sword of allah

sword of allah was a watershed in islamic military history writing.

general akram despite being relatively neutral was condemned by westerners for being apologetic and by some pakistani officers like major ameer afzal as a biased shia.

you cannot make everyone happy.

agha







This is a view from an american , probably a jew.



Mohammad's Muslim general Khalid, June 30, 2006
By William Garrison Jr. (Bellevue, WA United States)

"Sword of Allah: Khalid bin al-Waleed" was originally released in January 1979 (504 pgs) in hardback.

Then it was revised and released as "Khalid bin al-Waleed: Sword of Allah" in February 2004 (458 pgs) in paperback by Maktabah Publishers in Birmingham, England. The author is: Lt. Gen. A. I. Akram, a Pakistani army officer who taught at the Pakistani Staff College in 1964, and who later traveled to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East to view the battlefields of the Muslim Prophet Mohammad and his best general: Khalid. Akram wrote this book in tribute to Khalid, whom be believed to be "the greatest military general in history", and who campaigned in the Middle East about 630-650 C.E. For his research he excluded both Muslim and Christian writers who lived and wrote after the Tenth Century; Akram believed they were merely rewriting the battle accounts of the earlier Muslim scholars, such as: Mohammad bin Ishaq. Akram's use of Arabic sources helped him to broaden the history of Mohammad's and Khalid's early battles. However, by excluding any "Western" scholars he avoided benefiting from their critical analysis in questioning the historical accuracy of some of the battlefield scenarios. Akram generally does not question the accuracy of the early Muslim biographers. However, as a professionally military-trained general, Akram occasionally rises above his fervent Islamic beliefs and questions some of the battlefield accounts. Akram doubts a few of the stories that anti-Muhammad enemy forces numbered over 100,000 - 200,000 during some battles, and Akram found it incongruous to believe that despite so many soldiers, only four or so deaths on either side resulted after several days of heavy "battle" between these large armies: who had shot the sky full of arrows at one another. Pertaining to the massacre of some 600 Jewish males who surrendered at the battle of Khaybar, Akram was so embarrassed by the obvious outright cold-blooded murder of these Jewish prisoners that he blithely skims over this shameful episode of the Prophet of Peace. Objectivity is not a strong attribute of Akram. Akram revised the final edition over five years, and it shows good attention to detail -- if the details can be believed. As he visited the early Muslim battlefields and studied them, Akram developed some 30 maps depicting the various battles. However, the maps are very generic and hypothetical (nothing like a modern detailed battle map), as nothing really remains of the battlefields themselves -- their having been buried in the shifting sands of time. This is a very good heavily-detailed book recounting Mohammad's and Khalid's battles -- from a not-too-critical Muslim perspective. A good companion book analyzing these battles with constructive criticism is: "War, Terror & Peace in the Qur'an and in Islam" by T.P. Schwartz-Barcott.

Sadly, no index, but a helpful Table of Contents listing the battles.

ANOTHER BOOK REVIEW:---


The Sword of Allah - Khalid bin Al-Waleed

This is an excellent book written by the late Lieutenant-General A.I. Akram of the Pakistan Army, in October 1969. The online version of the book resided at www.SwordofAllah.com but more recently this website seems to have been discontinued. Given that the text of this book has been lost to the internet world since then, it has been our project at GrandeStrategy to salvage what could be found of the text online. Thus far we have managed to salvage a good portion of the book. We repost it here. Please note that we are doing this without any financial gain and as a service to all those that seek solace in this book from today's dark times, when the Islamic world lies in shambles, and news from Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya and Kashmir are heartbreaking and shameful. In such times this book reminds us of how glorious we once were, and perhaps how someday we can be again.




The Sword of Allah: Khalid bin Al-Waleed, His Life and Campaigns

Introduction



Part I: In the Time of the Prophet (SAWS)

Chapter 1: The Boy
Chapter 2: The New Faith
Chapter 3: The Battle of Uhud
Chapter 4: The Battle of the Ditch
Chapter 5: The Conversion of Khalid
Chapter 6: Mutah and the Sword of Allah
Chapter 7: The Conquest of Makkah
Chapter 8: The Battle of Hunain
Chapter 9: The Siege of Taif
Chapter 10: Adventure of Daumat-ul-Jandal

Part II: The Campaign of the Apostasy

Chapter 11: The Gathering Storm
Chapter 12: Abu Bakr Strikes
Chapter 13: Tulaiha The Imposter
Chapter 14: False Lords and Ladies
Chapter 15: The End of Malik bin Nuwaira
Chapter 16: The Battle of Yamamah
Chapter 17: The Collapse of the Apostasy

Part III: The Invasion of Iraq

Chapter 18: The Clash with Persia
Chapter 19: The Battle of Chains
Chapter 20: The Battle of the River
Chapter 21: The Hell of Walaja
Chapter 22: The River of Blood
Chapter 23: The Conquest of Hira
Chapter 24: Anbar and Ain-ut-Tamr
Chapter 25: Daumat-ul-Jandal Again
Chapter 26: The Last Opposition
Chapter 27: The Perilous March
Chapter 28: Deeper into Syria
Chapter 29: The Battle of Ajnadein
Chapter 30: The Conquest of Damascus
Chapter 31: The Unkind Cut
Chapter 32: The Battle of Fahl
Chapter 33: The Conquest of Emessa
Chapter 34: The Eve of Yarmuk
Chapter 35: Al-Yarmuk
Chapter 36: The Completion of the Conquest
Chapter 37: Farewell to Arms

Appendix


Region Map