The Dispatch of the Armies to Syria

توجيه جيوش الشام

c. 12 April 634 CE · 1 Muharram 13 AH

In al-Baladhuri: when Abu Bakr had finished with the apostates he resolved to direct the armies to Syria, writing to the people of Mecca, al-Ta'if, Yemen and all the Arabs of Najd and the Hijaz summoning them to jihad and stirring their desire for Byzantine spoil, and they hastened from every quarter; he bound three banners for three men — Khalid ibn Sa'id ibn al-As, Shurahbil ibn Hasana (per al-Waqidi son of Abdullah ibn al-Mutta' al-Kindi with Hasana his mother, per al-Kalbi son of Rabi'a ibn al-Mutta' of the children of Sufa) and Amr ibn al-As al-Sahmi — the binding being on Thursday at the opening of Safar year 13, after the armies had camped at al-Jurf the whole of al-Muharram, with Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah leading their prayers; Abu Bakr had wanted to bind a banner for Abu Ubayda who begged off — some report he did bind it, which is not established — and Abu Yakhnaf records Abu Bakr telling the commanders 'if you join in battle your commander is Abu Ubayda, otherwise Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan', while Amr is said to have been only a reinforcement and commander over those joined to him; when he bound Khalid ibn Sa'id's banner Umar disliked it and spoke to Abu Bakr of deposing him — 'he is a proud man who carries his charge with contentiousness and partisanship' — so he deposed him and sent Abu Adwa' al-Dawsi to take his banner, who met him at Dhu al-Marwa and took it, and it was given to Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, who marched with his brother Mu'awiya bearing it before him — others say it was handed to him at Dhu al-Marwa and he took over Khalid's army, Khalid ibn Sa'id marching on as a volunteer in Shurahbil's army; he ordered Amr to take the Ayla road toward Filastin, Yazid the Tabuk road and Shurahbil likewise; each commander set out with three thousand men, then he kept sending reinforcements until each had seven thousand five hundred, and their total completed at twenty-four thousand; al-Waqidi reports Abu Bakr gave Amr Filastin, Shurahbil al-Urdunn and Yazid Dimashq — 'if you have fighting, your commander is the one in whose charge you stand' — and that he ordered Amr verbally to lead the people in prayer.