Al-Hashimi was allowed to return to Syria via Egypt in early May 1920. By then, a French offensive to capture Damascus was impending. Al-Hashimi was tasked by Faisal, who declared himself King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria in March 1920, with inspecting the state of the Arab Army under al-'Azma's command. Upon inspecting the Arab troops, al-Hashimi concluded that they were not prepared to confront an invasion by the militarily superior French forces. Al-Hashimi particularly noted the lack of arms and that the Arab Army's soldiers only possessed enough ammunition to fight for two hours. He refused an assignment by Faisal to command the Arab Army's post at Majdal Anjar in the Beqaa Valley and also turned down a request to resume his position as chief-of-staff due to the precarious position of the army. In response to Faisal's inquiry about the cause of the lack of arms and ammunition, al-Hashimi responded that the French were in control of Syria's ports, the British controlled Palestine, the Transjordan region, and Iraq, and the Turks were occupied by their war in Anatolia, and thus Syria was effectively blocked from importing weaponry. In a meeting of the army's General Staff, al-'Azma rejected al-Hashimi's assessment and accused him of bitterness as a result of his secondary role in the army. Ultimately, however, al-'Azma and the General Staff officers understood the weak state of the army.