The answer for the question below:
Why Did Caliph Umar Dismissed Khalid Al-Walid as General? Was it because of Jelousy?
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Many agree that the reason
remained unknown. And I do too prefer to keep it that way and do not want to
jump into any conclusion by assuming what I know not.
At the same time in order to
protect Caliph Umar Al-Khattab from being labelled as Jealous, there are source
where we can look at and study about it. In fact, Caliph Umar Al-Khattab did
mention why he dismissed General Khalid Al-Walid from the army and his post.
But people still like to argue about it.
To say Caliph Umar Al-Khattab
dismissed Khalid Al Walid due to jealousy, I firmly disagree. And I dare to say
that was not the case. Umar Al-Khattab was one of the closest and trusted
companion to Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. With his knowledge and how he
understood the teaching of Islam it is not right to claim that he was jealous
of Khalid Al-Walid plus he gained and learn knowledge of Islam directly from
our Prophet Al-Kareem. There is no room for feeling such as jealousy in Islam.
Literally the meaning of jealousy is big. There are different types of
jealousy. There is a type of jealousy (positive) that is accepted by Islam, and
there is a type of jealousy (negative) that is prohibited in Islam.
Back to your question, let say
if we say that Caliph Umar Al-Khattab removed Khalid Ibn Al-Walid from his post
because of jealousy, it will tell us the jealousy of Caliph Umar Al-Khattab is
negative which is prohibited in Islam. As a second Caliph and one of the closest
and trusted companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), he should known
better. Therefore to say he was jealous of Khalid Ibn Al-Walid is rubbished.
As the reason still remained
unknown it is the best for us not to assume for things we do not know. Allah
told us through the book of Quran, do not assume:
O ye who believe! Avoid
suspicion as much (as possible): for the suspicion in some cases is a sin: And
spy not on each other behind their backs. Would any of you like to eat the
flesh of his dead brother? Nay, ye would abhor it..But fear Allah: For Allah is
Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Al-Hujurat verse 12)
But the fact, the points below
can tell us that jealousy was not the reason why Caliph Umar Al-Khattab
dismissed Khalid Ibn Al-Walid from the army.
After Khalid Ibn Al-Walid was
dismissed by Caliph Umar Al-Khattab, he visited Madinah and met Caliph Umar
Al-Khattab personally. During the meeting it was reported Caliph Umar
Al-Khattab giving a tribute to Khalid Ibn Al-Walid:
“You have achieved what no man
did ever before, but verily it was through Allah’s help.”
As
we know, man can do nothing without the will of Allah. In another word, it
meant that no matter how strong and talented Khalid as a warrior, he will not
be able to achieve that without the will of Allah.
And
also, Caliph Umar Al-Khattab said this to explain his action of dismissing
Khalid Al-Walid from his post and the army:
“I have not dismissed Khalid because of my anger or because
of any dishonesty on his part, but because people glorified him and were misled. I
feared that people would rely on him for victory. I want them to know that it
is Allah who does all things; and there should be no mischief in the land.”
And there, that was the reason why he removed him from the
army. We all know the character of Khalid Al-Walid, and he was
one of the greatest warriors of all time. He is a true warrior who had no fear
except one: Allah. He welcomes death and hoping to fall as a Syahid in the
battlefield. I have come across very interesting article about Khalid Ibn
Al-Walid written by Mr. Himed he said:
“The Duke of
Wellington once remarked that “Napoleon’s presence on the battlefield was worth
40,000 men.” It is not an exaggeration to say that Khalid ibn Walid’s
presence was worth 100,000 men.”
This can
tell us, what kind of warrior Khalid is. The enemy were shaken whenever they
heard the name of this Noble Warrior, Khalid son of Al-Walid. The Muslims army have
more confidence when Khalid is around. They strongly believe Khalid can win
them the battle, but they are wrong. As Khalid cannot and will never able to
win it except with the will of Allah. It is prohibited in Islam to glorify a
human being as it may give a negative impact towards our aqeedah. All glory
belongs to Allah and not His creatures. Caliph Umar Al-Khattab try to prevent
that to happen by removing Khalid completely from the army. This is very
understandable.
To demote
Khalid from his post and made him as a lower ranks soldier and name Abu Ubaidah as new commander in chief will
not settle the problem as his presence will still be there during the battles. And Muslims army
would still depend on him heavily. What’s worst it may breaks the army into 2
groups; 1 group siding with Khalid (as we know Khalid had win many heart of the
Muslims by his heroics act. He has large numbers of supporters especially in
the army where he was highly respected by the Muslims armies) and the other
group siding with new elect Commander In Chief Abu Ubaidah. The army also may
reject the leadership of Abu Ubaidah to show their loyalty towards Khalid. As
conclusion to retain Khalid in the army would be a disaster. The only way is to
remove him from the army completely. With that the Muslims army will be able:
- Slowly adapting and accepting the presence of Khalid Al Walid is no longer there and learn not to rely on Khalid Ibn Al Walid in battlefields.
- Accepting Abu Ubaidah as their new commander in chief.
Years later, Caliph Umar Al-Khattab took back
Khalid Al-Walid into the military.
There are also some who suggest that there are some
kind of fierce rivalry between Umar and Khalid. However, there is not enough
proof to confirm on this statement. Khalid Al-Walid was a cousin of Caliph Umar
and they have fought together side by side for Islam during the time of Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is understandable for them having the friendly
rivalry as both of them are great and respected warriors, but to say they are against
each other, is just unacceptable because there is no proof to show they go
against each other.
None
of them ever makes any negative statements on each other.
"If
Abu Bakr is dead and Umar is Caliph, then we hear and obey." - Khalid Al Walid said this after
the death of Caliph Abu Bakr.
"Praise
be to Allah who took Abu Bakr away. He was dearer to me than Umar. Praise be to
Allah who appointed Umar in authority He was hateful to me, but I grew to like
him." – Khalid Al-Walid.
When Khalid was on his death bed, Caliph Umar
Al-Khattab is also reported to have wished that beside Abu Ubaidah, if Khalid
Al-Walid would be alive he would have appointed him as his successor.
Here I would like to remind not
only to the person who asked this question but also every Muslims including my
self, that it is very important for us not to just simply jump into any
conclusion by assuming something that are beyond our knowledge. For
whatever it is, it is easier for us to fall into an argument for this matter. But
remember this; both of them are the great figure in Islamic history. And Caliph
Umar Al-Khattab who was named mentions by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
to be among the 10 companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) who were
promised paradise. As the member of Ashrah Mubashsharah, it is not possible for Caliph Umar Al-Khattab to mistreated Khalid Ibn
Al-Walid.
Allah knows best.
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