Dhiraar bin Al Azwar

Life

Born sometime in the seventh century, Dhiraar was born to one of the Bani Assad chieftains, Malik bin Aws. His lineage can be traced to Malik, son of Aws, son of Jadhimah, son of Rabia, son of Malik, son of Sha'labah, son of Asad, son of Khuzaymah, son of Mudrikah, son of Ilyas, son of Muda, son of Nizar, son of Adnan al-Asadi. His family were among the first converts to Islam. After the Battle of the Trench, he was sent with Tulayha bin Khuwailid to their kinsmen, the Bani Assad, to urge them to embrace Islam. He was known to his tribe as al-Azwar.

Ridda wars

During the initial period of the Ridda Wars, Dhiraar acted as a tax collector, but later, he participated in many Ridda battles as a common soldier. He later served as a scout for the elite mobile cavalry guard led by the famous general Khalid bin al-Walid. At one point, there was an apostasy revolt in his clan led by Tulayha. As a result, he was sent by Muhammad to quell this rebellion.

Dhiraar was sent by Khalid to lead a detachment consisting of Banu Tamim warriors to confront Malik ibn Nuwayrah, chief of the Bani Yarbu', a Banu Tamim clan, on accusations of apostasy.

Battle of Ajnadayn

The Rashidun army left the capital Medina probably in the autumn of 633 or at the beginning of 634. They first engaged and defeated the Byzantines at Dathin on February 4; after that, Emperor Heraclius, then stationed in Emesa (now Homs, Syria), had reinforcements sent south to protect Caesarea Maritima. As a possible reaction, commander Khalid ibn al-Walid was ordered to interrupt operations against the Sassanian Empire and reach Syria, which brought him to engage the opposition. During the middle of the battle, it is recorded that the impetuous Dhiraar confronted Khalid and said:

"Why are we waiting when Allah, the Most High, is on our side? By Allah, our enemies will think that we are afraid of them. Order the attack, and we shall attack with you."

Khalid decided to let individual champions go into combat against Byzantine champions. Accordingly, the Muslims would have the advantage, and it would be useful to eliminate as many of the Roman officers as possible, as this would in turn reduce the effectiveness of the Roman army. So Khalid finally decided to allow Dhiraar to act according to this plan. At first, Dhiraar kept on his coat of mail and helmet because of the Byzantine archers, and carried a shield made of elephant hide, which likely had once belonged to a Roman. It was stated by Waqidi that Dhiraar gave his personal battle cry when he approached the Romans:

"I am the death of the Pale Ones
I am the killer of the Romans
I am a scourge sent upon you
I am Dhiraar bin al-Azwar!"

As a few of the Roman champions advanced to answer his challenge, Dhiraar immediately abandoned his armor and garments and the Romans knew him at once as the Naked Champion. In the next few minutes, Dhiraar killed several Romans, including two generals, one of whom was the governor of Amman and the other the governor of Tiberius. Their deaths, due to Dhiraar's actions, sowed disorder among the Byzantine ranks, and led to a breakdown of morale, which Khalid used to his strategic advantage.

After the defeat of the Byzantine-allied Ghassanids by April 24, Khalid's force was able to enter Bosra, Syria almost unopposed. Thus, Khalid's forces went to join with Amr ibn al-A'as's forces in a place known traditionally as Adjnadayn.

Battle of Yarmouk

Later in the battle of Yarmouk, Dhiraar was appointed most of the time as the Muslim army's scout, usually screening the battlefield with small groups of horsemen to determine the best way to deal with the Byzantine forces.

It is recorded by Ibn Taymiyyah and Muhammad Yusuf Al Dihlawi, author of Hayatus Sahabah, that in one particular clash, a rank of Muslims fell back at the Byzantine onslaught, while he, along with Ikrimah ibn Abi Jahl, stood firm with 400 men holding the deserted line and successfully defending the Muslim position until the fleeing Muslim ranks returned to the battlefield and reinforced the position again. The circumstances were expounded on in Tabari's comprehensive history wherein Ikrimah is recorded as saying:

"Would I fight the Messenger of God in every place, yet flee from you today?! Who will take an oath (to fight) to the death?!"

