Kesombongan Negara Byzantine menyebabkan mereka menafikan hak umat Islam untuk hidup. Kesombongan Byzantine juga membuat mereka membunuh ejen-ejen mereka sendiri yang memeluk Islam. Pembunuhan Farwah bin ‘Amr Al-Judhami, yang merupakan ejen mereka di Mu’an, adalah bukti kesombongan mereka. Disebabkan kesombongan dan keangkuhan Byzantine itu, Rasulullah ﷺ mula menggerakkan tentera yang besar pada bulan Safar tahun kesebelas Hijrah, dan menjadikannya di bawah pimpinan Usamah bin Zaid bin Haritha dengan arahan supaya kuda-kuda kaum Muslimin memijak tanah-tanah yang bersempadan dengan Al-Balqa’ dan Ad-Darum di Palestin. Tujuannya ialah untuk menggerunkan Byzantine dan menanamkan keyakinan di dalam hati orang-orang Arab yang menetap di sempadan Byzantine. Tujuan lainnya ialah menyampaikan satu mesej kepada semua pihak di sana, supaya tiada seorang pun berani berkata bahawa kekejaman Gereja tidak akan dibiarkan tanpa balasan; dan bahawa menjadi Islam bukanlah sinonim dengan ketakutan dan kelemahan.
The pride of the Byzantine State made it deny Muslims their right to live. The Byzantine arrogance made them even kill those agents of theirs, who embraced Islam. Killing Farwah bin ‘Amr Al-Judhami, who was their agent on Mu’an, was an evidence of their arrogance. Due to that arrogance and presumptuousness of the Byzantines, the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) started to mobilize a great army in Safar in the eleventh year of Al-Hijra and made it under the command of Osamah bin Zaid bin Haritha with orders to have the horses of Muslims tread on the lands bordering Al-Balqa’ and Ad-Darum of Palestine. His aim was to terrorize Byzantines and to implant confidence into the hearts of Arabs who were settled at the borders of the Byzantines. His other purpose was to deliver a message to everybody there, so that no one may dare say that the Church brutality can’t go with impunity; and that Islamization is not synonymous with fear and vulnerability.
Kepimpinan Usamah telah menjadi sasaran kritikan. Oleh kerana beliau masih terlalu muda, orang ramai bertangguh untuk menyertai ekspedisinya. Rasulullah ﷺ menyampaikan ucapan kepada orang ramai dengan bersabda:
The leadership of Osamah was subject to criticism. Because he was still too young, people tarried at joining his expedition. The Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) addressed people saying:
“Tidak hairanlah sekarang kamu menentang kepemimpinannya, kerana kamu telah pun menentang kepemimpinan bekas ayahnya. Ya, demi Allah, ayahnya, yang merupakan antara orang yang paling aku kasihi, memang cukup cekap untuk memimpin; dan anaknya ini pula merupakan antara individu yang paling aku kasihi selepas ayahnya.”
• “No wonder now you contest his leadership, for you have already contested the ex-leadership ofhis father. Yes, by Allâh, his father, who was one of the most beloved people to me, was quite efficient for leadership; and this son of his is one of the most beloved individuals to me after his father.”.
Maka orang ramai mula cenderung kepada Usamah dan menyertai tenteranya. Bilangan sukarelawan dalam tenteranya begitu besar sehingga mereka membentuk barisan yang sangat panjang, hingga terpaksa menuruni tebing curam yang terletak sejauh satu farsakh dari Madinah. Namun, berita yang membimbangkan tentang sakit Rasulullah ﷺ menyebabkan ekspedisi itu tertangguh sekali lagi, untuk mengetahui apa yang dikehendaki Allah berkenaan Rasul-Nya ﷺ.
So people started tending towards Osamah and joined his army. The number of volunteers in his army was so enormous that they formed such a long queue that they had to descend the escarpment — which was a parasang off Madinah. The anxiety-provoking news about the Messenger of Allâh’s sickness, however, made the expedition tarry again in order to know what Allâh had willed as regards His Messenger (Peace be upon him).
Berdasarkan kehendak Allah, ekspedisi Usamah menjadi ekspedisi pertama yang diberangkatkan pada zaman khalifah Abu Bakar yang benar.
It was Allâh’s Will that Osamah’s expedition would be the first one dispatched during the caliphate of the veracious Abu Bakr.