Quoth Ayishah: "When the Prophet returned from his visit to the cemetery of Al-Baqi, he came to see me in the middle of the night. I was suffering from violent headache and as I complained, he said: 'Ah! 'tis I who ought to complain of pains in the head and not thou!' He went on, jokingly: 'Would it not be better for thee to die whilst I am still in the land of the living? I could implore the Mercy of Allah in thy favour; with my own hands I could enfold thee in thy winding-sheet; I could pray over thy body and place thee in thy grave.' 'Of a surety thou doest me great honour in apprising me that thou wouldst act thus in my favour,' I replied; 'but I fear that after I was buried, thy sole consolation would be to bring back with thee, into my room, some other of thy wives!' At this sally, a smile returned to the Prophet's face and, for a brief moment, he forgot his pain." As time went on, his illness left him no rest; nevertheless, mastering his sufferings, his mind was busier than ever, and he occupied himself with the future of Islam, for he felt that the effects of his management would soon be lacking. Thinking that Syria was one of the gates through which the warriors of Allah would have to march to conquer the world, Mohammad's gaze was unceasingly turned towards that country and he resolved to organise a third expedition against the Christians, in whose power it was. Great rivalry at once arose with regard to commanding such an incursion. Of heroes and generals having been put to the test, Islam had enough and to spare. The most famous among them: Ansars or Mohadjirun, anxiously awaited the Prophet's choice. To the stupefaction of all, however, Usama, barely twenty years of age, was chosen. It is true that this lad was the son of Zayd ibn Harith, the martyr of Mutah. Mohammad placed great reliance on the revengeful ardour that Usama would show in fighting the murderers of his father on the very spot where he gloriously succumbed, than on the experience and warlike valour of the Mussulman generals. This selection caused deception and gave rise to murmuring. The Believers hesitated to put boundless confidence, such as is indispensable for success, in a chief so young and inexperienced. Having been told about this, the Prophet rose and cut short all disputes by these words: 'Ye criticise my choice of Usama, even as ye formerly cavilled at that of Zayd, his father! Listen! To you I swear, by Allah! that Zayd was truly worthy of the post of command with which I did entrust him. I cherished him above all other men; and after him, his son is the man I prefer. Go, carry out my orders, and have confidence!'