Busra, but Shurahbil al-Ghassani killed him — no envoy of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was killed but him — so he prepared an army of three thousand and appointed Zayd ibn Haritha; if he fell, then Jaʿfar; if he fell, then Ibn Rawaha.

The Muslims were confronted by the Byzantines and their Arab allies in the hundreds of thousands. They pressed on to Muʾta and fought an astonishing fight; the three commanders were martyred one after another, and Jaʿfar's two hands were severed as he held the banner, until he embraced it — so he was named "the one with two wings."

Khalid ibn al-Walid took the banner, drew the army aside and rescued it from annihilation by a brilliant manoeuvre. The Prophet ﷺ announced the martyrs' deaths to his Companions in Madinah before the news arrived, his eyes overflowing, and said of Khalid: "A sword among the swords of Allah."