Futuhusham_-_The_Islamic_Conquest_of_Syria_-_Al_Waqidi

Futuhushdm
AbU 'Ubaydah ~ : Then what is your view, 0 AbU Sulayman? May Allah have mercy
on you.
Khdlid ~ : We· should withdraw from here leaving. our sheep and camels behind.
They will certainly come after us, but once we are far from their city we can stab with
spears all those who have come to chase us and hack their backs with swords for they
will be far away from the safety of their city.
AbU 'Ubaydah ~: You have given agood suggestion, 0 AbU Sulayman,
It was established amongst the Muslims that they would retreat and leave behind
their animals. The Romans came pouring out of all the gates of Him~ looking
forward to the battle. The' Arabs asked for a cease-fire and pretended to be weak and
afraid. The Roman hopes grew and they refrained from attacking until later in the
morning when the sun was fully out, thinking it to be a good time to attack. The
'Arabs retreated leaving behind their sheep.
Nawfal bin 'Amir narrates from 'Arfajah bin Majid at-Tamimi who narrates
from Suraqah an-Nakha'i who had participated in the Battle of Him~:
The governor and his 5,000 elite warriors pursued the retreating' Arabs. We retreated
as if we were fleeing for az-Zura'ah and Jusiyah. The governor reached us, but some
of his men had gone, distracted by our goods which we had left behind.
There lived in Him~ an aged priest .The Romans greatly respected him. He was very
experienced in worldly matters and knew all about trickery and deception. He was a
scholar of the Torah, the Bible, the Psalms of David (Dawud ~\), the Psalms of
Solomon (Sulayman ~\), the Scriptures of Abraham (Ibrahim~) and the Scriptures
of Seth (Shith ~\). He had even been blessed with meeting disciples of Jesus son of
Mary ('Isa ~); When he saw the 'Arabs retreating and the Romans seizing their
goods, he shouted out, "By Christ! It is a trick, a deception, a scheme of the 'Arabs.
'Arabs will never abandon their children and camels even if it means that they will
be killed to the last man."
The priest screamed while the Romans plundered, not bothering about anything
except the looted goods and food.
The governor and his 5,000 men were in the meantime pressing on with the chase.
Once the Romans were quite far from Him~ AbU 'Ubaydah ~ shouted, "Attack the
Romans like beasts of prey and hunting eagles."
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