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Khawlah Bint Al-Azwar {RA} was the daughter of one of the chiefs of Bani Asad tribe. Her
brother, Dirar {RA}, was the knight and poet of his tribe, and was well known for his
wisdom. His love for his sister and confidence in her capabilities were legendary.

In fact, the brother and sister were so attached to each other that she was his companion
wherever he went. He trained her on all arts of swordsmanship and she became also a perfect
knight. Besides that, Khawlah {RA} mastered the noble art of poetry. She was a brunette,
tall, slim and of great beauty. Her name remained greatly unknown, until the battle of
Ajnadin, not far from Jerusalem, where Dirar lost his spear, fell from his horse, and was taken
prisoner. She donned a male knight's attire, took her arms and rode her mare through the
Roman ranks, using her sword skillfully against whoever tried to stop her. The Muslim
soldiers, and their leader Khalid bin Walid {RA}, watched her with great admiration,
presuming that she was a man.

 





 
 




  
 
  

 
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Khalid bin Walid {RA} answered that he didn't know the man, though he greatly admired his
courage. They were fascinated as they watched the knight appear with a number of Roman
knights chasing him. Then he would turn around and kill the nearest before resuming his
attacks. The Romans eventually lost the battle and fled, leaving many dead and wounded in
the battlefield. Khalid bin Walid {RA} looked for the knight till he found him. By then he
was covered in blood. He praised his bravery and asked him to remove his veil. But the
knight did not answer, and tried to break away. The soldiers wouldn't let him do that. And
everyone asked him to reveal his identity. When the knight found that there was no way to
avoid that, he replied in a feminine voice:

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"Who are you?" Khalid bin Walid {RA} insisted.

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Khalid bin Walid {RA} ordered his army to chase the fleeing Roman Army, with Khawlah
{RA} leading the attack, looking in all directions for her brother, but in vain. By noontime,
the victory was decisive. Most of the Roman soldiers were killed. Knowing that the prisoners
had to be somewhere, Khalid bin Walid {RA} sent Khawlah {RA} with a number of knights
to find them. After a hot chase, they managed to catch up with a Roman detachment that was
taking the prisoners to their headquarters. Another fight took place, the Roman guards were
all killed and the prisoners saved.

In another battle in Ajnadin, Khawlah's {RA} spear broke, and her mare was killed, and she
found herself a prisoner. But she was astonished to find that the Romans attacked the women
camp and captured several of them. Their leader gave the prisoners to his commanders, and
order Khawlah {RA} to be moved into his tent. She was furious, and decided that to die is
more honorable than living in disgrace. She stood among the other women, and called them
to fight for their freedom and honour or die. The others were enthusiastic to her plan. They
took the tents' poles and pegs and attacked the Roman guards, keeping a formation of a tight
circle, as she had instructed them.

Khawlah {RA} led the attack, killed the first guard with her pole, with the other women
following her. According to Al Waqidi, they managed to kill 30 Roman knights, while
Khawlah {RA} was encouraging them with her verses, which in fact caused the enemy's
blood to boil.

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In the ensuing battle, the ladies proved their mettle, keeping their grounds for some time,
encouraging each other and driving off the attackers with their long poles. Suddenly, Khalid
bin Walid {RA} and the army reached the battlefield. In the ensuing fight, over 3000 Romans
were killed. The women who took part in the fighting were proud to say that Khawlah

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