What I have memorised on al-Yarmuk

Iyad al-Ash'ari said: I took part in the Battle of Yarmuk, and we had five commanders in it: Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah, Sayyiduna Yazid bin Abi Sufyan, Sayyiduna Ibn Hasanah, Sayyiduna Khalid bin al-Walid and Sayyiduna Iyad (may Allah be pleased with them all). This Iyad is not the one from whom Simak narrated. And Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had said: "When there is fighting, hold firmly to obedience to Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah." Then in this battle we were surrounded by severe dangers, so we asked Sayyiduna Umar for reinforcements. He wrote in reply: "Your letter has reached me, in which you ask me for help. I tell you to ask for help from Allah, whose help is more overpowering and whose army is stronger. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defeated the enemy at the Battle of Badr with fewer than your number. When this letter of mine reaches you, fight them and do not refer back to me." After receiving this letter we fought hard and defeated the enemy. We fought them over a distance of four farsakhs and obtained a great deal of wealth. Then we consulted among ourselves about dividing the wealth, and Sayyiduna Iyad advised that each person be given ten. Then Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah said: "Who will race me?" A young man said: "If you will not be angry, I will race you." Then that young man went ahead. The narrator said: I saw that Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah was behind that young man on his Arabian horse, and his braids of hair were flying.

Qays said: At the Battle of Yarmuk I saw a man who was ready to give up his life, and his wife was imploring him and trying to hold him back. He was saying: "Take her away from me. If I knew that what I seek would reach her too, I would not begrudge it to her. By Allah, if I am able, this will not move from its place" - and he pointed with his hand to a mountain - "and if you prevail over my body, then take it." Qays said: Afterwards we saw that he had been martyred in that battle.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib reports that at the Battle of Yarmuk no one's voice was louder than that of Sayyiduna Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him). He was standing under his son's banner and saying: "This is one of the days of Allah. O Allah, send down Your help."

It is reported from Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man from Kufah and a man from Syria boasted against each other. The Kufan said: "We are the people of Qadisiyyah and of such-and-such a battle." The Syrian said: "We are the people of Yarmuk and of such-and-such a battle."

Suwayd bin Ghafalah said: We returned from the Battle of Yarmuk and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to receive us. At that time we were wearing garments of silk on our bodies. Sayyiduna Umar ordered the people to throw stones at us. We said: "Who knows what news has reached him about us?" Then we took off the silk garments and said: "He has disliked this appearance of ours." Then when we went to him, he welcomed us and said: "Earlier you came in the appearance of the polytheists, and Allah Almighty did not approve of silk for those before you either."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I took part in the Battle of Yarmuk. The people found grapes and foodstuffs there, and they ate them and saw no harm in it.

Abu Ishaq said: When Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl accepted Islam, he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, every method I adopted to block people from the path of Allah, I will adopt in the path of Allah, and as much wealth as I spent to block people from the path of Allah, I will spend the same in the path of Allah." At the Battle of Yarmuk, Sayyiduna Ikrimah (may Allah be pleased with him) dismounted and fought on foot, fighting fiercely, and then he was martyred, and on his body there were more than seventy marks of spears, swords and arrows.