I heard ‘Iyad al-Ash`ari say: i was present at al-Yarmouk and we had five commanders over us: Abu `Ubaidah bin al-Jarrah, Yazeed bin Abi Sufyan, Ibn Hasanah, Khalid bin al-Waleed and `Iyad - and this `Iyad was not the one who narrated reports to Simak. - `Umar (رضي الله عنه) said: If fighting occurs, then your commander is Abu `Ubaidah. So we wrote to him, saying: We are facing death; and we asked him for reinforcements. He wrote to us, saying: I have received your letter asking for reinforcements and I can tell you about who has the greatest support and the most ready troops. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, ask Him for support, for Muhammad (ﷺ) was caused to prevail on the day of Badr with fewer than your numbers. When this letter of mine reaches you, fight them without referring back to me. So we fought them, and we defeated them, pursuing and killing them for four parasangs, and we acquired wealth (booly). They discussed the issue (of booty) and ‘Iyad suggested to us that we should give ten for every head. And Abu ʼUbaidah said: Who will compete with me (in a horse race)? A young man said: I will, if you don`t get angry. Then he beat him, and I saw the two braids of Abu ‘Ubaidah flying as he raced behind him on an Arabian horse.