Al-Harith bin Hisham and Diraar bin Al-Azwar both swore an oath along with 400 of notable men and knights. They fought in front of Khalid's command tent until all of them were disabled by wounds. Many of them died after the clash due to heavy wounds including Ikrimah. Although some like Dhiraar were able to recover.

Dhiraar played a prominent role when Khalid assigned him to capture a bridge at Ayn al-Dhakar to safely cross the deep gorges of the ravines of Wadi-ur-Ruqqad with 500 soldiers at the night of the fifth day. He was then ordered by Khalid to set an ambush there to eliminate the Byzantine armies who had been routed and who intended to use this bridge as a way to withdraw.

The next day, Dhiraar moved with 500 mounted troops around the northern flank of the Byzantines and captured the bridge. The plan was successful as the Byzantines retreated onto this path, where Dhiraar had been waiting for them in Wadi ar-Raqqad Bridge. The Byzantines were surrounded from all sides now. Some fell into the deep ravines off the steep slopes, others tried to escape in the waters, only to be smashed on the rocks below and again others were killed in their flight. Although a large number of the soldiers managed to escape the slaughter, some may have been captured during the subsequent pursuit. The Muslims took no prisoners in this battle. The Byzantine general, Theodore Trithyrius, and some other generals were among the casualties.

After this battle, Caliph Umar instructed a portion of the Rashidun troops from Yarmouk to be transferred to Iraq as reinforcements to assist Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas in the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah against the Sassanid Empire and Dhiraar was counted among them.

Later career

He was captured by Byzantine forces during the Battle of Eagle Pass, which precluded the Siege of Damascus. Shortly later, he was rescued by a team led by his sister, Khawlah bint al-Azwar. Some commentaries criticize the authenticity of Khawlah's rescue because it was recorded without citations approved by the scholars of that era and only by al-Waqidi, who has been criticized by Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Shafi’i, al-Bukhari and others as unreliable.

Historicity regarding death

It is widely accepted that the young Sahabi embraced his death in Syria, falling victim to the pernicious Plague of Emmaus that broke out in the Levant and western Iraq claiming the lives of many other pious Companions including Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah. The time of his death was said to be 18 AH/640 AD and his final resting place is in Syria.

Yet, other accounts of Dhiraar bin al-Azwar's death exist. For instance, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said he fell at the Battle of Ajnadayn. This is contrary to al-Waqidi's report which said he fell at the Battle of Yamama. Also, it was reported by Ibn Hajjar that after Dhiraar murdered Malik ibn Nuwayrah and committed adultery with a female slave taken from the campaign, General Khalid was ordered by Caliph Umar to execute him due to his crimes. However, before Khalid received the order to execute Dhiraar, he was already dead. There is some controversy regarding the textual translations, which make it difficult to discern if Dhiraar died at that time or not (regardless of the cause), as it is recorded by Bayhaqi.

On the other hand, al-Tabari records that Dhiraar appeared at the battle of Yarmouk. Ya'qubi even wrote that he lived long enough to witness the Battle of Qadisiyah and that together with Tulayha, Amru bin Ma'adi Yakrib and Kurt bin Jammah al-Abdi, he discovered the corpse of Rostam Farrokhzād. Having said that, the chronicle of Ya'qubi was plagued with skepticism due to his excessive Shi'i sympathies.

It should also be noted that Ibn Hajjar surmised that there were two different persons called Dhiraar. The first was Dhiraar bin al-Azwar from the Asad tribe and the other named Dhiraar bin al-Khattab. Thus, some chroniclers like Abd al-Barr made the mistake of identifying those two different persons as one. Although the confusion was evident here, the older chroniclers such as Abu Ismail al-Azdi and Sayf ibn Umar were conscious of the existence of two different Dhiraars but they also recorded that both Dhiraar al-Azwar and Dhiraar bin al-Khattab were present in the Syrian campaign, particularly at the Battle of Yarmouk, thus dismissing al-Barr and al-Waqidi's claims.

Legacy

The Dirar bin al-Azwar Mosque was built in his commemoration. The Mosque is located to the northern part of the Jordan Valley adjacent the mausoleum of Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, in an area which witnessed the first battles between the Muslims and the Byzantine Empire.

In popular culture

Several 20th-century films made about Muslim conquests included Dhiraar as one of the cast:

Primary sources