Ibn Saʿd then advanced against Ifriqiyah, taking with him ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs, and ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr. He and Jarjir met in battle at Sabīlṭah, two days’ march from al-Qayrawan. Jarjir commanded two hundred thousand fighting men—some say one hundred and twenty thousand—whereas the Muslims numbered only twenty thousand.

Musʿab ibn ʿAbd Allah relates: “My father and al-Zubayr ibn Khabib told us that Ibn al-Zubayr said: ‘Jarjir burst upon us in our camp with one hundred and twenty thousand troops and surrounded us while we were merely twenty thousand. The people lost heart with ʿAbd Allah ibn Abī Sarh, who withdrew alone into his pavilion. I, however, spotted a gap: Jarjir was behind his lines on a dapple-gray mount, two maidservants shading him with peacock feathers. Between him and his soldiers lay an empty white plain. I went out to Ibn Abī Sarh, who summoned men for me; from them I chose thirty horsemen and told the rest, “Stay in your positions.” I then charged toward the spot where I had seen Jarjir and said to my companions, “Guard my back.” By Allah, I had scarcely broken through their ranks before I made straight for him. He and his men assumed I was merely an envoy until I drew near; then he sensed danger, mounted, and fled. I caught up with him, speared him so that he fell, finished him with my sword, raised his head on a lance, and cried the takbīr. The Muslims surged forward, his forces scattered from every side, and we pressed the pursuit.’”

Khalifah reports: A listener of Ibn Lahīʿah told us that Abū al-Aswad said, “Abū Idrīs informed me that he campaigned with ʿAbd Allah ibn Saʿd in Ifriqiyah, which they conquered, and each man received one thousand dinars.” Another transmitter adds: “They took captives and seized spoils, so the share of a cavalryman reached three thousand dinars.”