In the Muslim community there is a story of the heroic battle of 3000 believers against 200000. Only Islamic sources say about this. Searches for independent sources did not lead to any facts of this event. Let's see what they write about it.
In the Muslim tradition, the battle of Mut is considered a ghazwa, which, due to the appointment of three commanders (emirs) by the Prophet Muhammad, is called the "Army of the Emirs" (Jaish al-Umar) or "Expedition of the Emirs"
Muta is located in the south of the Dead Sea, 50 km from Jerusalem. Prophet Muhammad in the 8th year of AH (m. 629) through Haris b. Umayr al-Azdi sent a letter of invitation to Islam to the governor of Busra. Busra at that time was under the rule of Byzantium. The Prophet's ambassador passing through the lands of the Ghassanid emir Shurahbil b. Amra, who professed Christianity, was killed on the orders of the emir himself.
Haris b. Umayr was the only ambassador of the Prophet to be killed. Against this open disregard for the norms of international law, which stipulate the immunity of ambassadors, the Prophet Muhammad equipped an army of three thousand under the command of Zayd b. Harisa. The Prophet ordered that in the event of the assassination of Zayed, the command of the army would be transferred to Jafar b. Abu Talib, in the event of Jafar's death to Abdallah b. Ravah, and in case of death and Abdullah, the Muslims themselves will choose the commander among the soldiers. At the same time, the Prophet ordered that after they reach the place of the ambassador's murder, call all residents to Islam and, if accepted, cease all hostilities. At the same time: do not harm children, women, old people and people who have taken refuge in monasteries; do not harm palm groves, do not cut trees or destroy buildings.
As Wikipedia suggests
Zeid ibn-Harisha counted on the surprise of the invasion, but in the oasis of Wadi al-Qur (eng.) Russian. his army unexpectedly encountered a Ghassanid reconnaissance detachment of 50 horsemen and was forced to give a swift battle. The scouts were crushed, Sadus, the brother of Shurakhbil ibn Amr, died in a brief skirmish, but news of the enemy's approach quickly spread and made it possible to prepare for defense. For reconnaissance, Shurahbil ibn Amr sent another brother to meet the Muslims - Vabr, and the Byzantine governor (vicar) Theodore retreated from his residence in Maan (Muheon) to the city of Maab (English) Russian. (Areopolis), where he collected a significant army of Byzantines and Arabs-Christians who were in the service of Byzantium, among whom are mentioned the Gassan tribes, Kuda (English) Russian., Lahm, Juzam (English) Russian., Bahra, Baliy, al-kain (eng.) Russian.,Vail and Bakr (English) Russian
According to some reports, the leader of the Byzantine Arabs was the leader of the Ghassanids Shurahbil ibn Amr, according to others - Malik ibn Zafila (Rafila) from the Irash clan of the Bali tribe. Muslim sources estimate the total number of Arabs on the side of Byzantium at 100,000 people, and Ibn Ishaq, in addition to these 100,000 Arabs, also has the same number of Byzantines. According to the American historian Walter Keji, the forces raised by Byzantium were hardly more than 10,000 warriors. A number of sources also report that the emperor Heraclius himself was in Maab with this army, but, according to al-Masoudi's more credible information, the emperor was in Antioch at that time.
Promotional video:
Having reached Maan, the Muslims learned that superior forces were put up against them and for a long time did not dare to join the battle. They stood for two days, discussing the situation. Some advised to retreat and ask Muhammad for reinforcements, while others, including Abdallah ibn Ravah, insisted on moving forward. The latter opinion prevailed. The detachment left Maan, intending to attack the Byzantines on a holy day for Muslims.
Meeting at Maab with the enemy's army, the Muslims withdrew to the nearby town of Muta (English) Russian. (Mofa), camped there and began to prepare for battle. According to Theophanes the Confessor's "Chronography", a certain Quraish named Kutava informed the vicar Theodore about the plans of the Muslim detachment. The Byzantine governor learned from him the day and hour of the attack and, deciding to forestall the Muslims, he himself attacked them near Muta.
Islamic sources interpret as follows
The Islamic army reached Mute through Wadi al-Kura and Ma'an. Here they met with the Byzantine army under the command of Theodoros, which included Shurahbil b. Amrom warriors from the Christian Arab tribes. According to legend, the total enemy troops were 100,000 or 200,000 people (Jumada al-Awwal 8 / September 629). After the martyrdom Zayd b. Harisa the banner of the Islamic army passed to Jafar b. Abu Talib.
Zayd b. Kharis at the beginning of the war fell a martyr and the banner passed into the hands of Jafar b. Abu Talib. From the blow of the enemy's sword, Jafar lost his right hand and grabbed the banner with his left hand. Soon he lost his left arm and pressed the banner to his chest with his severed hands, trying to hold it. But to our great regret, Jafar very soon also became a martyr.
