the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, asking him for reinforcements. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ thereupon called upon the Emigrants, and Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, and a number of others responded. He placed Abū ʿUbaydah in command of them and sent them to support ʿAmr. When they reached him, ʿAmr said, “I am your commander, for I was the one who wrote to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ requesting help, and he has reinforced me with you.”

The Emigrants replied, “You may command your own troops, but Abū ʿUbaydah is the commander of the Emigrants.” ʿAmr retorted, “You are merely reinforcements that he has supplied me with.”

When Abū ʿUbaydah—who was a man of fine character and gentle temperament—saw what was happening, he strove to honour the Prophet’s instruction and trust. He said, “You know, ʿAmr, that the last thing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ charged me with was, ‘When you meet your companion, cooperate with one another.’ So you have refused to obey me so that I may obey you.” Abū ʿUbaydah then ceded the command to ʿAmr.

Yūnus transmitted from Ibn Isḥāq: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥuṣayn al-Tamīmī related to me concerning the campaign of Dhāt al-Salāsil in the territory of Balī and ʿUdhrah: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ to summon the Arabs to Islam, for the mother of al-ʿĀṣ ibn Wāʾil was from Balī. The Prophet ﷺ therefore sent him to them in order to win their hearts. When ʿAmr reached the land of Judhām, at a watering place called al-Salāsil, he became fearful and sent to the Prophet ﷺ asking for reinforcements.”

ʿAlī ibn ʿĀṣim said: Khālid al-Ḥadhdhāʾ told us, from Abū ʿUthmān al-Nahdī, who said: I heard ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ say, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed me commander of the army of Dhū al-Salāsil, and among the force were Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.

“I said to myself, ‘He has only placed me over them because of my standing with him.’ So I went to him, sat before him, and asked, ‘Messenger of Allah, who is the dearest of people to you?’ He replied, ‘ʿĀʾishah.’ I said, ‘I was not asking about your family.’ He said, ‘Then her father.’ I asked, ‘And who after that?’ He said, ‘ʿUmar.’ I continued, ‘And who next?’ until he mentioned a number of people. Then I said to myself, ‘I will never ask about this again.’”