Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
6. The Path of the Prophet
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When the Muslim army arrived at Ma’an, in Syria,
they pitched camp. The governor of Basra had
already prepared for battle, and he was further
encouraged by the news that the Roman emperor,
Heraclius, had arrived in nearby Ma’ab with a force
of 1,00,000. The local Christian tribes, Lakhm,
Juzam, Qayn, Bahra and Balli also rose in support of
their Byzantine co-religionists, and agreed to fight
under the leadership of the Banu Balli chieftain,
Malik ibn Zafilah. This Roman force of over 100,000,
then, was amassed on the Syrian front, to meet a
Muslim army of only 3,000 men.
Zayd ibn Harithah was slain in battle, and two
subsequent leaders—Ja’far ibn Abi Talib and
‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah, were also martyred after
him. The collapse of the standard led to disarray in
the Muslims ranks. Then a soldier by the name of
Thabit ibn Aqram came forward, lifted up the
standard, and cried out to his fellow Muslims:
“Agree on, one leader!” “We have agreed on you,”
they shouted back. Thabit, however, declined to
accept the command, and, asked for it to be
conferred instead on Khalid ibn al-Walid. The
Muslims shouted their agreement. Hearing this,
