he said, “This is ʿUmar’s handiwork; he envied me for the conquest of Iraq and for having achieved it myself, so he wants to make me merely a reinforcement for ʿAmr. If the campaign succeeds, the credit will be his and not mine.”

Events of the year 13 AH:

Ibn Isḥaq narrates: No sooner had Abu Bakr returned from the pilgrimage than he dispatched ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ toward Palestine, together with Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan, Abu ʿUbaydah ibn al-Jarrah, and Shurahbil ibn Ḥasnah, instructing them to advance by way of al-Balqaʾ.

Ibn Jarir reports: They say that when, at the outset of 13 AH, Abu Bakr sent the armies to Syria, the first banner he conferred was that of Khalid ibn Saʿid ibn al-ʿĀṣ. He then removed him from command before Khalid even set out—though some say the dismissal came several months after the march had begun—and wrote ordering Khalid to proceed to Syria. Khalid did so, raiding the Ghassanids at Marj Rāhiṭ, then advancing to encamp at the watercourse of Busra. Abu ʿUbaydah and his two companions arrived and concluded a treaty with the people of Busra, making it the first Syrian town to be opened, while Khalid, in the same campaign, made peace with the people of Tadmur (Palmyra).

Ibn Isḥaq continues: They all then advanced toward Palestine and met the Byzantines at Ajnadayn, situated between al-Ramlah and Bayt Jibrin, each commander leading his own contingent—though some say ʿAmr was in overall command. The Romans were led by al-Qayqilān, who was killed, and the polytheists were routed on Saturday, the third of Jumada al-Ula, 13 AH. Among the Muslims martyred that day were Naʿīm ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Nahham, Hisham ibn al-ʿĀṣ, and al-Fadl ibn