Monks at Night and Knights by Day

In the decisive battles against the Romans during the time of Caliph Umar (RA), the Muslim soldiers, although always outnumbered by the enemy, proved mysteriously indomitable and strong-willed opponents. The Roman commanders were baffled as to how could the once barbaric and irregular desert army display such vigour and chivalry against a battle hardened regular Roman army. They sent some informers to see how the Muslim soldiers spend their time, especially at night. As wining and womanising were the common practices of the conquering army, the generals were perplexed and frightened to hear that Muslims were like ‘monks at night and knights by day’.

Such was the characteristics of the first generation of Muslims who, within a few decades conquered the land beyond Arabia and brought out an extraordinary social revolution in the history of mankind. They made the mountains move, rivers give way in their search for human liberation and, above all, human hearts surrender to one Allah. They were the first “Qur’anic generation”, as Syed Qutub of Egypt put it. They were the people despised by the then two super powers, the Persians in the east and the Romans in the west, to the extent that neither of them even felt like to take them over.

Source: http://www.witness-pioneer.org/VSchool/parenting.html
(the lecture notes of Muslim personality)