Taking command after Jafar, Abdallah b. Ravakha, following his friends, fell a martyr in the struggle for the faith. Following Abdallah, the banner of Islam passed to Khalid b. Walid. According to legend, the Prophet Muhammad at this time in Masjid al-Nabawi was explaining to the Sahaba the state of affairs on the battlefield, and reported about the shahidism of the commanders. When the command passed to Khalid b. Walid, the Prophet said the following: "… Finally one of the swords of Allah took the banner and Allah made it easier for the Muslims to win."
Khalid b. Walid understood the place of the troops: he threw the left-flank to the right, the right-flank to the left, the front ones back, and the back ones forward, and this gave the impression that fresh forces had arrived in the Muslim army. The retreating Islamic army from time to time harmed the enemy and captured booty. Thus Khalid b. Walid managed to bring troops to Medina with the least possible casualties.
In Mut, fifteen Muslims became martyrs. Prophet Muhammad shed tears for the martyrs, but forbade any lamentations and ordered his relatives and neighbors to help the families of martyrs and cook food for them for three days. The Prophet himself sent food to his cousin Jafar's home for three days and subsequently took on the responsibility of looking after his children.
The warriors of Islam fought steadfastly against the enemy in Mut. Khalid b. Walid converted to Islam six months before the battle of Mut, in time the al-Qada (umrah of reparation) of the Prophet would die in Mecca and for the first time took part in the war among the Muslims. For his great bravery in the battle of Mut, Khalid b. Walid earned praise from the Prophet and was awarded the title of "Sword of Allah" (Sayfullah). According to the legend of Khalid b. Valida that day in his hands broke nine swords and only the broad Yamani sword remained intact. Participant in the war Abdallah b. Omar said that he counted about fifty wounds from a sword, arrows and a peak on the chest of Shahid Jafar b. Abu Talib. Prophet Muhammad announced the excellent news that for two severed hands Jafar b. Abu Talib will fly in paradise on two wings. Therefore, he received the name Jafar at-Tayyar.
The battle of Mut is called "ghazwa" and also due to the appointment of three commanders was called "jaysh al-umara / ba's al-umara".
In this war, the Islamic army first came face to face with the army of the most powerful empire of the time, Byzantium. The withdrawal of the Islamic army and the return to Medina is considered a victory. Because, the enemy's army was several times higher than the number of soldiers of the Muslim army, and despite this, the Muslims suffered the least possible losses.
Professor Mustafa Fayda, from the point of view of Muslims, characterizes this war in the following words: “In the war at Mut, Muslims got the opportunity to get to know the Byzantine army, the form of warfare, tactics and weapons of the Byzantines. This experience will be of great benefit in subsequent battles with the Byzantine army. Along with this, the Arabs of Syria and Palestine saw the power of faith, courage and bravery of Muslims and got the opportunity to learn the new religion and its followers."
Wikipedia says the following about the consequences
The inhabitants of Medina greeted the defeated warriors as deserters - with ridicule and clods of dirt. Only the personal intercession of Muhammad, who declared that the defeated warriors who returned “are not fugitives, but people are staunch,” allowed them to be somewhat protected from bullying and abuse.
Under Muta, twelve Muslims became martyrs. The Prophet Muhammad shed tears over them, but forbade all lamentations and ordered relatives and neighbors to help the families of the victims and cook food for them for three days. The prophet himself sent food to the house of his cousin Jafar for three days and subsequently took on the responsibility of looking after his children.
The warriors of Islam fought staunchly against the enemy at Mut. Khalid ibn al-Walid converted to Islam six months before the battle of Mut, during the "umrah of reparation" (umrat al-Qada) of the prophet in Mecca and for the first time took part in the war among the Muslims. For the great bravery shown in the battle of Mut, Khalid ibn al-Walid earned praise from the prophet and was awarded the title of Sayfullah (Sword of Allah). According to Khalid ibn al-Walid himself, on that day nine swords broke in his hands, and only the broad Yemeni sword remained intact. A participant in the battle, Abdullah ibn Umar, said that he counted about fifty wounds from a sword, arrows and spears on the chest of Shahid Jafar ibn Abu Talib. Prophet Muhammad announced that Jafar ibn Abu Talib would fly in paradise on two wings for two severed hands. In this regard, they began to call him Jafar at-Tayyar (Flying Jafar).
In this battle, the warriors of Muhammad first came face to face with the army of the most powerful empire of that time, Byzantium. Withdrawal from the battlefield and return to Medina is regarded today by Muslims as a victory, because, despite the numerical superiority of the enemy, the Muslim detachment suffered the least possible losses. The Turkish professor Mustafa Fayda describes this battle in the following words:
“In the Battle of Mut, Muslims had the opportunity to get to know the Byzantine army, the form of warfare, the tactics and weapons of the Byzantines. This experience will be of great benefit in subsequent battles with the Byzantine army. Along with this, the Arabs of Syria and Palestine saw the power of faith, courage and bravery of Muslims and got the opportunity to learn a new religion and its followers."