with Palestine[1] for objective. Yazîd he instructed to follow the way of Tabûk. To Shuraḥbîl, he wrote to follow the way of Tabûk, too. At the outset each one of the commanders had three thousand men under his leadership, but abu-Bakr kept on sending reinforcements until each one had 7,500. Later the total was increased to 24,000.
It is reported on the authority of al-Wâḳidi that abu-Bakr assigned ʿAmr to Palestine, Shuraḥbîl to the Jordan, and Yazîd to Damascus saying, "When ye all fight together, your commander is the one in whose province ye are fighting." It is also reported that to ʿAmr he gave oral instructions to lead the prayers in case the armies are united, and to have each commander lead the prayer of his own army when the armies are separate. Abu-Bakr ordered the commanders to see that each tribe flies a banner of its own.
Abu-Bakr directs Khâlid ibn-al-Walîd to Syria. On his arrival in the first district of Palestine, ʿAmr ibn-al-ʿÂṣi sent a message to abu-Bakr informing him of the great number of the enemy, their great armament, the wide extent of their land and the enthusiasm of their troops. Abu-Bakr, thereupon, wrote to Khâlid ibn-al-Walîd ibn-al-Mughîrah-l-Makhzûmi—who was at that time in al-ʿIrâḳ—directing him to go to Syria. According to some, he thereby made him a commander over the commanders in the war. According to others, Khâlid only commanded his men who accompanied him; but whenever the Moslems met for a battle, the commanders would choose him as their chief for his valor and strategy and the auspiciousness of his counsel.
The battle of Dâthin. The first conflict between the Moslems and the enemy took place in Dâthin,[2] one of the
