During the reign of Prophet Muhammad (صلي الله عليه وسلم), and later, the reign of Abu Bakr, the first Khalifa, may Allah be pleased with him, Khalid bin Walid, commander of the Muslim army, rocked the non-Muslim armies again and again and again and lead the Muslims to many victories. In this way, he became a fitnah–people ascribed victory to him, and not to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).
After the battle of Yarmuk, the newly-instated Khalifa, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) removed Khalid bin Walid from leadership of the army and instated Abu Ubaydah (RA) as the commander. This is after Khalid bin Walid lead the Muslims to victory against gigantic armies–30k, 50k, 75k, 100k, and so on–monstrously huge battles, and he won. He rocked, and he knew it.
So what did Khalid bin Walid do? He didn’t whine and complain. He didn’t build his own masjid across the street or start his own Islamic organization. He said (to the meaning of): “I never did this for personal gain. All of this is for the sake of Allah, so it makes no difference whether I’m the leader or the follower.” Then he rejoined the army as a foot-soldier and continued under Abu Ubaydah’s leadership.
Didn’t flinch. Didn’t cause any fitnah. He became a follower, and they went out.
When Allah tests you in a similar way, remember the lesson of Khalid bin Walid, sword of Allah. May Allah reward him for all the continual benefit we derive from his military prowess.
Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Conquest: History of the Khulafa. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2005.