[^3] It is a village in Syria between Asqalan and ar-Ramla near Mu’ta...

[^3] It is a village in Syria between Asqalan and ar-Ramla near Mu’ta, where Ja’far bin Abu Talib, Zayd bin Haritha and Abdullah bin Rawaha have been martyred. (109) urged them to move. He himself gave the banner to Ussama with his honored hand in order to motivate their zeal and to awaken their determination. Then he said: “Move in the name of Allah and for the sake of Allah! Fight those who have disbelieved in Allah!” Ussama moved with the army. He gave the banner to Burayda.

They camped in al-Jurf and they became sluggish there. They did not leave there in spite of the clear orders they had heard from the Prophet (s) ordering them to hasten like his saying “Attack the people of Ubna in the morning…” and “Hasten to precede the news…” and many other orders that they did not obey. Some of them rejected the leadership of Ussama as they had rejected the leadership of his father before.

They criticized him too much and argued too much although they saw that the Prophet (s) himself had appointed him as the leader and had given him the banner of the emirate while he was ill. All that did not prevent them from rejected the leadership of Ussama until the Prophet (s) became very angry.

He went out wrapped with his plush and his head was bandaged suffering from fever and headache.[^1] It was Saturday, the tenth of Rabee’ul Awwal, two days before his death (according to the date mentioned by the Sunni). He ascended the minbar, praised Allah and said (as mentioned by the Sunni and the Shia and by all the Historians): “O people, what is this saying, which I have been informed of, said by some of you criticizing my appointing Ussama as the emir of the army?

As you criticize my appointing Ussama as the emir, you have criticized my appointing his father as the emir before. By Allah, he (Ussama’s father) was well-qualified for the emirate and his son after him is well-qualified for it too”. He urged the people to progress as quickly as they could. They began to farewell him and they went to the camping in al-Jurf. His case (illness) became worse.

He kept on saying: “Prepare the army of Ussama…let the army of Ussama move…send the army of Ussama…” He repeated that while they were still inactive. On Sunday, the twelfth of Rabee’ul Awwal Ussama came from his camp to the Prophet (s). The Prophet (s) ordered him by saying: “Move in the morning with the blessing of Allah”.