Year 23 AH:

• During this year, while ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with him—was delivering the sermon, he suddenly cried out, “Sāriyah, the mountain!” ʿUmar had earlier dispatched Sāriyah ibn Zunaym al-Duʾalī to Fasa and Dārābgird, where he besieged the enemy. The Persians then rallied, came at him from every side, and the two forces met at a spot where a mountain lay on the Muslims’ flank; had they taken shelter against it, they could have been attacked only from one direction. The Muslims therefore fell back to the mountain, fought, and routed the foe.

Sāriyah collected the spoils, among which was a casket of jewels. He sent it to ʿUmar, who returned it and ordered him to divide it among the Muslims. The swift courier al-Najjāb asked the people of Medina about the victory and whether they had heard anything. They replied, “Indeed—we heard, ‘Sāriyah, the mountain, the mountain!’ We were on the verge of destruction, but when we withdrew to the mountain, victory was granted to us.” It is related that ʿUmar was later asked about his words “Sāriyah, the mountain,” yet he had no memory of uttering them.

• In the same year Kirmān was conquered under the command of Suhayl ibn ʿAdī.

• That year also saw the conquest of Sijistān, led by ʿĀṣim ibn ʿAmr.

• Makrān—a region of the mountain districts—was likewise taken, with al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUthmān in command.

• Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī returned from Isfahān, having subdued its territories.

• Muʿāwiyah led the summer campaign until he reached Amorium.