Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar

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Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar (Arabic: ضرار بن الأزور‎) also spelled as Dirar or Dhirar, was a warrior participating in the early Islamic conquests and a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.^[1] Dhiraar was widely known as a skilled warrior and horseman since before the time of Islam.^[2][1] Dhiraar was a successful military figure during the Rashidun conquest of Syria operating under the famous general Khalid ibn al-Walid, during which he was given the nickname The Naked Warrior or The Naked Champion for his tendency to fight without armor or upper garments. Dhiraar was a member of the elite Mubarizun unit of the Rashidun Army. Dhiraar accompanied Khalid in most, if not all, of his notable campaigns including the Ridda wars, Battle of Yarmouk and the Battle of Ajnadayn. Dhiraar is the brother of the renowned female warrior Khawla bint al-Azwar.

Lineage[]

Dhiraar belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Asad. The son of one of its chieftains, known as al-Azwar Malik. His full lineage is Malik ibn Aws Jadhimah ibn Rabia ibn Malik ibn Sha'labah ibn Asad ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyas ibn Mudar ibn Nizar ibn Maad ibn Adnan al-Asadi (Arabic: ضرار بن الأزور وهو مالك بن أوس بن جذيمة بن ربيعة بن مالك بن ثعلبة بن أسد بن دودان بن أسد بن خزيمة بن مدركة بن إلياس بن مضر بن نزار بن معد بن عدنان، الأسدي‎)

Life[]

Dhiraar was born to one of the Bani Assad chieftains, Malik ibn Aws, sometime during the 7th century. 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.^[3][4][5]

He became Muslim after the conquest, at which time he was wealthy. It was said that he had a thousand camels. He abandoned his wealth and converted to Islam. Dhiraar's family was among the first converts to Islam. Muhammad admonished that it is allowed for Muslims to possess property which he gained before he convert to Islam.^[6] After the Battle of the Trench, Dhiraar was sent with Tulayha ibn Khuwailid to their kinsmen, the Bani Assad, to urge them to embrace Islam.^[7] He was known to his tribe as al-Azwar.

Ridda wars[]

During the initial period of the Ridda Wars, Dhiraar was a tax collector, but later, he participated in many battles as a soldier. He later served as a scout for the elite mobile cavalry guard led by the general Khalid ibn al-Walid. At one point, there was an apostasy revolt in his clan led by Tulayha. Dhiraar was sent by Muhammad to quell this rebellion.^[8]

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.^[9]

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."^{[10][Notes 1]}

Waqidi recorded that one particular event when Dhiraar Goes on man to man duel against Vahan. Dhiraar opened and throwing his armor and upper garments during the duel, thus continued in very fierce duel until Dhiraar spear penetrated chest of Vahan. As he killed the commander, Dhiraar as said to goes on charging the Byzantine rank, as witness saying Dhiraar killing at least three dozens of Byzantine soldiers alone.^[13]

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.^[14]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[15][16] 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?!"^[17]

Al-Harith ibn Hisham and Diraar ibn 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.^[17]

Deployment of troops on the fifth day. Dhiraar's troops were waiting on the far left to ambush routed Byzantine army.

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.^[18]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 ibnt al-Azwar.^[19] 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.^[11][12]

Historicity regarding death[]

It is widely accepted that Dhiraar died in Syria from the Plague of Emmaus, the plague that killed many other Companions of Muhammad, including Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah. The year of his death is believed to be 18 AH/640 AD^[20] and his final resting place is in Syria.^[21]

Yet, other accounts of Dhiraar ibn 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.^[22][23] 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.^[24] 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),^[25] as it is recorded by Bayhaqi.^[26]

On the other hand, al-Tabari explained in his book regarding the conflicted report where there are two version of his death. the first was Dhiraar was said killed in battle of Ajnadayn, while the other saying he has been fallen in the battle of Yamama^[1] that Dhiraar appeared at the battle of Yarmouk.^[27] Ya'qubi even wrote that he lived long enough to witness the Battle of Qadisiyah and that together with Tulayha, Amru ibn Ma'adi Yakrib and Kurt ibn Jammah al-Abdi, he discovered the corpse of Rostam Farrokhzād.^[9] Having said that, the chronicle of Ya'qubi was plagued with skepticism due to his excessive Shi'i sympathies.^{[Notes 2]}

Ibn Hajjar surmised that there were two different persons called Dhiraar. The first was Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar from the Asad tribe and the other named Dhiraar ibn al-Khattab. Thus, some chroniclers like Abd al-Barr made the mistake of identifying those two different persons as one.^[29] 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 ibn al-Khattab were present in the Syrian campaign, particularly at the Battle of Yarmouk, thus dismissing al-Barr and al-Waqidi's claims.^[30]

Legacy[]

The Dirar ibn 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.^[31]

The Al-Zarrar MBT used by the Pakistan Army is named in his honour.

In popular culture[]

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

• Syrian actor Ahmed Slan played the role of Dhiraar ibn al-Azwar in the first season of the series Khalid ibn al-Walid, directed by the Jordanian Mohammed Azizia
• Egyptian actor Abdullah Ghaith played the role in the series Under the Shade of Swords,^[32] by the Egyptian director Saeed Al-Rashidi

See also[]

• Sahaba
• Al-Qa'qa'a ibn Amr at-Tamimi
• Khawlah ibnt al-Azwar
• Battle of Sanita-al-Uqab
• Khalid ibn al-Walid
• Mubarizun

Citations[]

Notes[]

Primary sources[]

• Mustadrak al-Hakim
• Abu Ismail al Azdi
• Tarikh al Rusul wal Muluk by Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
• Futuh Al Sham Waqidi
• Ibn Hajar
• Sayf ibn Umar
• Sahih al-Bukhari
• Ibn 'Abd al-Barr

References[]