Who was Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, may Allaah be pleased with him, and how did his father die?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

Khaalid ibn Al-Waleed was the son of Al-Mugheerah ibn ʻAbdullaah ibn ʻAmr ibn Makhzoom Al-Qurashi Al-Makhzoomi; and he was nicknamed Sayfullaah (sword of Allaah) and Abu Sulaymaan. His mother was Lubaabah As-Sughra, the daughter of Al-Haarith ibn Harb Al-Hilaaliyyah and the sister of Lubaabah Al-Kubra, wife of Al-'Abbaas ibn 'Abdul-Muttalib. Both were sisters of the wife of the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, Maymoonah bint Al-Haarith .

Khaalid was one of the noble men of the tribe of Quraysh and the commander of the Qurashite armies in the pre-Islamic era. He participated in all the battles against the Muslims until the incident of Al-Hudaybiyyah. It was authentically reported that he commanded the Qurashite forces until he embraced Islam in the 7th year after Hijrah (migration to Madeenah); it was also said before the battle of Khaybar ... He witnessed the conquest of Makkah with the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam ... and the battle of Hunayn, and accompanied the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, to At-Taa'if for the demolition of Al-ʻUzza idol ... Abu Bakr sent him to fight against the apostates, and he played a key role in the Riddah (apostasy) wars ... Abu Bakr also gave him the command in fighting the Romans and the Persians.

This was a brief account on the biography of Khaalid ibn Al-Waleed as cited by Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar in his book Al-Isaabah fi Tamyeez As-Sahaabah. For further information in this regard, please refer to the books on the biographies of the Companions.

As for his father Al-Waleed ibn Al-Mugheerah, he died a disbeliever. Ansaab Al-Ashraaf (book) reads:

"Al-Waaqidi said, 'Al-Waleed passed away three months or so after Hijrah at the age of ninety-five and was buried in Al-Hajoon. Al-Waleed was one of the (five principal) mockers and offenders of the Prophet, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam. He once passed by a man named Harraath ibn ʻAamir, from the tribe of Khuzaaʻah, who was known for being fearless and brave - and it was also said that his name was Harraab, nicknamed Abu Qassaaf - while Harraath was feathering his arrows. Al-Waleed stepped on one of those arrows and it slightly scratched the bottom of his foot. It was also said that the arrow got caught in his garment and scratched his leg slightly. The angel Jibreel (Gabriel) undid the scratch so gangrene spread in his foot or leg, and he died as a result.'"

Allaah knows best.