Among the culture of the mujahideen is that they honoured each others’ families. If someone died in battle, their wives were married to people of equal stature after the ‘iddah (mourning period).
Malik ibn An-Nuwayrah, during the time of Abu Bakr as-Siddique, radiallahu ‘an, did not want to pay zakaah. There’s a difference of opinion, and Allahu ‘alim, he (Malik ibn An-Nuwayrah) was not Muslim.
Kahlid bin Walid killed him one night. About this, Abu Bakr said: “He [Khalid, radiallahu ‘anh] made ijtihad and made a mistake.” They kept him in leadership of the army.
After her ‘iddah, Khalid (radiallahu ‘anh) married the wife of Malik bin An-Nuwayrah.
Subhanallah.
Orientalists use this point to attack Khalid (radiallahu ‘an). They turn it into a soap-opera–they attack intentions–so get the story straight.
Muhammad Alshareef. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Conquest: History of the Khulafa. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2005.