Others besides him have transmitted the report from Khālid, and it is found in the two Ṣaḥīḥ collections in an abridged form.

Wakīʿ and others narrated: Mūsā ibn ʿAlī ibn Rabāḥ told us, from his father, who heard ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ say: The Prophet ﷺ said to me, “ʿAmr, strap on your weapons tightly and come to me.” I did so and went to him while he was performing ablution. He raised his eyes and then lowered them and said, “ʿAmr, I intend to send you on an expedition; Allah will safeguard you and grant you spoils, and I desire for you a worthy share of wealth.” I replied, “I did not embrace Islam out of desire for money; I embraced it longing for jihad and to remain with you.” He said, “ʿAmr, how excellent is wholesome wealth in the hands of a righteous man.”

Ibn ʿAwn and others, on the authority of Muḥammad, reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ appointed ʿAmr to command the army of Dhāt al-Salāsil, and in that force were Abū Bakr and ʿUmar. Ibrāhīm ibn Muhājir transmitted a similar report from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī.

Wakīʿ, from al-Mundhir ibn Thaʿlabah, from Ibn Buraydah, related that Abū Bakr said, “The Prophet ﷺ only placed him—meaning ʿAmr—over us because of his expertise in warfare.”

I (the author) say: For that very reason Abū Bakr later put ʿAmr in charge of the Syrian campaign.

Al-Wāqidī said: Rabīʿah ibn ʿUthmān related to me, from Yazīd ibn Rumān, that when Abū ʿUbaydah joined ʿAmr their number reached five hundred. They marched day and night until they entered the territory of Balī and subdued it. Whenever they came to a place where they had been informed that a force was gathered, the people scattered as soon as they heard of their approach, until ʿAmr reached the furthest limits of the lands of Balī, ʿUdhrah, and Balqayn. In the end he encountered a contingent; they fought for a while, exchanging volleys of arrows.