The commander of the Lifah division was Sharif, and he was one of the most steadfast, wise, and intelligent of the Mahdi's companions. He married the daughter of Hamed, the brother of the Mahdi. The Emirs used to accuse him of cowardice in times of refuge and of clinging to desires, because he did not join them in their extravagance in the celebrations, but rather lived a life of asceticism and austerity, as did the Mahdi, his successors, his commanders, and all those who followed him.

And the expedition set out from Omdurman, and it was near the White Nile, about ten miles from Khartoum. There, the brigades gathered and prepared to march into the desert towards El Obeid. This was in Dhu al-Hijjah, year 1305 AH.

Ala al-Din Pasha compelled about thirty merchants and officials to accompany him, and he appointed Kilani Hussein Pasha as his deputy in managing the affairs of the Mudiriyah.

Two native guides from the Abqa tribe accompanied him. They had come to Khartoum from the Mahdi and became his guides to lead him through the thirsty desert roads filled with dangers.

The expedition departed from Ed Dueim at the end of Dhu al-Hijjah. The number of troops was four Egyptian regular brigades, each brigade consisting of four thousand fighters, totaling sixteen thousand. There were also a thousand cavalry soldiers, including armored cavalry and irregular Sudanese soldiers, and irregular Turkish soldiers, such as cavalry under the command of Sanjaq Abd al-Aziz Bey, Yahya Kamel Bey, and Khair al-Din Bey.

Two war correspondents from the English Times and the Daily News accompanied the expedition. The number of camels prepared for transport exceeded thirty thousand, in addition to mules. The weapons were of the Remington type, and there were four Krupp cannons with a caliber of 8.5 cm and six Gatling guns.