The Companions of the Prophet

the preparations being made by the enemy, he realized that his force was too weak to battle with them. So he set up camp and sent a message to the Prophet asking for reinforcements. The Prophet then prepared an additional force of 200 Muhajirs, which was despatched under the leadership of Abu ‘Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah. When Abu ‘Ubaydah’s force joined with that of ‘Amr ibn al-’As, the question arose about who would be the leader of the combined army. ‘Amr ibn al-’As was in no doubt that he should be, as the reinforcements had been sent at his request. However, Abu ‘Ubaydah’s companions disagreed. They thought that Abu ‘Ubaydah should be the leader of the whole army, or otherwise, the division should remain under separate command. When the quarrel escalated, Abu ‘Ubaydah addressed ‘Amr, telling him that the final promise the Prophet had taken from him was that they should agree and work in unity. “Even if you disobey me,” he said, “I promise to obey you.” Had Abu ‘Ubaydah so desired, he could have remained obdurate and left it to Amr to give way. Substantial arguments in support of his position could have been found. But he eschewed such a course and took it upon himself to end the dispute unilaterally. In community life, people must be able to do this. Only when people are magnanimous enough to accept their responsibilities instead of arguing about their rights can a community function harmoniously.